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Howard Shangraw
Chair, Theatre Department/Director and Acting instructor
Howard Shangraw is a graduate of New York ’s American
Academy of Dramatic Arts and is currently core faculty with
AADA, Hollywood, where he has been teaching advanced acting
since 1989. He taught character mask workshop, scene study
and improvisation for South Coast Repertory’s adult
and youth conservatory programs, and performance at the
Pasadena Youth Conservatory. An award-winning actor and
director, Howard has performed at the Manhattan Theatre
Club, Theatre de Lys, the Mark Taper Forum, Laguna Playhouse,
Grove Shakespeare Festival and South Coast Repertory Theatre,
where he is a resident actor and company member. Television
appearances include Frasier, Star Trek: Deep Space
Nine, Hill Street Blues, and a recurring
role on Cagney and Lacey. Directing credits include
productions for the Theatre of the Mediterranean, Barcelona,
Spain, the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Pacific
Resident Theatre, the Matrix Theatre, South Coast Repertory,
Stella Adler Theatre, and over thirty productions for the
AADA acting company.
Bonnie Carpenter
Head of Design and Technical Production
Bonnie holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in theatre design
and technology from Northern Illinois University, a Bachelor
of Science degree in theatre arts with emphases in secondary
theatre education and technical theatre, and a Bachelor
of Science degree in communications from Carroll College
in Wisconsin. Her professional credits include work with
various companies throughout the Chicago area, including
assistant to the curator of the historic scenic collection
of the Chicago Lyric Opera.
Todd Carpenter
Lighting and sound designer/Technical theatre instructor
Todd is a graduate of Northern Illinois University in technical
direction. In addition to a Master of Fine Arts degree,
he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in communications
and a Bachelor of Science degree in theatre arts with an
emphasis in technical theatre from Carroll College. Todd’s
professional credits include work at the Apple Tree Theatre
in Chicago, the Oak Park Shakespeare Theatre Festival, and
Williams Gerard Production, to name a few.
Adjunct Theatre Faculty
Bill Bartlett
Tap instructor
Justin Blake
Musical Theatre Reportiore instructor
Justin has appeared in more than 100 productions on the
stage in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, New York
and San Diego as well as the Coachella Valley. He currently
tours a one-man show portraying HARRY TRUMAN in Give ‘em
Hell Harry. He has produced and/or directed shows the McCallum
Theatre, Marquis Hotel, Fantasy Springs Casino, the Playwright’s
Circle, La Quinta Playhouse and others. One of his proudest
accomplishments was the 2004 Southern California premier
of Bat Boy, the Musical. Justin produces an annual theatre
series at the Rancho Mirage Public Library with California
Desert Regional Theatre, a non-profit regional company,
for which he serves as Artistic Director.
Justin came to the Coachella Valley from Los Angeles in
1997 after working more than 20 years in the entertainment
industry there. He currently divides his time between the
production of shows, teaching, and service on the Board
of Education for Palm Springs Unified School District. He
is a proud member of the Writers Guild of America, Actor’s
Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA.
Justin holds a B.A. in Music and Theatre Arts from the College
of the Ozarks in Branson, Missouri. He graduated from the
Musical Theatre Conservatory at the Los Angeles Music Center,
has studied with Nina Foch, Gordon Hunt, Horton Foot and
David Craig. He is honored to be teaching Mr. Craig’s
method of Musical Theatre Performance for Idyllwild Arts.
Tim Booker
Development of the Drama instructor
Tim has lived in Idyllwild for the past nineteen years.
As an honor student, he received a B.A. in English literature
and languages from Indiana University with minors in comparative
literature and cultures. He has worked as a commissioned
artist for the last twenty years and was the exhibition
center manager for Idyllwild Arts. He has also been the
personal secretary for Marguerite Courtney and editor of
her poetry and memoirs. After working in the public school
system in Hemet and San Jacinto, he has happily become an
adjunct faculty member of the Interdisciplinary Arts, Creative
Writing and Theatre departments of Idyllwild Arts Academy.
Abbie Bosworth
Acting instructor
Abbie Bosworth is a graduate of Birmingham University in
the United Kingdom, where she received her honors Bachelor
of Arts degree in both Spanish and theatre studies. While
living in the U. K., Abbie contributed to the Manchester
Arts Festival, both as a director and an actor. She has
a post-graduate degree in teaching at the high school level
and has been teaching English literature and theatre for
twelve years, most recently for the San Bernardino Arts
Council. Abbie has taught for the last four years at the
Montessori school in Redlands, focusing on Shakespeare in
performance. This year, Abbie will complete her M. F. A.
in creative writing for the performing arts with an emphasis
in playwriting.
Deborah Brockus
Chair, Dance department
Deborah received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University
of California, Irvine in both dance and English. Professionally,
she has been labeled “the single most important person
in Southland dance” by the Los Angeles Times. The
Times has also labeled her an “impresario,”
“tireless,” and “the mother superior of
LA dance” because of her involvement in the west coast
dance scene as a choreographer, teacher and producer. She
has performed with numerous regional companies and has appeared
in television, video, clubs and musicals. She is artistic
director of the Brockus Project Dance Company, which performs
works throughout Southern California, and producer of Dance
in LA showcases, which include Split, Spectrum
Dance in LA, New Perspectives and Caught Between.
She also produces a masterclass series with artists
from companies such as Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Alvin
Ailey, Paul Taylor and Lines Contemporary Ballet. Deborah
was a panelist for the Fosse Scholarship Awards in Los Angeles
and has received awards for teaching, choreography and producing.
She is director of the Idyllwild Arts Summer Dance Intensive.
Amy Sue Fall
Voice and Speech instructor
Amy Sue has an M. F. A. in acting from Roosevelt University
in Chicago and has taught at the University of Kansas-Lawrence,
University of Missouri-Kansas City, and Webster University.
She is a Certified Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice voicework
and a Certified Colaianni Speech teacher. She also teaches
the Linklater progression and was trained by Louis Colaianni,
master designated Linklater teacher.. Amy Sue has studied
with master voice teachers, Patsy Rodenburg at the Royal
National Theatre Studio in London, Catherine Fitzmaurice
and Louis Colaianni. She has been the voice/dialect coach
on numerous productions including Grapes of Wrath, directed
by Risa Brainin, Two Gentleman of Verona, Moonchildren,
Oliver and many more. She has directed Desdemona, A Play
About a Handkerchief, The Congresswomen, No Exit and was
assistant director for Valley Song at Northlight Theatre
(LORT Theatre) in Chicago.
Leigh Anne Gillespie
Class Piano instructor and accompanist
Leigh Anne Gillespie is a pianist, composer, and sound designer.
She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Electronic Music and
the Recording Arts from Mills College, where she studied
composition with Pauline Oliveros, Alvin Curran, and Eliane
Radigue. Originally from the Washington, D.C. area, she
received a Bachelor's degree in piano from George Mason
University, and later studied piano with Dean Sanders at
the University of Illinois. Her compositions and multimedia
works have been presented at venues including Los Angeles
Contemporary Arts, Dance Kaleidoscope in Los Angeles, the
Cal Arts CEAIT Festival, Mills College, and various galleries
and performance spaces in San Francisco. She has served
as music director and/or pianist for numerous professional
arts organizations and schools such as the Levine School
of Music, the Washington Ballet and the Washington Oratorio
Society, the National Academy of the Arts, and the University
of Redlands, as well as working as a composer/sound designer
for Leap Frog Toys. She has taught in the Music, Dance,
Theatre, and Moving Pictures departments during her ten-year
association with Idyllwild Arts Academy.
Frank Haggard
Private Voice Instructor
Jeanette Knight
Acting instructor/Improvisation instructor
Jeanette Knight is a master teaching artist, and member
of the resident touring group, the “Hug o Warriors,”
for the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert. She has acted in,
directed and/or choreographed numerous productions nationwide.
Favorites include the role of Rose in The Woolgatherer
at the 2001 Tony award-winning theatre Victory Gardens in
Chicago, directing the California premier of The Dianalogues,
and directing Bang, Bang, You’re Dead as
an artist-in-residence project in partnership with the California
Arts Council. Jeanette currently hosts 3rd Sunday Improv
jams at the Palm Canyon Theatre in Palm Springs.
Rendon Ramsey
Acting for the Camera instructor
Rendon holds an M.F.A. in acting from the California Institute
of the Arts, an A.A. in acting from the American Academy
of Dramatic Arts, and a B.A. in speech communication from
the University of Washington. He has taught acting at Cal
Arts and English at the ACI Institute in San Marino, California.
Rendon has worked as an actor for fifteen years, appearing
on both stage and screen. Some of his most memorable productions
include Machinal at the Stella Adler Theatre, Twelfth
Night with the Antaeus Theatre Company, Juno and
the Paycock with Interact Theatre Company, Romeo
and Juliet with Kingsmen Shakespeare, and Erik Ehn’s
Medusachrist at REDCAT.
Paul Sahuc
Voice Instructor/Musical Theatre Repertory Instructor
Paul Sahuc is recognized for his versatility as performer,
pedagogue and conductor. As a baritone soloist, he has appeared
in opera, oratorio, and concerts with such organizations
as The Michigan Opera Theatre, The New Orleans Philharmonic
and The Minnesota Opera. His discography includes The Royal
Swedish Opera recording of Solitär, and
Der Rosenkavalier with The Minnesota Opera. As a leading
man in musical theatre, he has received acclaim for his
portrayals as Frank Butler in Annie Get Your Gun,
The Poet in Kismet, and Lancelot in Camelot,
among others. As a conductor, he has led performances in
many genres, including symphonic, wind, choral, opera and
musical theatre. Paul has produced some of the finest emerging
vocal talent in the United States. His students are frequent
guests of The Metropolitan Opera, The Spoletto Festival,
and The Seattle Opera, to name a few. He holds a Master
of Music degree in voice performance from The Cincinnati
Conservatory, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in clarinet
and voice from The University of Louisiana-Lafayette. Paul's
teaching career has included work at several universities
and music festivals, and he is in demand as a vocal and
choral clinician. In addition to his duties at Idyllwild
Arts Academy, Paul is a visiting professor of voice at the
University of Redlands and maintains a private voice studio.
Paul is represented by Monica Robinson Artist Management
of New York.
Lori Stinson
Voice instructor
A popular American soloist in the Los Angeles area, Lori
was a Western Region Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera
auditions and a winner in the Richard Tucker Foundation
awards. She has performed with the Los Angeles Opera, San
Diego Opera, Aspen Opera Theatre, South Bay Opera, and Utah
Festival Opera, and sang the role of Pamina in Die Zauberflote
at the Redlands Bowl.
Kandie St.Germain
Acting instructor
Kandie St.Germain received her M. F. A. from the University
of California, Riverside and has successfully pursued a
career as a director, educator and author (Closet Drama,
Bear Star Press, 2001). Committed to teaching theatre
to youth, she owned her own company for eight years while
serving as department chair of drama at a private school
in Orange County before founding the Inland Edge Players.
Located in Riverside, the IEP is devoted to fostering the
talents of emerging local directors, actors, and playwrights.
With her BA in English literature, with an emphasis on Shakespeare,
she has directed countless Shakespearean plays, both traditional
and modern versions. Also, her original plays written for
youth are performed across the country. She currently teaches
acting with an emphasis on history and styles at the University
of California, Riverside and works with the Riverside Metropolitan
Museum’s Youth Diversity Project (MYDP), educating
youth via improvisational and playmaking workshops which
focus on social change.
Christine Walters
Costume designer / Technical theatre instructor
Christine Walters comes from a Mid-western theatre background.
She has been in the theatre arts scene in Southern California
for the last eleven years. She has built her career by attending
major universities with emphasis on theater arts studies
and has worked continually in the theater community around
Los Angeles. Christine has a BA in fashion design from Washington
State University, a MA in musical theatre from Oklahoma
State University and an MFA from California State University,
Fullerton, in costume design. She has taught for many years
on the college and high school levels and continues to work
for Chaffey College, Mt. San Jacinto College and is the
resident costume designer for the opera workshop at CSUF.
Christine believes in bringing back to the class room "real
life" theatre experience to share with students so
she has continued to pursue her professional design work.
She has worked for major theatres such as the Santa Fe Opera,
Tulsa Ballet Theatre, Pasadena Shakespeare Company and the
Hollywood Bowl. She has worked for major directors
such as Gordon Hunt and Michael Buttler (producer of HAIR)
. She has also worked personally with actors such
as Mr. Robert Goulet, John Schieder, Kristin Chenoweth and
Christine Ebersole, to name a few. Christine also brings
the love of being on stage herself to the costume shop.
She has been singing since the age of six, is an accomplished
pianist, violinist, trombonest and actress. She also
enjoys painting, drawing and all types of craft work.
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