Staff
With over 70 years of combined arts education experience and over 100 years of professional performing arts experience, the teaching staff of SCAA is positioned to offer an unparalleled arts learning experience for the students involved.
Instructors
James Bessant
James Bessant is a 4th grade teacher in Rutherford County and a proud performer in Middle Tennessee. James has acted, danced, and sung for more than a decade in community theaters, vocal studios, and dance companies as an amateur artist. He’s been lucky enough to perform in over 40 community theater productions as cast, crew, or assistant director.
James went to college at MTSU for his Elementary Education bachelor’s degree and now teaches 4th Grade at Roy Waldron Elementary School. At camp, James teaches acting through learning games, using fun to teach lessons for on and off stage. His goal is to enable kids to show their best self and face every challenge that comes along the way.
Lindsey Duggin
Lindsey Mapes Duggin has been a professional performer and arts educator in the Nashville theatre community and surrounding areas for over 6 years. She graduated from MTSU in 2014 with a Bachelor's degree in theatre and a minor in vocal performance. She is currently pursuing her Masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction from MTSU.
As a performer, she has worked professionally with companies including the Cumberland County Playhouse (CCP), Nashville Repertory Theatre, and Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre. She has also worked in Nashville as a recording artist on demo tracks for MTI’s Broadway jr. collection. For three years she held the position of Director of Arts Education at the Arts Center of Cannon County in Woodbury, Tn. While she was there, she coordinated the “Young at Art” School show series, ran their Summer Youth Conservatory program, directed and produced performances, and wrote and defended grants on a state level. Directing, Performing, and Teaching theatre have always been her greatest passions. She believes deeply in the lessons that theatre can teach both on stage and off.
Donald Fann
Donald Fann founded the theater program at Stewarts Creek High School where he was selected as The Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts 2016 Teacher of the Year. With over 25 years of teaching experience, he holds a B.F.A. in Theater from the University of Memphis, a M.Ed. from Middle Tennessee State University and has received training as a Teaching Artist from The Lincoln Center Institute, the Wolftrap Institute, Foxfire Teacher Training Program, as well as The Tennessee Arts Commission’s Peer Advisory Network. He served for 19 years as Executive Director of the Arts Center of Cannon County, where he founded the Grammy Award winning record label Spring Fed Records and where he founded the Summer Youth Conservatory Program that has become a model in the Mid-State. He received the 2013 Governor’s Award for the Arts in Arts Leadership for contributions to the state’s arts community. He is a former Chair of both Tennesseans for the Arts and for Humanities Tennessee and primary guest director at Cumberland County Playhouse. His extensive theatrical background includes over 250 credits for directing, design, and performance from across the state. Donald currently lives on his family farm outside of Woodbury with his wife, Cortilla and his three daughters, Chloe, Hattie and Corinne.
Deven Ferrer
Deven Ferrer (she/her) is a recent BFA Theatre Education graduate from Belmont University and originally from Maryland! She is a licensed and certified theatre teacher with a passion for storytelling. Creativity, curiosity, and collaboration create the foundation of Deven's classroom. For the past 10 years, she has been teaching dance with all ages and levels. At Belmont, Deven performed with the 615 dance team (Vice President), Dance Company, and as Dominique in Lucky Stiff (Dance Captain). Some of her favorite choreography credits include: Pippin (River Hill High School), Catch Me If You Can (Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts), Chicago (River Hill High School), Into the Woods (Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts), and Legally Blonde (River Hill High School). She can't wait to have fun this summer at Stewart's Creek!
Brian Russell
Dr. Russell founded the Stewarts Creek Choral Program when the school opened in 2013. Prior to Stewarts Creek, Dr. Russell taught at Illinois Wesleyan University, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and taught middle and high school vocal and instrumental music at five different schools in Rutherford and Sumner counties.
A native of Nashville, Dr. Russell received his undergraduate degree in music education from Middle Tennessee State University and his Masters and Doctorate degrees in conducting from the Eastman School of Music. Dr. Russell is Director of Music at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Franklin, TN and is Executive Director of Murfreesboro's Ethos Youth Ensembles. Dr. Russell is the State Adjudication Festival Coordinator for the Tennessee Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association and is All State Choral Chair for the Tennessee Music Educators Association. He lives in Murfreesboro with his wife and three children, all of whom attend Stewarts Creek schools.
Estella Williams
Estella Williams is no stranger to the stage, having performed for 12 years in over 50 shows. She has also designed makeup for numerous shows. Estella is pursuing a BS in Art Education at MTSU as well as her professional freelance makeup license.
Estella is also an experienced Nashville session singer, recording for MTI, Concord Theatrics, and several other theatrical companies over the past 3 years. You may have heard her as MTI’s Patrice in “13 the Musical Jr.” or Karen Smith in “Mean Girls Jr.”. She is involved in several local theater companies, including The Center for the Arts and Springhouse Theatre Company in both their technical and performance programs.
Administration
Corinne Fann
Corinne Fann is an award-winning graduate of the University of Memphis with a BFA in Technical Theatre and a Minor in Nonprofit Management. While she focuses on theatrical lighting and management, her education and experience range from all different areas of theatre including both performance and technical theatre. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Business Administration at MTSU.
Corinne has worked in theatres around the country including Utah Shakespeare Festival and Cumberland County Playhouse. More locally, she has been involved in community theatres including the Center for the Arts in Murfreesboro and the Arts Center of Cannon County in Woodbury.