Amy Cole 

Music

Ms. Cole is currently performing with Opera Quest Northwest as the Ingenue in “Opera the Great.” A private vocal teacher and manager at Cole Studios in Battle Ground, she has sung roles in several operas including Emmy in Albert Herring and Armchair in L’enfant et les Sortileges with Portland Opera, and Gretel in Hansel and Gretel with Vancouver Children’s Opera. She has been a featured soloist with the Oregon and Vancouver symphonies, performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall, toured Europe with the Portland State University Chamber Choir and was soprano soloist on the CD On American Shores. In her spare time, Cole enjoys traveling, garage sales and activities with her three children.

Kemba Shannon

Dance

Kemba Shannon received her BFA from Towson State University and trained at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater,  Martha Graham School,  the Edge, Lula Washington,  Peridance,  and Morgan State University.  She has taught dance classes at UCLA,  Loyola Marymount,  El Camino College and Portland State University among others. Kemba‘s stage credits include: The Lion King (LA cast), The Color Purple (Broadway cast), Cirque du Soleil (Zumanity), Aida and FAME. Kemba‘s ambition and drive have won her world recognition with icons MADONNA (“Drowned World Tour”), PINK (Try This World Tour”), Celine Dion ( Taking Chances World Tour”), RIHANNA (Nike Rockstar World Tour), Kanye West, R. Kelly and FANTASIA just to name a few. Her television credits include: American Dreams (NBC), Oscars (“Chicago” Performance), MTV Music Awards (Pink performance ), the Emmys (Kristin Bell performance), World Music Awards (Kanye West & R. Kelly), NAACP Awards and the Grammy’s. Kemba‘s multifaceted dance style continues to inspire her students to be fierce and dance with their heart and soul.

Jeffrey Puukka

Acting
Jeffrey Puukka is curious and passionate about actor training, and joined Metropolitan Performing Arts Academy to teach Acting Fundamentals in 2017.  Additionally, Jeffrey teaches the highly popular and successful Monday Night Acting Lab at Mt. Hood Community College, and is also a mentor and adjudicator for high school competitive speakers.  Jeffrey has directed thirty-something theatre productions in the Portland metro area over the past 15 years.  Favorites include “Women of Troy” which he adapted from Euripides and directed in 2015, “Elective Affinities” (Portland, the Edinburgh Fringe, and Cambodia), and “Dracula” (Portland, 2004).   

Kristin Heller

Music
Originally from Ohio, Kristin received her Bachelor of Arts and Communications in Theater Arts from Bowling Green State University. She moved from Ohio to Chicago, IL and  was Artistic Director of a non-profit theater company that focused on new play development. In 2009, she moved to Portland, OR to pursue her Master in Theatre, graduating in 2011. Kristin has apprenticed under world renowned directors such as Tito Capobianco, David Edwards and Elizabeth Bachman. She has worked as Acting, Dance, and Directing faculty for the Tyrolean Opera Program in Maurach Austria. Kristin has worked summers as Acting, Dance and Directing faculty at the Napa Music Festival and recently directed Mozart’s ‘Cosi fan tutte’ with Ping and Wolf Opera in Portland, Or, touring to Hood River, OR. Kristin is currently directing ‘Hello Dolly’ with Sherwood Foundation of the Arts.  Currently, she privately coaches voice, flute, acting, acting for singers, and Public Speaking, as well as, instructs larger Master classes on Auditioning, and Acting. She is also a voiceover actor for audio books. http://kristinheller.com

Kylie Rose

Guest Teacher
Kylie Jenifer Rose, an actor, singer, puppeteer, and dialect coach with a BFA in Theatre Performance from Central Washington University, is currently based in Portland, OR. To enhance her education she spent a year in the UK researching regional English dialects, and has since then dialect coached for numerous local productions, including Defunkt Theatre’s production of “Blasted” by Sarah Kane. After acting for such companies as Leavenworth Summer Theatre, Tears of Joy Puppet Theatre, and Icicle Creek Center for the Arts, her latest project is developing the contemporary theatre company she has co-founded, Crave Theatre.

Mark Martin

MTTP
Mark is excited to bring his experience and insight to MPA. His theater history began in grade school and continued through college. He has held positions at CYT and other theater companies as Set Designer, Stage rigging engineer, Assistant director and Director, as well as a class instructor. Recent directorial credits would include Cinderella, Great American Tall Tales, Aladdin and HONK! Mark holds an Associates Degree in Arts and Sciences from Clark College. 
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Paul Angelo

Guest Director
Paul Angelo serves as the associate artistic director of Staged! musical theatre and as a director in residence with defunkt in Portland, Oregon. He holds a BFA in musical theatre from the State University of New York (SUNY) Fredonia and an MFA from the Alabama Shakespeare Festival/ University of Alabama. In 1997 he co-founded the New Ensemble Theatre (TNE) in Manhattan; during his five years as co-artistic director, TNE focused on new plays and the plays of Shakespeare creating three seasons and eleven productions. TNE and its members were the recipient of several awards including an OOBR (Off-off Broadway Review) award for outstanding production for the play Let a Hundred Flowers Bloom (2001) and an invitation to the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC for Henry V. Off-off Broadway directing credits includes Hamlet, The Hunger Waltz(part of the NY Fringe Festival 99′) and Henry V. He has also directed productions of Charlotte’s Web and Godspell for The Capitol Arts Youth Theatre in Bowling Green, Ky. He has directed five musicals for Staged!, Les Miserables, which received two Portland Area Musical Theatre Awards (PAMTA) for Outstanding Ensemble and Outstanding Young Performer of the year.  Big River which was also awarded two PAMTAs and the Portland premier of Jason Robert Brown’s ‘13′  this production was awarded a Drammy for Outstanding Pit Ensemble and four PAMTA nominations including Outstanding Direction. Also, Jason Robert Brown’s Parade  which was nominated for five PAMTAs, including Outstanding Direction, winning the award for Outstanding Ensemble. And Dogfight by Pasek and Paul, four PAMTA nominations including Outstanding Direction. Other Portland directing credits: The Homecoming by Harold Pinter, Let a Hundred Flowers Bloom  by David Zellnik and Blasted by Sarah Kane for defunkt theatre. Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Equivocation, by Bill Cain and Coyote on a Fence by Bruce Graham for Post5 Theatre. Romeo and Juliet for the Portland Actors Conservatory and Ruthless! the Musical for Stumptown Stages. A Civil War Christmas by Paula Vogel for Artists Repertory Theatre, ART  Paul is a proud member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, SDC. He served as the resident drama instructor at West Sylvan middle school for seven years from 2006 to 2013 where productions included Grease, Godspell, Oliver!, Little Shop of Horrors, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Guys and Dolls, School House Rock Live!, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo & Juliet, Annie, Hamlet and The Little Mermaid. Other Portland area educational credits include: Into the Woods at Wilson High School.​

Randy Davis

Guest Choreographer
Texas born, Randy Andre’ Davis was raised in Germany and then Portland, Oregon. It was in Portland, Oregon that Randy began his dancing ‘career’ when he joined an experimental magnet program within the public school system. “Dancin’ Davis” hasn’t stopped! Randy has been seen in numerous Broadway shows and National tours throughout his career. One of his favorites  was the colorful Broadway revival of “Guys & Dolls” with Peter Gallagher, Faith Prince, and Nathan Lane where he featured in the Crapshooter Ballet. In “Cats,” Randy performed the challenging and beloved role of Mistoffelles; Noodler the Pirate in Cathy Rigby’s “Peter Pan.” Essential as Dance Captain, Randy assisted in the Broadway production of “All Shook Up.” When theater history was made by the opening of “Harlem Song” at the famed Apollo Theatre, Randy Davis’ name was among the select actors chosen to appear. In addition to his skills as a dancer, singer and actor, Randy is known for his choreography work. He assisted in the restaging of the National Tour of “All Shook Up” and became the Children’s Director and Stager for the National Tour of “Whistle Down the Wind.” In Japan, Randy choreographed the “Japanese Musical Review” for one of Tokyo’s theaters. Across the country, Randy’s choreography has been in demand by numerous upscale dance studios for the restaging of “Guys & Dolls,” “All Shook Up,” as well as numerous other musicals. On his first visit to the White House, Randy performed a tap solo at the request of the White House after having seen Randy’s performance in “Hot Mikado.” The second visit was a part of Black History Month celebrations. Randy and the cast of “Harlem Song” were invited to visit and perform in honor of the history of both the show’s content and the Apollo Theatre.

Will Johnson

Broadway Beginners, Broadway Jr and Off Broadway
After graduating from The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City, William received his BFA in Theatre Education from Western Washington University. Previous favorite roles include Puck in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Dream Curly in “Oklahoma” and Jack Sprat in the national tour of “Jack Sprat Low-Fat World.” William is inspired by both theatre featuring children and theatre for children. He aspires to make a living as a teacher and mentor.