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EDUCATION

MFA, New York University

 

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Musical theatre, performance, directing, lyric writing, libretto writing, composition, digital arts, music theory, musical theatre history.

 

COURSES

THTR 1150 Introduction to Theatre
THTR 2681 Acting I
THTR 2682 Acting II
GAH 2272 Lyric Writing for Song and Stage
GAH 2288 Broadway Bound: Musical Theatre

BIOGRAPHY

Aaron is an Associate Professor of Theatre/Directing. Having served on the faculty at SUNY Buffalo State and Quinnipiac University, Aaron has maintained an active career in the arts and entertainment industry—appearing in over a dozen national commercials, recording voiceover narrations for books and films, and appearing in TV shows on NBC and HBO. Off-Off-Broadway: The Prelude Festival: ...And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi and We Are Proud to Present...; New Dramatist: DJ & Jess and Sistah’s: A Love Story w/ Aja Naomi King. Regional Theatre: Yale Repertory Theatre: Death of Salesman w/ Charles S. Dutton & Stephen McKinley Henderson, A Woman of No Importance, Richard II, w/ Jeffery Carlson; Illinois Shakespeare Festival: Taming of the Shrew, Titus Andronicus, A Midsummer Night's Dream; Elm Shakespeare Company: Twelfth Night, Measure for Measure, Macbeth w/ Alvin Epstein, and The Winter’s Tale—for which he won a Connecticut Critics Circle Award for Best Debut Performance; The Christians at Road Less Travelled Productions (Artie Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama) Dancing in the Dark (world-premiere); Kavinoky Theatre: City of Conversation; Buffalo Laboratory Theatre: Wonder of the World. Film/TV: The First Purge (Universal Pictures), American Hustle (Columbia Pictures; Golden Globe winner for Best Movie, 10 Academy Award nominations), and Why I Murdered My Roommate (Amazon).

Aaron has performed narrations with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (Peter & The Wolf, Peter Pan, Carnival of the Animals, and T’was The Night Before Christmas). Aaron has directed at the Paul Robeson Theatre (Detroit ’67, Blood at the Root), Against the Grain Theater Festival (Night with the Dream Keeper), Elm Shakespeare Company (Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing), and was the voice of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre's 2016-2017 season's TV ads "Now more than ever!"

Recently, Aaron directed and produced the series pilot "Teaching While Black" for which he won Best Director Awards and Best TV Pilot Awards. His first feature-film screenplay, "Good Medicine," received recognition at several international film festivals. 

 

EDUCATION

M.F.A., Acting, Yale School of Drama

 

AWARDS

Good Medicine
World Film Festival in Cannes (France) 2025
Best Biographical Script - Winner
Best 1st Time Screenwriter - Feature - Winner

New York Screenwriting Awards (NY) 2025
Feature Screenplay/Drama - Honorable Mention

Best Script Awards (London) 2025
Drama Screenplay - Semi-Finalist

International Indie Film & Screenplay Festival (Paris) 2025
Best Screenplay Feature Film - Semi-Finalist

New York International Screenplay Awards(NY) 2025
Feature Screenplay - Quarter-Finalist

Teaching While Black
Breaking TV Film Festival (UK), 2025
Best Male Director - Nominee

International Independent Film Awards (LA) 2023
Best Director Award - Winner

Global Film Festival Awards (LA) 2024
Best First-Time Director Award - Winner
Best Series Pilot Award - Winner

World Film Festival in Cannes (France) 2024
Best Director – TV Series Award - Winner

FILMTEENTH International Film Festival (MD) 2023
Best TV Series Award - Winner

Black & Diversity International Film Festival (Toronto) 2023
Best TV Series Award - Winner

Women’s Independent Film & Television Festival (Boston) 2023
Best New Media Series Award - Winner

Black Writers Weekend Festival (Atlanta) 2024
Best Feature FilmAward - Winner

So You Think You Can Direct/Act (DE) 2023
Best Director Award - Winner

International New York Film Festival (NY) 2023
Best TV Series - nominee

MAGMA International Film Festival (Madrid) 2023
Best Director- nominee
Best Directing Debut- nominee
Best Screenplay- nominee
Best Drama - nominee

Cinesis Independent FilmFest (NJ) 2023
Best Pilot Episode - Winner

FilmHaus International Film Festival (Berlin) 2023
Best Directing- nominee
Best Directorial Debut- nominee
Best Screenplay - nominee

New York International Film Awards (NY) 2023
Best Series Pilot - finalist

Beyond Hollywood International Film Festival (LA) 2023
Best Series Pilot - finalist
Official Selection

WNED/WBFO ArtVoice Awards (NY)  2018
Outstanding Supporting Actor (The Christians) - nominee

Connecticut Critics Circle Award (CT) 2011
Best Debut Performance Award - Winner (The Winter’s Tale)

 

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Acting, directing, performance theory, dramatic theory, television and film.

 

COURSES

THTR 2320 Directing for the Stage & Screen
THTR 2681 Acting Fundamentals
THTR 3683 Acting for Screen & Shakespeare
THTR Creative Project Development (I-IV)
GAH 2246 Introduction to Acting
GAH 1282 Survey of Theatre

 

PERFORMANCES AND DIRECTED WORKS

Teaching While Black (tv pilot). Directed by Aaron Moss, created by Donnetrice Allison and Aaron Moss, 2022.

Screenings:
Beyond Hollywood International Film Festival, Los Angeles, CA, April 21, 2023
Big Apple Film Festival, Manhattan, NY, May 19, 2023
Filmteenth International Film Festival, Bethesda, MD, June 18, 2023
International New York Film Festival, Jamestown, NY, June 30, 2023
National Black Film Festival, Dallas, TX, June 7-10, 2023
First-Time Filmmakers Session by Pinewood Studios, England, UK, April 10-22, 2023
Premiered February 2, 2025 on YouTube:
Trailer:

Mixed Up. Airing on Amazon and Video-On-Demand. Story by Malikah Stafford, directed and produced by Aaron Moss. 2020.

Why I Murdered My Roommate: Remix—On The Run (Season 1, Episode 7 & 8). Performed by Aaron Moss, Tilke Hill, Tate Ammons, Nicole Dionne. Vimeo/Video-On-Demand. 2019.

William Mattar Law (tv commercial). Airing in New York. December 3, 2019.

Meet the Unexpected Buffalo (tv commercial). Airing on local U.S. and Canadian television markets. April 22, 2019.

Crown Vic. Produced by Alec Baldwin. Perf. Thomas Jane, Bridget Moynahan, Josh Hopkins, and Aaron Moss. Tribeca International Film Festival, NY. April 26, 2019.

Tops Grocery Store (tv commercial). Aired on CBS. WIVB, Buffalo, NY. 2019.

Moss, Aaron, perf. The First Purge. Dir. Gerard McMurray. Perf. Y’lan Noel, Lex Scott Davis, Jovian Wade. Universal Pictures, 2018.

The Christians. By Lucas Hnath, directed by Scott Behrend, performances by Aaron Moss (as Associate Pastor), Dave Hayes, and Lisa Vitrano, Road Less Travelled Productions, April 19-May 20, 2018, Buffalo, NY. Award: Artie Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama and Outstanding Production of a Play

Moss, Aaron, perf. The Greenfields Advertisement. Airing on CBS. WIVB, Buffalo, NY. 2018.

Moss, Aaron, perf. Heritage Moments Series: W.E.B. DuBois’ The Niagara Movement Manifesto. Dir. Jeff Klein. National Public Radio. Feb. 2018.  

Moss, Aaron, director. Blood at the Root. By Dominique Morisseau, performances by Kayla Bennett, Andy Noel, Azarias Soto, Kelsey Jeffs, Eliza Zanoli-Styles, and Mark Bogumil, Paul Robeson Theatre, October 13-29, 2017, Buffalo, NY.

Moss, Aaron, perf. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. CBS. New York, Dec. 2016.

Wonder of the World. By David Lindsay-Abaire, directed by Taylor Doherty, performances by Aaron Moss (as Captain Mike) and Anne Boucher, Buffalo Laboratory Theatre, 15 Sept.-2 Oct., 2016, Shea’s 710 Theatre, Buffalo, NY.

Moss, Aaron, perf. Buffalo Niagara Medical Center Advertisement. Prod. Pagent Films. Online, 2016.

Moss, Aaron, director. A Night with the Dream Keeper. By Austin Lamewona, performances by Roosevelt Tidwell, Drayson Colbert, and Kai B. Lewis, Against the Grain Theatre Festival, 18 August Buffalo, NY.

Moss, Aaron, perf. Through These Gates: Buffalo’s First African-American Architect, John E. Brent. Dir. Sandy White. Mustard Seed World Productions. DVD. 2016.

Peter & The Wolf. By Sergei Prokofiev, conducted by Stefan Sanders, performances by Aaron Moss and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, 17 April 2016. Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, NY.

Moss, Aaron, director. Detroit ’67. By Dominique Morisseau, performances by Gary-Kai Fletcher, Candice Whitfield, Annette Christian. Paul Robeson Theatre, 14-29 May, 2015, Buffalo, NY. (Awards: Katherine Cornel Award for Excellence by Lead Actor, Art Voice nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play.)

City of Conversation. By Anthony Giardina, directed by Robert Waterhouse, performances by Adrianno Gatto, Kristin Tripp Kelley, Debbie Pappas Sham, Steve Jackiel, and Aaron Moss (Donald Logan), Kavinoky Theatre, February-March, 2016, Buffalo, NY. (Art Voice Award nomination for best production)

Moss, Aaron, actor (Duke Orsino). Twelfth Night. By William Shakespeare, directed by James Andreassi, performances by Andrea Goldman, Paula Plum, and ?, Elm Shakespeare Company, 16 Aug.-5 Sept., 2015, New Haven, CT.

Carnival of the Animals. By Camille Saint-Saens, conducted by Stefan Sanders, performances by Aaron Moss and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, 3 May 2015. Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, NY.

Moss, Aaron, perf. Why I Murdered My Roommate (t.v. pilot). Dir. Michael Pauley. DVD. The New Hotness, 2015.

Peter Pan. By James Newton Howard, conducted by Stefan Sanders, performances by Aaron Moss and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, 3 May 2015. Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, NY.

T’was The Night Before Christmas. By Bob Phillips, conducted by Stefan Sanders, performances by Aaron Moss and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, 6 December 2014. Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, NY.

Moss, Aaron, perf. American Hustle. Dir. David O. Russell. Perf. Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert DiNiro. Columbia Pictures, 2013. (Awards: Golden Globe winner for Best Film; 11 Academy Award Nominations)

Macbeth. By William Shakespeare, directed by Alan Burrows, performances by Aaron Moss (Thane of Ross), Mark Zeisler, Marianna Bassham, and James Andreassi, Elm Shakespeare Company, August-September, 2012, New Haven, CT.

Moment to Moment: Shakespeare’s Recitations. Perf. James Andreassi, Jeremy Funke, Kerry Tartar, Aaron Moss. DVD.  Yale Center for British Art, 2012.

Measure for Measure. By William Shakespeare, directed by James Andreassi, performances by Aaron Moss (Lucio), Eric Martin Brown, Mark Zeisler, and Sarah Grace Brown, Elm Shakespeare Company, August-September 2011, New Haven, CT.

We Are Proud to Present… By Jackie Drury-Sibblings, directed by Eric Ting, performances by Aaron Moss, and others. Prelude Festival, 2011, CUNY, New York.

Jess & DJ: A Baby Mamma Dramedy. By Natali Naman, directed by Jessi Hill, performances by Aaron Moss and Celestine Rae, New Dramatists, April 2011, New York.

Le Costume (workshop). By Peter Brook, directed and produced by Peter Brook, Marie- Hélène Estienne and Tarell Alvin-McCraney, performances by Aaron Moss (Husband) and Keith Eric Chappelle, New York University, 2011, New York.  

The Winter’s Tale. By William Shakespeare, directed by James Andreassi, performances by Aaron Moss (Autolycus), Nadia Bowers, and Mark Zeisler, Elm Shakespeare Company, Aug-Sept 2010, New Haven, CT. (Connecticut Critics Circle Award—Best Debut Performance, Aaron Moss)


And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi. By Marcus Gardley, directed by Tea Aleric, performances by Aja Naomi King, Stanley Wayn-Matthis, and Aaron Moss (Per Brae), Prelude Festival, CUNY, 2010, New York.

Sistahs: A Love Story. By Harrison David Rivers, directed by Tea Alergic, performances by Aja Naomi King and Aaron Moss, New Dramatists, 2010, New York.

Death of a Salesman. By Arthur Miller, directed by James Bundy, performances by Charles S. Dutton, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Ato Essandoh, Kimberly Scott, Aja Naomi King, Stanley Wayne Mathis, Billy Eugene Jones, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, and Aaron Moss, Yale Repertory Theatre, May 2009, New Haven, CT.

Taming of the Shrew. By William Shakespeare, directed by Catherine Weidner, performances by Aaron Moss (Hortensio), Daniel Harray, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, June-August, 2008, Bloomington, IL.

Midsummer Night’s Dream. By William Shakespeare, directed by Robert Quinlan, performances by Aaron Moss (Oberon/Theseus) and Magdalyn Donnelly, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, June-August, 2008, Bloomington, IL.

Titus Andronicus. By William Shakespeare, directed by Catherine Weidner, performances by Robert Ramirez, Robert Anderson, and Aaron Moss (Publius), Illinois Shakespeare Festival, June-August, 2008, Bloomington, IL.

A Woman of No Importance. By Oscar Wilde, directed by James Bundy, performances by Bryce Pinkham, Felicity Jones, and Aaron Moss (Mr. Kelvil), Yale Repertory Theatre, May 2008, New Haven, CT.

 

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild)
AEA (Actors Equity Association)
SDG (Society of Stage Directors & Choreographers)

BIOGRAPHY

Donald Swenson, Technical Coordinator, is a graduate of Hofstra University, where he earned his BA in Theatre. Since 1998, Don has built a dynamic career in scenic design and theatrical management, contributing his talents to a wide range of productions across the region.

His theatrical work has earned him four NJACT Award nominations in Lighting Design, Direction, and Sound Design, including a win for Outstanding Sound Design for his work on Shakespeare’s As You Like It. Don has also served as Art Director on several independent films, including Ro & The Stardust, Deb & Joan, Down Jersey, and Ol' Blue Eyes.

In addition to his work in theater, Donald is an accomplished illustrator based in New Jersey, known for his imaginative and richly detailed work across children’s books, cover art, and graphic novels. His portfolio includes illustrations for The Doll: A Magical Christmas, Flopsy Meets Captain Buckethead by Rob Kristie, Grabby the Crabby by Lena Pennino-Smith, cover art for Stories from a Strange Place and My Uncanny Summer by Michael Rizzotte, pencil work for issue zero of Dances in Exile by Delfino Falciani, and album art for New Type Destroyer by Meteor Police.

Donald is also the President and Founder of Art Club Hammonton, an organization that brings the arts to life through dynamic, event-based programming. The organization produces several major events annually, including the Hammonton Arts and Music Festival and Hamm-O-Ween.