Andrei Malaev-Babel has been selected as director of the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training, the Florida State University College of Fine Arts and School of Theatre announced. Malaev-Babel, an expert on Russian theater and acting techniques and an award-winning director and scholar who served as head of acting at the Conservatory for more than a decade, succeeds Greg Leaming, who recently retired. Malaev-Babel began his tenure on July 1.

The Conservatory, located in Sarasota, is a three-year graduate program culminating in a Master of Fine Arts degree. Only 12 students annually are chosen to participate in the program, which combines rigorous classroom training with guest artist workshops and professional production experience through its partnership with Asolo Repertory Theatre. It has regularly been ranked among the top 10 programs in the United States and the top 25 in the English-speaking world. “Having served as a faculty member at the Conservatory since 2006, Andrei Malaev-Babel is no stranger to FSU, Asolo Rep or the Sarasota community,” said James Frazier, dean of the FSU College of Fine Arts. “He is a true leader in the field of actor training, and we are thrilled to be engaging him in this new role.”

Malaev-Babel continues a distinguished international career, having co-founded and served as artistic director for both the Stanislavsky Theater Studio in Washington, D.C., and the Moscow Chamber Forms Theatre in Russia.