"Synergy Actors Studio"

Actress Michelle C. Bonilla Partners With Veteran Acting Coach Nick Mize in The Creation of "Synergy Actors Studio"

Los Angeles, CA - What more can an actress do to give a charitable hand to others? Consider that she has already given her time to participate in the Dinah Shore "L Word" Fashion Show, run a 5K marathon at the 11th Annual Komen Race for the Cure, walked alongside LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at the LA Aids Walk and contributed to the "The Hollywood Bag Ladies Lupus Luncheon" event benefiting the Lupus Research Institute.

Granted Michelle C. Bonilla is already saving the world on our small screens in her recurring role as a paramedic on the NBC hit TV show "ER", but off-camera she is going a step further by giving back to the acting community via the creation of an acting studio called "Synergy Actors Studio" which she is launching with her new business partner, veteran acting coach Nick Mize.

Faithful to its doctrine, Synergy Actors Studio symbolizes the phenomenon in which two forces work together to create an effect greater than the one predicted to generate individually: the fusion of the business and artistic side of the acting profession.

She is indeed a sassy, sexy, smart and go-getter actress who has, rightfully so, earned the respect of her peers and is confidently making a name for herself within the Hollywood arena. That is why she is now in her 10th season as the sexy (and only) Latina paramedic on the NBC hit TV show "ER". Millions of television viewers tune in weekly to catch the show on which Michelle portrays "EMT Kristin Harms". Since 1999 the sultry recurring character has added Latin spice to the Emmy Award-Winning drama!

Yet Michelle is not letting her success go to her head and is certainly not resting on her laurels. The charismatic ALMA Winning actress is now giving back to the acting community by joining forces in a creative new professional venture with Nick Mize in the opening of a one-of-a-kind acting studio dubbed Synergy Actors Studio.

Synergy's philosophy rests on the unique and groundbreaking combination of 'method' and 'business' to empower acting students to be prepared both artistically and professionally - it is an acting studio that utilizes "on-camera" work to help students acquire a better sense of themselves and make them the best qualified candidate to market their own product: THEMSELVES.

Located in Studio City, California at 4534 Laurel Canyon Blvd, CA 91607 - (818) 301-3790, Synergy Actors Studio offers acting classes twice a week (Tuesdays 7pm-10pm and Sunday 1pm-4pm) with an emphasis on the following four categories:

1) Basic Technique (using repetition, improvisation and acting exercises)
2) On-Camera Technique (scene work, exercises and prepared scenes)
3) Marketing Tools (giving students basic goals, developing a marketing plan for themselves, tangible tasks for advancement in their career)
4) Guest Artists (celebrity guest speakers who can relay their experience of the business and craft).

Synergy is the symbiotic union of not only two talented acting veterans (Michelle and Nick) but as well of the two vital tools primordial to succeed in this entertainment industry: acting skills and marketing/business knowledge.

The combination of their respective extensive acting experience, skills and knowledge, makes this dynamic duo the most hands-on experts and qualified teachers in the field.

Beyond receiving training from some of the best coaches in Hollywood (Bobby Chance, Sam Christensen, Sandy Marshall, Larry Moss, Brian Reise, Seth Riggs, Cherie Franklin, Stuart K. Robinson, and Scott Sedita, to name a few), Bonilla, most importantly, carries an acting dossier that may rival some of the most prolific actresses in the industry.

She has played them all: from the Klingon dubbed Bu'Kah on "Star Trek: Enterprise", to Teresa Morales the first Mexican-American School Marm on "Dr Quinn Medicine Women", to the teacher in "Unfabulous", among numerous others.

Her most recent television appearance was as Elena Perez in "Shark", in which she played a terrified, grief stricken, mother, whose child was being held for ransom. On the big screen, she is known for her acclaimed performances in the award-winning short, "Getting to Know You" written and directed by Liz Lachman in which she co-stars opposite a prestigious ensemble cast featuring Elizabeth Keener, Dana Delany, Anne Ramsay and Megan Cavanaugh; as well as the black comedy entitled "Kill Your Darlings" opposite multiple-time Emmy Winner John Laroquette, Benito Martinez (The Shield) and Greg Germann (Talladega Nights, Ali McBeal) which is set for a DVD release this Summer.

An amazing trek into this journey called acting, which culminated in an ALMA Award for her portrayal in the PBS award-winning Foto-Novelas Series, "Seeing Through Walls". She made her big screen debut in "Above Suspicion" with Christopher Reeve and Kim Cattral; worked opposite some of Hollywood's biggest names including Halle Berry in "The Rich Man's Wife", Charleze Theron in "Trial and Error", Billy Bob Thorton in "Homegrown", and Faye Dunaway in " Dunston Checks In". She was also seen in "True Friends (Winner Gold Jury Award - Best Independent Film - Charleston International Film Festival) and in "Sexual Life" (official selection at the 2004 Los Angeles Film Festival which aired on Showtime) with Tom Everett Scott and Anne Heche.

Nick has been a professional actor for nearly three decades. His work has been seen on stage, in film, and on television. In New York, he made his Off Broadway debut at the prestigious Manhattan Theatre Club where he appeared in Beethoven/Karl. He was a member of Providence, RI's Tony Award winning Trinity Repertory Company, under the direction of the legendary Adrian Hall. In addition, Nick played in the hugely successful The Boys Next Door, directed by David Wheeler. That production was reopened at the American Repertory Theater and subsequently moved to a commercial run in Boston, where it topped Boston critics' lists.

He has worked at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble in Standup Shakespeare and in their co-production with Jack Stehlin's Circus Theatricals of Tartuffe, which won an L.A. Weekly Theater Award for Best Comedy Ensemble. Nick's association with Circus Theatricals also includes As You Like It and the One Act Festival. This summer, his play Ellipses, co-written with Collette Freedman, premiered at Circus Theatricals One Act Festival. In television and film, Nick has been seen on HBO's "Carnivale", "Malcolm in the Middle", "The Practice", "Diagnosis Murder", "Grounded for Life", "Frasier", "NewsRadio", "Murphy Brown", "Cheers", "Interview with the Assassin", and "Beethoven". As a teacher, he has taught at the University of New Hampshire, privately in Los Angeles, and as a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University, Harvard Summer School, and Harvard Extension. Nick received a B.A. in Theater from the University of New Hampshire and studied post-graduate at Harvard University. In New York, he received training from HB Studio, privately with Mel Shapiro, and in Los Angeles at Alfred Molina's Shakespeare Workshop at Circus Theatricals.

In addition, once a month, the pair will extend their charitable endeavor to "give back" to the community beyond the confines of the physical studio to reach out to schools, special non-profit organizations and minority groups, generously offering a free one-hour class. This is their way to make a difference, be of service and bring the arts, as well as the Synergy philosophy, to a group of individuals and kids who might not otherwise be given the opportunity to be exposed to it.

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