Bidalia E. Albanese (Choreographer/Instructor) is a performer, choreographer and director.  Born and raised in New York, she trained at the School of American Ballet, the High School Of Performing Arts and graduated from the Guildford School of  Acting in England.  Her directing credits include Private Wars and The Unspeakable Act which premiered at The New York Fringe Festival.  Bidalia's choreography has been seen at Guildford, Fullerton College, Wagner College, and The Hell Festival in NYC. She has performed in the UK west end, NYC (off off Broadway) and all around the States.

Aleph Ayin (Director) is a professional actor and director. He is a co-founder of onebody works, an ensemble based physical theater company in Ashville, NC and a member of The Diaspora Initiative, an international collective that uses the arts and humanities to promote global social change.  He received professional degrees from both the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts and University of North Carolina School of the Arts and trained as a teaching artist at the Lincoln Center Institute in New York.

Jordan Best (Class Instructor) has been musical directing children’s theater, choreographing, and teaching voice in the bay area for 3 years now. She has a Masters degree in Voice (opera) from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), and a Bachelors Degree in Voice from DePaul University in Chicago. She has performed in opera and musical theatre throughout the Bay Area, Chicago, Cincinnati, Italy, and France. She is a founding member of a new children’s theater in the East Bay, but lives in Mill Valley and is thrilled to join the local children’s theater community.

June Cooperman (Choreographer) has been choreographing musical theater for the past eight years, including MYP's production of The Music Man and several Mill Valley Middle School musical productions. She is happy pursuing eclectic dances interests, ranging from ballet to ballroom to Bulgarian, as well as tap dance and jazz. Prior to her life as a mother, choreographer, and dancer, June was a primary care physician in San Francisco and Boston.

Sandra Rae Davies (Class Instructor) is an improviser, actress, dancer, singer and teacher. She has been instructing children and adults all over the bay area.  She has presented her talents to countless audiences for over twenty years.  Ms. Davies formed her own improv troupe, "The YeaSayers" after completing two years of  theatrical studies at the College of Marin.

Jonathan Fadner (Musical Director) is a performer of classical, jazz, and folk music.  As a performer he has been seen singing and playing in venues from San Diego to San Francisco area such as the California Center for the Arts in Escondido, the Handlery Hotel, and every street corner and park in between. More recently, Jonathan was musical director for Berkeley Playhouse’s productions of Annie, Pinnochio and Pirates of Penzance, for which he also wrote the orchestrations. He graduated with honors from UC Berkeley's music department.  Jonathan is also a composer whose works have been performed in the San Diego area, as well as the bay area. A long time choral conductor, vocal coach, and music teacher, Jonathan truly loves what he does.

Ben Malkevitch (Musical Director) Ben Malkevitch is equally at home as a music director, vocal coach, and collaborative pianist in the worlds of opera and musical theater. He has music directed several shows for The Menlo School and Notre Dame de Namur University and has put together productions ranging from Oklahoma! to Spring Awakening and from Guys and Dolls to Songs for a New World. Mr. Malkevitch has collaborated with Lamplighters Music Theatre, Livermore Valley Opera, and BASOTI. Last fall, he had the opportunity to perform Beethoven's Choral Fantasy with the Livermore-Amador Symphony. Mr. Malkevitch is music director at First Congregational Church of San Francisco and Assistant Conductor of Bella Musica, a chorus based in North Berkeley. He holds a Masters' Degree in Collaborative Piano from the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Rebecca Martin (Director/Class Instructor) is a Bay Area AEA actress, working for 20 years on stage and in film, voice-over and commercials. She has taught and directed in youth drama programs throughout the Bay Area and recently created and began teaching her own class, “Discovering the Actor Within You”: an amalgamation of acting technique and personal empowerment. She is a recent graduate of the MFA program at The National Theater Conservatory in Denver, CO. Favorite roles include: Elmire in Tartuffe, Hamlet in Hamlet, Sheila in HAIR The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical and in her one woman show combining the writings of Virginia Woolf and Portia from The Merchant of Venice. Bay Area credits include work with Fools Fury and California Shakespeare Theater. She is a graduate of Middlebury College and believes in the advancement of our local art scene here in Mill Valley.

Jessica Nicholson  (A Cappella Ensemble Director) has taught vocal music for the past 12 years. After receiving a Bachelor of Music from the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music, Jessica began her career teaching music to students of all ages, both privately and in the classroom. Currently, Jessica is the choral director at Mill Valley Middle School. Over the past 10 years, she has built the choirs from the ground up, into a large, award-winning program serving over 500 students. Her choirs consistently receive superior ratings at competitions and festivals. She also works extensively with teenagers as a vocal music director for local musical theater productions and variety shows. Jessica is the recipient of a Golden Bell Award for outstanding educators, and the Terwilliger Award for teaching excellence.

Lexie Papedo  (Instructor) is a professional Actor/Director and Teaching Artist with over 10 years of experience and training.  Lexie graduated from UCLA where she studied Acting and Playwriting, with and emphasis on the social responsibility of the artist.  While in Los Angeles Lexie was able to work for ABC Network/Warner Brother’s Studio in the Casting and Production departments, and the Los Angeles Women’s Theater Festival as an Arts Administrator.  After graduation Lexie returned to the Bay Area to focus on performing, directing youth productions, and teaching theater. In addition to teaching at schools and theaters around the county, Lexie was also recently the Berkeley Playhouse Education Manager, helping to build curriculum and run their youth theater department.  As a performer, Lexie recently returned from New York where she is in development for the new musical Crazy, Just Like Me, winner of “Best in Fest” for the 2011 New York Music Theater Festival.  While performing in the Bay Area, Lexie has been in the casts of Tales of the City at ACT, Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven at Crowded Fire Theater Company in San Francisco, The Salt Plays at Shotgun Players in Berkeley, Brendon Simon’s Torch at San Francisco Playhouse and the Ashby Stage, and many more!  Lexie is thrilled to be able to work with your students to build performance skills and to create an environment that supports empowerment and kindness through artistic exploration.

Daniel Savio (Accompanist/Music Instructor) has been performing in music and theatre for more than 20 years.  He has been musically directing children in Marin County since 2008.  Daniel is the composer of four children's musicals produced by Oakland's Stagebridge Senior Theatre Company, one of which, City Green, is to be revived in 2012.  Daniel's first commission intended for adult audiences is the score of Lauren Yee's new play A Man, his Wife, and his Hat, appearing this season at San Rafael's Alter Theatre.  He is a member of Activ808, the North Bay Bohemian's Best of the Bay 2011 Winner for Best Hip Hop Group, and he has previously performed with the legendary San Francisco Mime Troupe.

Nora Thomas (Instrumental Internship Director, Conductor, Music Director) received her Master’s degree in Instrumental Conducting from Chico State where she was a graduate assistant to the Chico State Bands, conducting three different ensembles, teaching privately, and class piano to music majors.  From 2005-2008 Nora was also the Associate Conductor and Youth Program Administrator for the Marin Symphony Youth Orchestra. For the last several years Nora has taught music for the Mill Valley District and has taught a Kodaly Certification Program at the University of Central Missouri, teaching music teachers from all over the United States in graduate level courses. Primarily a single reed specialist, Nora has played regularly with the North State Symphony in Northern California, and principal clarinetist with the Juneau Symphony.