Biography
Susan Giosa is an acclaimed stage actress who began her career as Sue Giosa but has been credited as Susan Giosa since 1992. She is married to comedian Glenn Hirsch and they have a daughter named Zoe. Based in Los Angeles, Ms. Giosa is also a distinguished acting teacher and coach, having trained extensively under the renowned Larry Moss. Born in Connecticut on November 23, 1963, she was raised in New York from the age of two. Inspired early on by her mother, an actress trained at The Actor's Studio with Lee Strasberg, Susan developed a passion for acting and the arts. She started classical music training at eight, initially pursued a music major in college, but soon shifted her focus to acting and theater. Susan graduated Magna Cum Laude from Queens College, City University of New York, earning a Drama/Theater degree with a Dance minor.
She continued her studies by obtaining a Master’s Degree in Drama-Theatre from the same institution, completing much of her graduate work in England at London’s prestigious RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts) and LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts). While in the UK, she performed at the renowned Edinburgh International Festival. Her graduate advisor was the late Bertram Joseph, an expert on Shakespeare. Susan’s thesis, titled "Maureen Stapleton, The Life of an Actress," was based on interviews with the legendary stage and film actress.
After her thesis, Susan studied at the Warren Robertson Actor's Workshop in New York City with Larry Moss. When she and her husband moved to Los Angeles, she was delighted that Moss relocated to Santa Monica as well. As she continued training with her mentor, her professional career gained momentum.
Within a month of relocating to Los Angeles, she was cast as Emilia the Maid in "Tamara," which became the city’s longest-running play. Her performance earned her both the LA Drama Critics Circle Award and the Drama-Logue Award. This marked the start of a diverse and fulfilling career. Her television debut was on St. Elsewhere, followed by multiple roles in Steven Bochco’s productions, including Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, and NYPD Blue.
Susan’s true passion remains the stage, especially originating roles. She worked with Tony Award-winning director Jack O’Brien to create the role of Angie in Tom Dulack’s comedy "Breaking Legs" at the Old Globe Theatre. For this role, she received the San Diego Theatre Critics Award and reprised it at the Berkshire Theatre Festival and in New York City opposite Vincent Gardinia and Philip Bosco under director John Tillinger. She was nominated for the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Debut of an Actress in a Comedy in 1993.
Her extensive stage credits include starring as Bella opposite Mercedes McCambridge in the First National Tour of Neil Simon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning "Lost in Yonkers," and performing alongside Burt Young in "A View from the Bridge," for which she won a Drama-Logue Award. Other roles span performances at the Ensemble Studio Theatre (where she was a member for three years), as well as at Italian-American and Spanish-American theaters in New York City. Her roles ranged from Joan in "Sexual Perversity in Chicago" to original works like Jane Anderson’s "The Mud Club," classical parts such as Cleopatra in "Anthony and Cleopatra," and the female lead in Pirandello’s "Cece." She starred in the West Coast premiere of "The Sweepers" at the International City Theatre in Long Beach, which received rave reviews and was named a LA Times Critic’s Choice. StageLA.com honored her as Best Actress in a Drama for her role as Bella. She also originated four characters in Hugh Gross’s comedy "Stated Income" at Los Angeles’ Pan Andreas Theater. In 2013, Susan appeared in the world premiere of Jane Press’s play "My Mother's Keeper/A Memory Play" at Venice’s Electric Lodge Theater, portraying Della Press, based on theater actress Thelma Colodny, earning critical acclaim.
Susan has appeared in over 30 television shows and films, including Beverly Hills 90210, Cold Case, Reasonable Doubts, Equal Justice, and recurring roles on Head of the Class, Paper Dolls, and Baby Talk, alongside multiple appearances on NYPD Blue. Her pilot credits include "Married to the Mob" and "Kelley, Kelley" with Shelley Long. She worked with Joanne Woodward in the Emmy-winning TV movie "Do You Remember Love?". Film roles include "True Friends" (HBO), "White Palace," "The First Power," "Once in a Blue Moon" (Showtime), and a starring role in the sci-fi film "America 3000." She played Ms. Thompson in "After the Wizard," a feature film available on Amazon and Redbox that won the International Family Film Critic’s Award. Susan recently completed filming a supporting role as Sandy Rothman in the comedy feature "Tell Me I Love You," set for release in 2019.
A versatile performer, Susan is also a professional dancer. Her first film credit was "Saturday Night Fever," where she danced alongside John Travolta after auditioning for choreographer Lester Wilson while still in school. She performed a solo as the "Mother" in Ray Bradbury’s "Frost and Fire," adapted for the stage by choreographer Zina Bethune. Recent TV dance credits include a national Dodge commercial with Will Ferrell and appearances in the series Glow, Life in Pieces, Switched at Birth, and Major Crimes. Susan co-writes with her husband Glenn Hirsch; together they have developed series for HBO and Showtime and produced the CBS special "Comedy Club Superstars," featuring Jerry Seinfeld, Paul Reiser, and Tim Allen.
Currently, Susan Giosa is working on her first acting book titled "Freeing Your Emotional Core," which presents her unique warm-up techniques, emotional exercises, script analysis, and acting approach.
