Teacher

Leslie has extensive teaching experience.

She is a Professor Emerita in Theatre at the California State University, Pomona where she headed the Acting Program and developed the Acting Option for the Theatre Major. She has also taught at University of California, Davis, in both the MFA and BA theatre programs, at Stanford University, at the Asolo State Theatre of Florida, at the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts, and at the Foothill Theatre Company.

Her courses cover the spectrum of acting, voice and stage movement, as well as theatre history, acting for film & television, playwriting and directing.

Leslie’s education and training include:

M.F.A., Acting, Stanford University, magna cum laude

Woodrow Wilson Fellow
Stanford University Fellow

B.A., Dramatic Art, University of California, Davis, summa cum laude

Department of Dramatic Art Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Achievement
Phi Beta Kappa
Phi Kappa Phi
California State Scholarship
Frank Edward Kraft Scholarship
One of Top Ten Graduating Seniors, Letters and Science

She’s also trained professionally with:

HB Studio, New York City
Circle In The Square, NYC
Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum Summer Shakespeare Intensive, Los Angeles
American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco
Kim Darby (True Grit, Poltergeist, etc.), UCLA and private studio, North Hollywood: Acting for the Camera
Paul Richards, Los Angeles: Acting
Tepper-Gallegos Commercial Workshops, Los Angeles: Acting
Jean-Louis Rodrigue, UCLA and private studio, Hollywood: Alexander Technique
Sam Shepard, Irene Fornes, Padua Hills Playwright’s Conference: Playwriting
Hoyt Hilsman, UCLA and Pasadena Playhouse: Playwriting
Kim Culbertson, Nevada City, CA: Writing Workshop
American Film Institute, Los Angeles: Screenwriting

Leslie Ann Rivers Teaching Resume

Awards and Honors

CSU awards and honors include:

Student Assistantship Grant Recipient
Kellogg Foundation Grant Recipient
Meritorious Performance and Professional Promise Awards
Sabbatical Awards:

To study Alexander Technique

To write and workshop plays (Flying Solo, Shadow Dance, Postcard From Venus) that were later produced

To direct The Corn Is Green at The Broadway Playhouse, Los Angeles