About

Linda Ann Watt

Highly regarded acting instructor Linda Ann Watt, deemed one of the best acting teachers nationally by students, was nominated for a Tony Award® for Excellence in Theatre Education in 2015. Watt holds an MFA in Theatre Performance Pedagogy, is a member of Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), a past member of Actors Equity Association (AEA), and a SAG-AFTRA signatory producer. Watt coaches actors onset, and onstage. She offers beginning through advanced acting classes for adults and youth.

As an actor, Watt appeared in movies, television, theatre, and national commercials. She owns Corlin Productions, a SAG-AFTRA signatory production house. Through Corlin Productions, Watt produces and directs film, television, documentaries, commercials, educational programs and theatre. She directed Betty White, Nell Carter, Dom DeLuise, Aaron Neville, and Tippi Hedren for Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television stations.

As past executive board member of Women in Film in Los Angeles, Watt chaired and produced the largest Academy Awards® Party four consecutive years. This gala became an annual Hollywood event with over 1,000 attending including the Oscar® winners and nominees.

Recently, Watt was an instructor at Georgia State University (GSU) in the Film, Media and Theatre department teaching acting techniques including Method and she was an adjunct professor at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) teaching public speaking. Watt mentored students in filmmaking through her production company, Corlin Productions, at Raleigh Studios in Los Angeles and she conducted professional acting classes in Los Angeles, Charlotte, and Atlanta. She now teaches internationally on online platforms.

Watt received a grant for working artists from the North Carolina Arts Council in 2021, which was awarded for the completion of her book The Actor’s Manifesto: Create a Successful Acting Career in 2022. The book (hardcover, softcover and ebook) is available on Amazon, Ingram, Barnes and Noble, and Apple.

Training

Watt received a scholarship to attend The New York Academy of Theatrical Arts. She later attended the Stella Adler Conservatory, American Theatre of Actors (ATA) with James Jennings and studied voice at Herbert Bergdorf Studios and with speech pathologist Gertrude Orion Ph.D., Watt attended the State University of New York (SUNY) Nassau Community College, majoring in theatre, while appearing in commercials, daytime television, film and theatre. It was during this time, Watt associate produced her first documentary, Unicycle for national PBS television. Watt later graduated magna cum laude from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC at Charlotte), majoring in Theatre and received an MFA in Theatre Performance Pedagogy from VCU.

In Los Angeles, Watt studied acting extensively with Milton Katselas (director, Butterflies are Free, for film and Broadway, protégé of Elia Kazan). While in class with Katselas, she also had the privilege of taking classes with Jeffery Tambor, Joe Santos, and Richard Larson. She studied with voice coach Bob Corff. She took Comedy Improvisation classes at the Skylight Theater with Walter Olkewicz, and Standup Comedy classes with Greg Dean, performing standup at the Santa Monica Improv. Watt later studied Method acting with Lorrie Hull, Ph.D. (master teacher for Lee Strasberg).

Along with studying the disciplines of Stanislavski, Strasberg, Hagen, Adler, and Meisner, Watt studied physical techniques of Bogart, Landau, and Lecoq.