Peter Jay Fernandez taught in the graduate theatre program in the College of Performing Arts at The New School from 2011–2019, where he served as co-head of Acting from 2017-2019. He has also taught at Yale School of Drama, Sarah Lawrence College, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, the Black Arts Institute, the Brown University/Trinity Repertory MFA Program, and the Berklee College of Music. He is a teacher and mentor of established actors and acting faculty from graduate and undergraduate programs across the country who participate in the Actors’ Center Teaching Development Program in New York City.
Fernandez’s acting career spans decades, with roles on and off-Broadway, in regional theater, and in film and television. He was most recently featured on Broadway in?All The Way?portraying Roy Wilkins, Shoeshiner, and Aaron Henry. He originated the role of Caesar in August Wilson’s?Gem of the Ocean?at the Goodman Theater, the role of Curtis Lowe in the premiere of Ben Bettenbender's?Bliss?at the Rattlestick Theatre Company, and the role of ‘the Oldest Old Man’ in?Father Comes Home from the Wars, by Suzan Lori Parks, at the Public Theater. Other work in New York includes:?Thunder Knocking On the Door?at the Minetta Lane (Audelco Award, Helen Hayes Nomination); George C. Wolfe's?Jelly's Last Jamat?at the Virginia Theatre;?The Merchant of Venice?starring Dustin Hoffman, directed by Sir Peter Hall at the Richard Rodgers;?Julius Caesar,?The Winter's Tale,?As You Like It,?Henry Vlll,?Spell #7, and more at Public/Delacorte Theatres;?Once Around the City?at Second Stage;?Phaedra in Delirium?at Classic Stage;?Checkmates?and?Red Speedo?at the New Federal;?Flyin' West?at BAM/Majestic;?The Tooth of Crime?and?Angel City?at La Mama; and?The Pain and the Itch?at Playwright's Horizons. He has acted regionally at Long Wharf, McCarter, Hartford Stage, Seattle Rep, ACT (Seattle), Milwaukee Rep, Arena Stage, Alliance, Cincinnati Rep, Old Globe, Cleveland Playhouse and Intiman theaters, among others. Fernandez’s television and film credits include?Luke Cage,?Brawl in Cell Block 99,?Blacklist: The Redemption,?Shades of Blue,?Gotham,?Elementary,?The Good Wife,?Law & Order,?Law & Order: Criminal Intent,?Damages,?Cosby,?NY Undercover,?The Prosecutors,?Funny Valentines, and?The Egoists, among others.
Film
This Is Who We Are: Peter Jay Fernandez
This Is Who We Are is a series featuring Columbia School of the Arts’ professors, covering careers, pedagogy, and art-making during a pandemic.
Co-Concentration Head, Acting
Assistant Professor, Theatre