Deb Jackel (she/her) has been on faculty at The William Esper Studio since 2000, where she has taught Meisner-based acting technique, Audition Technique, and Cold Reading, and, in 2025, co-created the Studio’s Career Launch Program.
Winner of the Backstage Readers' Choice Awards for both "Favorite Audition Technique Teacher" and "Favorite Cold Reading Teacher," Deb brings extensive experience with the business of acting to her teaching. Prior to going to train as a teacher with William Esper, Deb spent years in the New York talent agency world, representing actors at agencies including Don Buchwald and Associates, Ambrosio/Mortimer and Associates, and A3 Artists Agency. She was also a manager at her own boutique management company, Jackel Talent Management. In her many years working on both sides of the business, Deb observed the most common roadblocks to successful auditions and has since used her knowledge to empower actors.
In 2025, the Studio inaugurated its Career Launch Program. Deb was inspired to co-create Launch at Esper as a result of her robust knowledge of and relationship to the entertainment industry and passion for helping actors transition from the classroom to acting and auditioning in the “real world.” She recognized the importance of Esper graduates understanding the business of acting just as strongly as they do the craft. This six month program for graduates of the Studio’s two-year Meisner training program emphasizes the cultivation of industry-specific skills and relationships and supports actors in developing the tools and knowledge needed to enter the profession. Within the program, Deb serves as Artistic Advisor to the actors, preparing them for their culminating Industry Presentation, liaising between the Studio, program participants, and industry professionals. Within the Launch program, Deb also teaches “Acting for Auditions and Industry Readiness.”
Deb is an expert in helping actors cultivate and protect their passion, vulnerability and uniqueness during the often misunderstood, stress-inducing audition process. She coaches actors privately on audition material and technique, and also leverages her experience to serve as a career consultant for emerging actors who wish to better understand the business of acting.
At the university level, Deb worked in the BFA Acting program at her alma mater Rutgers’ Mason Gross School of the Arts, where she taught first year Mesiner technique, Advanced Meisner Fundamentals, Scene Study and Meisner based, Audition Technique. She also co-directed and produced the graduating actor showcase, and served as an artistic advisor, guiding the graduates as they transitioned into the industry.
Education: BFA Acting, Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts; Meisner Teacher Training, William Esper