Ellen Novack has had a long and varied career with one consistent theme: working with and helping actors. She was a casting director for over 25 years working in TV, film and theater. She cast productions at the NY Shakespeare Festival, including the original NY productions of Plenty and Mystery of Edwin Drood, both of which went to Broadway, and Top Girls , Fen, Richard III and many others, which played at The Public Theater or at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park.
She directed, co-produced and co-wrote two short films, Psychoanalysis Changed My Life and The Getaway which were Official Selections at many festivals throughout the country and won several awards. She was Managing Director/Casting Director for CSC (Classic Stage Company) in New York and was a casting director for the soap operas As the World Turns, Another World and One Life to Live, for which she won two Artios Awards and went on to produce as well.
Ellen has been teaching On-Camera Acting Technique and Professional Preparation/On-Camera Auditioning at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale for over 16 years. She taught on-camera auditioning at The Juilliard School, American Conservatory Theatre, The New School, New York University, Rutgers University, Columbia University, and the National Theatre Institute. She’s currently teaching it in New York City. To help actors who are new to the business or whose careers have stalled, she offers ActorLaunch, a one-on-one consulting service.
Her book Taming the Cyclops: How to Do Your Best Work in an On-Camera Audition, published by Smith & Kraus, was released in 2018.
Ellen has a B.A. in English and American Literature from Brandeis University and is a member of NY Women in Film and Television and the Independent Feature Project.