All About ~ The Staff

Mission Statement

Staff

Lindsey Chester - Artistic Director

A well-known local actor and director, has appeared in many productions ranging for straight drama, to musicals, and even film. Among Lindsey's past directing projects have been Disney's Cinderella (2007), Disney's 101 Dalmatians (2007), West Side Story (2007), Urinetown (2007) and Seussical the Musical (2006). Lindsey has been acting since the age of 6, starting with a small part in Oliver Twist. Her theatre experience since then includes Damn Yankees (Lola), West Side Story (Maria) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Helena). Recently, she has diversified her career with roles in Into the Woods (Witch), Fiddler on the Roof (Chava), Tom Foolery (Lindsey) and Hair (Sheila).

Lindsey has been working for the past 9 years with children ages 6 through 19 here in Santa Cruz County. She is also an avid performer and has recently been seen on the Cabrillo Stage in Kiss Me Kate; as a Bianca Girl, as General Mathilda Cartwright; in Guys and Dolls and as a Pick-A-Little Lady in The Music Man. She is also known in the education circuits as a tutor of science, mathematics and French. She has privately tutored children from Aptos to Boulder Creek and has taught a homeschool group in Ben Lomond. She finds time to give private voice lessons to about a dozen students and in her free time enjoys seeing her husband! (Resume)

Eleanor Hunter - Musical Director

Eleanor Hunter is a native of Santa Cruz and a recent graduate of UCSC with a Bachelors degree in Vocal Performance. During her studies at UCSC Eleanor studied voice with Brian Staufenbiel and was a member of the University Concert Choir and Chamber Singers where she was also featured as a soloist. Her roles with the UCSC Opera Department include La Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro and Mrs. Gobineau in The Medium. Eleanor also played the role of Maude Dunlop in the Cabrillo Stage production of The Music Man as well as playing the role of The Wardrobe Lady / Understudy for Kate, in Kiss Me Kate, also with Cabrillo Stage. Her most recent work was musically directing All About Theatre`s fall 2007 production, West Side Story. She has musically directed over half of all the AAT productions.

Andrew Roubal - Choreographer/Director

One of All About Theatre`s most loved members of staff, Andrew has been dancing since the age of three. He has appeared in The Music Man and Damn Yankees with the American Musical Theatre of San Jose. He has also appeared in Singing In the Rain and A Chorus Line with MCT. This summer he was seen in Kiss Me Kate as Hortensio; Cabrillo Stage (his fourth show with Cabrillo Stage in as many years). Andrew has also received many awards and scholarships for his dancing and choreography. Most recently he won the National Highest Score for his rendition of Mr. Cellophane from Chicago. Andrew has recently been accepted to California State University, Fullerton. Here, he has been accepted into the Theatre Arts department, and will obtain a degree in Musical Theatre. Andrew is proud to be a director and choreographer for All About Theatre, and is currently working on Footloose (2008).

Bevin Anne Bell-Hall - Choreographer/Director

Bevin has choreographed, stage managed, directed, produced and acted in over fifty theater productions, both professional and non-professional, since she started her career at age six. She worked for two years at Magnolia middle school as co-director and choreographer in their theatre department. She also taught children`s classes at Laura Bishop`s dance studio. Her directing and choreography credits include Annie, Snapshots, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Macbeth. She recently appeared in Shakespeare Santa Cruz`s The Princess and the Pea. She has also acted with Foothill Theatre Company as Anne Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Robin Starvling in A Midsummer Night`s Dream. In 2005, she appeared alongside Lindsey, Eleanor, and Andrew as Ethel Toffelmeir in Cabrillo Stage`s The Music Man. She is thrilled to be working with them again. Some of Bevin`s other favorite roles include Andrea in Once On This Island, Lucinde in L`Amour Medcin, and Lucy in You`re a Good Man Charlie Brown. Bevin is excited about her current work with AAT and for future productions. She is also one of our instructors in the Performing Arts Academy.

Ashley Little - Musical Choreographer

Ms. Little is a California native, born and raised in the bay area. She began dance training at age 3 with Lana Wright, formal singing lessons with Heidi Henderson at age 7 and performing in musical theatre at age 6. Ms. Little has attended Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School and Camp in Steamboat Springs, Colorado and boarding school in Woodstock, Connecticut where she choreographed throughout the school year. Ms. Little is a graduate of both Teen Stars Academy and Theatre Artists Institute at American Musical Theatre San Jose where she received the Triple Threat Award and was trained by Gary Martinez, Anthony LoCascio, Dottie Lester-White, Greg Fritsh, Marc Jacobs, and many others. Her past credits include: Chiffon (Little Shop of Horrors), Janet (The Rocky Horror Show), Amneris (AIDA), Lady Larkin (Once Upon A Mattress), Ariel (Footloose), Fantine (Les Miserables), Annie (Chicago), Dorothy (The Wiz), Kate (Oklahoma!), Charlotte (Oliver), and many others.

Jon-Mark Hurley - Musical Director/Instructor

Jon-Mark has over 29 years of music experience and has been bringing his unique approach to music to Santa Cruz for over 5 years. He holds the Master of Music degree from Belmont University (2000, Nashville, Tennessee) and the Bachelor of Arts in Music from Santa Clara University (1995, Santa Clara, California). During his performing career he has attended the prestigious School of Piano at The Chautauqua Institute in New York and the Bay Area Opera Singer`s Institute of San Francisco, California. His Musical Theatre experience includes not only performing on the stage but also working behind the scenes as a professional vocal coach, musical director, producer and arranger additionally scoring two musicals. As a teacher he has taught both privately and on the college/university level as well as at central coast high schools. Currently, he studies acting with Bobbie Weinapple of Sedways Studios in San Francisco and has studied voice with Brian Staufenbiel of UCSC. As a singer/songwriter, he recorded his first CD in 2000 which received both national and international radio play. His songs have also been recorded by The Acapella Company.

Lara Foy - Instructor

An actor, singer, storyteller, dancer and educator. She studied theater for social change at the Claremont Colleges, and went on to work in Ireland with theater companies Macnas and Colours Environmental Theatre. While overseas she worked for Solas, bringing arts for social change into the classroom. She studied storytelling in California, Arizona, Nepal, Peru, Ecuador, and Ireland and is currently directing the musical "Captain Bree and Her Lady Pirates" with Pisces Moon at Valencia Elementary. She is a performer at kids` parties on the weekends, as well as an excited new addition to All About Theatre!

Emily Marsilia - Choreographer/Instructor

Dancing since the age of four, Emily has competed in many different styles of dance with KAR Dance, I Love Dance, Tahoe Nationals, and Starlight Productions. Emily has been teaching dance classes for All About Theatre since 2005 including tap and ballet. She assisted along side previous dance teacher Denise Reid for AAT`s West Side Story. However, she most recently choreographed Disney`s 101 Dalmatians and Disney`s Cinderella for AAT`s summer youth productions. Performances include Cabrillo Stage`s most recent production Kiss Me Kate, Guys & Dolls and Annie Get Your Gun. Emily is experienced in many styles of dance including ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, swing, salsa, waltz and rumba.

Mazera Cox - Musical Director/Accompanist

Mazera has musically directing several shows and has been acompanying musical theatre productions in the Santa County area for many years now. She has played for Cabrillo as well as UCSC and a renowned player at several local churches. Her enthusiasm for working with msuical theatre shines through, along with her generous nature whilst working with children. All About Theatre is honored to have Mazera as their permanent accompanist.

Paul Hughes - Director/Instructor

Paul Hughes has been working as a performer both professionally and non-professionally since the age of 11. He is currently pursuing a Bachelors Degree of Music in Musical Theatre at Westminster Choir College / College of the Arts in Princeton, New Jersey. Paul is studying voice with Broadway veteran Charles Walker, and he has studied acting with Cindy Gorski, Liz Palmer, and Kelly Lake, all professionals in their field. Locally, Paul has appeared in four Cabrillo Stage shows and over fifteen non-professional productions. He has also acted in one UCSC student film and one independent film (Television Association), and has sung on two recordings (Seraphim Six Productions). He has directed Mary Zimmerman`s `Metamorphoses,` and last summer he co-directed the AAT youth productions `101 Dalmatians` and `Cinderella.`

Zoe Schneider-Smith - Dance Instructor

Dancing since the age of 3, Zoe has been introduced to many styles of dance including ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, and ballroom. She currently takes lessons from professional Terry Phillips and started teaching for her 3 years ago, teaching ballet and tap to younger age groups. She now continues her career in dance at Cabrillo taking ballet from Barbara England, modern from David King and took ballroom from Amy Farhood. Zoe is an avid actress, singer dancer and has performed with Christopher Wolters, The Life In Motion, and with Little People`s Rep. Theater. She has been acting since the age of 6 and started working with AAT last fall when she participated in Thoroughly Modern Millie. She has since performed in West Side Story, and Sweet Charity, also with AAT. She taught tap and ballet along side Lindsey Duran during last Summer`s Cinderella Kids program with AAT and is looking forward to another season of teaching dance.

Lindsey Duran - Dance Instructor

Dancing since the age of thirteen, Lindsey has competed in many different styles of dance with `Energy in Motion`. She has participated in regional and national competitions with KAR Dance, LA Dance Magic, and Stars of Tomorrow. Lindsey began teaching dance in 2005 at the Westside Academy of Dance and has been teaching with All About Theatre since June of 2007. Lindsey is experienced in many styles of dance including ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, and modern and enjoys teaching dance to others.

Lindsey has been involved in musical theatre since the age of ten. She began her work in musical theatre with Newman Performing Arts and was assistant choreographer for their productions of Grease in 2005 and Scrooge in 2006. She began working with All About Theatre in June of 2006 and has since been involved in their productions of A Chorus Line, Thoroughly Modern Millie, West Side Story, and Sweet Charity in which she acted as assistant to the choreographer. Lindsey is currently in her second year as a dance major at Cabrillo College and plans to eventually transfer to a four-year university to pursue a BA in Dance or Musical Theatre.

Maya Barsacq - Musical Director

After many years of singing opera and operettas on stage with San Jose Lyric Theatre (Trial by Jury, Iolanthe, Princess Ida and Il Campanello), and Bay Shore Lyric Opera (Traviata and Cosi Fan Tutte, Maya decided to pursue a new musical path and dedicate her energy and interest to conducting. She studied locally with Nicole Paiement at UCSC and currently is a student of Barbara Day Turner.

Maya has a wide interest in various musical genres and has been involved in the music community in Santa Cruz and abroad as a performer, avid listener, educator and promoter of world music. She is the recipient of the 2005 Gail Rich award for her dedication to the arts and her work in the community.

Ponder Goddard - Instructor

Ponder Goddard is a native of the Bay Area and is an Associate Artist of San Francisco`s Cutting Ball Theater, where she recently performed the role of Tranio in The Taming of the Shrew at the Magic Theater. She has also appeared in Cutting Ball`s Avant Garde-A-Rama festival and Hidden Classics series. Ponder trained in movement, acting and speech at NYU`s Experimental Theater Wing, and studied improv with Bay Area Theatresports (BATS). Her favorite past roles include Titania (A Midsummer Night`s Dream), Rosalind (As You Like It), Shen Teh (The Good Person of Setzuan) and Scheherezade (Arabian Nights). When not acting on the stage, she performs as a belly dancer with The Rising Stars in Mill Valley and as children`s party clown.

Interested in working with All About Theatre?

Lindsey Chester : 831-345-6340