State University of New York at Purchase

Chris Wedge is an American film director of animation, best known for the films Ice Age and Robots. Wedge was born in Binghamton, New York. He... attended Fayetteville-Manlius High School, graduating in 1975. He received his BFA in Film from State University of New York at Purchase in Purchase, New York in 1981, and subsequently earned his MA in computer graphics and art education at the Ohio State University. He has taught animation at the School of Visual Arts in New York City where he met his future film directing partner, Carlos Saldanha. Wedge is co-founder and Vice President of Creative Development at Blue Sky Studios, one of the premier computer animation studios and producer of Wedge's films. He is the owner of WedgeWorks, a film production company founded by Wedge. In 1982, Wedge worked for MAGI/SynthaVision, where he was a principal animator on the Disney film Tron, credited as a scene programmer. Some of his other works include Where the Wild Things Are , Dinosaur Bob, George Shrinks, and Santa Calls. In 1998, he won an Academy Award for the short animated film, Bunny.
more

Kirk Acevedo is an American actor. He is primarily known for his portrayals of Miguel Alvarez in the HBO series Oz, Joe Toye in Band of Brothers and... FBI Agent Charlie Francis in the science-fiction series Fringe. Acevedo's parents were both born in New York City, and lived in Brooklyn where both their sons, Richard and Kirk Acevedo, were born. The Acevedos moved to the Bronx, where Kirk and his brother were raised. Since childhood, Acevedo has shown an interest in acting; he performed before his family in improvised shows. Acevedo was a drama major in high school. He is of Puerto Rican and Chinese descent. After graduating from LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, Acevedo enrolled in the SUNY Purchase School of Acting . In the 1990s, Acevedo earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and, as some of his classmates had landed parts shortly after auditioning for Oz, he was also motivated to try out, and subsequently landed the role of the half-crazed gang leader prisoner Miguel Alvarez. Acevedo appeared in the following episodes: 1–26; 34–36 and 41–56.
more

Irving Rameses "Ving" Rhames is an American actor best known for his work in Bringing Out the Dead, Pulp Fiction, Baby Boy, Don King: Only in... America, Dawn of the Dead, and the Mission: Impossible film series, and the Syfy movie 2012 Zombie Apocalypse. Rhames was born in New York City, New York, the son of Reather, a homemaker, and Ernest Rhames, an auto mechanic. His parents were raised as sharecroppers in South Carolina. Named after the late NBC journalist, Irving R. Levine, Irving Rhames grew up in Harlem. He entered New York's High School of Performing Arts, where he discovered his love of acting. After high school, he studied drama at SUNY Purchase, where fellow acting student Stanley Tucci gave him his nickname "Ving". Rhames later transferred to the Juilliard School's Drama Division where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1983. Rhames first appeared on Broadway in the play The Winter Boys in 1984. Ving continued his rise to fame through his work in soap operas. He found work as a supporting actor, and came to the attention of the general public by playing the role of Marsellus Wallace in Pulp Fiction .
more

Sherry Lea Stringfield is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of Dr. Susan Lewis on the medical television drama ER, a role... for which she received three Emmy Award nominations. Stringfield was a member of ER's original cast, but she quit the show during its third season, despite being contractually tied to appear in five. She returned to the role in 2001, but quit once again in 2005. She is also known for her regular roles on NYPD Blue and Guiding Light. She has acted mainly on television, but she has also played various parts in films. The eldest of three children, Stringfield was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Her family briefly relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico, before settling in Spring, Texas, a sister community of Houston, where Stringfield grew up. She developed a penchant for acting while attending Klein High School, where she starred in various musicals and plays including Oklahoma, Mother Courage, and Fiddler on the Roof. At 18 she attended the Acting Conservatory of SUNY at Purchase — rooming with fellow actress and student Parker Posey.
more