Rex Knowles and Sherry Landrum head the Professional Actor Training Program at Chattanooga State, a two-year program modeled after the New Actors Workshop (NYC) founded by George Morrison, Mike Nichols, and Paul Sills, where for 10 years they taught improvisation and acting. Their improv classes were recommended in the book "Your Film Acting Career." Garry Shandling said of their classes, "Everything I ever said was conceived in Rex and Sherry's improv class." Sherry has won two "Best Director" awards from the L.A. Drama Critics and directed the premieres of Del Shores' "Cheatin'" and "Daddy's Dyin': Who's Got the Will?" Rex’s productions have won numerous L.A. Drama Critics’ awards. He has twice won the Grand Prize of the Festival of New Plays at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre for his plays "Old Ties" (2017) and "The Night Reginald Filbert Called it Quits" (2006). He serves on the Board of SETC and TTA. Rex and Sherry are proud members of SAG-AFTRA, AEA, and the Dramatists Guild.