theatre school

instructors

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Every student has his or her own goals, dreams, and talents. Offering year-round classes for Pre-K - adults, BPA’s education programs nurture these goals by building on student strengths, teaching new skills, and providing a positive, safe environment where students can explore and grow, all while having fun! The group atmosphere of BPA’s Theatre School classes and productions builds respect, teamwork, and responsibility – qualities leading to self-confidence, self-awareness, and character building that will last students a lifetime!

VICTORIA WHITLOW, DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION

Victoria Whitlow has been involved in performing arts education for almost 15 years. Since earning her BA in Musical Theatre from Southern Illinois University, she has performed and taught everywhere from Florida to Alaska. Victoria landed in Seattle in 2009 and immediately began teaching at several theatres including The 5th Avenue Theatre and Broadway Bound Children’s Theatre. Before coming to Washington, Victoria served as the Education Director for the California Theatre Center where she worked with over 500 students teaching, directing, and writing plays and musicals for multiple children's productions and tours. In addition, Victoria teaches private lessons in voice and piano with students of all ages and backgrounds and many of her students having gone on to sing and perform professionally with credits including American Idol, America’s Got Talent, and most recently the First National Tour of A Christmas Story the Musical. Victoria is excited to be joining the BPA community and looks forward to watching our program grow with each student, teacher, and parent that enters our theatre!

Zandi Carlson returned to her native Seattle in 2009 after receiving her BFA in Acting from Oklahoma City University. She has taught with Taproot Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare and is currently a Teaching Artist Apprentice at Seattle Children’s Theatre. As a performer, recent credits include The Pajama Game with Seattle Musical Theatre, The REPRESENT! Multicultural Theatre Festival at ACT, The Gene Pool with Arouet, The Firebugs with STAGE right, and Taming of the Shrew with Quiet Productions. She has worked locally with Theatre Northwest, GreenStage, StoryBook Theater and Theatre Schmeater. She is thrilled to be joining the BPA Theatre School this year!

Tom Challinor has over twenty years of experience in education as a high school English and History teacher, coach, and drama director. As an actor, he has appeared in three productions at Bainbridge Performing Arts, as Frederick Fellowes in Noises Off, Macduff in Macbeth, and Duke Senior in As You Like It. Other Shakespeare credits include Antipholus of Ephesus in The Comedy of Errors, Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing, and Roland de Boys in As You Like It, all with Studio H’Poko in Maui. He has an MAT in Secondary English Education from Boston University and is currently pursuing an MFA in Arts Leadership from Seattle University, while he prepares to go once more unto the breach.

D’Arcy Clements has “always been a performer, but mostly off stage,” she says with a wink. Recently, her off stage endeavors include teaching preschool (including French and music), serving as paraeducator at all grades and ability levels for the Bainbridge Island School District (BISD), tutoring math and French, substitute teaching middle school and high school for West Sound Academy and BISD, and her favorite, being Libby’s mom.

Music, voice, and theatre have been in D’Arcy’s repertoire since early grade school. Her earliest performance was lip-synching to Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe” on her best friend’s front lawn in kindergarten (she still has the original 45-record), and her peak performance was in college as Lady Macbeth. After college, she worked in a corporate environment for over 11 years before becoming a stay-at-home mom. Her corporate job descriptions always evolved to include numerous presentations to diverse audiences, development of educational materials, and coaching and motivating groups and individuals.

D’Arcy holds a B.S. in Mathematics from Seattle University, with minors and additional coursework in Computer Science, Business, Business Education, and Musical Theatre. She recently completed her M.Ed. in Mathematics for grades 6-12 through Old Dominion University, and has the title of Highly Qualified, Certificated Educator in Washington State.

D’Arcy has been actively looking for a community to bring together her heart’s passions - theatre, education, and Libby, and she is grateful BPA is able to provide such a wonderful neighborhood.

Rebecca Lane is newly graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in drama and a minor in music. While at the UW Rebecca studied acting under European masters in France as a part of the UW’s first Pontlevoy Collective. Past favorite roles include Crissy in Hair and Gertrude McFuzz in Seussical. Rebecca taught at Sing Out Seattle this summer and is thrilled to be starting at Bainbridge Performing Arts!

Dinah Manoff was accepted to the Actors Studio in New York at the age of seventeen, and won the 1980 Tony Award for her performance in Neil Simon’s I Ought To Be In Pictures. Her numerous theater credits include Broadway’s Leader of the Pack, Alfred and Victoria at the Los Angeles Theatre Center and Kingdom of Earth at Theatre West. She won a Los Angeles Dramalogue Award (Best Director of the Year, 1993) for directing Telegram From Heaven. On television, she was a series regular on Soap, Empty Nest and State of Grace. Manoff’s feature film credits include Bloodhounds of Broadway, Child’s Play, Staying Together, Backfire, Ordinary People, Grease, I Ought to be in Pictures, Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael, The Amati Girls, and the soon to be released Bart’s got a Room. As a television director Manoff worked on episodes of Empty Nest as well as Brother’s Keeper, Movie Stars, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Sister Sister.

Chris Soldevilla has been teaching and performing Improv in Boston, L.A. and now Bainbridge and Seattle for 20 years. He has appeared in over 50 commercials and in productions such as Coyote Ugly, 7th Heaven, and Arli$$. He received his best reviews when he played the title role in The Revolt of the Foolish Molar in Mrs. Gladney’s 3rd grade class. His wife has done some acting as well…

Aaron Tuttle is a professional director, film maker and teacher. Favorite credits include Blue Man Group, Peter Pan starring Cathy Rigby and The Phantom of the Opera working alongside famed Broadway director Hal Prince. His productions of Noises Off! and Eugene O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape were each awarded Best Production of Year by the Las Vegas Review Journal. In addition to directing, Aaron has taught every facet of theatre at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for nearly a decade. He has studied with Anne Bogart, Peter Brook and holds an M.F.A. in Directing.