TEACHERS & GUEST ARTISTS

Theatre Arts Center prides itself in the professional quality of the teaching staff for all classes and the summer Performing Arts Workshops

in NYC & Bucks County.

Below is a partial list of artists who are

 CURRENTLY on our roster OR worked for us in recent seasons past.

Selected BIO'S

CATHY TUBOLINO (Bucks County, TAP) is a native of Buffalo, New York.  She has been in the dance industry for more than 35 years as a teacher, choreographer and business owner.  She is the former owner of Theatrical Dance Arts Academy and is currently the director of Dance Expressions, a local dance competition held in the Delaware Valley.  Cathy has taught in many settings such as the Hartford Conservatory, Canisius College, The Buffalo School for the Performing Arts, Karyn Kelly’s Professional Dance Center and other dance studios.  Cathy began the after school dance programs at Mary Mother of the Redeemer, St. Titus, Corpus Christi and Beth Or and co-founded “Happy Feet Productions”  teaching elementary school children the history of  Tap.  Cathy has trained with Karyn Kelly, Beverly Fletcher (Author of the Tap Dance Dictionary), Gus Giordano and Bruce Stegman, Tom Ralabata and Sammy Fiorella. She holds a B.A. degree from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York and is also a graduate of the Dance Masters of America Teachers Training Program.  She has choreographed several national, regional and local winning dance teams as well as high school and college level musical productions: including “Guys & Dolls”, “George M” and “Hello Dolly”.

            Cathy is currently dancing with members of “Tap Ties” at Moravian College where she studies with Nicole Hockenberry and Rochelle Haynes.  Cathy performed for the University of the Arts 60^th Anniversary Alumni Dance Celebration. Cathy truly believes that helping young dancers to develop a strong sense of self-esteem is paramount to being a good teacher.   

Dennis Deal, Music Director, NYC

Dennis Deal is a writer, musician and director working in legitimate theater, music and communications.  Recently he has produced 3 DVD’s for In The Classroom Media (I, Pencil; Plymouth: The Lesson of 1623 and Everyone’s Space with Scott Bakula (TV star of Quantum Leap and Star Trek: Enterprise), scored The Power of Choice, a biography of Nobel Prize economist Milton Friedman for PBS, and directed and arranged Mr. Bakula’s one-man musical show for Washington’s historic Fords Theater.

For the past 15 years Deal has sung bass with the mixed a’capella group, The Accidentals, winners of the National Harmony Sweepstakes and numerous Manhattan Concert and Cabaret awards.   Dennis has arranged over twenty albums of unrecorded theater music (Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hart, Jerome Kern, Leonard Bernstein, etc.) for Ben Bagley’s Revisited Collection, featuring such notables as Alan Arkin, Nell Carter, Sandy Duncan, Georgia Engel, Ann Miller, Anthony Perkins, Lynn Redgrave, Chita Rivera and Katharine Hepburn.  Off Broadway he’s done musical recreations for CBS LIVE! at the Minetta Lane Theater and directed his own comedy The Bad and the Horrible at The Triad.  He co-wrote and directed the New York Fringe Festival production Tri-Sci-Fi and directed Attack of the 50 Ft. Walt Whitman at Mabou Mines.  But Dennis is mostly recognized for his award winning 50’s musical send-up, Nite Club Confidential, which he has directed Off-Broadway, on London’s West End and in Los Angeles.

shira-lee shalit,  Film & TV Acting

In May 2007, Shira-Lee Shalit was chosen by Steven Spielberg out of 12,000 directors, as one of 12 Finalists for the Fox/DreamWorks TV show, "On The Lot.” While on the show, Shira-Lee wrote and directed 3 films: Check Out, Beeline and Open House.  Shira-Lee’s feature film directorial debut was A-List, a comedy starring Daphne Zuniga, Sally Kirkland, Renee Taylor and Damon Shalit. A-List won the Audience Award at the 2007 Milan International Film Festival, the Gold Remy Award for Best Comedy at the 2006 Worldfest Film Festival in Houston, TX, and was selected for the LA Women's Directors Film Fest, the Miami International Women's Director's Festival, and profiled as one of the IFP East's Project Involve Awardees.  Born in South Africa, Shira-Lee grew up in Houston, Texas, where as a high school senior, she was awarded the prestigious Presidential Scholar of the Arts Award in Acting, and performed at the White House for the President. She also won the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts Award.  Shalit graduated from NYU with a BFA in Acting, and received her MFA in Directing at Columbia University's Graduate Film Division. While at Columbia, Shira-Lee wrote and directed her first short film, Full Cycle, which was named a Finalist in the Student Academy Awards. In May 2008, Shira-Lee was hired to direct the powerful dramatic piece, Open Air, written and produced by David Paterson (writer/producer - Disney’s The Bridge to Terabithia.)

She is a faculty member at The New York Film Academy, where she teaches Acting for Film and Directing Actors. Shira-Lee is currently working on her next feature, a sexy screwball comedy.

STEPHANIE KLEMONS

Stephanie was  a Dance Captain, Swing and Carla understudy in the 2008 Tony Award Winning new musical, In The Heights.     She began with the show Off-Broadway at 37 Arts where the cast all received Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Ensemble Performance. Her current projects include BRING IT ON.  She has appeared in two other Off-  Bway shows Automatic Superstar and Repo:the genetic Opera. She was in the cast of the 1st National Tour of Bombay Dreams. Other favorite credits include back-up dancing for Don Omar at Madison Square Garden and doing a commercial with Ciara on Nickolodean. Stephanie is also starting a not-for-profit called Katie's Art Project which brings art classes to children's wards in hospitals.  Stephanie was born in Colts Neck, NJ and graduated with a B.A. in Genetics and Micro Bio Research and a B.A. in Modern Dance from Rutgers University.  

Michael O’Donnell

Michael is a veteran Broadway actor having performed in six Broadway musicals including Spamalot, where he had the privilege of working with acclaimed director, Mike Nichols and Monty Python member, Eric Idle.  Other Broadway credits include The Pajama Game with  Harry Connick Jr., The Roundabout Theatre’s revival of Cabaret, Wonderful Town, Lincoln Center’s Carousel and Victor/Victoria starring Julie Andrews.  Mr. O’Donnell is also a writer and director.  His first feature film comedy, Moving Mike, is currently being screened at film festivals across the country and abroad.  

penny ayn maas, Musical Theatre / jazz

Penny is a Broadway veteran, having appeared in Cabaret, directed by Sam Mendes and choreographed by Rob Marshall; Crazy for You, Choreographed by Susan Stroman; and Damn Yabnkees, directed by Jack O’Brien and choreographed by Rob Marshall.  She has appeared in many roles at theatres throughout the U.S., including Cleveland Playhouse, Goodspeed Opera House, Asolo, Charlotte Rep, Maine State Music Theatre, and the Tropicana in Atlantic City.     Film and TV audiences have seen Penny in The Stepford Wives, Another World, David Letterman, Late Show with Jay Leno, and the Kennedy Center Honors.  She has directed and choreographed at professional theatres and schools—a variety of shows ranging from Swingtime Canteen to High School Musical.  She is a sought after Guest Artist and choreographer at studios and theatre schools around the country.  Penny received her BFA in Music Theatre Performance at Illinois Wesleyan University.

SHANNON LEWIS, Theatre Dance / Jazz

Just returned from the National tour of A Chorus Line where she played Sheila.   Broadway: Curtains (U/S/ performed Bambi & Georgia); Sweet Charity (Ursula), The Look of Love; Contact (Standby/performed: wife, Girl in the Yellow Dress)  Fosse (I Gotcha); Candide (U/S/performed Paquette) and Crazy for You (Vera).  Encores! includes Sweet Adeline; Tenderloin; Damn Yankees (Lola u/s and Dance captain.)  Regional: Pippin (Fastrada) at Goodspeed and National Tour; Damn Yankees (Lola) at North Shore; A Chorus Line (Sheila) at TUTS; World premiere Carmen (Juanita) at La Jolla. Recordings: Fosse; Sweet Charity ;The Broadway Musicals of 1930; Candide; Tenderloin.  Film: Beyond the Sea; The Stepford Wives; Across the Sea of Time; Anything But Love. .  Commercials: E-Bay; Mohegan Sun, Trident.

Robbie Roby, Musical Theatre, Jazz

Robbie was Dance Captain for Broadway's BILLY ELLIOT. He is currently performing Damn Yankee at Papermill Playhouse.  He was Dance Captain/Swing for the original production of Hairspray: Las Vegas, performing with Tony Award^ã winning actors Harvey Fierstein and Dick Latessa.  Robbie returned to Hairspray as the final dance captain and swing for the Broadway production.  He was cast as an original member in the US national tour of Starlight Express. As part of the show, Robbie was invited to perform at TUTS’ American Musical Theatre Awards for Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber and former President George Bush and his wife. Regional credits include: Beauty and the Beast (Michigan Opera Theatre, North Carolina Theatre, and the MUNY), Empire (Stamford Center for the Arts), Young Zombies in Love (NYCFringe), and South Pacific (Casa Manana).   In 2005, Robbie served as Dance Captain/Swing for the US national tour of Joseph and the Amazing Techincolored Dreamcoat, as well as Remount Supervisor for the second national company.    In 2006, Robbie became Dance Captain/Swing for the 1^st national tour of Monty Python’s Spamalot. He can be heard on cast albums of Joseph and the Technicolored Dreamcoat and Carols for a Cure, Vol. 9 and 10.   He was seen in the world-premiere of Idaho, the 2008 award winner for best musical in the New York Musical Theatre Festival and also served as Audition Supervisor for the Broadway-hit Billy Elliot.  He was featured in the 2009-2010 national tour of Fiddler on the Roof.

CORNELIUS JONES JR., 
Musical Theatre – Theatre Dance / African Dance

Cornelius Jones Jr. is a native of Richmond, VA.   In 1992 Cornelius auditioned and was accepted to study vocal music at The Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC.  While attending Ellington he became actively involved with The Duke Ellington Show Choir, Concert Choir, and the Teen Musical Theater Company.   He has performed at The White House for former President Bill Clinton; The World Earth Day Celebration with Kenny Loggins; and the 1994 Presidential Inauguration at The Washington Monument.  Cornelius has also appeared with Anita Baker, Stevie Wonder, and the late Ray Charles.  You may also remember him on-screen alongside Phylicia Rashaad, Ruby Dee, and Edward James-Olmas as "Bunky-The Burro" on BET's Storyporch, in it's Final Season in 1994.  He studied theater and music at Syracuse University and the University of The Arts in Philadelphia, PA.  In 1999, Cornelius was cast in The National tour of Smokey Joe’s Café, which he would later tour to Seoul, Korea alongside Broadway stars BJ Crosby and Ken Ard.  Other tours include A Chorus Line, The Wiz, and Big River.   In 2001, he landed his first Broadway show under the direction of Broadway’s famed director/choreographer Susan Stroman and native New Orleans’s jazz music icon Harry Connick, Jr. in Thou Shalt Not.  Next came the First National tour of Disney’s The Lion King for 2 ½ years, when he was invited to join the Broadway Company.  On Broadway, he has had the opportunity of performing the role of adult Simba and other roles in the show.  

matthew rossoff  Hailing from Vancouver, BC, Matthew has been a competitive dancer since the age of seven.  Although trained in many dance disciplines, tapping took the cake.  While in Vancouver, Matthew performed with Vancouver’s URBAN TAP SQUAD and has trained with THE SOURCE DANCE COMPANY.  Now residing in New York City, Matthew has had amazing choreography/teaching opportunities.  He was the Associate Choreographer for HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL at the Paper Mill Playhouse and has taught Musical Theater workshops at prestigious institutions such as the Juilliard School, Circle in the Square Theater School, and with BROADWAY CONNECTIONS.  As a performer, Matthew just completed a year and half US National Tour with company of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, starring Harvey Fierstein. He made his Broadway debut at the August Wilson Theater in a one-night benefit concert of THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS (Actors’ Fund Benefit).  Other selected Regional credits include: DISNEY’S WHEN YOU WISH, SWING, WEST SIDE STORY, A CHORUS LINE, WHITE CHRISTMAS, and HELLO, DOLLY! Matthew is a featured dancer in ABC/Disney’s ONCE UPON A MATTRESS starring Carol Burnett and in Showtime’s TV musical REEFER MADNESS.  Matthew has studied at Circle in the Square Theater School and has a B.A. degree in Theater and English Literature from the University of British Columbia.

ROD KINTER,  Stage Combat Since 1995, Rod has been the Resident Fight Director with New York City Opera and in that venue has staged fights for more than 25 productions and revivals. Along with seasonal mainstays such as "Carmen" and "Don Giovanni", Rod’s work has been seen in the New York premieres of "Dead Man Walking", and "Harvey Milk", and in the televised NYCO productions of "Porgy and Bess" and "Tosca". Regional opera credits include productions for The Glimmerglass Opera, New Jersey State Opera, Opera Festival New Jersey and The San Diego Opera. New York theatrical credits include: "The Jaded Assassin", Ohio Theatre; "Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy" (Starring Cory Feldman), East 13th Street Playhouse; "Hamlet", "Romeo and Juliet", "Comedy of Errors" and "Macbeth", American Globe Theatre; "Doctor Faustus", Tribecca Theatre Lab; "Macbeth", Chekhov Theatre Ensemble; "The Brothers Karamazov", Lincoln Center Directors Lab; and "Twelfth Night","Playboy of the Western World" and the critically acclaimed "Duellists: The Forgotten Champions" (for which he was Co- Creator),Theatre Ten Ten. Rod teaches stage combat in the Opera Studio program at Manhattan School of Music. He has also been a Fight Director or Guest Instructor for the Stella Adler Actors Conservatory, Rutgers University, Mannis School of Music, Summer Theatre Institute at Columbia, SUNY Rockland and SUNY New Paltz. In January of 2005, Rod was invited by the organizers to be a guest speaker at the International Opera Convention in an effort to promote the training of opera singers in the craft of stage combat.

DebRA Whitfield,  is an award-winning actress and director who has appeared on stage, screen and television in a wide variety of roles. Off-Broadway credits include Mrs. Hamilton in Alexander Hamilton: In Worlds Unknown, Olivia in Mr. Pim Passes By (The Mint Theatre),Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra (The WorkShop Theater)and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde (opposite Orson Bean). Regionally she has played Claire in Proof (Hartford TheaterWorks), Natasha in Rough Crossing (Virginia Stage Company), Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire (Theatre Works) and the title role in Charley's Aunt with John Astin. She won Best Actress Awards for her work as Li'l Bit in How I Learned to Drive (Contemporary American Theatre Company), Sharon in The Adjustment (Florida Stage) and Sheila in Relatively Speaking (Dorset Theatre Festival). Television audiences have seen her as Chrissie Sommers on The Edge of Night and Ingrid Brice on As The World Turns.  Debra has a supporting role in the film, I Believe in America starring Jamie Harris.  In New York she has directed Absent Friends, First Lady and Duck Sauce Can Be Dangerous for The WorkShop Theater Company and Wasps and Certain Souls  for Algonguin Productions, an Endurance at the Greenwich Street Theatre. Her production of Trifles, by Susan Glaspell, won the Beaux Arts DaVinci Award for Best Revival in New York. Regionally she has directed To Gillian On Her 37^th Birthday, The Memory of Water and Sherlock’s Last Case (The Depot Theatre), A Murder is Announced (The Dorset Theatre Festival), Brighton Beach Memoirs (Emelin Theatre) and Innocence (NJ Repertory Theatre). Her recent production of In the Belly of the Beast for Florida Studio Theatre just won the Sarasota Magazine Award for Best Play of 2008. Debra is a graduate of The London Shakespeare Studio. She has taught master Shakespeare classes both with founder David Perry and independently.

Gary John La Rosa

GARY JOHN La ROSA has worked successfully as a theatre professional for over twenty-five years. A New York City native and UCLA graduate, his diverse career has brought him to four continents.

Formerly a performer (member AEA, SAG, and AFTRA), Gary John considers extended stints in Hollywood, Las Vegas, South Africa and New York to be highlights, culminating with Broadway and National tour appearances. 

Directing and choreographing as early as his student years, he discovered the reward in research and collaboration. As his desire to create and challenge himself grew, he decided to forego performing altogether. 

As a SDC director-choreographer, he has enjoyed working in dozens of venues including off-Broadway, regional theatre, industrial shows, dinner theatre and summer stock. A guest artist at many universities, he especially enjoys nurturing young talent.

Gary John spent six seasons as resident director-choreographer for Montclair Musical Theatre in New Jersey where his inventive revivals of classic musicals received much acclaim. While continuously employed as a freelance artist at theatres across the country, he is also currently developing several exciting original projects in NYC. When time permits, he conducts theatrical workshops and seminars in schools and universities, in addition to coaching privately.
 
Gary John frequently stages productions of Fiddler on the Roof, recreating the original Jerome Robbins direction and choreography. He considers himself part of the Fiddler… family having performed in the 25th and 30th anniversary productions on Broadway and National tour and having been involved in well over two dozen productions worldwide. It is an honor to carry on the "Tradition."

Over the years, Gary John has received the Kennedy Center ACTF, Clifton Webb, Phoenix, Judy, and Connecticut Critic’s Circle Awards along with two Loewe fellowships. He has received numerous nominations for the Kevin Kline, Robby, Ostrander, Perry, ACT and ariZoni Awards.

EMILY DAVIS, Acting Ensemble / Mask

Emily is a founder and Artistic Director of Messenger Theatre Company for which she has written and directed fig. a: The Heart, The Great God Money, Persephone, The Golden Apple: For the Fairest, The Daughters of Memory, The Adventures of Baba Yaga: Little Girl Stew and The Enemy. She also directed Macbeth, A Show About Magic, Burden of Proof and assisted Helena Kaut-Howson on Yerma (at the Arcola Theatre in London) and Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass, as well as Mark Ravenhill on Nursery/School.  Emily has worked as an actor with Shenandoah Shakespeare, Mill Mountain Theatre, Georgia Shakespeare Festival, Lime Kiln, Messenger Theatre Company and BAMcinematek. As a teaching artist, Emily has worked for BAM, New York Student Shakespeare Festival. TDF, City Lights Youth Theatre, American Globe Theatre, Roundabout, Theatre for a New Audience, Bronx Arts Ensemble, Arts Connection and Young Audiences/NY.  Emily trained at the Wright School in London and has an MFA in Directing from University of California, Davis.

Jen Nails
Acting & Musical Theatre:  Creating Character Thru Improv

Jen is an award-winning performer, director, teacher, and now a published author. She has been teaching improvisation and writing in New York City for the past seven years. She's performed her solo play, "Lylice" in festivals and theaters all over the world, most recently in NYC this past spring. As a writer, she has worked for Nickelodeon and the Oxygen Network, and she currently reviews books for Time Out New York. Her first novel, Next to Mexico, was
published in the fall of 2008.  She performs and teaches improv at the Peoples Improv Theater and the New York Film Academy.  Her solo play, Lylice in The Scotsman won the Four-Star Review at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (2004).  She received the Best Director Award from the Emerging Comics of New York (2004), and a Best of New York mention in New York Magazine in 2003.  She was the Critics Pick performer in Time Out New York in 2002.  She has performed and directed at numerous theatre festivals both in the U.S. and Abroad, including the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival, Gilded Balloon Theater (Scotland 2004), Uno Festival of Solo Performance (Victoria, BC Canada 2003), Single File Solo Festival (Chicago 2003), Chicago Improv Festival (2002, 2003), Harare International Festival of Arts (Zimbabwe 2001), Impro Festival (Amsterdam 2000), Kansas City Improv Festival (Kansas City, MO 1999) New York Improv Festival  (1999), Big Stinkin' Improv Festival (Austin, TX 1998), and the New York Fringe Festival (NYC 1997).  Many thanks to Robert Laconi for including her in this year's line-up of talented instructors.  Visit:  jennails.com  

Angelo Fraboni

Angelo was featured in an Off Broadway run and national tour with Bebe Neuworth in Here's Jenny.  He originated the role of Teddy Slaughter in the Broadway hit, THE FULL MONTY.  On Broadway, he also appeared in Victor/Victoria (Blake Edwards, Director), Jerome Robbins' Broadway (Jerome Robbins, Director), Cats (Trevor Nunn, Director), and Dream (Wayne Cilento, Director).  Other New York appearances include three productions with the renowned Encore Series at City Center, and the National Tour of Spirit.  In regional theatre he has appeared at Cleveland Playhouse, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Papermill Playhouse, and in the National and European tour of West Side Story, to name a few.  Film & TV roles include The Cosby Mysteries, Mighty Aphrodite, Thomas Crown Affair, Another World, Loving, and Guiding Light.  He is currently General Manager of the Off Broadway play, Burly Grimes, opening in the Spring of 2006 at the Dodgers Stages.  His daughter was a long-time student at Theatre Arts Center, NYC.

Merideth maddox
acting ensem ble – period styles

Merideth Maddox holds an MFA from the Florida State University/ Asolo Conservatory and has worked in theatre education over 10 years. Merideth began her career as an actress, playing challenging roles ranging from the dramatic to the comedic, including Abigail in The Crucible, Lady Anne in Richard III, Shelby in Steel Magnolias, Jackie in Hayfever and Lisbette in Anton in Show Business. While working as an actress, Merideth began teaching and decided to pursue a career as a full-time theatre educator.  In New York, she served as the director of the Young Actors Program at The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute from 2004 - 06, taught various movement and acting classes at The Professional Performing Arts School and became an annual guest artist at the School of Visual Arts in NYC, where she teaches a three-hour intro to acting intensive for adults.  Merideth currently teaches at Hackley School in Tarrytown, NY where she directed The Wizard of Oz and Little Shop of Horrors last season.

alisa klein hauser

musical theatre acting