Theater Works Expands Staff As It Launches New, Re-Invented Programs for Young Actors

Theater Works is expanding its creative team as it launches new and re-invented programs for young actors in early 2022, Theater Alive Kids (formerly KidsAlive Jr.), for ages 6-11 andTheater Alive Teen (formerly KidsAlive Teen) for ages 12-17.

Theater Alive teaches a wide variety of disciplines including acting, voice, movement, and stage presence. The program welcomes back Courtney Stevens in her previous role as Theater Alive Stage Manager and "new" faces to the program: Meija Eller as Director, Kathleen Berger as Music Director and Paul Pedersen as Choreographer.

Theater Alive is open to students at all levels of their musical training. Students attending and paying tuition will have roles in the program's final production in late spring. Space will be limited to 35 students per session; registration opens this month online at the Theater Works website (www.theaterworks.org).

Eller's acting credits include Marcy in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Chloe Coverly in Arcadia and The March Hare in TheaterWorks' own Curiouser & Curiouser Too. Her directing credits include Willy Wonka Jr., Frozen Jr., and Junie B Jones Jr., among others.

Berger, a longtime Valley performer with more than ten years in children's theater, has been seen in roles such as Margaret White (Carrie), Aldonza (Man of La Mancha), Domina (A Funny Thing Happened...Forum), and Mrs. Corry/Miss Andrew (Mary Poppins). She has performed internationally as an operatic soprano as Violetta (La traviata), Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor) and Countess Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), among others.

Pedersen, in addition to having taught at multiple dance studios in the valley, has danced and choreographed for locally-based entertainers performing his work on stages throughout the country. As a choreographer, his work has appeared in valley-wide productions such as All Shook Up, The Full Monty, Theater Works' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Disney's Beauty and the Beast, the latter two productions earning ariZoni awards for Choreography.

Stevens is a 2015 University of Arizona graduate with a degree in Stage Management. During the past six years, she stage managed more than 20 productions in Theater Works programs, including three previous years with Kids Alive.

In order to create a safe space for both audience members and actors and to keep our stages bright, masks are required for audience members attending Theater Works productions and for students attending educational programs. Temperatures will be taken upon arrival.

Theater Works productions take place at the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts (10580 N. 83rd Drive Peoria, AZ 85345). For more information about Theater Works, visit www.theaterworks.org.