Amanda Whiteley is a New York based actor, director and photographer.
She grew up in New Jersey where she attended the performing arts high school, Bergen County Academies. After that, she obtained a BA in Theatre from Middlebury College (Class of 2019) and continued conservatory training with RADA, MFI and NYU Stonestreet.
Post-grad, she began her work as a newborn photographer for Bella Baby Photography. (Yes that's a job!) She photographs babies and their families at Lenox Hill Hospital and NYU Langone. And after capturing their first moments together, she promptly bolts to her second commitment of the day, a rehearsal for her theatre company, Spokehouse Productions.
The thought of founding and running a theatre company had not occurred to Amanda before she directed her production of Romeo and Juliet this past summer. There was no budget and no theatre; not a single one had reopened since COVID. But after ringing every doorbell, church, garden, crypt, parking garage, cemetery and circus in the five boroughs, the stars aligned. She and her cast were invited to perform at the House of The Redeemer, a converted Vanderbilt mansion on 95th st. They sold out every performance of their extended run and the rest is history. Amanda founded Spokehouse, a site-specific theatre dedicated to bringing theatre experiences to unconventional spaces.
Since the company's founding in August, she and executive producers Marissa Ferrara and Joey Nasta have not slowed down. They produced another sold out production at the House of the Redeemer this November. It was play called Hamlet, conceptually placed in Eastern Europe during the Cold War and physically placed in the house library. They closed their 2021 season on December 13th with a Holiday Concert of contemporary musical numbers and are gearing up for 2022.
In addition to Spokehouse, Amanda cohosts a podcast, Coaching Shakespeare, with her lifelong mentor, Victoria Pero. The podcast is aimed at giving new actors tools for tackling classical texts so they can enjoy the benefits of the bard with less trepidation. On the pod and in her rehearsal space, Amanda leads with play and curiosity. She likes to sing, do yoga, run and dance at 80s themed bars because this allows her to lead her life with less trepidation.
