PLAY Conservatory

unique and challenging Theatre projects for young people

36days until
Disney's The Little Mermaid opens

50days until
Escape From Titanic opens

64days until
Go Go Beach opens

Teaching Artists

JESSICA BARKL (Acting Coach, Disney's The Little Mermaid; Director, Go Go Beach)  Born and raised in Idaho, Jessica performed in 45 musicals and other plays throughout the Idaho area before she was 17 years of age.  Afterwards, Jessica moved to Seattle to study at Cornish College of the Arts and she has been working in the theater and dance world in a variety of roles ever since.  Jessica recently returned to New Mexico after having been an adjunct faculty member at Walla Walla Community College.  In New Mexico Jessica has either worked, performed, and/or directed at/with the N4th Theater/Rough Theater/In Strange Company, PLAY Conservatory, Fusion Theatre Company, The American Shakespeare Project/Adobe Theater, Musical Theater Southwest, The Vortex Theater, El Rey Theatre, and the University of New Mexico.  Other regional credits include working with Seattle’s International Fringe Festival, Boulder’s International Fringe Festival, and Post Falls, Idaho’s Native American Festival.  In Washington she has performed, directed and dramaturged at Seattle Repertory Theater, Intiman Theater, Theater Schmeater, Union Garage, Walla Walla Community College, Walla Walla Amphitheater, the Little Theatre of Walla Walla and Cornish College of the Arts.  In New York Jessica worked, directed and performed at/with New York Theatre Workshop, The Zipper Theater, Manhattan Ensemble Theatre, Atlantic Theater Lab, Monarch Productions, Concrete Temple Theatre, and Sarah Lawrence College.  Jessica holds a BFA in acting from Cornish College of the Arts, an MFA in Theater from Sarah Lawrence College, and was a member of the 2001-2002 PATP program at Seattle Repertory Theatre.  Recent directing includes Hairspray, The Iceman Cometh, Waiting for Godot, Footloose, and Grease.  Recent acting roles include Annie in The Miracle Worker, a member of the Pachuca Trio in Luis Valdez’ Zoot Suit, and, currently in February/March she can be seen playing Jessie in Beautiful Bodies at the Desert Rose Playhouse in Albuquerque. 
 

JESSIE BOLNICK (Choreographer, Once Upon a Mattress) earned her BUS Degree from the Univerity of New Mexico in 2008 with focuses in Theatre and Dance.  She has been dancing since age three and has been extensively trained in jazz, contemporary, hip hop, ballet, tap, modern and musical theatre dance styles.  The Director of Dance eXcesS (DXS) Dance Compay since 2004, Jessie has earned numerous awards in choreography and performance and her company has been voted "Best Dance Troupe" and "Best Dance Performance" in the Weekly Alibi's 'Best of Burque'.  Jessie is currently an instructor and choreographer for the National Dance Institute of New Mexico and teaches dance to kids of all ages around Albuquerque.  She previously choreographed Captain Louie and Once Upon a Mattress for PLAY Conservatory, and is thrilled to be back!

DESTANY BOWERSMITH (Production Stage Manager, Disney's The Little Mermaid Jr. and Go Go Beach) An Albuquerque native, Destany received her BFA in scenic design from College of Santa Fe after a detour through culinary school (she’ll show you how to cook something delicious, if you’d like) In addition to her position as Resident Stage Manager for PLAY Conservatory, Destany has worked as a scenic artist, stage manager and properties mistress for several theater companies and educational institutions around Albuquerque and Santa Fe, including New Mexico Young Actors, Mother Road Theater Company, Landmark Musicals, and Santa Fe University of Art and Design. Destany has held positions as a middle school theater teacher and university professor, and decided a long time ago that kids are a whole lot more fun to work with than grown-ups. 2012 marks Destany’s 5th year as a teaching artist. 

NATHAN CHAVEZ (Acting Coach, 101 Dalmatians) has studied Theatre through the “School of Hard Knocks and even Harder Audiences.”  Nathan got his start in Albuquerque Theatre at the tender age of 6 in Albuquerque Children’s Theater production of The Traveling Bandit Show directed by Sue Ann Gunn, and he’s been at it in one way or another ever since.  Nathan was an active member of Thespian Troupe 879 at Sandia High School under the direction of Dianne Buster.  He played one of the big kids in Jonathan Dunski’s production of Free to Be You and Me at ALT, and soon after he played Horace in ALT’s 2006 production of 101 Dalmatians.  Since then Nathan has played at The Vortex, The Desert Rose Playhouse, and The Aux Dog, so he is familiar and comfortable with productions in spaces large and small.  In the summer of 2010, Nathan worked at Camp Alonim in Brandice, California, as a Drama Specialist working with children ages 5-16.  He’s absolutely thrilled to be able to share his love of theatre and the life lessons and skills it teaches.

ELORA DANIELS (Vocal Director, 101 Dalmatians) was first introduced to 101 Dalmatians five years ago when she played the role of Anita in Jonathan Dunski’s 2006 production at Albuquerque Little Theatre. She is so excited to be a part of this project, as a member of the production team.  Elora was the assistant music director for PLAY Conservatory’s G2K Cinderella, and has music directed Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog and RENT: School Edition at Albuquerque High School. She has performed in many shows around the city including FAME the Musical (Serena Katz), RENT: School Edition (Maureen Johnson), Jekyll and Hyde (Lucy Harris), and Jesus Christ Superstar (Mary Magdalene). Elora is a proud member of UNM's Concert Choir and Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico. Currently a junior at UNM, she is working towards her Bachelors of Music degree in Vocal Performance.

SUSAN DORNER (Choreographer/Dance Instructor, Disney's The Little Mermaid Jr.) earned her BA degree from Southeastern Louisiana University, where she majored in Theatre and Dance and Health and Physical Education.  She was appointed to the faculty at Metairie Park Country Day School in New Orleans in 1968, where she taught dance for 37 years.  Susan has choreographed for Tulane University’s Little Lyric Summer Theatre, Country Day’s fall and spring theatre productions, the CD Dance Touring Company, and many more.  She has served on the President’s Council for Louisiana Alliance for Arts Education and is past president of the Louisiana Alliance for Dance organization. Currently Susan teaches and choreographs for the Bosque School in Albuquerque, NM.  In spring 2010, she coached the PLAY Conservatory students who performed in the national tour of The Wizard of Oz at Popejoy Hall.  Cinderella marks her fourth PLAY Conservatory project.

JONATHAN DUNSKI (Director, Disney's the Little Mermaid Jr.) has been directing plays for over 15 years, altogether more than 70 productions, large and small.  School productions include:  The Miser, Children of Eden, and Footloose.  Community Theatre: South Pacific for Musical Theatre Southwest; Disney’s High School Musical 2 and Disney’s 101 Dalmatians among others for Albuquerque Little Theatre; and Oliver! for Landmark Musicals.  In 2007 he founded PLAY Conservatory; his productions have included: Disney's Mulan, Lord of the Flies, and Godspell Jr., among others.  Occasionally, he finds time for acting; favorite roles include Bobby in Company, Alfie in A Man of No Importance, Snoopy in You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, and The Cat in the Hat in Seussical the Musical.  As a playwright, he has published The Miraculous Journey of Nicholas.  Jonathan is a proud alumnus of the Penn State Thespians.  You can ask him about his Masters Degree in Molecular Evolutionary Biology, but nowadays he really tries not to let his left brain see what his right brain is doing.

LISA FENSTERMACHER (Acting Coach, 101 Dalmatians) is a graduate of the University of New Mexico’s Department of Theatre and Dance where she earned a BFA in Theatre with an emphasis in Theatre Education.  She has been acting in Albuquerque for over 35 years and has 25 years teaching experience, including Acting Coach for Albuquerque Children’s Theatre, UNM’s Children’s Theatre classes, and N4th Arts Center’s Equilibrium Theatre Company and Americorps Theatre Outreach.  She is a proud member of Ka-HOOTZ Theatre Company and played in their recent production Wonder Dog.  Most current productions include The Lost Ending produced for children by Fusion Theatre Company.  She believes there is no greater gift you can give a child than exposure to Theatre; it is the key to a whole new world of imagination and limitless possibilities.

DANIELLE FLEMING (Assistant Director/Acting Coach, G2K Cinderella) began acting as a Freshman at Rio Rancho High School under the direction of Jonathan Dunski and is so excited to be working with him again. Not her first experience with PLAY Conservatory, Danielle served as Assistant to the Director for Godspell Jr. Currently, she works as the Theater Education Coordinator for Working Classroom, where she teaches theater games and improvisation to middle and high school students from disenfranchised neighborhoods in the Albuquerque area. Other assistant directing credits include: Urban Verbs: The Intersection of Hip-Hip and Humanity in the 2011 Revolutions Festival and What's On Their Minds: A Found Art Performance in Working Classroom's 2009 Summer Arts Institute both under the direction of performance poet/hip-hop artist/author, Idris Goodwin. Recent acting credits include: Naja in Anon(ymous), Esther Sanchez in A Light in My Soul, Abigayle in Four, and Lady in Purple in For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Iz Enuf. Danielle will be moving to Chicago in August to study directing at DePaul University.

ROSEMARY CASTRO GALLEGOS (Costume Designer, 101 Dalmatians) has been designing and building costumes for over twenty-five years.  She has been the Costume/Wardrobe Supervisor for the National Hispanic Cultural Center since 2004.  Rosemary designs for the Patty Disney Zarzuela Series and other productions for both NHCC and the Teatro Nuevo Mexico.  Some of the productions include Luisa Fernanda, Barbero de Sevilla, Manojo de las Rosas, La Corte de Faroan, The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, The Fence, and Real Women have Curves, to name a few.  Rosemary has been the resident costume designer for St. Pius X High School since 2003.  Her shows include Godspell, Thoroughly Modern Millie, AIDA, Anatomy of Grey, and many others.  Rosemary also designs and builds costumes for New Mexico Young Actors and Bosque School.  She has costumed the students of PLAY Conservatory every summer since the first project, Disney’s Aladdin in 2007.  She recently costumed Landmark Musicals production of Oliver! at Rodey Theater.
AARON HOWE (Musical Director, Once Upon a Mattress) has been happily working in the choral music field for over 12 years. He received his Bachelor of Music Education with Choral Emphasis from Eastern New Mexico University in 1996. He then served as music director at Heights 1st Church of the Nazerene in Albuquerque for 7 years. During that time Aaron directed multiple choral groups for weekly, monthly, and seasonal performances. While working at Heights, he received a Master of Music with emphases in Conducting and Vocal Performance from the University of New Mexico in 2003. In 2004, Aaron became the choir teacher at St. Pius X High School in Albuquerque. During his time there, he added two new choir classes and an AP Music Theory class. He served as the music director for all of the musicals put on by SPXHS, and he even music directed a Zarzuela (Spanish operetta). After 5 years of high school choral teaching, Aaron decided to start his own business of teaching voice and piano lessons, music directing community musicals, as well as composing and arranging music for choir. Since 2005, he has music directed with Musical Theatre Southwest, Albuquerque Little Theater, PLAY Conservatory, and ABQ Stages. Aaron loves choral music in all of its forms and is thankful for every opportunity to collaborate with new friends to make music together.

SEAH JOHNSON (Scenic Designer, 101 Dalmatians) graduated summa cum laude with a BFA in Theatre Design and Technology from the University of Colorado at Boulder.  She freelances as a lighting and set designer, and works primarily as the lighting supervisor for the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. This year's designs range from a ballet in Russia to an upcoming opera, the musical Evita, and of course, 101 Dalmatians.  For PLAY Conservatory she designed sets on Lord of the Flies and lighting on Godspell Jr. and The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe.

ANDREW McHARNEY (Production Designer, Technical Director & Stagecraft Instructor, Disney's The Little Mermaid Jr., Titanic, Go Go Beach) currently works as the Theater Manager at St. Pius X High School.  He designs and builds sets for The Cell Theater, The Filling Station, The Vortex and The Adobe. He has a degree in Theatre from UNM and has worked as a Technical Director for Popejoy Hall and Albuquerque Little Theater.  Sound, lighting, scenery, props, and special effects are all part of his daily routine.  Teaching Technical Theater at SPXHS is a great joy and challenge.  When not on the boards, Andrew can be found sailing on a lake or rafting a river -- aboard boats he built in his driveway with the help of his wonderful family.

KRISTEN MILLER HUTCHINSON (Vocal Director, Go Go Beach) earned her Bachelors degree in Music Education from New Mexico State University in 1998.  While attending NMSU she was a part of the University Singers and Concert Choir.  Kristen also performed while attending NMSU, which included the opera Falstaff, the Mikado and Amahl and the Night Visitors and numerous musical theatre revues with University Singers.    Kristen was also fortunate to participate in a University Singers tour of Italy, which culminated with singing for mass at the Vatican.  Kristen has taught high school choir and show choir in Las Cruces and Rio Rancho, NM.  While at Rio Rancho she was the vocal director for Children of Eden and Guys and Dolls.  Since then, Kristen has been working for Albuquerque Public Schools as an elementary music specialist teaching K-5 general music.  She also teaches after school choral programs and musical theatre groups.  School performances include Bones!, Rock and Roll Forever, Go Fish!, The Granny Awards, December Nights, December Lights.   

RYAN MORRIS (Director, Titanic) has been active in the youth theatre community for the past ten years.  During this time, Ryan has collaborated with various local teaching artists, directors, rural communities and schools in an effort to expand his knowledge of the arts.  He has also had the opportunity to work with The Seattle Children’s theatre in Washington State, where he collaborated with some of the best teaching artists and directors in the country.   Currently, Ryan is the drama teacher at Manzano High School.  He has developed and maintained a full time theatre program for k-12th grade for the past seven years.  He has developed a curriculum that roots itself in instilling self confidence through the rehearsal and performance process. His recent productions have been Bram Stoker's Dracula, Rumors by Neil Simon, and The Curious Savage by John Patrick.  This is Ryan's fourth year working with Jonathan and PLAY Conservatory, and he is excited to be bac

MEGAN RADER (Vocal Director/Voice Instructor, Disney's the Little Mermaid Jr.) This is Megan’s third season with PLAY Conservatory, and she is thrilled to again be a part of such an awesome program! Megan has a Bachelor’s Degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music. She is currently completing her Master’s Degree in Music Education at the University of New Mexico. Formerly the Choir Director and Drama teacher at Desert Ridge Middle School, she currently directs the choirs of Eldorado High School.  She has sung with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra Chorus, St. John's United Methodist Church Chancel Choir, and she currently sings with Quintessence:Choral Artists of the Southwest. Megan enjoys spending time with her husband Matt, their dog, Lucky and cat, Diva.

JONATHAN RAGSDALE (Choreographer, Go Go Beach) is a Musical Theatre Major/Dance Minor at the University of New Mexico.  A well known performer in the Albuquerque Theatre community, Jonathan has played Link Larkin in Hairspray, the title role in Pippin, and Tigger in The House at Pooh Corner.  Jonathan can also be seen in speaking roles in two television series, Breaking Bad and In Plain Sight.  He teaches Musical Theatre skills at The Growing Stage summer intensives and Hip Hop dance at Marshall Performing Arts Conservatory.  Jonathan recently returned from New York City where he performed in Broadway Dance Center’s Musical Theatre Performance Project 2011 at the Ailey Center.  His previous choreography credits include PLAY Conservatory’s Amazing Adventures of the Marvelous Monkey King, Godspell Jr, and 101 Dalmatians.  Recently he choreographed Legally Blonde for Musical Theatre Southwest. 

KELLE SENYÉ (Acting Coach, 101 Dalmatians) earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Eastern New Mexico University in 1993 with honors.  Since then, she has been seen on stage around Albuquerque in productions including Proof (Adobe Theatre), The Merry Wives of Windsor (The American Shakespeare Project), and To Kill a Mockingbird (Albuquerque Little Theatre).  Separately, she served on the Board of Directors at The Adobe and The Vortex as well as various committees through the years.  Kelle has been off stage for a few years working on the most rewarding production of all time; that of her two young boys, ages 4 and 7.  She is excited to return to the Theatre and to work with the kids.  She cut her teeth on working with the younger crowd over the past 2 years as Assistant Wrangler…oops, Assistant Coach for youth soccer.  She also volunteers as the Race Director for the Central NM Affiliate, Komen Race for the Cure.