Classes

ABOUT THE TEACHERS - 2026 WINTER/SPRING

Jeff Boles (Shakespeare Class) is a graduate of The American Music and Dramatic Academy and received his BA in Theatre Performance from Marymount Manhattan College.  As a director, Jeff has worked with South Park Children’s Theatre, Porch Light Productions, Westinghouse Arts Academy Charter School and Hampton Middle School. He has performed as an actor with River Rep at Ivorytown Playhouse, Pax Amicus NJ, Hudson Warehouse, Biggs/Rosatti National Tours, the DC Comedy Festival, Porch Light Productions, Little Lake Theatre, and his original play “King of Bohemia”, was performed at the Midtown International Theatre Festival in New York City. He is also a social studies teacher at South Park High School. 

Julie Ann Boles (Shakespeare Class) received her BA in Theatre and English from the University of Richmond and her MFA in Acting from The Ohio State University, where she taught undergraduate classes in Acting, Acting Shakespeare, and Voice for the Actor.  She also studied with John Basil at The American Globe Theatre in New York City and Anne Bogart’s SITI Company.  She has performed with the Texas Shakespeare Festival, Hudson Shakespeare Company, The New York Fringe Festival, The Actor’s Theatre of Columbus, Brooklyn’s Gallery Players, Porch Light Productions, and Little Lake Theatre. 

Jeanie Cygrymus (Acting Class) has been performing since she was in elementary school and her love for theater has never wavered. She has worked in many aspects of theater over the years from being a Props Designer and Sound Designer to being a Director and Actor. Jeanie currently works at Peters Township High School where she serves as the Thespian Troupe Sponsor and as one of their show directors. She has also directed for South Park Children’s Theatre for the past 12 years and has taught acting classes for Mon River Arts and at the Bethel Park Library. Jeanie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s degree in Library and Information Sciences.

Ben Nadler (Playwriting Class) is a professional actor, writer, and filmmaker based in Pittsburgh, PA with a deep passion for storytelling. His play The White Cat has been performed twice at South Park Children's Theatre (where he is also an alumnus), and he has received multiple awards for various works he wrote, directed, and produced at Emerson College. His upcoming short film Who He Was—which already received honors from Barnstorm Fest—is set to wrap post-production and enter the festival circuit in 2026. He performs locally with South Park Theatre, Little Lake Theater, Pittsburgh Musical Theater, Front Porch Theatricals, and myriad independent filmmakers both in and out of the Pittsburgh area. By day, Ben works full-time under the name Ben Drickman as the Communications and Multimedia Specialist in Public Affairs at Dollar Bank and freelances as a local videographer and photographer. Feel free to visit his websites www.bennadlerfilm.com and www.bendrickman.com to see his prior work. 

MEET THE TEACHERS (MORE DETAILS FOR THESE CLASSES TBD)

Kelsey Aronhalt (Little Stars Teacher) is a graduate student at Pennwest California studying Speech Language Pathology. She has been involved in theatre through her school and through other community theaters since 2017 and she is still currently involved in productions through Pitt. She has been a dancer since the age of 2 years old and has basically been on the stage pretty much all of her life. She has been at South Park Theatre since 2017 acting in the Children’s Theatre summer and fall seasons. In 2020, she was hired as a stage manager for some summer productions and now she has been the Assistant Director for the Showstoppers Mini Camps for the past two years. 

Annabel Lorence Brown (Costume Design Class) has been a costume designer for South Park Theatre and South Park Children’s Theatre for so long that it has become her second home. When not here at SPT, Annabel is the Wardrobe and Costume Stock Supervisor for the School of Drama at Carnegie Mellon University. She most recently costume designed this season’s Mainstage productions of Sylvia and These Shining Lives, and South Park Children’s Theatre’s productions of Rats! The Musical, Little Red Robin Hood, Cinderella Caterpillar, and Nanny Claus. Annabel’s favorite part of costume design is revealing a character’s personality by showing how they choose to present themselves to the world by what they decide to wear: whether that is a beat-up pair of blue jeans or a fancy hat with a feather or a jacket that is two sizes too big. She is excited to teach others how clothing can add the extra element that brings an actor’s performance to life on stage. Annabel has a BA in Theatre at California University of Pennsylvania.

Jennifer Holby (Musical Theatre Dance Classes) began dancing at the age of three. Spending 10 years as a competitive dancer, she attended dance competitions from Boston to Las Vegas and had the privilege of performing abroad in Australia (1990) and Greece (1998). She earned a teaching certificate of dance in 1998 after a 5 year teacher's training program in all styles of dance, acrobatics, Hawaiian and baton twirling. She was a member of the University of Pittsburgh's Marching Band from 1999-2002 where she choreographed for the color guard on several occasions. Since starting a family, she has kept dancing and performance in her life through various activities such as teaching classes at the YMCA, choreographing for South Park Children's Theatre production of "King Midas and the Palace of Gold, the Musical," and consulting on various projects around the region. 

Michaela Isenberg (Little Stars Teacher) is a Pittsburgh native who performs, teaches and trains all over the region. She has been a camp counselor instructor at South Park Theatre for the past five summers, and has acted at South Park Theatre when she was younger. Having received her BFA in musical theatre from Seton Hill University, she is thankful to be using her skills she has learned from her mentors to teach the next generation of stars! 

Delaney Molnar (Acting & Directing Classes) is the Assistant Director of the Children’s Theatre program at South Park Theatre. She has been involved with South Park Children’s Theatre for over a decade and has performed many times on both the outdoor and indoor stages, as well as at several other local theaters. She has directed The Frog Princess and Nanny Claus for SPCT. Delaney has a BA in Theatre from Rowan University.

Mia Taylor (Improvisation & Youth to Booth Classes) Mia Taylor is a Pittsburgh theatre artist and technician that graduated from Michigan State University in 2022, where she majored in Stage Management.  In her time at MSU, she worked on over 12 productions focusing on several different areas of production.  She was the technical director and ensemble member of the school’s improv troupe “After School Special” for four years.  Upon graduating, Mia moved back home to Pittsburgh where you can usually find her backstage at the PPG Paints Arena, The Benedum, Starlake Pavilion, South Park Theatre, or on tour with Squonk Opera.  While she doesn’t perform onstage as much anymore, she has found that her improv skills have helped her navigate the backstage world.  She is passionate about inspiring other young artists to utilize improv comedy as a life skill and to have fun!

Amanda Rhoades (Acting Classes) is a 28-year-old Director who just finished directing their seventh show here at South Park Children's Theater. Amanda strives to create a safe and educational space for every child and young adult! A space where all may learn not only how to “perform”, but also how to improve their communication skills and enhance their confidence and team work capabilities both on and off stage - all while having fun and encouraging creativity! She believes that, art of any kind, can be incredibly beneficial to a child’s personal growth. So join SPCT’s acting classes for kids and let’s see how much your child grows!