Meet our team of Teaching Artists!

Elizabeth Blakemore ~ Artistic Director
Elizabeth graduated magna cum laude with degrees in Theatre and Business from Concordia University-Chicago . She has worked professionally as an actor, director, producer, arts administrator, and teaching artist for the past 15 years , both in Chicago and Atlanta. Elizabeth has worked on over 100 productions for children and youth as a Director, Music Director, or Producer. Favorite directing projects include "The Pirates of Penzance", "Little Women", "Bugsy Malone Jr.", "The Wizard of Oz", "Moby Dick the Musical", "Shrek the Musical", "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown", and "A Year with Frog and Toad". As a teaching artist & coach she has taught thousands of kids and helped students prepare for auditions for colleges, professional theatre companies, Disney, commercials, and agent representation. She is excited to serve a whole new population of students through virtual theatre experiences!

Julia Steudle ~ Director of Virtual Camps
Julia is a professional teaching artist who has taught thousands of kids across North America for the past 2 years on tour with Missoula Children's Theatre. She has worked with a number of performing arts organizations in Atlanta including Forefront Arts, Aurora Theatre, Atlanta Shakespeare Company, and Graduation Generation. When not teaching theatre, Julia delights audiences of all ages as a princess with several party companies!

Haley Benefield ~ Associate Director of Curriculum ~ Musical Theatre
Haley has been working as a theatre teacher for five years and has been involved in theatre for more than ten years. Haley recently completed her degree in Theatre Education. She is a vocal coach, director, teaching artist, arts administrator, and performer. Haley specializes in tailoring curriculum to each student's unique abilities and helping them become more confident in themselves!
