Michael DeFilippis he/him

Michael DeFilippis is the Co-founder and Artistic Director of New American Ensemble, where he’s directed John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi, Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov & now Chekhov’s Ivanov. He received his degree in acting from The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art; while there, he spent two years in apprenticeship to British director and pedagogue James Kemp, training in the lineage of the Yat Malmgren Character Analysis work, developed out of Laban movement theory. DeFilippis has studied directing under John Gould-Rubin - founding member of Labyrinth Theater Company, is an alumnus of the directing track at the National Theatre Institute and the LaMama Umbria International Director’s Symposium. In 2025 Michael became the first American director to ever be invited by Lev Dodin to observe the rehearsal process of the legendary Maly Drama Theater of St. Petersburg, Russia. He currently serves on the directing faculty of the National Theatre Institute and privately teaches both acting and directing in NYC.