Instructor bios
LERU ADAMS has been a ballet, modern, and flamenco dancer and choreographer for more than 30 years, both locally and in England. She has taught and choreographed for Multnomah Arts Center, PCC, University of Portland, and many others.
ANDRES ALCALA has been working as an actor and director in the Portland area as well as throughout Arizona. He worked for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival as an actor for two years and as an outreach teacher for five years. Most recently he has directed Ramona Quimby, and played Long John Silver in Treasure Island for OCT. He is the Artistic Director of C.I.T.E. producing and performing for Portland area schools.
KAREN ALEXANDER-BROWN began her career as a dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher, traveling the US and the world working for companies such as Disney and NBC Television. With a BA in Teaching Theatre and a Master’s degree in Comparative Literature from the University of Utah, she has taught language and theatre for more than 14 years. Most recently, Karen has been teaching drama in Beaverton School District and dance in Portland Public Schools.
JOHN ARMOUR is an fight director and actor based in Portland. He has choreographed Treasure Island and Cyrano for OCT and taught several classes in stage combat during OCT's summer theatre camp. He teaches and/or choreographs for nearly all local theaters and most colleges, high schools and middle schools in the area.
JASON BAILEY has been a working actor, singer, and teacher all around the country. He toured with Missoula Children’s Theatre as an Actor/Director, spent two years at Chanhassen Dinner Theatre performing Forever Plaid, and has taught private voice lessons.
LESLEY BAILEY began her career working in the halls of MTV, VH1, and Nickelodeon. She began her focus on voiceovers at ICM, one of the largest talent agencies in the country. She was Head of Casting at the award-winning production company McHale Barone, where she cast actors in spots for Pepsi, AT&T, Verizon, Doritos, Mercedes, and many more. Currently, Lesley is an acting coach, a freelance casting director and consultant at many major casting companies and advertising agencies, and works with actors, producers, writers, and directors. She has a portfolio of tools at the ready for fueling up young voices and letting them fly!
DANI BALDWIN is OCT's Education Director, where she also teaches and directs. She appeared in The Boxcar Children at OCT, Business as Usual and Who Stole My Dead Husband? with La Famiglia, 7 Great Loves (Drammy Award) and Devine with Sojourn, and five of the 1940's Christmas from Home productions with Tapestry Theatre, among others. She’s also done make-up design, stage management, set/costume construction.
TOM BECKETT has been acting, directing and teaching theater in Portland for twenty five years. He has trained with Shakespeare and Company, the D'ell Arte School of Physical Theater and the Royal Shakespearean Company. Currently he is the Theater director at Da Vinci Arts Middle School.
DAVID BERKSON has been working professionally with young people for over 15 years. He teaches drama at Portland's Northwest Academy, and has also taught for Portland Actors Conservatory, Profile Theatre Project and Northwest Children's Theatre. David's work with young people includes directing productions of Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, and The Tempest; as well as works by Harold Pinter and Edward Albee. Before moving to Portland, he was Education Director for Marin Shakespeare Company and Camp Director for The San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. As an actor, David appeared as Jerry in Profile Theatre Project's production of The Zoo Story, and was most recently seen in As Is.
STEPHANIE CORDELL has been working as an actor and teaching artist in Portland and throughout the US. She has been fortunate enough to tour nationally, perform at several regional theaters, and teach for such schools as ARS Musica, Youth Performance Company, Stage Coach, and the Russian Academy of Ballet. For OCT she performed in James in the Giant Peach and is currently performing and teaching with the Educational Theatre Program.
SARA CARMONA received her B.A. in theatre from Willamette University. She is an actress who has taught with OCT, as well as with Children’s Educational Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, and has toured internationally.
JENNIFER DARLING received her MA in Theatre Arts in 2001. She’s been teaching, assistant directing, stage managing, and directing for OCT for over 10 years, working on shows such as Treasure Island, Tom Sawyer, and The Boxcar Children. Other credits include working at Back Stage Theatre, Miracle Theatre, and Oregon Ballet Theatre. In graduate school, Jennifer directed The Informer, Graceland, and /Independence/. One of Jennifer's favorite projects with OCT was directing the YP show Cyrano in 2009. Jennifer believes amazing things happen to children who come out of the OCT program and it is a pleasure and honor to work within such a creative community. She would like to thank OCT for all their support and the hard work they do to enrich the lives of children.
MINDY DILLARD earned her BFA in Acting from the University of Utah and then headed up to Oregon to complete an acting apprenticeship with Sojourn Theater. Since moving to Portland in 2006 she has taught with Young Players, OCT, NWCT and Portland Center Stage. Also a certified yoga teacher, musician and singer-songwriter; she teaches yoga, guitar, and ukulele in her own private practice. She performs regionally and nationally with her folk-Americana band Heartroot and her kids' music duo, Snail People. She will complete an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts through Goddard College in 2012. Mindy loves to help kids learn to work together and watch them develop confidence.
GEORGE ELLIOT started acting at age twelve at the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York. He went on to perform in numerous plays Off-Broadway and in Boston at such theatres as the Charles Playhouse and The Boston Conservatory. George has degrees in Philosophy and Theatre from the University of New York at Stony Brook. He studied acting with Stella Adler of Stella Adler Institute of Los Angeles and New York, and Sanford Meisner at The Neighborhood Playhouse in New York and California, among others. He has acted in many television shows and numerous films, and had a small production company titled “Elliott Savage Productions” with his business partner, actor/producer/director, Michael Savage. They produced several plays including Look Back in Anger at Pilot Theatre in Los Angeles. Most recently, he had a blast teaching the future stars of tomorrow at JRP and The Geary Theatre in California. “My objective is to bring my talent, experience, and passion along with my belief that acting is one of the purest art forms to an environment of like minds.”
STAN FOOTE is the Artistic Director at OCT. He is a multiple Drammy award-winning director who has professionally directed and taught at professional theatres for more than 25 years.
KRISTIN HAILSTONE is thrilled to be teaching her first class with OCT! She holds a BA in Theater from Arizona State University. Since 1997, she has been a Teaching Artist and member of the acting ensemble for the internationally acclaimed theatre company Childsplay in Tempe, AZ. With Childsplay, Kristin helped to develop a program called Footprints which blended creative drama with history for Arizona’s centennial celebration. Additionally, she has been the Teaching Artist for the Edna Vihel Center for the Arts Young Actor’s Theatre program for the last 5 years. She lives and laughs with her husband and 9 year-old son.
CHANDA HALL is a performer, teacher, producer, writer, and the Artistic Director of “Staged!–Portland’s Musical Theatre Series.” She is a teacher for OBT, NWCT, and several metro area schools. Chanda has also had two of her original full-length musicals produced.
CHRIS HARDER is a professional actor, mentor and instructor. He teaches at Artists Repertory’s Actors To Go program as well as here at OCT. He has performed and developed new works with Portland Center Stage, ART, Sojourn Theatre, Stark Raving Theater, Eggshell Productions, Third Rail, and Sowelu.
BRIDIE HARRINGTON received an MFA in Acting from the University of Washington and is a teacher for OCT as well as the Administrative Director of the Educational Theatre Program. She is the recipient of a Global Graduates, Theatre Arts Fellowship through the Globe Theatre, London and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Her theatre credits include: Artists Repertory Theatre, Seattle Rep., The Guthrie Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Source, Lunacy Stageworks. She played the role of Nora, directed by Jon Jory, in Ingmar Bergman’s adaptation of “A Doll’s House” and was an improv team member at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in NY.
JENN HUNTER is a director, teacher, actor, and improviser in Portland. She graduated with an MFA in Directing from University of Portland where she most recently directed Rumors by Neil Simon and Lee Blessing's Eleemosynary. She also directed Lend Me A Tenor for Anonymous Theatre in 2010. She is also a proud member of Theatre Vertigo. Before grad school, Jenn was a director and drama teacher at University High School in Spokane, WA., where she directed over a dozen productions. She was also the Artistic Director of ComedySportz in Spokane and an actor/director for the national tour of Missoula Children's Theatre. You can find Jenn performing improv comedy at several venues in Portland and teaching in the Performing Arts Dept. at Mt. Hood Community College.
LAURA JAMES earned her BFA in Acting at Southern Oregon University. In Los Angeles, she was a part of the popular improv group called "The Comic Ozzies" for 5 years. She studied with Bob Koherr and Kathy Kinney and worked on the "Drew Carey Show". She has been teaching improv for 15 years. Her philosophy is that we are all infinitely creative and improv is a great tool and foundation skill for all types of performing. Her positive approach to teaching creates an safe environment for beginners and experienced improvisors alike. She was recently in the OCT production of "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs". Laura coaches privately, and teaches improv at Curious Comedy Theater and OCT. She is currently part of the "Main Stage Improv Players" at Curious Comedy Theater.
PAIGE JONES has been teaching theatre to children for 10+ years, not only here at OCT but also with Artists Repertory Theatre's Actors to Go program and in Summit County, Colorado, where she served as Artistic Director of Lake Dillon Theatre Company, and directed the children's productions of Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr. and Twain by the Tale. Since moving to Portland nearly 7 years ago, local acting gigs have included runs at: A.R.T., JAW/WEST at PCS, defunkt theatre, Northwest Classical Theatre Company, Key Productions, Profile Theatre, and Stark Raving Theatre. Paige holds a B.A. in Music from Hunter College, CUNY, and studied extensively at HB Studio in NYC.
SARA KENNEDY ADAMS has taught for OCT since 2002 and also teaches with StageCoach Theatre Arts. She directed and lead a performance based class through Multnomah Arts Center and has been a coach and performer for Play Write Inc. She most recently appeared as Sally in Found Lives: The Inner Lives of People with Schizophrenia (New Moon Productions and OHSU Psychiatry). She received a BA in Theatre Arts at Southern Oregon University.
AMY LA ROSA has been teaching theater for the past thirteen years. She graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a major in theater and a minor in music. She was a company member of The Theater Project in Brunswick, Maine where she both taught and performed and taught theater and music for Bar Harbor Maine's Summer Festival of the Arts. Her love of rainy nights brought her to Seattle where she taught for Youth Theatre Northwest and performed with Live Girls! Theater. Her husband brought her to Portland where she now teaches for Young Players and Portland Public Schools, as well as Oregon Children's Theatre.
VAL LANDRUM has been teaching at OCT since 2002 and recently co-directed Antigone Now for the Young Professionals program. An Equity and award winning actor originating from Chicago, Val has worked and trained with several first class regional theaters, including Steppenwolf and The Goodman. Since moving here she has been in productions for OCT, Portland Center Stage, Third Rail Repertory Theatre, Artist Repertory Theatre, Profile Theatre, CoHo, Portland Playhouse, Triangle Productions, and Lakewood. She began her teaching career at Purdue University where she also received her BA and then transitioned into inner city Chicago, working with troubled youth. She has also taught for Northwest Children’s Theatre, Portland Center Stage, The Young Players, ART and several immersion programs with the Portland Public School system.
JACKLYN MADDUX was Head of the Voice and Speech Dept. at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City for ten years where she created the first Shakespeare Workshop for advanced students. She taught Voice, Speech and Alexander Technique for six years at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where she was presented with the Excellence in Teach Award in the School of Drama. Moving to Portland four years ago, Jacklyn teaches privately and has taught Alexander Technique workshops for Third Rail Repertory and Theatre Vertigo. She is also a professional actress and has appeared Off-Broadway and regionally at such theatres as the New York Shakespeare Festival, Kennedy Center, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, etc. She made her Portland debut this past year in Third Rail’s The Lying Kind and most recently appeared in Profile Theatre’s The Carpetbagger’s Children. A Certified Alexander Technique Teacher, she is also an Artistic Member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York City.
REBECCA MARTINEZ works as an actor, director, singer, dancer and choreographer. She is a company member of Sojourn Theatre, and in 2003 she was awarded a Drammy award for choreography for 7 Great Loves (Sojourn Theatre). Some favorite theatrical experiences include performing in The Visit,Witness Our Schools and 7 Great Loves (Sojourn Theatre), Holes (OCT), The Trojan Women (Theatre of the Invisible), Blood Wedding (Miracle Theatre) and creating and directing Xandu Ya' - El Dia de los Muertos Fesitival (Miracle Theatre). Rebecca instructs youth in Latin American folkloric dance, sings with salsa band Aguamiel, has taught theatre for ART and OCT, and performs with her own company, Viva la Cultura! Rebecca is a roster artist for both the Regional Arts and Culture Council and Young Audiences of Washington and Oregon.
BOB McGRANAHAN has been involved with theatre for over 20 years. He holds a B.F.A. in acting from The Goodman School of Theatre in Chicago and performed at The Bailiwick, The Huron and Steppen Wolf Theater before returning to Portland. Bob joined Actor's Equity and has been seen in several productions at Portland Center Stage, including two stints as Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol. Bob has his M.F.A. in education at PSU and is currently teaching drama at Lake Oswego High School.
JAKE MICHELS is a recent graduate of Washington State where he was a regular performer with Nuthouse. Joining OCT’s Acting Academy as a student, he was cast in various OCT shows. His acting career has been fruitful, garnering an Irene Ryan nomination for his role as Mitch in A Streetcar Named Desire.
CHRIS MURRAY is an equity actor and educator living in Portland. He has worked on many stages in town, and has appeared in a number of movies and television commercials. He was in the touring show What Would You Do? and /The Pressure Point! at OCT, and has produced a video documentary of the OCT play IF. He believes education through the arts is the only way to truly learn who you are.
LEIGH NORMAN has been teaching theatre classes to kids and running sound in various Portland-area theatres for the last five years. Leigh is a recent graduate from Portland State University with a BA in Liberal Studies, focusing on Theatre Arts, and a minor in English.
MEREDITH OTT has a Masters in Theatre Arts from the University of Oregon. Her thesis is entitled "Child Actor Ethics: Children in Plays with Adult Themes" and it recently got picked up by a publishing company. Meredith teaches all around Portland doing outreach in schools as well as at NWCTS. She continues to pursue acting and directing in addition to teaching.
SANDRA PEABODY Sandra Peabody is an Emmy-award winning writer/producer/director and has worked in broadcast television and film. She is a Graduate of the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City where she studied with Master Acting Teacher /Sanford Meisner/ and also attended classes in dance, voice and speech, singing, and physical theater. Additional training includes studying drama at Carnegie-Mellon University, and later earning a B.A. in Arts and Letters. As a teacher and coach for the past twenty five years, Sandra develops talent and also teaches speech. To help prepare actors for a professional career, she splits her time between Los Angeles and the Northwest.
AMY PALOMINO has choreographed numerous shows in the Portland area including Grey Gardens at PCS, Grease! at Broadway Rose, The Mystery of Edwin Drood at Lakewood Theatre, and many more. Amy is currently choreographing the Jefferson Dancers in a Pixie Dust production of Beauty and the Beast. Amy also teaches numerous teen and adult classes for dance and musical theatre, and assistant-choreographed/performed in three musicals at PCS. Amy won a Drammy Award for her outstanding performance of Peggy Sawyer in Broadway Rose's 42nd Street. Before moving to Portland, Amy danced both on Broadway and in the national tour of 42nd Street.
DANIELLE ROSS has been a working actor, musician, and teacher for the past ten years. Most recent credits include playing Mary/Kitty/Mariah Lucas/Pianist in Pride & Prejudice at Quintessence Theater, and teaching for The Young Players' and Oregon Children's Theatre. Danielle also teaches ongoing piano lessons and is a singer/songwriter for a local folk-rock band.
ZOE RUDMAN is a recent graduate from Occidental College where she received a B.A. in Theater. Past acting roles include Joan in Saint Joan, Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Bambi in the Edinburgh Fringe world premiere of Rhino Provino. As a child she took many classes at OCT, then continued on to Assistant Teach/Teach in a variety of skills, focusing primarily on musical classes. Zoë has extensive dance training and acts, teaches and dances in Portland.
LAURA FAYE SMITH has performed for OCT in The BFG, Cyrano, Pippi Longstockings, It's a Wonderful Life, and Charlotte's Web. In addition, she has been teaching OCT classes for over a decade, and currently manages OCT's Educational Theatre Program. She performs long form improv with Super Project Lab, has numerous film and voice over credits, and has appeared in productions at multiple theatres throughout Portland, including Portland Center Stage, ART, CoHo Productions, Triangle! Productions, Theatre Vertigo, and Profile Theatre. She studied improvisation at The Loose Moose Theatre in Calgary, Canada, as well at Bay Area Theatre Sports in San Francisco. She and holds a B.A. in English and Theatre from OSU.
MARK STEERING has a degree in Performing Arts from Ithaca College in NY. He is a vocal instructor and has taught theatre, music and directed musicals with kids and adults for over 20 + years. Recently, Mark directed You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown with OCT's Young Professional students. Mark was the Theatre Arts Director at MJCC. He is also a composer who has written and produced several musicals, a 30 minute opera for the Saturday Market/Sunday Opera project and has written choral arrangements for Angels, the Next Generation.
HANNAH TREUHAFT is an acting ensemble member of Portland's Sojourn Theatre and was also the company's Director of Education for five years. She has taught devising and ensemble workshops at schools and community centers all over the Portland area, and at colleges and universities across the U.S. Her favorite things about theater are the relationships she builds when working with an ensemble and the moment at the beginning of a project when everything is unknown and everything is possible! She's been away from the theater for the past year while she has worked on her newest project, her baby son Jacob.
WADE WILLIS taught high school theatre arts for 8 years. He is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Portland and coaches privately. He has been honored in Who’s Who of American Teachers for six consecutive years and the City of Beaverton bestowed Wade with the Outstanding Educator in the Arts Award and the Human Rights Advisory Commission’s Individual Diversity Award. Most recently Wade was honored with a 2009 Drammy Award and OTAS Award for Best Direction of a Musical for the production of Into the Woods at Lakewood Theatre Company. His favorite stage roles include Freddie in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Enjolras in Les Miserables and Sparky in Forever Plaid (Broadway Rose Theatre Company), Jerry in the hit musical The Full Monty (OTAS Award)(Lakewood Theatre Co), Officer Lockstock in Urinetown (Stumptown Stages), and Tony (US) in West Side Story (Portland Center Stage).
MATTHEW ZREBSKI moved to Portland, OR in 1997. He graduated from the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University with a BFA in Acting, Directing, and Playwriting. Matt took over the Dallas, TX summer company, Youth Could Know Theatre. In his three-season tenure, he produced seven world premieres and received a Dallas Observer "Best of Dallas" award for innovative theatre. In his five seasons at SRT, Matt directed, wrote, and scored numerous productions, and oversaw 31 plays as they went from page to premiere. His own plays, The Planet ME, Neck, A Place Called Timothy, Parts, Darkstep and Dawning, After the Zipper, and The Vespiary have been produced in the Dallas, Texas and/or Portland, Oregon areas. Matt is a multi-award-winning director and writer, and has also written a wide range of plays for the JAW Festival at Portland Center Stage.
* Teachers subject to change