Weathervane Playhouse - Akron, Ohio - Meet the Instructors of Education

Meet the Instructors

Weathervane's on-site teaching staff for Summer & Fall 2009 and Spring 2010

	Sarah Bailey is a professional voice instructor, director and choreographer. She is a graduate of Ohio Northern University and has her master's in music and pedagogy from the prestigious Westminster Choir College. Sarah has sung on stage at Carnegie Hall with the New York Philharmonic and was a grand finalist at the Guangdong International Vocal Competition in China. For the past several years, she has directed the Playhouse's annual production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

	Kristin Benner holds her bachelor of arts degree in theatre studies from Kent State University. She has performed at many Ohio theaters from Cleveland to Canton and in Maryland as well. Her most recent work was seen with the Ensemble Theatre Company, which performs on one of the stages at the Cleveland Play House. Along with teaching for Weathervane, she teaches theater for the Akron After School enrichment program, sings for her church's Worship Team and is employed by the Cleveland Play House.

	Tess Burgler graduated last May from the College of Wooster with a bachelor of arts degree in theater (phi beta kappa and magna cum laude). During her undergraduate years, she studied abroad in London and used the experience to help write her junior thesis -- an in-depth focus on Shakespeare's words and verse. Tess has been acting for 16 years, appearing in shows at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Porthouse Theatre and Kent State University and just completed her fifth season with Ohio Shakespeare Festival. Last year at OSF, she portrayed Luciana in The Comedy of Errors, and Bianca in Othello. Her Favorite roles include Anne in All My Sons and Witch in Macbeth.

	Joe Cali (AFTRA, SAG) is a voice actor with one of the most distinctive sounds you may hear. He produces voiceovers for station imaging, television and radio spots, narrations and documentaries. Take a look at his client list and demos here: http://www.joecali.com/.

	John Catlos has studied music, theater, and dance at the University of Akron. He worked as a costume stitcher in the University's costume shop, where he assisted the construction of over 3,000 costumes each year. He has also designed costumes for various community theaters. His most recent costume-design credits for Weathervane include Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Amahl and the Night Visitors. John has also worked as a church music director (where he produced numerous pageants, plays and cantatas) and served as the wardrobe supervisor for Carousel Dinner Theatre.

	Harriet DeVeto is a former professional actress with Actors' Equity Association. Her credits include performances at Bouwerie Lane Theatre, Belfry Repertory Company, American Theater of Actors, Lamplights Theater & Sweetooth Comedy Theater. Locally, she has performed at the Cleveland Play House, Great Lakes Theater Festival, Cain Park, Dobama Theatre, Karamu Performing Arts Center, Ensemble Theatre, The Working Theater and Weathervane Playhouse (where her most recent production was Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge). In 1996, she toured as an understudy to Elizabeth Franz in the Elliot Martin production of Death of a Salesman. She is currently performing locally in theatrical productions, doing voice-overs, acting in industrial films and directing.

	Erin R. DiLauro graduated from Ashland University with a bachelor of arts in musical theater. Erin teaches acting, dance, and musical-theatre classes all over Northeast Ohio. In addition to starting her own "triple-threat training" program, she directs children's and teen theatre productions, and is an actress. Visit Erin's theatre website.

	Mary Beth DeBerry is a dance instructor, choreographer and dancer with over 15 years of experience. She holds a bachelor of science in dance management from Oklahoma City University, is a certified dance instructor, and the winner of a "Who's Who Among America's Teachers" Award, an "Ambassador Award," and a "Best Choreography" award from New York City Dance Alliance.

	Rachel Galambos is an actress, dancer, choerographer, theater instructor and dance instructor with over 16 years of experience. She is currently completing a degree in theatre at Ashland University with an emphasis in education.

	Jeffrey Lyn Hall started his career in Commedia dell'arte at the Teatro Arsenale in Milan, Italy, and has spent the last 32 years in professional study. Jeffrey has degrees in theatre from Geneva College, the University of Akron and as a member of the Professional Actors Program at the University of Louisville in affiliation with Actors Theatre of Louisville. He has worked as an actor, director, tight-rope walker, clown and stand-up comic. In 1979, Jeffrey had the rare opportunity to study Improvisation in Chicago with the legendary Del Close and performed under the direction of Betty Thomas in the Improv Olympic group Orphaned Babies. As a solo stand-up comic or teamed with his brother George Frederick as The DeVille Brothers, has opened for such notables as Robert Goulet, Florence Henderson, Tim Allen, Bill Hicks, America, Bobby Vinton and Jackie Martling from The Howard Stern Show. As a writer, Jeffrey’s work has been seen on Comedy Central’s Short Attention Span Theater. Having directed over 50 plays in his career, Jeffrey is currently the Artistic Director of Beatnik Lingo Entertainment, an improv comedy company that has staged the immensely popular improv/sketch comedy shows Beatnik and Vine and the short-form improv show Beat Off-Beat!

	Lisa Mansfield holds a bachelor of arts in secondary education with concentrations in English and history from the University of Akron. With stage credits in both high school and college, she has been working for Weathervane Playhouse since 2006 as its Patron Services Manager as well as seving on the education staff. For two summers, she supervised Weathervane's Neighborhood Playhouse Program, an off-site educational-outreach program in partnership with the city of Akron and Akron Public Schools.


	Melissa Owens, a member of Actors Equity Association, is a professional actress, singer and costumer. Her credits include performances at the Barter Theatre, the Human Race Theatre, the Kennedy Center, the Hilton Head Playhouse, the Frankfurt Theatre in Germany and the Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre, among others. Her costume designs have appeared in productons at the Barter Theatre, Emory and Henry College, Miami, Ashland and Northern Michigan University, at the ACTF national winner at the Kennedy Center, in the film Freedom and, most recently, in Weathervane Playhouse’s 2009 production of A Doll’s House. Melissa studied voice, movement and acting with Bill Morris at LeMoyne College, William Esper in New York, and John Hardy and Jim Hollingsworth in the resident acting company at the Barter Theatre. She holds an A.A.S. in Clothing Design from Seattle Central, a B.A. in English/theatre from LeMoyne College and an M.A. in theatre/costume design from Miami University. Melissa is a relatively new resident of Akron and performed during the summer of 2009 at Porthouse Theatre in A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum.

	Educated at Kent State University, Robert J. Putka received his B.F.A. in art education in 1975. As an art teacher with the Stow-Munroe Falls City School District for 34 years, he has been recognized by the district's P.T.A. as a recipient of an Outstanding Educator Award at both the building and district levels. He has also been awarded the L.R. Saltis Outstanding Educator Award (via nomination by his school's senior class) and has been a nominee for the ARTS ALIVE! Educator in the Arts Award. Robert has directed and designed sets for 51 class plays at Stow-Munroe Falls High, most recently producing The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 and Romeo and Juliet as well as performing the duties of Drama Club advisor and auditorium manager. He is most excited to be returning for his third year as Director of the Summer Stock Program at Weathervane Community Playhouse, which has produced Spoon River Anthology, The Outsiders and 12 Angry Jurors.

	Karen Sabo (a member of Actors Equity Association) recently moved to Northeast Ohio from Virginia, where she spent six years in the Resident Acting Company at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virgnia, where she also served as a Resident Director and dialect coach. She has performed roles as diverse as Anne Frank, Ado Annie and Lady Macbeth in regional theatres nationwide, and was featured in a New York Times article while performing at New York's New Victory Theatre. She studied with the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, Shakespeare & Co. in Massachusetts, the San Francisco Mime Troupe, and the Saratoga International Theatre Institute in New York. She has taught courses in practical theatre at numerous theatres and universities and produced a film called This Is Not the South, written by her husband, Derek Davidson. She is a graduate of Hampshire College and has completed coursework for an M.A. in Appalachian Theatre from East Tennessee State University. She directed Weathervane Playhouse's 2009 production of Intimate Apparel. Currently, she is teaching at Baldwin-Wallace College.

	Trishah Scalera holds a B.M.E. and is currently an elementary music teacher. She has performed for over 15 years in numerous productions at theatres such as Carousel Dinner Theatre, Weathervane Playhouse, Wooster Stage Partners, Players Guild of Canton and at Ashland University. Outside of performing, Trishah enjoys teaching music, dance, and theater in hopes of providing her students with a love and appreciation for the arts.

	Stephen Skiles is an assistant professor of theatre in the School of Dance, Theatre, and Arts Administration at The University of Akron. He is a professional actor and director, having performed at such theatres as Ohio Shakespeare Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Bang and the Clatter Theatre Company, The Phoenix Theatre, The Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, Monomoy Theatre and The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. He was also a founding member and actor of the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. His directing credits include the Cincinnati Playhouse, The Bang and the Clatter Theatre, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, Xavier University, Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, Anderson High School, The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Preparatory Program and The Drama Workshop. Mr. Skiles is an active member of Actors’ Equity Association and an associate member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. He received his undergraduate degree in theatre from Hanover College and is a proud graduate of the Professional Actor Training Program at Ohio University.

	Jasen Smith is Weathervane's Resident Costume Designer and Costume Shop Manager. Jasen served for four years as the Costume Designer and Theatre Rentals Manager for Akron Design and Costume. From 2001 to 2004 he was employed by the College of Wooster as the Costume Designer/Costume Shop Manager and Resident Costume Designer for the Ohio Light Opera’s 2003 and 2004 summer seasons. He is a 1999 graduate of Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1997, he worked as wardrobe assistant for the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. He also works as a part-time instructor at Case Western Reserve University teaching costume design and construction. He is the recipient of the Lois S. Garren Award for Excellence in Costume Design from Region Four of the American College Theatre Festival for his designs for Les Liaisons Dangereuses (in 1999) and Tartuffe (in 2000).

	Adam Thatcher is a professional actor, dancer, choreographer and stage manager. He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Fredonia, where he earned a B.F.A. in musical theatre. Most recently, Adam worked on several productions at the late Carousel Dinner Theatre.

	Cheryl Winslow is a stage and commercial actress and dancer, director and choreographer and theater instructor. As a performer, she has over 17 years of experience, and has performed at various places including Cassidy Theatre, Tri-C West, Kent State University, Huntington Playhouse, Rocky River Community Theatre, Elyria Summer Theatre Association and the Beck Center for the Arts. She is currently completing a degree in theatre at Kent State University.
	Interested in teaching at the Playhouse? CLICK HERE to download our Instructor Application!