NATALIE BATTISTONESTP Production Assistant, Co. B Teacher, and SPACC Instructor

NATALIE moved out to Sun Valley with partner Kevin Wade immediately after completing her MFA in Acting at the American Repertory Theater/Moscow Art Theatre School Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard in 2015. Prior to graduate study Natalie received her BA in Classics/Theatre from the University of Vermont, had a residency at the Moscow Art Theatre School in 2011, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-Upon-Avon and the Ruotalibera Teatro in Rome both in 2012. She works professionally as an actor but also directs and teaches (Shakespeare, Audition-Prep and Acting). Some career highlights have been working with playwright Eve Ensler on the 2014 World Premiere of "O.P.C." at the American Repertory Theater and playwright Paula Vogel on a 2012 production of "HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE." Natalie currently works as a creative director for The Spot and runs the company's marketing/social media platforms. She'll be teaching SHAKESPEARE at SPACC this summer and performing in the Sun Valley Shakespeare Festival Productions of The Winter's Tale and Macbeth this July! Her

dog's name is Ophelia. 

SARA BRADSHAW GORBY Production & Education Director, Godspell Choreographer, and SPACC Camp Director

SARA was born and raised in the Wood River Valley and has worked as a singer, actor and dancer as well as working behind the scenes as a director, choreographer and producer. Sara began with Playhouse on its second production, Godspell, in 2002. For the last thirteen years Sara has collaborated with many artists in building and growing programs for St. Thomas Playhouse. As Education Director, she created Company B Performing Arts Day Camp, Summer Theatre Project and SPACC (Summer Performing Arts Conservatory Camp).

Community Theater is the place where Sara’s heart finds true joy. The discovery, magic and opportunity for the growth are boundless. Other teaching credits include, WRHS Performing Arts Academy and Pioneer Montessori School. Sara still love to perform! Recent roles include; Isabella in The Birthday Feast with STP Children’s Tour, Spring Awaking and Next to Normal at The Spot and Irene Malloy in Hello, Dolly!. Favorite roles include, Sally Bowles in Cabaret (Laughing Stock), Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Super Star (STP) and Trinculo in The Tempest (nexStage).

PETER BURKE Godspell Choreographer, Willy Wonka, Jr. Choreographer, and SPACC Instructor

PETER, A graduate from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Burke studied musical theater, classical theater, experimental theater and dance in both New York and Amsterdam. He has appeared in several Off-Broadway productions including Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and John Patrick Shanley’s Fire Burning Rain. Burke’s film and TV credits include Blood and Love, HBO’s Mildred Pierce, Terry Richardson’s Last Hours (65th Annual Cannes Film Festival), Hellaware (BAM Film Festival), See You Next Tuesday, Alicia Key’s music video New

Day and Michael Bay’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Burke has spent the past four years teaching in Sun Valley, Idaho where he, along with several esteemed colleagues, have founded a non profit theater and performing arts conservatory, called The Spot. Recent credits include: Next To Normal, Gabe, Angels in America, Prior Walter, Hand to God, Timmy, The Trestle at Popelick Creek, Dalton, The Pillowman, Ariel, Spring Awakening, Director. Additionally, he is a committee member at St Thomas Playhouse.

ST. THOMAS PLAYHOUSE SPACC 2017FACULTY & STAFF

GRANT CAREY Godspell Vocal Coach, Co. B June Teacher, and SPACC Instructor

GRANT is a singer-songwriter, composer, music producer, music director & theatre artist from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. Grant has written original music for a variety of albums, plays, short films, musicals, and dance works. Early this year, Grant sound-designed & composed music for the world premiere of Birds of East Africa by Wendy Dann at Kitchen Theatre Co. in Ithaca, NY. In late 2016, he collaborated with his alma mater Ithaca College & the Department of Theatre Arts to compose an original ballet choreographed by Amy O'Brien. As an artistic associate of The Spot in Sun Valley,

Idaho, Grant has worked as an actor, music director and composer. Credits with The Spot include The Pillowman, A New Brain, 35mm, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, Spring Awakening, and Next to Normal. Last year, valley residents may have caught him as Shrek in Shrek The Musical with St. Thomas Playhouse. Grant is also a member of indie pop group Summer Underground. Last year, Summer Underground completed a 20-city nationwide tour in support of their 3rd album More Than a Friend, Less Than a Lover. In 2016, Grant began his first solo music endeavor Private Victories. Private Victories' self-titled debut album was released May 2016. Grant holds a BFA in Musical Theatre Performance from Ithaca College. More at www.grantcarey.xyz

ALISON HIGDON Willy Wonka & Chocolate Factory, Jr. Art Director & Costumes and SPACC Art Director

ALISON has lived and worked creatively in the Wood River Valley for 23 years. The beautiful environment, her supportive family, and the incredible community that surrounds her inspire her. She owns her own small business teaching art classes and summer camps out of her home and art studio in Hailey. During the Holiday season Alison can be found decking the halls of her clients homes. She has costumed many local productions including The Community School’s versions of High School Musical, and a 60’s version of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Nights dream. Her costume design has also been in many nexStage productions including, Charlotte’s

Web, Alice in Wonderland, and James and the Giant Peach, as well as many productions for St. Thomas Playhouse. Alison also loves to paint in molten beeswax! Her encaustic paintings are in private collections nation wide. She teaches this technique through SVCA and in her home. She is once again truly thrilled to be a part of the St Thomas Playhouse summer children’s programs and is continually grateful to St. Thomas for being the place where she discovered her true calling of working with kids and living a creative life so many years ago!

MARY KENNEDY SPACC Instructor

MARY has taught dance, fitness, and movement-based classes to children for over 20 years. Currently, she lives in New York City and teaches full-time as a Teaching Artist/Choreographer at National Dance Institute (NDI), an award-winning arts & education program founded by ballet star, Jacques d'Amboise. Highlights of her work at NDI include traveling to China and Bali to teach, study & perform and directing NDI's 2013 Event of the Year - The Big Easy. Her unique choreography has been showcased at the New York City Center, Symphony Space and more recently at the Playstation Theater in Times Square for NDI's 2017 Gala. She teaches Jazz and Tap for NDI's Summer Institute program. Kennedy is a graduate of the 92nd Street Y's Dance Education Laboratory (DEL), an AFAA certified group exercise instructor and Yogi Beans

(children's yoga) certified. She graduated from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA with a BA in Communication Studies, Theatre, and Dance. Mary is thrilled to return to Idaho this summer to teach for SPACC!

YANNA LANTZ STP Production/Admin Assistant, Godspell Costume Designer, SPACC Instructor, and Co. B 2 Art Director

YANNA is a transplant to the Wood River Valley from Massachusetts and a co-founder of The Spot. She studied Acting and Voice at Ithaca College where she earned her BFA. Additionally, Yanna has studied Shakespeare and Classical Acting at LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) and Improv with New York’s UCB (Upright Citizens Brigade). She was recently seen in The Spot's production of Hand to God as Margery, in Angels in America as Harper, and in 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee as Logainne. At St. Thomas Playhouse she was seen in Children of Eden as Yonah and in Urinetown as Little Becky Two Shoes. She is extremely excited for another incredible year at SPACC!

MEGAN MAHONEY Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, Jr. Director, SPACC Counselor & Instructor, and Disney’s 101 Dalmatians KIDS Choreographer

MEGAN is thrilled to be back in Sun Valley for the STP summer season! This past year, Megan performed as a principle singer on Holland America Line’s MS Westerdam, cruising to Alaska, Hawaii, and the Mexican Riviera. She trained at CAP21 Musical Theatre Conservatory in NYC and received her BA in Theatre Management from UMass Amherst. Megan has been a Acting Mentor in Fame, West Side Story, and Urinetown. Favorite past credits include Olive in The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee and Janet in Rocky Horror Picture Show with The Spot, and performing and writing the devised shows What the Moon Saw and The Higgs Boson Project in NYC.

JAMES MARTIN SPACC Instructor

JAMES, An internationally-acclaimed performing and teaching artist, is pleased to return to his Idaho “home” for SPACC with St. Thomas Church. James played Father Children of Eden for St. Thomas Playhouse’s Family Main Stage. James has been heard and seen in opera houses and musical theatre stages in the USA Canada, and Europe. A baritone with “big, beautiful easy rolling voice,” can also be heard on the Copland House, Naxos and Albany record labels performing music by African-American composers. As a teaching artist, James has taught master classes and seminars across the US and has taught at Jackson State University and Millsaps College. His students have attended The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, New York University, University of Chicago, Univ. of VA, to name a few. James lives in Jackson, MS, and serves as Minister of Music & Director of Creative Arts Ministries at Wells United Methodist Church while working with ecumenical programs around the state.

BRETT MOELLENBERG Managing Director of St. Thomas Playhouse and SPACC Instructor

BRETT is the managing director of St. Thomas Playhouse. He has worked for Playhouse since 2009 in many roles and moved to the Wood River Valley permanently in 2014. Favorite acting and directing credits at STP include SubUrbia (2009), Urinetown (2015) and Pippin (2010). Other Valley credits include Tempest (SV Shakespeare) and his work at The Spot, where he is a co-founder (Next to Normal, ...Spelling Bee, Angels in America, among others). He has also had the opportunity to work with theatre legends Bob Moss (Enemy of the People, Ithaca College) and Michael Fosberg (Marie Antoinette, Northwestern University). Other favorite credits from around the country include

Translations, The Yellow Boat and his very own high school opus, Boxed In, which premiered at Phoenix Theatre in Arizona. Brett is a native of Phoenix, AZ and lives in Warm Springs with the love of his life, Yanna Lantz and their border collie mix, Lyla.

DORINDA RENDAHL Godspell Musical Director and SPACC Accompanist & Guru

DORINDA is currently the music teacher for Alturas Elementary. She also serves as the accompanist for Colla Voce female vocal group at Wood River High School. Dorinda has worked with Playhouse for the past 11 years. She has music directed Co. B summer camps. She has accompanied more shows than we can count, including HAIR, West Side Story, Secret Garden, Music Man, King & I, Hello, Dolly!, to name a few. Dorinda has most recently Musical Directed, A New Brain at The Spot, The Sound of Music, and Shrek the Musical. You may also see her playing for Community Upper School musicals, Saturday Mass at Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church and is the accompanist at Church of the Big Wood. Dorinda has an incredible gift for sharing her love of music. Always an educator, she thrives in an environment where people are taking artistic risks, learning and growing.

KEVIN WADE Godspell Director, SPACC Instructor, and Co. B August Set Designer

KEVIN is a proud Sun Valley native, St. Thomas Playhouse teaching artist, and founding member of The Spot. When he isn't teaching, directing, or acting, can usually be found in the river. He has performed Off-Broadway and developed several new plays and musicals in New York. He received his BFA in Drama from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, and in May 2015, received his Master of Fine Arts in acting from the American Repertory Theatre/Moscow Art Theatre Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University. Three month artistic residency at the Moscow Art Theatre, birthplace of the Stanislavski System, where he and his colleagues performed an original, devised adaptation of Dostoyevsky's The Idiot to a sold-out run. Kevin has studied acting with founding Artistic Director of Atlantic Theater Company, Scott Zigler; Commedia dell'Arte and clown with comedy conceptor and first clown of Cirque du Soleil's Zarkana, Daniel Passer; and stagecraft with Tony Award-winning Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theatre, Diane Paulus. Directing credits at St. Thomas: West Side Story, Fame, South Pacific, Shrek, and now GODSPELL! He counts himself extremely lucky to be back with St. Thomas again. Thank you STP!