Actors Playground Instructors

Ralph Colombino
Artistic Director

Ralph has been a performer and educator for the past twenty four years. He received a BFA degree from Mason Gross School of the Arts Professional Actor Training Program at Rutgers University. He has studied acting with some of the theatre’s most renowned teachers, including; Pierre LeFevre, Victoria Hart, William Esper, Maggie Flanigan, Edward Stern, Harold Scott, Lloyd Williamson, Mai Loughran, Peter Nels, and Joseph Hart. Mr. Colombino has performed in nearly forty professional productions. Most notably, Ralph was in the award-winning Shoestring Players 1989 company which began its American tour at The State Theater in New Brunswick NJ and ended it five months later at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. Ralph's main contribution to theater has been teaching the craft of acting to young people. His classes are designed to continuously challenge the young artist, to instill confidence as a performer, and to give his students the most advanced training for young people anywhere. Some of his teaching credits include; Actor's Heritage in NYC, The Children’s Cultural Center in Red Bank NJ, Hoboken High School in NJ, Dance Theater Project in Spring Lake NJ, The Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank NJ, Fairleigh Dickinson University and presently, New Jersey  Arts and Education Center, and Monmouth University where, as an adjunct professor, Ralph teaches acting, theater appreciation, and directs mainstage shows.

Mr. Colombino is also the lead singer and guitarist in The Remnants, an alternative rock outfit that was established in 1990. They have played to sold out crowds at nearly every major rock venue in the Tri-State Area. The Remnants have also received airplay on Q104.3 in NYC, WHTG 106.3 in NJ and countless college radio stations.

Mr. Colombino’s students have been accepted to the most prestigious and elite universities for theatre that exist, some of which include: The TISCH School at New York University, Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, Harvard, Northwestern, Emerson College, Brown University Catholic University, and USC.

Mr. Colombino’s students' professional credits include, Broadway; The Lion King (Young Simba). Feature Films; Doubt, Donnie Brasco, The Wrestler, Cop Out, Brooklyn’s Finest, Wanderlust, and School of Rock. Television; The Late Show with David Letterman, Saturday Night Live, The Sopranos, Law & Order, The Today Show, Sesame Street, MTV specials, Blues Clues, The Naked Brothers, Nickelodeon programming, Mercy, Man V Food, Life On Mars, As The World Turns, and countless national commercials.

Megan Donovan
Megan recieved her BA from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She has been training at the Actor's Playground since 2002 and had training at HB Studios in NYC. For just as long Megan has acted in countless theatrical and film productions in NYC and NJ, and recently has started working on her stage combat skills. As a founding member of the New Mystics Theatre Company, a non-profit company focusing on education in schools and building a greater arts community, she has been able to reach out to the community through her art. Since 2007, Megan has been the Managing Director of NMTC, as well as continuing to act. She is also a staff member and actor of LoveCreek Productions, a theatre company in NYC focused on fostering talent and showcasing new works, as well as classic pieces. Megan has also been added to the roster of talent that makes up the Premier American Touring Company of Bang Bang You're Dead, bringing William Mastriosimone's incredible play about school shootings and suicide to community's throughout New Jersey in hopes of preventing these atrocities from happening. Since 2006 Megan has been teaching at the Actor's Playground with Ralph, educating students in anything from improv, scene study, and beginning to advanced acting techniques. She is also an educator at the Count Basie Cool School, teaching Acting on Film classes and Theatre acting. The Algonquin Arts Theater and Dance Theatre Project are two other schools you can find Megan in. She is also an artist-educator for Youth Stages in Princeton. Megan also has her own web and graphic design company, Blue Wave Co. She builds websites for small businesses as well graphic design, invitations for any occasion, and print work for various groups.

Dan Cooley
Dan is a Director/Actor from Monmouth County and has performed in theatres in NYC/NJ as well as appearing in independent and student films. Over a cumulative 10 years, Dan has studied acting, directing and playwrighting with Ralph Colombino, Joey Madia and John Bukovec. Dan is the Resident Director for New Mystics Theatre Co., a traveling teen company that performs socially relevant pieces and fights for social justice. Dan is also a teacher at Actor’s Playground and Arts Middle School.