Prof. Bayo Akinfemi 
Founder and Artistic Director 

A two-time Best Actor GEMINI awards nominee for Human Cargo and The Border, Bayo was a series regular for five seasons on a Chuck Lorre sitcom titled Bob Hearts Abishola for CBS / Warner Bros. He also worked as the dialect coach and cultural consultant for the show. His other acting credits include Marvel’s Agents of Shield, Criminal Minds, NCIS LA, Survivor’s Remorse and Bulletproof Monk Bayo is also a director. His credits include episodes of Bob Hearts Abishola, a short film titled Rump and Nollywood feature films Busted Life and Paparazzi: Eye in the Dark.   

 Bayo was born and raised in Nigeria. He obtained a B.A. in Performing Arts from University of Ilorin before moving to Toronto where he studied Film & Television Production and worked for several years as an actor and a director before moving to Los Angeles. He holds a Master’s degree in Cinema and Media Studies from University of Southern California – USC, where he currently works as an Assistant Professor of Practice: Acting & Directing in the Schools of Dramatic and Cinematic Arts.

  Bayo is also an avid theater director with extensive credits. For almost a decade, he served as the resident director for African Theatre Ensemble in Toronto. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of African Theatre Artistes Society (ATARS), Los Angeles, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing a platform of artistic expression to artistes of African descent with the goal of bringing authentic African Theatre to audiences in Los Angeles.