URTA is saddened by the passing of illustrious acting teacher William Esper, who served on URTA’s Board of Directors from 1985-1995, including as Vice-President. Esper passed away on Saturday, January 26, 2019.

Esper headed the William Esper Studio in New York and chaired the Theatre Department at Rutgers University. He was an active member of the National Theatre Conference.

Esper’s students include dozens of well-known stars of film and stage, along with hundreds of professional actors working in every region of the country.

“Bill was always very funny and could be very direct,” said his long-time friend and former URTA President Jim O’Connor.

“I recall many years ago, having a callback interview with Bill Esper at the URTA Auditions,” said URTA Executive Director Tony Hagopian, “My pictures and resumes were not stapled together. Bill simply looked at the stack of paper in my hands and said, ‘This will not fly at Rutgers’. It was my first indication of the level of professionalism and seriousness attendant on MFA theatre training, and a valuable life lesson.”

Bill, along with his wife and partner Suzanne, taught workshops in Denmark, Norway, Germany and Russia. His book, “The Actor’s Art and Craft: William Esper Teaches the Meisner Technique”, was co-written with former student Damon DiMarco.