Steve Hydeen is a local acting instructor and acting coach. In August of 2024 he became the new Education Director at the 402 Arts Collective, a local non-profit arts education organization offering lessons, coachings, and classes for arts education in the performing arts, musical arts, and visual arts. 

Prior to his role as Education Director, Steve was the Program Director for the 402 Acting Academy, one of the arts education programs at the 402 Arts Collective. Steve offers acting and improvisation training for young adults and adults through classes, private coaching, and his personalized training workshops called "Improv Intensive", which are tailored for high school drama classes, college acting classes, and corporate training sessions. 

Steve is passionate about guiding others to experience learning how to connect "on stage" while also allowing them space to make personal discoveries about their skills and abilities, providing space for confidence building, establishing communication, enhancing active listening skills, and more - all of which have benefits well beyond the stage and screen! 

Email: steve@402artscollective.org 

Ann Marie Pollard is an actor, director, and voice coach. She currently teaches within the BFA in Acting and Musical Theatre Minor at the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. You can learn more about her at voicerealized.com.

Email: annmarie.pollard@unl.edu 

Mike Catron is a Combat Choreographer with 17 years of experience in educational theatre. He has presented workshops at International and State Thespian Festival for 10 years and has designed three shows for University of Nebraska Omaha's theatre program as well as several regional high schools. He currently teaches English at Millard West High School in Omaha where he also serves as assistant theatre director. Mike is a member of the Teaching Artist Alliance and serves on the Advisory Board for the Nebraska Writing Project.

Email: mikcatron@gmail.com 

Jay Hayden (they/them) is a teacher, actor, playwright, and list-maker.  Jay is the Teen Programming Coordinator and a resident performer at The Rose Theater, where they teach classes on Playwriting, Acting, Improv, and Theatre of the Oppressed. Onstage at The Rose, Jay has been in shows like CORALINE, THE CAT IN THE HAT, and RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER. They are a co-conspirator with Old School Shakespeare Omaha, performing free, accessible Shakespeare in bars and coffee shops around the Big O. As a Theatre of the Oppressed practitioner, Jay has facilitated forum scenes with teens and adults around the country around issues of gender equity, racial bias, and housing instability. As a consultant, Jay has presented on best practices for including transgender artists with the American Alliance of Theatre Education, TYA/USA, Brookdale Community College, and the NYC Roundtable. A proud member of Ring of Keys, and a proud graduate of the University of Vermont.

Email: Jayh@rosetheater.org 

Jeannette Galup is a Miami native with Cuban roots. She is a Florida International University graduate with a bachelors degree in Theatre. She is a former high school drama teacher and  troupe sponsor for Miami Dade County public schools. She ran a successful Children’s Theater Program for 10 years. Currently living in Omaha with her husband and kids. She is the acting teacher at BIG Studios in Elkhorn Nebraska. She is happy to be  bringing her cultural background and diverse experiences to the Midwest.

Email: jeannette@bigstudioomaha.com 

Joe Knispel is an actor and teaching artist currently living in Omaha, NE. Before his move to Omaha, he lived in New York City where he was a member of Actor's Equity Association and was represented by Boals, Winnett & Associates Talent & Literacy Agency. Professionally, he has performed at the Asolo Rep Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Maples Repertory Theatre, Crane River Theater, & on multiple cruise ships with Norwegian Creative Studios. As a teacher, Joe was a Visiting Professor of Acting at Utah Tech University, and a Professor of Theatre at College of the Albemare in North Carolina. Joe holds a B.M. in Musical Theatre, and an MFA in Acting from Florida State University with the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. His personal teaching philosophy centers around training actors to be their own artists, and giving them processes that they can actually apply themselves, without relying on someone else watching them to tell them if they are good.

Email: joe.knispel@gmail.com 

Becca Jackson Cusick is a passionate theatre artist and educator who empowers others be BIG, BRAVE, and BOLD - on stage and off.

Pursuing a life as a theatre artist and musician, Becca earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and a Master of Arts in Teaching, which afforded her the opportunity to turn her vocation into her occupation. ​Over the past twenty years, she has consistently worked as a theatre artist by producing, directing, and performing in theatrical productions in educational settings, community theatres, at the Rose Theatre, as well as with Opera Omaha. 

​Becca is a Nebraska Thespian Outstanding Educator and Nebraska High School Theatre Academy Outstanding Educator. These honors are awarded to Theatre Educators who have not only produced outstanding shows but also have built classrooms that cultivate courage, authenticity, vulnerability, excellence, and growth.​

Becca is the owner of BIG Studio Omaha (bigstudioomaha.com), West Omaha's newest and fastest growing performing arts studio, and is the founding Executive Director and President of Boldly Inspiring Greatness (B.I.G.), a non-profit founded to build confidence and community through the performing arts. 

Becca is gifted in working with students of all ages and thrives when working with artists who are eager to grow in their skills as performers in addition to in their resilience and adaptability as humans.

​Becca is passionate about musical theatre and education, and ultimately desires to inspire others to live an authentic life, be the best version of themselves, and become the person that they were created to be.

Email: becca@bigstudioomaha.com 

Ali Watson has ten years of experience in beauty and special effects makeup for the entertainment industry.  She has provided makeup services for Theatrical Stage Productions, Independent Films, Collaborative Photoshoots, Fashion Shows/Runways and Theme Parks. She's been with A to Z Theatrical Supply and Service since 2017 as their Resident Makeup Artist & Specialist as well as acting as A to Z's Assistant Retail Manager. From 2015 - 2022, she also was employed by Worlds of Fun as a Specialty Makeup Artist and Makeup Supervisor (2022) for their Halloween HAUNT & Winterfest seasons.

Katherine Schuster represents Kryolan Professional Make-Up in outside sales for the Midwest and nationwide for academic accounts. Katherine is a licensed cosmetologist with the state of WI, and comes to Kryolan Professional Make-Up with a background in the cosmetic industry includes 15+ years of set, stage and salon artistry work, as well as serving as a general manager for a network of major salons. Katherine’s unique balance of creative and business skills brings a practical approach to Kryolan's make-up education.

Jamie Bullins is Associate Professor of Theatre at UNL in the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film. He comes to Nebraska from Kennesaw State University, where he served 2000-2017 as Associate Professor and Coordinator of Design/Technology in the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies. His M.F.A. in theatrical design/scenography is from the University of North Carolina/Greensboro and he has been designing and teaching for 25 years now. He has also held positions on the faculty at Auburn University and The University of Florida. He works as a scenographer, sometimes director, sometimes playwright as well.

Email: jbullins@unl.edu 

Renaissance Performing Arts Company was founded to fill the need for pre-professional, pre-collegiate and student-centered arts education in the greater Omaha area. Renaissance Performing Arts Company strives to provide quality industry-led arts education to students of all ages and levels in key theatrical disciplines, while fostering a lifelong love of the arts. The mission of Renaissance is to mentor and produce well-rounded artists who, upon completing programming, will have the necessary tools to be successful in any facet of the performing arts industry, as well as a strong sense of purpose, self, and awareness of the world around them.

Created by a team of three award-winning industry professionals: Ryan Pochop (Director of Music), Aubrey Fink (Director of Musical Theatre) and David Nuno (Director of Dance), Renaissance Performing Arts Company strives to be a leader in creating multi-disciplinary artists. Renaissance believes that a well-rounded arts education leads to creating a well-rounded person. The team at Renaissance is made up of in-demand actors, directors, music directors, choreographers, and audition coaches working with educational and professional companies around the country and internationally. By employing currently working artists, Renaissance is committed to bringing the most up-to-date insight from the front lines of the industry to their students here at home. 

Beyond the conservatory-style training, Renaissance is committed to the development of a young artist as a whole. Artists are individuals, and Renaissance believes in helping to nurture and grow the spirit of each young person who takes part in a Renaissance program. Visit renaissancepac.org for more information about the team and programming. 

Email: aubrey@renaissancepac.org

Lazzi: An Improv Troupe (Lazzi) is University of Nebraska - Lincoln's premier improv RSO. Lazzi is an audition based team, focused on providing easily accessible and inclusive improvisation through workshops, shows, and other community events. Rehearsals with Lazzi emphasize group mind, or the unspoken mental link of people working together. This skill is used in a variety of styles, from Long Form storytelling to competition based Short Form.  Feel free to email lazziimprov@gmail.com with any further questions.

Email: adian.upton@gmail.com // lazziimprov@gmail.com 

Kyle Thomas is a Nebraska-based Director, Music Director, and Choreographer.. A Kansas City native, Kyle’s work has been seen with companies such as Musical Theatre of Kansas City (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Band Geeks), Theatre in the Park (West Side Story, Oliver, Gypsy), and Starlight Theatre (Annie, Footloose). After receiving his B.F.A. in Theatre Direction from Nebraska Wesleyan University, Kyle worked in the Twin Cities with companies such as Tyrol Hills Music (Deal: the Musical, World Premiere), Artisty MN (42nd Street), Chaska Family Theatre (Annie, A Year with Frog and Toad), Young Artists Initiative (The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe), and Freshwater Theatre (Homewrecker). Locally, his work has also been seen at Nebraska Wesleyan, Omaha Community Playhouse, UNO, The Rose Children’s Theater, Theatre West, Midland University, and the Fremont Opera House. He also serves as a co-director/choreographer for the Nebraska All-State Musical and as the Director of Marketing and Communications for Opera Omaha.

Email: kylerossthomas@gmail.com

Jerry is an owner of Heartland Scenic Studio that brings over 40 years of theatrical expertise to the festival. He has worked in all aspects over the years front and back of stage. He is happy to discuss all questions with educators and students alike, please top by his booth and say hello.

Email: jonik@heartlandscenic.com

Dan P. Hays is an educator, actor, director, music director, choreographer and highly sought-after clinician.  He is currently serving as the Director of Theatre at Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska.   Dan also serves as the director of the Nebraska All State Musical.  He is the former Director of Musical Theatre for Nebraska Wesleyan University and he taught Vocal Music at Blair High School and Elkhorn High School in Nebraska. 

Before his career in education, Dan spent many years in the professional world of performing as an actor/dancer/director/singer/choreographer. He is a proud member of the Actor’s Equity Association.

Dan has received many awards including:  Distinguished Alumni Award from University of Nebraska Kearney, Show Choir Camps of America Teacher of the Year, Music Educator of the Year, Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Education and the Sertoma Club Man of the Year Award.  He has served as NMEA’s Chair of Choral Affairs; as a member of the Commission for Nebraska State Standards; as a reviewer of the National Standards of the Arts; and on the Boards of NCDA and the ACDA Regional Convention. 

Email: hays@midlandu.edu

Taylor Wyatt is the Senior Manager of Education at O-pa where she manages and coordinates the day-to-day logistics of all O-pa’s Education programs including the Nebraska Theater Academy, Disney Musicals in Schools, Musical Explorers, Omaha Wolf Trap, Student Matinee Series and Jazz Academy as well as offers support to master classes in jazz and dance. She also oversees O-pa’s group of teaching artists for the Jazz Academy, Omaha Wolf Trap and Disney Musicals in Schools programs. Ms. Wyatt holds a B.A. in Vocal Performance and Music Entrepreneurship from the University of Nebraska in Omaha.

Ellen Struve’s plays include Recommended Reading for Girls published by PlayScripts Inc. (O'Neill National Playwrights Conference Semi-Finalist, GPTC Stage Write Award), Prince Max’s Trewly Awful Trip to the Desolat Interior (selected for the 2015 PlayPenn Playwrights’ Conference, Great Plains Theatre Conference PlayFest Production), EPIC (GPTC PlayFest Production), The Octopus Play (EST/Sloan Commission), The Dairy Maid-Right (Mid-America Arts Alliance Artistic Innovation Grant), Untitled Series #7 (Theatre Arts Guild Best Comedy), among others. She is a Nebraska Arts Council Individual Artist Fellow and WhyArts Resident Artist. She has degrees from University of Iowa and School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Email: estruve@gptcplays.com

Born and raised in Nebraska, Steve Barth discovered his passion for music and theater performing on stages throughout the Midwest including the Nebraska Repertory Theater, Minnesota Repertory Theater and Illinois Music Theater. After receiving his BA and MFA in Acting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he resided in New York City for eight years acting, directing and producing. Steve now proudly serves as the Artistic Director of Crane River Theater in Nebraska, a professional production company he founded in 2009. An educator at heart, he continues to teach workshops and direct productions throughout the country for regional theaters and universities. He is currently the President for Nebraskans for the Arts and a recipient of the Nebraska Arts Council Governor’s Arts Award for Emerging Leadership.

Email: stevebarth77@hotmail.com

Bryce Allen has worked as a Technical Director for several universities and professional organizations in the Midwest and Western United States. He is also an ETCP Certified Theatrical Rigger. Educating the next generation of theatrical technicians, makers, and innovators is his passion. Drawing upon his background in the sciences and the theatrical arts, Bryce provides his students with opportunities to gain hands-on, individualized training. His experience in project management, safety procedures, rigging, engineering, building, metal working, and drafting provide a solid base of understanding that allows him to guide his students along their educational path and open doors for a professional career as an artist and technician. For examples see www.brycedaleallen.com

Email: bryceallen@unl.edu

Adam is an Assistant Professor of Scenic Design at UNO. He holds MFA from the University of Oregon, and BSE from Emporia State University. After undergrad, Adam spent the better part of a decade teaching theatre at a high school in Kansas, directing and designing all productions produced by the department.  Before joining the UNO Faculty, Adam was Instructor of Scenic Design and Technical Director at Wabash College in Indiana.  Adam’s freelance work has included Assistant Scenic Designer at Des Moines Metro Opera, Designer and TD at the Manitou Play Festival in Maine, and Scenic and Props Design at Oregon Contemporary Theatre.

Email: awhittredge@unomaha.edu

Hannah Clark is an actor, writer, teacher, and technician who’s called Nebraska home since 2011. Clark graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in poetry from Creighton University and received her undergraduate degree in English and Theatre from Chadron State College. She teaches poetry with Nebraska Writers Collective and makes stage magic happen for companies like American Midwest Ballet & Great Plains Theatre Commons.  

Her writing has been featured in journals such as Rootstalk, Siren’s Call, Groundwater Almanac, Belletrist, Gordion Review, and Every Pigeon. Her work in horror includes fantasy scripts, dark podcasts, and short story complications. She is a substitute radio host with Omaha’s own KVNO and helps manage the art café in Benson, Edge of the Universe. Clark performs Shakespeare with her co-producing company Old-school Shakespeare Omaha in local bars.

Hannah’s teaching philosophy centers around empowering young people with the social-emotional tools and awareness to navigate a landscape filled with technology and isolation, building a lifelong love of the arts that will sustain them into adulthood.

Erin O'Hara (she/her) is a dynamic teaching artist currently based in Omaha, Nebraska. After earning her B.A. in Theatre for Youth and Communities from the University of Northern Iowa in May of 2023, she rounded off her Theatre for Young Audience training with a Teaching Artist Fellowship at The Rose Theater in May of 2024. She has performed in various cabarets, festivals, productions and choirs throughout her life and has a passion for creating supportive spaces for learners of all ages, identities and abilities. Currently, she is working as a teaching artist for The Rose Theater and most recently has been seen singing about the cheese touch in Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Musical or dressed as a leg lamp in A Christmas Story: The Musical on the mainstage. She loves spending time with students of all ages and is the queen of attempting to break awkward silences. Come enjoy this "get to know you" workshop! 

Email: erino@rosetheater.org

Blake Tobey is a long-time theatre artist, former Nebraska Thespian Troupe Director, and current MFA Theatre student through the University of Idaho. He is passionate about the intersection of theatre and mental health and social justice.

Email: blake.tobey@gmail.com

Cody Talarico, is a musician and supporter of arts education. Cody taught music in the Bellevue (NE) Public Schools and is currently serving Nebraska as the Fine Arts Education Specialist at the Nebraska Department of Education where he leads and supports visual arts, media arts, dance, music and theatre education.  Cody also serves arts education nationally, as a member-at-large on the Executive Team for SEADAE (State Education Agencies Directors of Arts Education). He is a professional musician and an all-around fine arts fanatic who resides in the Omaha, NE, area with his family. One of his greatest joys is seeing how the arts and arts education connects us. 

Email: cody.talarico@nebraska.gov