17³Ô¹ÏÍø believes in small-group, immersive learning with subject matter experts and experienced teachers. We strive to provide industry-leading instruction to all of our students and hold all staff to the highest possible standards. Staff assignments vary by program and location. Some of our recent staff members for this program include:
Luis Cardenas, MA - Instructor
Cardenas began his career in New York City with master acting teacher, Tony Greco who has trained David Harbour, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Taraji P. Henson and so many other successful actors.
After teaching in New York at Stuyvesant High School, Bronx High School of Science and Democracy Prep Public Schools he founded Open Hydrant Theater Company in New York City where he has directed and developed hundreds of projects for local diverse youth. He is also the Co-Artistic Director. At OH he has directedFootloose The Musical, Rent, In the Heights, Hairspray, High School Musical, Our Lady of 121 Street, In Arabia We’d All Be Kings, Durang, Durang, Big River, Hair, Aida, West Side Story.
Cardenas has coached and mentored numerous youth who have been seen on TV, Film, and Broadway. Including-MJ The Musical, Kinky Boots, The Lion King, Single Parents, Eureka, Showing Up, Blue Bloods, The Last OG, Power, Power II, Power III Raising Kanan, American Sports Story, American Horror Story, FBI, Law and Order SVU, Billions, Modern Love, East New York, Somewhere in Queens, That Damn Michael Che, The Good Fight, And Just Like That, The Equalizer, It’s Bruno, Simone, Gilmore Girls, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Judging Amy, Boston Public, Calendar Girls, Remember the Titans, Why do Fools Fall in Love, JAG, Nikki, The Steve Harvey Show, Sister, Sister, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Family Matters, The Parent Hood, My So-Called Life,
He has directed and acted off-Broadway:Future Fest @ 54 Below(7 Seasons)Raft of the Medusa,by Joe Pintauro,Fools in Loveby Sarah Rosenberg (NY Times Critic Pick) @ BAM,The Shadow Boxby Michael Cristofer. Balm in Gileadby Lanford Wilson.Haunted Hollioff Hildorf Hotel and Shadow’s Unicycle@ NY International Fringe Festival.Tempest Toss’d@ NY Musical Theatre Festival.
Cardenas is the resident playwright and proud member of Open Hydrant Theater Company, the first Equity theater ensemble in the Bronx. His plays have been performed around the country. Last Exit in New York, Visa Decline, Play the Papers for Lupe and Place of Assembly were all produced by Open Hydrant. His screenplay Ain't Gonna Be Ez is currently being filmed and will be followed by Boys Like Me. He is a proud member of The Puerto Rican Playwrights Unit and is the Playwright Workshop Leader at Bronx Loaf, a yearly conference for young writers in the Bronx.
His work can be se