Jonathan Bernstein
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Our Faculty
We have a large faculty family that participates in Blueprint, Compass, and Panorama summer intensives - in addition to other fundraisers and workshops throughout the year. The faculty for each program varies from summer to summer as we continue to add new folks to our crew. Fun Fact: if you see an asterisk next to someone's name, it means that they are also an alum of our programming.
Our faculty family is not listed here in its entirety. Those listed below participated in our 2021 June & July Blueprint, Compass, and Panorama intensives.
Directors
Jonathan Bernstein
Jonathan Bernstein’s plays and musicals have been produced all over the country. Under the auspices of the Jerome Robbins Foundation, he’s currently developing a new project (with the great Susan Misner) entitled Here In The Bright Colorado Sun, his second collaboration with her; before this, they premiered The Shape She Makes at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA which featured fellow Performing Arts Project faculty members Michael Balderrama, Mary Cavett, Nina Goldman, Deidre Goodwin, Mary Ann Lamb, and Jermaine Maurice Spivey.
He is also currently working with fellow Performing Arts Project faculty member Robbie Roth on the creation of a new podcast (half journalism, half fiction) called “Ballad Of An Outlaw.”
Directing credits include material at the Atlantic Theater Company, Signature Theater, Williamstown Theater Festival, New York Stage & Film, Joe’s Pub, Ensemble Studio Theater and many others. He has worked at New York’s City Center, Manhattan Theatre Club, Second Stage Theater, Roundabout Theatre, Public Theater, and 52nd Street Project, where he writes, directs, and teaches.
Jonathan recently participated in NYC’s 24 Hour Musicals Benefit, writing an original musical with composer Jeanine Tesori between the hours of 10:30pm and 5:45am. This was his second time writing a musical for the charity; the first time he was paired with composer David Yazbek.
Additionally, Broadway/London supervising director credits include Private Lives starring Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan, The Iceman Cometh starring Kevin Spacey and Paul Giamatti; Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? starring Dame Diana Rigg and Sir David Suchet; and the musical Chicago, in charge of overseeing both the (still running) 1996 Broadway revival, and the many national/international companies it has spawned.
Jonathan is a professor of Playwriting and Script Analysis in the Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program at NYU, he also co-founded the National Musical Theater Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, and he frequently serves as dramaturg/consultant on various projects for theater and film.
Plus, he will eat tiramisu at the slightest provocation and he is a fan of the New York Mets which — like anything difficult — is fundamentally worthwhile.
Neil Patrick Stewart
Neil Patrick Stewart is proud to be the associate artistic director (and a founder) of The Performing Arts Project. Neil is an assistant professor-of-practice at Texas State University, where he is a core member of the BFA acting program, as well as an actor, writer, and decorated director. He holds an M.F.A. in acting from the world-renowned American Repertory Theatre/Moscow Art Theatre Institute for Advanced Theatre Training (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, and a B.A. in theater from Wesleyan University. Recent directing credits include: Volleygirls: the Musical in New York City (winner of the New York Musical Theatre Festival’s ‘Best of Fest’ award and others), and Gainesville, FL, the world-premieres of Shiner in both Los Angeles and NYC, The Elephant Man in LA (nominated for four Ovation Awards, including best production and best direction), and the special project Women and War (devised for and performed by Texas State students) at the San Marcos Public Library. Neil was a founder and creative director of Back House Productions in NYC, which helped push over 40 projects from page to stage, including Broadway’s smash hit In the Heights. Recent acting credits include seven separate tours/engagements of Julius Caesar in Cambridge, MA, Berkeley, Ann Arbor, Bogota, Colombia, and multiple cities in France, and five separate tours/engagements of Jean Genet’s Splendid’s in NYC, Madrid, Seoul, and multiple cities in France. He’s performed in NYC in productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Feiffer’s People, Hello Herman, and E to Jamaica Center at the world-famous Nuyorican Poets’ Cafe. At Texas State, directing credits include the 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 BFA Acting Showcases, the Playwrights’ Lab productions of both From A to Double-D and Flood, and full-scale department productions of Tales of the Lost Formicans and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee on the Patti Strickel Harrison mainstage, and he appeared as an actor in the Texas State productions of Imagine That and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, presented on the Harrison mainstage and directed by Dr. Chuck Ney. Neil is an author and a former professional writer, having had two trivia/humor books on the shelves of major bookstores: Fact. Fact. Bullsh*t! and Headlines! Headlines! Headlines?, as well as hundreds of articles published in major magazines.
Faculty
Ian Axness
Ian Axness is an American music director and collaborative pianist based in New York City. He has conducted, arranged, and accompanied a wide range of music-theater, including Sweeney Todd at the Barrow Street Theater (Off-Broadway), Beardo by Dave Malloy & Jason Craig (NYC premiere), and productions at New York City Center, NYU Abu Dhabi, and Juilliard. Recently he played Kurt Weill’s Zaubernacht in its original orchestration with Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra, and assisted conductor Rob Fisher on Leonard Bernstein’s Candide at Carnegie Hall. Ian coaches song interpretation and musicianship at The Performing Arts Project, and serves as a contributing editor of the yearly anthology Musical Theater Today. He is a teaching artist with Bridge Arts Ensemble and a proud graduate of Oberlin College.
Polly Baird
Broadway: Meg Giry, Dance Captain, The Phantom of the Opera
National Tours: My Fair Lady, An American in Paris, The Phantom of the Opera
Theater: Marie, Dancing Still (Seattle 5th Avenue), An American in Paris (Arts Center of Coastal Carolina), Little Dancer (The Kennedy Center)
Jessica Bedford
Jessica Bedford is a Philadelphia based actor, director, dramaturg, playwright, and teacher. She has been seen onstage at McCarter Theatre, Walnut Street Theater, Lantern Theatre Co, Montgomery Theatre, Act II Playhouse, Tiny Dynamite, Theatre Horizon, People’s Light and Theatre Co. and other stages in the Philadelphia area. Recent directing credits include Delaware Shakespeare, the Philadelphia Artists’ Collective, Act II Playhouse and the McCarter. As a writer, her works have been produced with Passage Theatre, 1812 Productions, Recognize Theatre, Act II Playhouse, and Juniper Productions. Jessica has taught at Villanova University, Temple University, DeSales University and University of the Arts. She is thrilled to spend a few weeks each summer with the good people at TPAP.
Nick Blaemire
Nick Blaemire is an actor, writer, and teacher. After receiving his BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan, he performed in the Broadway casts of Cry-Baby and Godspell, and composed the score for the Broadway musical Glory Days. Simultaneously, he has taught acting and writing to students at the The Performing Arts Project, Making it on Broadway, Broadway Classroom, Wingspan Education and the O’Neill Festival’s NTI Program, among others. He continues to work on television (The Good Wife, The Big C) and in theater, as a writer (with new musicals A Little More Alive, Soon, and Fallout) and as an actor (Mendel in the National Tour of Falsettos and Jon in Tick, Tick… Boom! Off-Broadway). He has released two EPs of original songs, available on iTunes and Spotify. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife Ana and their dog Leo McGarry. @nickblaemire
Ato Blankson-Wood
Broadway: Slave Play, Lysistrata Jones, Hair
Off-Broadway: The Rolling Stone at Lincoln Center Theater, Slave Play at NYTW (Lortel Award nomination), The Total Bent at The Public (Drama League and Lortel Award nominations), The Public Works’ Twelfth Night and As You Like It, Transfers at MCC, Antigone in Ferguson at the Harlem Stage, the Foundry Theater’s O. Earth, and Iphigenia in Aulis at CSC
Film/TV: The Same Storm, Worth, When They See Us, BlacKkKlansman, The Good Fight, The Kindergarten Teacher, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, She’s Gotta Have It, Detroit
Mary-Mitchell Campbell
Mary-Mitchell Campbell is a conductor, music director, orchestrator, composer and arranger. She has served as the Music Director for many Broadway shows including: Mean Girls, The Prom, My Love Letter to Broadway with Kristin Chenoweth, Tuck Everlasting, Finding Neverland, Big Fish, The Addams Family, Company, and Sweeney Todd. She also music directed Stephen Sondheim’s last musical Road Show at the Public Theater. She won a Drama Desk for Best Orchestrations for the 2006 revival of Company starring Raul Esparza and was nominated for Best Orchestrations for her work on the Off-Broadway productions of Allegro and Hello Again. She has a very active concert career and performs frequently with Kristin Chenoweth, Gavin Creel, Jonathan Groff, Laura Benanti and Raul Esparza. In her pop career she has worked with Alicia Keys, Katy Perry, John Legend, Amy Grant, Kelly Clarkson, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Elvis Costello, and Josh Groban in concerts.
She has conducted the Chicago Symphony, the Cincinnati symphony, the Dallas symphony, the Nashville Symphony, and many other symphonies around the United States.
She is passionate about arts education and poverty reduction. She is the Founder and Co-Executive Director of ASTEP- Artists Striving To End Poverty (www.asteponline.org) which recruits and trains high level artists to work with kids in extreme situations to teach them health education and life skills through the arts. She is a regular volunteer with ASTEP programs in the US, Africa and India. She is from North Carolina and has taught on the faculties of Juilliard, NYU, and Boston College.
Dave Clemmons
Dave began his career as a performer on Broadway with roles in Les Misérables, The Civil War (original company), The Scarlet Pimpernel (original company and Chaeuvelin on original concept recording). He was seen as Jean Valjean in the National tour of Les Misérables (2 years) and the National tours of Jekyll and Hyde as well as the pre-Broadway productions of Whistle Down the Wind (by Andrew Lloyd Weber, directed by Hal Prince at The National Theatre in DC) and Jekyll and Hyde (The Alley Theatre, Theatre Under the Stars, Seattle’s 5th Ave. Theatre). He was also featured as Corin/Amiens/Hymen in As You Like It at the Tony Award-winning Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas. Other roles have included Che in Evita, Freddie in Chess, The Teen Angel in Grease, Dinadan in Camelot (starring and directed by Terrence Mann) and Richard in The Lion in Winter.
Dave is an in demand teacher/lecturer having taught at the premiere music theater training programs across the country as well as master classes in New York, LA, Chicago, Boston, Houston, and Orlando. He is a visiting professor at the acclaimed Elon University Musical Theatre Program and is a founding faculty member and music supervisor of The Performing Arts Project. He operates the Dave Clemmons College Advisory Program (DCCAP), preparing top high school talent to audition for the competitive field of study that is musical theater at the collegiate level.
Dave currently serves as The Dean of The Humphreys School of Musical Theatre – the educational wing of Theatre Under the Stars in Houston, Texas. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance and commercial music from the renowned Frost School of Music at The University of Miami, Fl.
As a producer, Dave serves as a Producing Partner for StylesFour Productions. StylesFour has been producers/investors for the Broadway productions of Once (Tony Award-Best Musical), Orphans (starring Alec Baldwin), Driving Miss Daisy (starring James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave), Spring Awakening (Tony Award- Best Musical), the critically acclaimed original New York production of Bat Boy, An Intimate Evening with Frank Wildhorn and Friends (starring Frank Wildhorn, Linda Eder and Douglas Sills), Pee-Wee Herman on Broadway, Talk Radio, and 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother (starring Judy Gold).
Dave Clemmons was the founder/owner of Dave Clemmons Casting, whose Broadway projects included: The revival of Driving Miss Daisy, The Boy from Oz (starring Hugh Jackman), Brooklyn (starring Eden Espinoza), Ring of Fire, In My Life, Dracula, The Civil War, Cinderella starring Eartha Kitt and Jamie Lynn Sigler, and Frank Wildhorn’s Wonderland.
Off-Broadway shows: Bat Boy, Bare, Altar Boyz, the New York revival of Charles Mee’s, Big Love, Zanna Don’t!, Dear Edwina and the 2000 revival of Godspell at The York Theatre (starring Shoshanna Bean, Leslie Kritzer, and Barrett Foa).
National Tours: Jekyll and Hyde, Fosse (supervised by Ann Reinking), Moving Out (choreographed and directed by Twyla Tharp), West Side Story (directed by David Saint and choreographed by Joey McKneely), Evita (directed by Hal Prince), Fiddler on the Roof (starring Topol/Harvey Firestein), Starlight Express, Jesus Christ Superstar (starring Ted Neely), The Civil War (starring Larry Gatlin and Bebe Winans), Chicago, CATS, Dr. Doolittle (directed by and starring Tommy Tune), Thoroughly Modern Millie (directed by Joey McKneely), Joseph…, Saturday Night Fever, and the new national tour of The Wizard of Oz.
International tours: Fosse (Paris/Germany-starring Ben Vereen and Ruthie Henshall), West Side Story (Germany- directed and choreographed by Joey McKneely), 42nd St. (Moscow-directed and choreographed by Randy Skinner) and The Sound of Music (Asia), The King and I (Asia).
Regional: Little Shop of Horrors at The Alley Theatre, Steel Magnolias, Chicago and The Civil War at Flatrock Playhouse, The Full Monty and Footloose at Marriott Lincolnshire, Driving Miss Daisy at Casa Manana (starring Sandy Duncan), Camelot at North Shore Music Theatre, History of the Word at the Tony Award-winning Crossroads Theatre, Making Tracks at San Jose Rep. and The Great Game (directed by Randal Milam) at The Duke Univ. Theatre Co.
Las Vegas: The American premiere of the international sensation Notre Dame de Paris which opened the Paris Hotel, The Las Vegas company of Saturday Night Fever and the Las Vegas engagement of Fosse.
As a music/vocal director/supervisor Dave has worked on the Broadway production of The Civil War, National Tours of Jekyll and Hyde and The Civil War, Little Shop of Horrors at The Alley Theatre, The Civil War at The Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. and casting director/vocal director/arranger for The Presidential Gala performance of The Civil War at The National Theatre in Washington, D.C. starring Trisha Yearwood, Clay Aiken, Larry Gatlin, Hal Holbrook, Bebe Winans, and Maya Angelou.
Dave Clemmons has conducted the Broadway Gospel Choir and the Dave Clemmons Choir in performances at Carnegie Hall, The Today Show, the Bravo Network, The Palace, and Gershwin Theatres on Broadway as well as the Linda Eder album/DVD “Christmas Stays the Same.”
Dave served as a Minister of Music at First United Church Methodist in Miami.
Gavin Creel
Gavin Creel received a Tony Award for his performance as Cornelius Hackl in Hello, Dolly starring Bette Midler and David Hyde Pierce. Gavin made his Broadway debut originating the role of Jimmy Smith in Thoroughly Modern Millie, for which he received his first Tony Award nomination. He has since created such memorable performances on Broadway as Jean-Michel in La Cage Aux Folles, Claude in Hair, which earned him a second Tony Award nomination, and Stephen Kodaly in the Roundabout Theater Company’s production of She Loves Me, which was filmed live and is available on BroadwayHD. No stranger to London audiences, Gavin most notably originated the role of Elder Price in the West End production of The Book of Mormon, for which he received the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He also starred as Bert in Disney’s Mary Poppins and reprised his performance as Claude in Hair. Other stage credits include opposite Sara Bareilles in the Broadway production of Waitress, The Book of Mormon (on Broadway and originating the First National Tour), and the world premieres of Stephen Sondheim’s Bounce at The Goodman Theatre and The Kennedy Center, and Prometheus Bound at A.R.T. On television, Gavin co-starred alongside Julie Andrews in ABC’s Eloise at the Plaza and Eloise at Christmastime. He has released three original albums Goodtimenation, Quiet (which landed on “Billboard’s Top Heat Seekers”) and Get Out, and his single “Noise” raised money and awareness for marriage equality. Creel was a co-founder of Broadway Impact, the first and only grassroots organization to mobilize the nationwide theater community in support of marriage equality. A native of Findlay, Ohio, he is a proud graduate of University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance.
Zachary Fine
Acting credits include: Broadway: China Doll with Al Pacino. Off-Broadway; credits include The Acting Company, Red Bull Theater, Theater for a New Audience, New York Classical Theater. Regionally, credits include work at the Guthrie Theater, Folger Theater, Playmakers Rep, Asolo Rep, Fulton Theater, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Great River Shakespeare Festival, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Franklin Stage and the Clarence Brown Theater. TV/Film/Commercial/Voice-Over credits include Person of Interest, BlackBox, One Life to Live, Z-Rock, Grand Theft Auto 5 and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (New Book Press). Zachary has been creating original work since 2011 when he premiered his solo show Walled In based on Henry David Thoreau’s Walden. Since then, he has gone on to make Manifest Destiny with Lucas Caleb Rooney and Aitor Basauri (Spymonkey co-founder and professional idiot) and the play Bewilderness (Playmakers Rep). Other directing/writing credits include; El Bien Del Pais (Our Country’s Good) by Timberlake Wertenbaker, which premiered at Foro Shakespeare in Mexico City, Thin Air Shakespeare Festival, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Key West Theater, IRT Theater, Walled In IRT Theater. Zachary teaches clown and games at NYU as well as numerous training institutions around the world.
Juliane Godfrey
Juliane Godfrey is a Broadway performer, arts educator, and creator who strives to make art with heart. A Bay Area native, she graduated from UCLA’s Ray Bolger Musical Theater program and has since performed on Broadway, in national tours, and in regional theaters nationwide. Credits include: Broadway- SpongeBob Squarepants the Musical (Dance Captain, Swing). 1st National Tour- My Fair Lady (Lincoln Center); Something Rotten (US Bea, Ensemble). Regional- Arena Stage, Goodspeed Musicals, Paper Mill Playhouse, Sacramento Music Circus, the Muny, and more. Film/TV/voiceovers: The Peculiar Adventures of Willow B. Star (Animation pilot); Dirty Girl; Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. As a dance teacher and choreographer, she has worked with arts organizations all over the country including Starstruck Theatre, The Performing Arts Project, The Broadway Collective, uCamps, Broadway Evolved, Bella Dance Academy, and many more to emphasize the importance of physical and mental benefits of storytelling through movement. Her EP: Love Note to Self is available on iTunes. @julianegodfrey @daily_dance_it_out
Nina Goldman
Nina recently returned from assisting Arthur Pita at the Paris Opera Ballet for the world premiere of Iolanta / Casse Noisette. In the summer of 2015, she originated the role of the Polish Mother in The Garsington Opera’s Death in Venice. She performed in Susan Stroman’s world premiere of The Little Dancer at The Kennedy Center. Her Broadway credits include Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Contact, Swan Lake, The Red Shoes and The Phantom of the Opera. Off-Broadway appearances in Belle Epoque (Lincoln Center), Bloomergirl (City Center) and A Dybbuk (Public Theater).
Nina originated the role of Mrs. Samsa in Arthur Pita’s The Metamorphosis at The Royal Opera House in London. National and international performances include The Shape She Makes at American Repertory Theater and Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, The Car Man and Edward Scissorhands. Both The Metamorphosis and Swan Lake were filmed and aired on SKYArts TV. Nina has worked at the Signature Theater, Baryshnikov Arts Center, NY Theater Workshop, Great Lakes Theater Festival and the Manhattan Theater Club. Nina danced with the National Ballet of Canada, Feld Ballets, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal and The Altogether Different Series, and did pre-production work with Susan Stroman for her ballets for NYCB and Pacific Northwest Ballet. She was rehearsal director for Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company and assistant rehearsal director for The Cedar Lake Dance Company. Television appearances include the Fame TV series and the Oscar and TONY awards telecasts.
Teaching credits include Sarah Lawrence College, The Metropolitan Opera, The Juilliard School, Barnard College, Dance New Amsterdam, Peridance/Capezio Dance Center, Dancewave and Joffrey Ballet School. Guest teaching for The Cedar Lake Dance Company, Random Dance, Rambert and New Adventures Dance Companies. Bachelor of Arts from Empire State College. Inaugural class of Hunter College’s Arnold Graduate Dance Education Program. Nina is the associate choreographer for The Phantom of The Opera National tour.
Deidre Goodwin
Deidre Goodwin has been in eight Broadway shows including A Chorus Line (Shelia Bryant) and Chicago (Velma Kelly) and Nine (Our Lady of the Spa), the films Chicago (SAG 2003 Best Ensemble Award), Across the Universe, It’s Complicated, Magic Mike XXL, Every Little Step, and has made TV appearances on Madam Secretary, Search Party, Broad City, 30 Rock, and Law & Order SVU.
In addition to performing, she is also an educator, choreographer, and director. Connect with Deidre via Instagram and twitter @dababadoo and facebook.com/deidregoodwinclasses.
Erika Henningsen
Broadway: Flying Over Sunset, Mean Girls, Les Misérables
Off-Broadway/Theater: Beth in Signature Theatre’s world premiere of Kathleen Marshall/Sheryl Crow’ musical Diner; featured opposite Tyne Daly in York Theatre Company’s staging of Jerry Herman’s Dear World; Kim Ravenal in PBS’ Live from Lincoln Center: Show Boat; Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Sophie in Mamma Mia! at PCLO. Erika is a recipient of Alan Eisenberg Actors’ Equity Award and graduate of University of Michigan BFA Musical Theater.
Film/TV: Harlem, Girls5Eva
Curtis Holland
Curtis Holland was born and raised in Miami-Dade County, FL. As early as he can remember, Holland grew up dancing under the instruction of his parents at the Edwin Holland School of Dance. In 2013, Holland competed on Season 10 of So You Think You Can Dance, making it to the Top 14 and touring the country with the show. Shortly after, Holland began his professional musical theater career at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, then went on to make his Broadway debut in Shuffle Along, or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, directed by George C. Wolfe and choreographed by Savion Glover. Holland has been on TV specials including the Maya and Marty show, SNL, Seth Meyers, and Jimmy Fallon, and has also performed for former presidential couple Barack and Michelle Obama (alongside Savion Glover, Marshall Davis, Jr., Karissa Royster, Robyn Watson, Alicia Lundgren and Richard Yoder) for the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Most recently, Holland was in the Broadway ensemble of Mean Girls for two and a half years, understudying two principal roles while performing his ensemble role every night. Holland’s main goal is to continue to simultaneously grow and share. Learning how to teach from his father at the age of thirteen, Holland stresses the importance of tone, timing, and detail in dance, and in life.
Stephanie Hsu
Stephanie originated the role of Christine in Be More Chill at Two River, the show’s Off-Broadway run, and the Broadway production. Prior to that, she made her Broadway debut as Karen The Computer in the Tony Award nominated SpongeBob SquarePants The Musical. Film/TV: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Path seasons 1-3, Femme, Set It Up, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Girl Code. BFA: NYU (Experimental Theater Wing, Atlantic).
Ayo Jackson
New York-based multidisciplinary artist Ayo Jackson (b. 1978) has extensive experience in dance and maintains a body-based visual practice. Originally from North Carolina, Jackson graduated with her BFA in Dance from UNC School of the Arts. A Princess Grace award winner, Jackson established her artistic career with The Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Dance Company, continuing with the French contemporary ballet company, Ballet Preljocaj. After living in Europe, Jackson returned to NYC performing in Julie Taymor’s Turn Off the Dark (Spider-Man on Broadway). Jackson continued to assist Bill T. Jones while producing a body of visual artwork, which led to her to participate in several gallery shows and exhibitions. Jackson is currently planning her first solo show – Tear Suture Scab 2020. She holds a Masters in Interdisciplinary Arts from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2018), a program founded and directed by Gregg Bordowitz. For more information, visit ayojackson.com.
Lynzy Lab
In 2018, Lynzy’s home video recording of her original song “A Scary Time (for Boys)” went viral with more than a hundred million views on YouTube and other platforms, landing her several public speaking and performance opportunities, including Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The MAKERS Women Conference, the Orange County Women’s March, the TEDxWomen conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, the International Women’s Day Celebration at SXSW, and most recently, on the podcast #TheSweatLife, a collaboration between MAKERS Women and lululemon. She was featured in InStyle Magazine’s Badass 50 issue, alongside such notable women as Michelle Obama and Viola Davis. Her work has also been featured in many online publications including TIME Magazine, The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, Jezebel, and Oprah Magazine. Lynzy is currently a full time Lecturer at Texas State University where she teaches and choreographs for both the dance and theatre departments.
Lynzy is a Texas-based dancer/choreographer and has been a proud member of the resident faculty at The Performing Arts Project since its inception in 2011. At the early age of 17, Lynzy became the youngest principal dancer to sign with the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company in history, and she performed and taught with the prestigious professional company for seven full seasons. In 2014, Lynzy relocated to San Marcos, Texas and began dancing with Verge Dance Company, a nonprofit Austin-based contemporary company, until the company’s closure in 2017.
Some of her other performance credits include Texas Contemporary Weekend at the Miller Outdoor Theatre in Houston, The Pink Ribbon Project, Liz Lerman’s Hallelujah Project, The Grier School Gala in Pennsylvania, The Commissioner’s Ball for the 2004 Super Bowl, Pink! The Musical, industrials for Walmart, Levi’s Jeans and Paul Mitchell, Fort Worth Dance Festival, Intercoiffure Hair Show at the Waldorf Astoria, and APAP Conference in New York City. Film credits include her appearance as a featured dancer in Richard Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some!!, and the role of “Ballet Mistress” for the feature film Be Not Afraid, for which she was also the choreographer.
Lynzy has left her mark on numerous schools, conventions, intensives, and pre-professional and professional dance companies all over the nation, including Manhattan Dance Project, Heifetz International Music Institute, Exclamation Dance Company, Houston Met Too, Sole Discretion, Lindsmir Productions, West University’s Performing Company, and International Ballet of Houston where she signed on as Resident Choreographer in 2012 and held the position until the company relocated to Dublin, Ireland in 2015. Her choreography has since been performed throughout Europe.
Traci Elaine Lee*
Traci Elaine Lee is a singer, dancer, actress, choreographer, and fitness enthusiast born and raised in Dallas, Texas. She holds a BFA from Sam Houston State University in Musical Theater with an emphasis in Dance and is based out of New York.
Traci toured with the First National Tour of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and has appeared in shows at Dallas Theater Center, ZACH Theatre, Cape Playhouse among other regional stages, Off-Broadway stages, and world premieres.
When she’s not performing, Traci is a choreographer for dance teams across the state of Texas, a dance fitness instructor, an amateur DIY crafter, and a forever student.
*TPAP alumna
Michael Maresca
Michael Maresca has worked with tens of thousands of singers across the globe changing how they understand the human voice and how to build it. In 2010, Michael noticed a pattern in the human voice that became the catalyst for the vocal movement now known as One Voice. As the creator of the One Voice theories, techniques, and training, he has certified multiple One Voice Coaches and Masters to teach private singing sessions and masterclasses internationally. Currently, Michael teaches in-person exclusively for the Texas State Musical Theatre Program, and he trains commercial singers worldwide online and in masterclasses outside of Texas State. He has served as faculty for The Performing Arts Project, Broadway Theatre Project, and the Tennessee Arts Academy. He has been a guest artist and taught numerous workshops at the International Thespian Festival, the Texas Thespian Educators Conference, Arte’ Studio in Mexico City, as well as the Texas, Tennessee, and Missouri State Thespian Festivals. Michael appeared in the Broadway National Tour of Mamma Mia!, the National Tour of Saturday Night Fever, and was a speaker for the 2018 TEDx Event at Texas State University. To learn more about One Voice go to SingOneVoice.com.
Leslie Meisel
Leslie Meisel is an actor, writer, director, teacher and in college worked at a bowling alley thinking it would be exactly like Grease 2……………………..it wasn’t.
Was recently co-host of the monthly show COUPLES SKATE at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, a cast member on the UCB house team CHARACTERS WELCOME (Season 1 & 2) and Winner of the 5th annual NBC/UCB Diversity Showcase.
On screen, Leslie appeared on the NBC show RISE, Difficult People, Broad City, Netflix’s The Characters, and the feature film Bachelorette (w/Rebel Wilson & Kirsten Dunst). As a director, she has worked on many shows at the UCB Theatre, including AzN Pop!: Live in Concert!, All In Favor, United Federation of Teachers with Natasha Vaynblatt (IFC, Funny or Die, McSeeney’s), co-directed Stone Cold Fox: Sexy Idiots with Aaron Burdette, (Man Seeking Woman, The Onion), several Maude sketch teams, co-director/writer of He Said She Said with Kate Riley-Zelensky (MTV, Two Guys Named Josh) and worked with Bridge & Tunnel‘s staged show for Montreal’s Just For Laughs Festival.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Leslie quite a bit over the past few years. As a director, she has a unique ability to help actors unlock their characters and to make organic choices that bring them to life. She also encourages actors to bring more of themselves to a piece, to play and improvise, further heightening and developing the material. She pushes and draws interesting, specific performances from actors, all in a safe, encouraging way. She’s a gem!” Kristen Bartlett (SNL, Bridge & Tunnel)
Other staged shows at UCB: BOB ODENKIRK and UCB PALS: A LOAD OF HOOEY, Oh My God I Heard You’re Dying!, The Unbreakable Gun, Thunder Gulch Presents MNL: Monsters Night Live and she performed in LOVE CAN SUCK A D**K…AND SO CAN I! A show that was co-created by Leslie and Megan Neuringer (written by Megan with Material/Characters by Leslie) all about how much love sucks a big ‘ol dong which played to sold out shows at UCBLA and had a year long run at UCBNY.
Was recently co-host of the monthly show COUPLES SKATE at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, a cast member on the UCB house team CHARACTERS WELCOME (Season 1 & 2) and Winner of the 5th annual NBC/UCB Diversity Showcase.
On screen, Leslie appeared on the NBC show RISE, Difficult People, Broad City, Netflix’s The Characters, and the feature film Bachelorette (w/Rebel Wilson & Kirsten Dunst). As a director, she has worked on many shows at the UCB Theatre, including AzN Pop!: Live in Concert!, All In Favor, United Federation of Teachers with Natasha Vaynblatt (IFC, Funny or Die, McSeeney’s), co-directed Stone Cold Fox: Sexy Idiots with Aaron Burdette, (Man Seeking Woman, The Onion), several Maude sketch teams, co-director/writer of He Said She Said with Kate Riley-Zelensky (MTV, Two Guys Named Josh) and worked with Bridge & Tunnel‘s staged show for Montreal’s Just For Laughs Festival.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Leslie quite a bit over the past few years. As a director, she has a unique ability to help actors unlock their characters and to make organic choices that bring them to life. She also encourages actors to bring more of themselves to a piece, to play and improvise, further heightening and developing the material. She pushes and draws interesting, specific performances from actors, all in a safe, encouraging way. She’s a gem!” Kristen Bartlett (SNL, Bridge & Tunnel)
Other staged shows at UCB: BOB ODENKIRK and UCB PALS: A LOAD OF HOOEY, Oh My God I Heard You’re Dying!, The Unbreakable Gun, Thunder Gulch Presents MNL: Monsters Night Live and she performed in LOVE CAN SUCK A D**K…AND SO CAN I! A show that was co-created by Leslie and Megan Neuringer (written by Megan with Material/Characters by Leslie) all about how much love sucks a big ‘ol dong which played to sold out shows at UCBLA and had a year long run at UCBNY.
Susan Misner
SUSAN MISNER (actor, choreographer) was recently seen as Bob Fosse’s second wife Joan McCracken in the FX miniseries Fosse/Verdon; she also served as the choreographer of episodes 4-8.
She has appeared in many films including Chicago (for which she received a Screen Actors Guild Award), Hope Springs, The Forgotten, The Hoax, Walking On The Sky (Best Supporting Actress Award, New York International Independent Film Festival), Something’s Gotta Give, Somebody’s Hero, Everybody Says I Love You, Being Charlie, and Assassination Nation.
She has a long list of TV credits including four seasons on The Americans, two seasons on Billions, and two seasons on Shut Eye, as well as multiple appearances on all three series of the Law & Order franchise, as well as both CSI shows, Nashville (recurring), Gotham, The Blacklist, Banshee, The Following, Person of Interest (recurring), The Good Wife (recurring), In Treatment (recurring), Without A Trace (recurring), Rescue Me (recurring), Blue Bloods, Sex and the City, Elementary, NCIS, White Collar, Royal Pains, Fringe, and she portrayed Gretchen Martin in the miniseries The Bronx Is Burning opposite John Turturro.
Susan can currently be seen as U.S. Ambassador Calabrese in the second season of Jack Ryan on Amazon.
A dance play that she co-conceived entitled The Shape She Makes received its world premiere at the American Repertory Theater, and featured collaborations with Performing Arts Project faculty members Deidre Goodwin, Mary Cavett, Mary Ann Lamb, Jermaine Maurice Spivey, Michael Balderrama, Nina Goldman, and Jonathan Bernstein.
Susan is the writer/choreographer/director of a new short film called Bend, which features Performing Arts Project faculty member Troy Ogilvie. Plus, she is the veteran of four Broadway musicals: Guys And Dolls, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, and Dream.
Vasthy Mompoint
AMDA alumna Vasthy Mompoint is a multifaceted, versatile performer and producer whose dynamic personality and incredible talent have contributed to a career spanning over 20 years to date. Vasthy has appeared in eight Broadway shows, and is a two-time winner of the Legacy Robe, which recognizes a company member from each Broadway musical as having the most ensemble credits in that cast. She made her Broadway debut in Good Vibrations before playing various roles in Hot Feet, Mary Poppins, Ghost, Soul Doctor, Rocky, The SpongeBob Musical, and The Prom. Vasthy and the rest of the cast of SpongeBob Musical were invited to reprise their Broadway roles for a live performance on Nickelodeon.
Vasthy made her Broadway producing debut this past summer as a co-producer of Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu’s Pass Over, the first Broadway play to re-open following an unprecedented 18-month hiatus. Vasthy’s original concert Bits, Gummies, Folk, and Love (or how I survived the last year of my life) returned to Feinstein’s/54 Below in July following sold-out performances in 2019 and 2020.
Vasthy currently resides in Los Angeles, where she was selected from thousands of applicants to participate in the “2020 CBS Diversity Sketch Comedy Showcase,” a hybrid comedy show featuring original writing and Broadway-style performances. In the past year, Vasthy has appeared in the Netflix film The Prom, based on the Broadway musical, the Emmy award-winning film, Dick Johnson is Dead, The Bold and the Beautiful, NCIS, a reoccurring role as Briny the whale on the 2nd season of Nickelodeon’s Baby Shark, and on a writing/sketch scholarship with UCB sponsored by Saturday Night Live.
As an entrepreneur, Vasthy co-founded Broadway Babysitters, a childcare agency in New York City run and staffed exclusively by artists. Her experience in childcare and entertainment led Vasthy to develop, Vasthy’s Friends, a video platform for Broadway performers to write, choreograph and compose original, child-friendly programming.
Charlie Murphy
Charlie is the Co-Owner/Director of MTCA, which stands for Musical Theatre College Auditions (www.mtcollegeauditions.com). The company’s mission, much like TPAP, is to help young performers find their best fit in a collegiate environment for Acting/Musical Theatre training. He has taught at MTCA for more than 14 years, and is their Head Monologue Coach. As an actor, he has performed for the NY Public Theatre’s Shakespeare in the Park (All’s Well That Ends Well and Measure for Measure), the Pearl Theatre Company (Richard II), the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (King Lear, The Three Musketeers, Romeo and Juliet, Love’s Labour’s Lost), Middlebury Actor’s Workshop (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), The Arts Center of Coastal Carolina (The Unexpected Guest), The Shakespeare Theatre of DC (Richard II, Henry V, As You Like It, and Mrs. Warren’s Profession), and the Chautauqua Theatre Company (Much Ado About Nothing, Vaidehi, and Ah, Wilderness!). A few years back, Charlie co-founded and is the Managing Director of Esperance Theater Company — a company that produces classical-based work in NYC (www.esperancetheatercompany.org/). Charlie is a proud graduate of Carnegie Mellon University.
Andrew Palermo
Andrew Palermo is a director, choreographer and creator of new works for the stage.
Credits include Allegiance (Broadway, Longacre Theatre and The Old Globe), Nickel Mines, (Co-author, The Duke on 42nd St/NYMF), The Other Josh Cohen (Papermill and Soho Playhouse), Kristin Chenoweth/Carnegie Hall, The Frank Loesser Songbook/New York Philharmonic (Lincoln Center), The Mikado (Carnegie Hall), Ace (The Old Globe, Cincinnati Playhouse, Repertory Theater of St. Louis), Miss Julie (Geffen Playhouse), Lyrics and Lyricists (92nd St. Y), Bright Lights, Big City (Prince Music Theater), Vices (Theatre Aspen), The Aluminum Show (international tour), For The Record/Paul Thomas Anderson (Rockwell, LA), 125th Teachers College Gala (The Apollo Theatre), Aida (Music Theater Wichita), Man of La Mancha (Sacramento Music Circus), Two Gentlemen of Verona (University of Cincinnati/CCM), Hair and The Wild Party (Wichita State), She Loves Me (Westminster Choir College), Spring Awakening, Sweet Smell of Success, Parade and Nickel Mines (UCI).
Andrew has choreographed multi-million dollar industrials for Toyota, episodes of Comedy Central’s Stella, promos for Tracey Ullman’s State of the Union and commercials for Showtime Network and G-Shock watches.
Along with childhood friend Taye Diggs, Andrew is the Co-Founding Artistic Director of dre.dance, a contemporary dance company. With performances around New York City and North America, dre.dance has received multiple commissions, residencies, grants and rave reviews for its powerful and compelling works.
One such work, beyond.words, which focuses on the autism spectrum, has led Palermo to be a leader in the field of movement therapy. These unique classes, entitled Creatively Able, have been taught around the country, both for children with special needs and their caregivers. Palermo is an in demand collaborator in the fields of medicine and computer technology regarding the integration of the arts and special needs issues.
Andrew is also the Founding Artistic Director of The SpringSpace: A Broadband Theatre Lab. Co-Founded with Executive Director and Broadway Producer Elliot Masie, The SpringSpace provides artistic teams with a focused and fully supported global opportunity to create and hone new work. Located at MASIE Productions LAB in Saratoga Springs, NY, The SpringSpace leverages cutting edge technology that digitally brings together creators from around the world.
Past life performing highlights include original Broadway companies of Wicked and Annie Get Your Gun (‘Tommy Keeler’, Bernadette Peters revival), as well as How To Succeed…(Matthew Broderick revival), national/international tours of West Side Story, Michael John LaChiusa’s Little Fish (2nd Stage), numerous regional and concert productions.
Ron Piretti
RON PIRETTI received his MFA from the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago (now DePaul University) and a BFA from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. Ron is an actor, fight director, director, and teacher. He appeared as Officer Krupke in the Broadway production of West Side Story and in numerous soaps, commercials and films. Ron has worked as a fight director for many theatres around the country and for the Broadway shows: In the Heights, West Side Story, The Miracle Worker with Abigail Breslin, Bengal Tiger at the Bagdad Zoo with Robin Williams, The Performers with Henry Winkler and The Last Ship music and lyrics by Sting. He currently teaches acting at The Barrow Group School and has taught acting, stage combat and directed at such colleges as Actors Studio MFA program at Pace University, Wagner College, Marymount College and many other colleges and universities around the country.
LaQuet Sharnell Pringle
LaQuet Sharnell Pringle (She/Her) LaQuet Sharnell Pringle is originally from Dallas, Tx where she began her training at Booker T. Washington HSPVA. While in training, she was the recipient of numerous awards with Co. Dance, West Coast Dance Explosion, LA Dance Magic, Jacob’s Pillow, and Broadway Theater Project. Her proudest awards received were with NYCDA for Outstanding Dancer and NFAA as a National Honorable Mention in Modern & Jazz. Her thirst for dance and the arts took her to train at University NC School of the Arts as a contemporary dance major. Her ambitions were mighty, and at the end of her freshman year, she found her way to NYC where she immediately began her professional career. Her credits include, Broadway/National Tour: Mrs. Doubtfire The Musical, Beautiful The Carole King Musical, Lysistrata Jones, Memphis, The Lion King, Sweet Charity. Off Broadway: Ave Q, Make Mine Manhattan, Lysistrata Jones. Regional: Flashdance, Bring It On, All Shook Up, Candide, The Wiz, Aint Misbehavin, Princess A New Musical, Chicago, Footloose, AIDA, Nights on Broadway III, Shrek, Jawbreaker, Caty Bridgewater. TV/Film: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, As the World Turns, Step Up 3D, Devoted, Sylvia Plath Project. In addition to her performing credits she is a well sought after educator. She has served on the faculty of Tx State Univ, Ballet Austin, Houston Met, Bruce Wood Dance Project, Dance Plant of North Texas, Steps on Broadway, AMDA College and Conservatory, and NY Film Academy. She has taught masterclasses across the country. All while continuing to educate herself on how to teach and be the most well rounded artist. She has received additional training from William Esper Studios, NASM, SUNY Empire College (BA in Theater), and Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision. laquetsharnellpringle.com
Alejandro Rodriguez
Alejandro Rodriguez is an actor, writer and organizer. On staff at Artists Striving to End Poverty (ASTEP), he helps emerging and established artists harness their talents to empower youth around the world. His writing has been featured in collaborations with musicians, choreographers and filmmakers all over the globe, including his most recent work, Sorry, which premiered at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center in New York. Performance credits include the world premiere of Ghetto Babylon (National Latino Playwrights Award) at 59E59, the premiere of Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas’ Bird in the Hand at Theater for the New City, King Lear opposite Billy Porter, the title role in Romeo and Juliet for The Acting Company, and many more. Regionally, he’s worked at The Kennedy Center, the Guthrie Theatre, Denver Center Theater, Baltimore CenterStage, the Humana Festival and The Chekhov Project at Lake Lucille, among several others. Film and television credits include Nurse Jackie (Showtime), Dates from Hell (Discovery ID), and the feature film Emoticon ;). Trained at Juilliard.
Krysta Rodriguez
Krysta Rodriguez was most recently seen Off-Broadway in the New York premiere of Theresa Rebeck’s play What We’re Up Against for The Women’s Project. On Broadway, Rodriguez was last seen in the Tony Award-nominated revival of Spring Awakening under the direction of Michael Arden. Other Broadway credits include starring opposite Zachary Levi in First Date, originated the role of Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family, playing Bebe in the revival of A Chorus Line and was a part of the original companies of In The Heights, Spring Awakening, and Good Vibrations. At the Hollywood Bowl, Rodriguez led the company of A Chorus Line as Diana Morales. On television, Rodriguez co-starred with John Lithgow on the NBC series Trial & Error and is perhaps best known for her scene-stealing turn on the second season of NBC’s Smash as fan-favorite Ana Vargas. Rodriguez’s other memorable TV turns include appearances on Quantico, Younger, Chasing Life, The Mysteries of Laura, Married, and Gossip Girl.
Ethan Slater
Ethan is an actor and a writer. He starred as SpongeBob in The SpongeBob Musical on Broadway (and now on Paramount Plus!), for which he won Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, TheaterWorld Awards (and more) and earned a Tony Nomination. Starting in November, he will be seen in Assassins at CSC as The Balladeer and Lee Harvey Oswald. (You can also see him on TV in things like Fosse/Verdon, Murphy Brown, Law and Order: SVU and more. As a writer, he has a few things in development including the musical Edge of the World written with Nick Blaemire (the concept album starring Norbert Leo Butz, Lilli Cooper and Ethan is available wherever you listen to music), the upcoming films the Interveners (with Nadja Leonhard-Hooper), Silent Mode (with Marshall Pailet), and more. You can check out more of his music on Spotify or wherever you listen.
Madeline Smith
Madeline Smith is a music director, pianist, conductor, and vocal arranger based in New York. Broadway: Waitress (Pianist/Music Asst./Copyist), Frozen (Music Asst.); Off-Broadway: 1001 Nights (upcoming – MD), Futurity (Assoc. MD), An Octoroon (Assoc. MD), The Light Princess (MD). TV: The Wiz! Live (Music Asst.). Regional: Witness Uganda (ART; Music Asst./Rehearsal Pianist), Spring Awakening (Gloucester Stage Co.; Asst. MD). Madeline has music directed readings at NYMF, NAMT, and MTF as well as concerts at 54 Below, Joe’s Pub, and the Laurie Beechman. B.A. from Harvard University in Music and Classical Civilizations.
Elizabeth Stanley
Elizabeth Stanley will return to Broadway this fall in the musical Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette and Diablo Cody, directed by Diane Paulus. She previously appeared on Broadway in the revival of On the Town (Drama Desk Nomination), Million Dollar Quartet, Cry-Baby, and the Tony Award-Winning revival of Company as well as the First National Tours of The Bridges of Madison County and Xanadu. On television, Elizabeth can be seen in NOS4A2, FBI, The Get Down, The Affair, Black Box, Made in Jersey, Fringe, The Chappelle Show, and PBS Great Performances – Company. In addition to performing, Elizabeth is a painter, card-maker, and pottery-baker! She lives in NYC with her many, many plants.
Aimée Steele
Bio:
Aimée received her BA in Music/Vocal Performance from Eastman School of Music and a Master of Music in Vocal Pedagogy from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is also a graduate of the Maggie Flannigan Acting Studio where she studied the Meisner technique. As a private voice teacher and vocal coach Aimée caters to all levels and all ages. She ensures that each student comes away from every lesson with a solid vocal technique and tools they can use with confidence. Singers are enveloped in a nurturing, encouraging and non-judgmental environment that promotes vocal, physical and emotional confidence. Aimée is a member of Actors Equity Association (AEA), the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA), The New York Singing Teachers’ Association (NYSTA), and the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). Her students are featured on Broadway (The Lion King, The Phantom of the Opera, The Addams Family, Bonnie and Clyde, Bye Bye Birdie, Fiddler on the Roof, Motown, Newsies, Book of Mormon, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Sweeny Todd to name a few), Off-Broadway (Bare, Lady from Dubuque, Dirty Dancing),National Tours (American Idiot, West Side Story, Anything Goes, Mamma Mia, Flashdance) and in regional theaters as well as in the recording industry, film, and TV. Aimée is especially known for producing her Master Classes at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater where students give interactive performances and are seen by industry professionals on the iconic stage. She is on the voice faculty of NYU Tisch, The New Studio on Broadway and teaches private voice in Manhattan. www.aimeesteele.com
Ellen Winter
Ellen Winter is Brooklyn-based performer, songwriter and theater-maker from the woods of Northern Virginia. In 2017, she co-wrote/directed/composed 36 Questions with Chris Littler, a musical podcast starring Jonathan Groff and Jessie Shelton. Past residencies include Ars Nova Makers Lab, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, Barn Arts Collective and SPACE on Ryder Farm. She’s explored new work with NYTW, The Public, Joe’s Pub, Ars Nova, The TEAM, Pipeline Theater Co., PHTS, UArts, and the Tank. She’s had the joy of making music with the Bengsons, Dave Malloy, Heather Christian, César Alvarez, Salty Brine, and Andrew R. Butler. She is a proud Story Pirate and writes songs for their Gimlet podcast. Since 2013, she’s belted and written with Chamber Band, and together they have three concept albums and three national tours under their belts. Currently, she’s in post-production for her debut record, Every Feeling, available for pre-order on her website. @itsellenwinter | ellenwintermakesthings.com
