School of Theater Director

Kelley studied at Emporia State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Theater and a Bachelor of Science in Education in Speech and Theater. After college, Kelley toured with Missoula Children's Theater, one of the largest traveling children's theaters in the world, as a tour actor/director where she worked with over a thousand children throughout the United States. She loved seeing the nation and investing in young lives through the arts.

Kelley has been invited to Costa Rica on two occasions as a guest Artist in Residence where she performed and taught classes at the Centro Nacional de la Cultura in San Jose. She taught theater at Gardner-Edgerton High School for two years where she directed and designed many shows including "Beauty and the Beast", "Peter Pan", "Oklahoma", "Arsenic and Old Lace" and "The Diary of Anne Frank" among others. Kelley was a cabin leader for three summers at Youthfront Camp South. Here she mentored many students and saw God work in amazing ways during her time at Youthfront.

After joining the TCH Staff she has directed "Peter Pan", "Aladdin Jr." and "Once Upon a Mattress" with many more to come! In addition to her directing work, Kelley is an instructor for the school of theater, has been seen in Störling Dance Theater's "The Little Match Girl", The Culture House Summer Family Theater production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and runs the summer theater camps. She is thankful to The Culture House for many reasons, but most importantly it is where she met her husband Kyle for the first time! She is excited to have opportunities to perform with him and can't wait to see what the future holds next!

Amy grew up in Topeka and had her acting debut at age six. After that, she was hooked and spent her entire childhood performing in theatrical and dance productions (tap is her favorite!). During high school, Amy discovered that, in addition to performing, she had a strong passion for directing and teaching dance and theatre.

After graduating with a degree in public relations and theatre, and after accumulating 17 years of theatrical training and teaching, Amy became the founder and director of an elite youth performing troupe. Within the first 10 years, Amy had worked with hundreds of youth, directed over 20 productions, choreographed and music directed more than 10, and also served as set, lighting and costume designer for almost all of the shows.

Amy's favorite directing credits include "Snoopy", "Tales from Hans Christian Andersen", "Pippi Longstocking", "Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day", "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing", several productions she wrote herself and most recently, "HONK" and "Alice in Wonderland" at TCH.

Amy currently resides in Olathe and is the General Manager of The Culture House. She also works as a freelance graphic designer in her spare time. Amy's true "role of a lifetime" is her role as a wife and mother of two ... "it is the most rewarding and challenging role I have ever played."

Tobin James graduated from the Philadelphia University of the Arts with a BFA in Modern dance. While in Philadelphia, she was also a member of the Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO). After college she attended the Martha Graham Center for Contemporary Dance where she received a full scholarship and completed their training program. She danced with The Martha Graham Ensemble before launching a freelance career in the Christian music industry.

As a solo dance artist she accompanied musical artists such as Steve Green, and Bill and Gloria Gaither. She performed and choreographed on video projects for Ron Kenoly, and Cece Winans. She toured for five seasons with The Young Messiah Tour featuring Sandi Patti, Larnell Harris, and Carmen, to name a few, and staged the dance for the Emmanuel tour. For four years Tobin was the Dance Coordinator for the Christian Artists' Music Seminar in Estes Park, Colorado.

Tobin was a full scholarship recipient for the Craft of Choreography conference in Geneva, New York. She has choreographed for Philadanco, Ballet Magnificat, Sight and Sound Theatres, The Continental Singers, Störling Dance Theater, Dramatic Truth School of the Arts, and The Culture House Theater School.

This wife and mother of four, in her spare time, teaches Graham based modern dance for Dramatic Truth School of the Arts, The Culture House Artists Development program, The University of Missouri Kansas City, and The Kansas City Ballet School.

Danon Nicholae Park received a B.F.A. in Acting from Avila College in 1994 and an M.A. in Theatre Theory from the University of Kansas in 2004. He has taught at both Avila and KU, as well as at The Culture House since 2005. Over the past few years, Danon directed, Trojan Women, Thirst (on two separate occasions), Hamlet, and Pierced Flesh (which he also wrote). He enjoys the opportunity to encourage his students and witness them develop into artists.

Lana was born and raised in Olathe, KS and is glad to be living here still! She has been involved in theatre in some way or other since she was just a young girl. Through school Lana has taken a wide range of theatre based acting and vocal classes. After graduating high school, Lana spent a year in the Artist Development Program where she studied acting, directing and Shakespeare among other things. While in the program Lana discovered a new interest in dance and has been training in Jazz, Modern and Ballet ever since. Over the years she has performed in multiple musicals, plays and choir productions. Her favorite performance credit was Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof. Lana has assisted directed many productions, some of the most recent include Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan and Aladdin. She is currently directing the lovable musical Honk!. When not performing, teaching or directing Lana enjoys reading great books, spending quality time with people she loves, traveling the world, eating ice cream, perusing antique stores and photography. In the future Lana hopes to see the rest of the world.

Britney has been involved with the performing arts since before she can remember. Her mom always says, "She was singing before she was speaking, and she hasn't stopped since." Britney was born and raised in Topeka, KS. She started taking piano and voice lessons when she was seven years old. When she was ten, she began performing with a children's acting troupe at Helen Hocker Theatre called the "Topeka Youth Players." She was also very involved with Helen Hocker Summer Theatre Camp, and later a prominent member of Helen Hocker's "The Bath House Players." She attended Topeka West High School, and she was very active in their music and theatre departments. She won the award for "Best Actress in a Leading Role" as a freshman for her portrayal of Eponine in "Les Miserables", was a member of the Topeka West Players, and was student director of the school's elite singing group, Topeka West Singers. She also worked as a counselor at Helen Hocker Summer Theatre Camp, the same camp she attended as a child. Britney then attended Kansas State University, from which she recently graduated with her Bachelors of Science in Theatre with an emphasis in performance. While at K-State, she was heavily involved with the theatre, dance, and music programs. Some of her collegiate roles include, Fred in "Once Upon a Mattress", Mayme in "Intimate Apparel", and Emily in "Our Town." She was president of the Ebony Theatre at K-State, a group that focuses solely on work by African American playwrights. She was also very involved in the theatre fraternity Theta Alpha Phi, with whom she taught dance, musical theatre, and audition workshops all four years. During the summer she stayed busy performing in Topeka and Manhattan, and she recently had a summer internship at "The Barn Theatre" in Augusta, MI, where she became an Equity Membership Candidate. Britney currently resides in Olathe, KS. When she is not performing or teaching, she works retail. She feels very blessed for all the opportunities and wonderful people in her life, and she is ready and willing to share her gift with anyone and everyone.

Tawny Gentry Clement is assistant director as well as a dancer in Maxxas Dance Theater. She was a member of Storling Dance Theater from 2005-2010, where she performed featured roles in several productions including "Underground" and "Prodigal Daughter". From 2002-2003, she was a trainee with Ad Deum Dance Company in Houston. She was invited to join the company in 2003 and toured nationally and internationally (Singapore and Malaysia), performing many diverse solo roles, until she moved to Kansas City in 2005. Originally from Los Angeles, she trained at Santa Clarita Ballet Academy and obtained her full membership to the Royal Academy of Dance (a leading dance examination board) after several performance-based examinations.

Her love of teaching began when she was asked to be a teaching apprentice under master teacher, Corinne Glover. By 16, she had her own classes of young students. Ever since, she has taught classes ranging from creative movement, ballet, pointe, modern, jazz, lyrical, and Pilates. Tawny is a sought after guest/master teacher and has held teaching positions at over 10 studios in CA, TX, and KS. She teaches all ages and levels from 3 year olds to professional classes. She was married to Micah Clement on the snowiest day this January and is loving starting their life together! She also enjoys reading, long walks outdoors, traveling, various creative projects, and discovering new places in Kansas City.

Daniel Boothe just moved to Kansas City from New York. He has been a professional musical theatre actor for ten years, and attended Webster University's Conservatory of the Performing Arts where he studied acting, music and vocal performance. As a vocal instructor, he emphasizes technique and overall excellence that transfers to the professional stage.

Piano & Voice

Andi Fredrickson has been performing for the last 30 years! She started singing in revivals with her family when she was 5 years old. Andi has been teaching piano and voice for 15 years. After graduating from the University of Kansas with her bachelors degree in Music Education, she taught general music in the public schools for 7 years (Kansas City, Kansas and Gardner, Kansas). Andi also has completed 75 hours of graduate work in Music History, Choral Conducting, Education and Vocal Performance. Andi has sung all over the world including Carnegie Hall, New York City; Magdaline College at Oxford College, Oxford, Uk,; Eddington, Uk, Manheim, Germany; and all over the US. Andi currently plays in a band, Fredrickson Hill (which won "Best Original Song of the Year, 2006) and she just won "Best Female Vocalist of the Year, 2007" with King Cat Music. She also serves at Church of the Resurrection and Resurrection West with her husband Scott. Andi lives in Olathe with her husband an d 4 sons.

Philip has been a part of the theatre world since third grade. He attended Performing Arts magnet schools from third grade until graduating high school. Philip continued to pursue his passion and education at the college level while attending Emporia State University. He has performed in many productions in the Kansas City metro area. Most notably are Rocky and Bullwinkle at The Coterie Theatre, Evita at Starlight Theatre, and Gypsy at The New Dinner Theatre Restaurant. Twice he has performed with the State Ballet of Missouri in their production of The Nutcracker at The Midland Theatre. Philip also had the rare opportunity to spend two summers studying theatre at Jesus College and Corpus Christi College in Cambridge, England. His love for theatre knows no bounds and he looks forward to cultivating and encouraging young actors at The Culture House.

Philip lives in Olathe, KS with his wife, Carrie, and their two dogs, Brody and Maxwell. He works full time at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center in Harrisonville, MO. In his spare time he enjoys playing video games, reading mystery and horror novels, and spending time with his family.

Frank McGraw has been professionally acting and directing for almost 18 years. Although originally born in Japan and raised in Texas, Frank's "home" is in south central Iowa. In his performance career Frank has become an expert in many areas of performing, including but not limited to: Acting, Directing, Film, Radio, Television, Stand-Up Comedy, Improv, Stage Combat, Magic, Juggling, Dialects, Voice-over, Period Styles and Theatre Management.

Frank was a triple major at Graceland University graduating in 2005 with a B.A. in Theatre Performance, Theatre Direction and Speech Communications. He then went on to obtain his Master's Degree from The University of Central Missouri in 2008. To date Frank has Acted in and/or Directed over 500 performances. This has led to him winning many awards including The Karen Sue Thompson Award for Excellence in Theatre.

Having worked at many companies all over the country from Glimmerglass Opera in New York to The Second City in Chicago to DreamWorks in California, Frank has had the opportunity to learn from some of the leaders in the Entertainment industry and is extremely excited to be able to pass on his knowledge to the children of The Culture House. Having worked in the Kansas City Area for almost 3 years now, Frank made his Culture House debut thissSummer as a Director for the Force Academy Camp and Directed a wonderful group of students in Aladdin Jr.

Frank has been dreaming of opening an education center like The Culture House for years and is very grateful that God has led him here.

Melissa's relationship with theatre began with Culture House's production of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe where she played a Dryad. It's continued to blossom ever since that day. She loves to dance, sing, direct, and act.

Melissa will graduate from Mid America Nazarene University this December with a degree in Theatre (acting and directing emphasis), and a minor in Communication. She has completed seven-teen education hours, and loves working with students of any age. Melissa Interned with The Culture House this summer, and will continue to Intern until she graduates.