Laura is thrilled to be back at NYTE for its fabulous second year! Laura spent most of her musical theater career in various touring productions out of New York, most notably the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and 4 years with Chicago the musical. She has numerous regional credits and will soon add ‘Cabaret’ at middle Tennessee’s Studio Tenn to the list. Her favorite role is mommy to Hank and wifey to Morgan. 

Alex Joseph Grayson is a Grammy nominated singer and actor from Watertown, NY. He gained critical acclaim for his performance in the Tony Award winning, 2023 Revival of Parade on Broadway. Additional credits include Broadway: “Into the Woods, Revival”; “Girl from the North Country” ; “A Bronx Tale.” 

Hailing from Huntsville, Alabama, Willem Butler is a shining Broadway talent who made a splash with his national tour debut as Dmitry in Anastasia the Musical. His journey is marked by accolades as a Young Arts finalist and the first-ever winner of Broadwayworld’s next onstage competition. Willem’s versatility comes to life through his captivating portrayals, from embodying Frank Abignale Jr. in Catch Me If You Can to portraying the soulful Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and the iconic Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys.

With an infectious enthusiasm, Willem eagerly anticipates connecting with the students. As he ventures to inspire and be inspired, he’s excited to witness the diverse range of talents that each individual brings to the artistic table. 

Miki Abraham, she/they, is a Broadway actor and Self-Esteem Coach. Recently she was seen in “Shucked,” as a member of the Original Broadway cast understudying the Tony-winning role of Lulu. Miki has toured nationally with “Once On This Island” and “Beautiful.” Beyond the stage, she’s the owner of Castle In The Sky Self-Esteem and Career Coaching, sharing joy and empowerment through transparency and tough love. She lives by a life and business motto of “The most important story you will ever tell is the one you tell yourself about yourself.” 

Tanner Lane (he/him) is a NYC based performer and choreographer. He is currently on faculty teaching Theatre Jazz at Broadway Dance Center in NYC. He moved to New York from Florida after attending Florida State University for Musical Theatre. Shortly after moving to the city, Tannerjoined the Broadway National Tour of Chicago The Musical where he toured both nationally and internationally (South Korea, Japan, Philippines). In NYC he has performed as both a singer and dancer in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Tanner has also had the opportunity to perform around the country regionally in Joseph..., and Billy Elliot (The Muny), Bye Bye Birdie (Lyric Theatre OKC), A Chorus Line (Stages St. Louis), and more. 

Tiffany Mellard (she/her) is a performing artist, dance educator, and arts advocate from Bronx, NY. Education: Florida State University (BFA Dance), and the Harvard Graduate School of Education (Ed.M. in Arts in Education). Performance credits include: Hamilton: An American Musical (And Peggy Tour), Memphis (Gateway Playhouse), Chicago The Musical (National Tour), and West Side Story (International Tour). She has also performed works by Yara Travieso in La Medea at BRIC and PS 122 Gallery, Nathan Trice/ RITUALS in Strange Love: Episodes at FreeCandy, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Darshan Buller, Gerri Houlihan and more. Choreography credits include: Woo Woo Child (Soho Rep). She is a teaching artist with New York City Center, the Misty Copeland Foundation, Brooklyn Ballet, and Arts Ignite. Tiffany also serves on the Board of Directors at the NY-based dance education non-profit, Dancewave. 

COURTNEY BALAN (she/her)- most recent credits include starring as Dee Dee Allen in the first National tour of The Prom and A New Brain at Barrington Stage. Broadway: The Prom, Finding Neverland, Title of Show, Cry-Baby, In My Life and the 2016 revival of Falsettos. Off-Broadway: I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; I Love You Because, Unexpected Joy, Rated P and The Marvelous Wonderettes. Courtney has had the honor of performing around the country in regional productions of The Humans (Aimee Blake/Pittsburgh Public), Funny Girl (Fanny/Riverside, FL), Into the Woods (Baker’s Wife/Alliance, Atlanta), The Little Mermaid (Ursula/Argyle, NY), Company (Amy/Pittsburgh Public), The Music Man (Marian/CT Rep) Oklahoma! (Ado Annie/OK Lyric) The Odyssey (Penelope & Circe/ArtPark, NY), and Urinetown (Pennywise/Theatre Raleigh). She can be heard on the original cast albums of The Prom, Finding Neverland, Unexpected Joy, Rated P and I Love You Because. She is a proud graduate of the University of Michigan musical theatre department and a proud member of Actors Equity Association. For more information visit courtneybalan.com.