About this Artist

BELLA MERLIN is an actor, writer, and professor of acting and directing in the department of Theater, Film, and Digital Production at the University of California, Riverside. Her theater credits include Nerissa in The Merchant of Venice (directed by Tina Packer) and Queen Margaret in Worse Than Wolves (directed by Gwendolyn Schwinke) at Shakespeare & Company. Her film and television credits include Jenny in Alejandro Ramirez’s award-winning feature Mente Revolver (release 2018), and her directing credits include Bluebeard’s Castle (UCD) and Stop Kiss and Mrs. Packard (UCR).

Her book publications include Facing the Fear: An Actor’s Guide to Overcoming Stage Fright (Nick Hern Books, 2016) and Beyond Stanislavsky: The Psycho-Physical Approach to Actor Training (Nick Hern Books, 2001). Her musical compositions include original albums The Shadow of Goodbye (2001), Barefoot and Guitars (2008) and Scenes through the Tenement Windows (2012), and production numbers for Tartuffe, Measure for Measure, The Merchant of Venice, The Grapes of Wrath, and Treasure Island.

She has a Ph.D. from the University of Birmingham, UK, is Visiting Professor at Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance, UK, as well as being the proud sister to conductor Jonathan Nott and prouder wife of actor Miles Anderson.