User:Gillian Farrell

Gillian Farrell is an actor, director and teacher. She has performed both classic and original plays in New York, Los Angeles, Edinburgh and Oxford, England. She continues to act in and direct plays by Samuel Beckett and other notable playwrights.

After a trip around the world, seeing theater from Paris’ Comedie Francaise to the Japanese National Noh Theater and everything in between she moved from Los Angeles to New York. There she began a theater company in the historic Byrdcliffe Arts Colony in Woodstock and inspired by the local legend, Sojourner Truth, abolitionist and freed slave, Gillian wrote and directed three plays. “THE TRIALS OF SOJOURNER TRUTH” made use of Sojourner’s own words and court transcripts bringing this piece of history to life with a cast of 33. It was performed around upstate New York for years.

She started the Artist in Residence program at SUNY Ulster, Stone Ridge currently in its’ 20th year. There she brought together the talented and committed artists in the area to the college and clarifying what the arts are about and what it means to pursue an artistic career.

With the rise of video she began to make short, socially motivated films culminating in 13 episodes of ‘In Your Face” on Free Speech TV. She directed and produced a documentary "9 Pianos", about a man from Ulster County who brought pianos to New Orleans after Katrina and gave them away for free. It was shown at the Woodstock Film Festival.

While acting in New York, Gillian worked as a Private Investigator on some of the city’s most high profile cases including Bernie Getz, the subway avenger, and the Preppie Murderer. She authored two novels with her husband, Larry Beinhart: ALIBI FOR AN ACTRESS and MURDER AND A MUSE/Simon & Schuster, using the material about this time of her life being an actress/detective in New York City.

Gillian has been a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) for foster children in Ulster County, NY.

She is a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild, Actor’s Equity and the Mystery Writers of America. as well as a licensed Private Investigator.