UMass Boston

Acting, Voice & Dialects, Movement

M.F.A. in Acting, Columbia University

B.A. cum laude in English & American Literature – Creative Writing Track, Brandeis University

PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATION:

Covaleski A, Richardson MM, Ernst E, Linshaw C, Kirby P, Vesel T. A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of an Innovative Workshop to Teach Primary Palliative Care Communication Skills to Fourth-Year Medical Students. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®. 2025;0(0). doi: 10.1177/10499091251346479

ABSTRACT:

Covaleski, T. Vesel, M. Richardson, C. Linshaw, P. Kirby, An Innovative Workshop to Teach Primary Palliative Care Skills to Fourth-Year Medical Students, Palliative Medicine, Volume 38, Issue 1 suppl: 2024 EAPC WR Congress, March 2024, Page 140.

As a stage actor, Charles has performed locally at Wellesley Repertory Theatre, where he was a company member, as well as at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, The Lyric Stage Company, Gloucester Stage Company, The Nora Theatre Company, and Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, among others. He was nominated for an IRNE Award in 2015 for his performance in the world premier of Cassie M. Seinuk’s award-winning play, From the Deep, with Boston Public Works. An updated production was subsequently staged at FringeNYC. In New York, Charles was an original company member of Present Tense Theatre Project, and performed in new and/or devised work with Twilight Theatre Company and experimental companies at HERE Arts, PS 122, New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC), Gene Frankel Underground, and the Nut Island Creative Colony on Governors Island.

As a voiceover artist, Charles performed in over a dozen episodes of the PBS documentary series, Frontline, including three Emmy Award winning episodes and two more that were nominated. He is currently an early career audiobook narrator and has worked for companies including Blackstone Publishing, Spotify, and Dreamscape, among others.

For over a decade, Charles has also been a busy Voice & Dialect Coach (over fifty productions) and has worked with numerous theaters including: Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Boston Playwrights’ Theater, Gloucester Stage Company, New Repertory Theatre, and Central Square Theater, as well as many college and university productions.

Charles is also a teaching artist specializing in applied theater techniques to train medical personnel and university faculty in effective communication.  Since 2012, he has collaborated with Dr. Tamara Vesel, currently Chief of the Department of Palliative Care at Tufts Medical Center, on the development and implementation of multidisciplinary pediatric and adult hospice and palliative care curriculums for interdisciplinary health care teams. They have taught many times here in Massachusetts and have traveled across the country to provide intensive workshops in Spokane, WA; and twice each in San Francisco, CA and Anchorage, AK (the second time, to partner with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium). Dr. Vesel’s group is currently teaching the 3^rd year students at Tufts University School of Medicine in a small workshop format, following a successful pilot program teaching 4^th year students in a fully funded, three-year research initiative at TUSM. Their work was shared as a poster presentation in Barcelona in 2024 at the 13th Research Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care, and was subsequently published in June 2025 in the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Charles was also a company member with The Bok Center Players at Harvard, where he participated in dynamic workshops focused on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Higher Education.

Charles directed New Voices, New Stories at UMASS Boston in 2020 and 2022.

Previous faculty appointments include: Boston University CFA, Northeastern University, The Boston Conservatory, Brandeis University, and Lesley University.

Professional Affiliations:

• Actors’ Equity Association (AEA)
• Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA)
• Audio Publishers Association (APA)
• Professional Audiobook Narrators Association (PANA)
• Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA)