A happy childhood is a time of play, connection, and creativity.
And when a young person is offered a safe space to express their creative voice with other children, something magical happens. The child starts to sense who they truly are, what makes them unique, and where their passions lie. It’s with this understanding that confidence emerges and starts to inform other areas of the child’s life. They better apply themselves in school. They seek a connection with family at home. They develop courage on the sports field. The child has discovered purpose and, with this, they begin to imagine what they can become in the world.
Creative, confident children grow into the courageous, empathetic adults who lead us forward. We believe that championing self-expression early in life is foundational to helping children thrive, and there is no better way to do this than by allowing kids to play together in the performing arts.
Lawton Academy offers the kids and teens of Long Island classes in acting, music, and filmmaking that will excite and challenge them in equal measure. We encourage young people curious about exploring the performing arts to begin their creative journey here. And we are ready to guide those students already passionate about a creative discipline and determined to take their craft to the next level.
Andrew Lawton is an award-winning actor and filmmaker from Australia with over thirty years industry experience. As an actor, Andrew originated the roles of Logan Reilly on ABC’s “One Life to Live” and Jake Black on hit Australian show, “Neighbours”. Between television appearances, he starred in national ad campaigns on both continents and countless stage plays and musicals.
Andrew first moved to New York in 2000 to accept a full scholarship studying film and theater at Sarah Lawrence College, graduating with his MFA in 2003. As a filmmaker, he has directed some of the biggest actors in the world – including Neil Patrick Harris, Adam Driver, Helen Mirren, Liam Neeson and Matthew Broderick – for NBC’s “A Roundabout Road to Broadway”. This TV special won numerous awards and saw Andrew invited into The Producers Guild of America in 2019.
The son of teachers, Andrew is honored to be leading the development of Lawton Academy of Performing Arts. Learn more at Wikipedia and IMDb.
Katie Nisa has a BFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU (Tisch). She also studied at The Stella Adler Academy in Los Angeles. She has been seen in many plays, films, TV shows, and commercials; including The Artist, She Said, and SVU. She is a graduate of both UCB and ACME Comedy Theater where she has performed in countless improv and sketch shows through the years.
As a writer, she has worked developing series for television, and is currently workshopping one of her plays with The Barrow Group in NYC. Katie has taught children in Los Angeles, The Hudson Valley, NYC, and Long Island. She is passionate about equity in arts education, and believes in empowering all young people to express themselves authentically. She is thrilled to be working with the dedicated teachers and talented students at The Lawton Academy!
Zavie is a NY-based Composer, Performer, and Music Director born and raised in the mountain town of Elko, Nevada. They recently received their BFA in Musical Theatre with a Minor in Music from LIU Post and graduated Summa Cum Laude.
Recent projects include Music Directing ‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ at Post Theatre Company, dancing in the piece ‘Water Like This, Water Like That’ for the “Take Root” dance series at Greens Space LIC, performing in the Gold Coast Dance Festival, dancing in Continuum at Teatro LATEA, and singing in the MxCast Cabaret at Green Room 42. As a composer, they have frequently collaborated on new works and were involved in composing musical scores for two world-premiere plays while simultaneously producing and releasing independent music projects.
As both an artist and educator, Zavie is fiercely goal-driven and works with meticulous specificity while always striving to create a welcoming and inclusive environment. When not performing, they love to thrift new fits, lounge around the nearest local coffee shop, and listen to multi-hour long video essays on niche topics. To see what else they’re up to, visit them at zavie.net
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