Liam
Break a leg on your first company performance!
We love you the world!
Mom, Dad, and Addy
To our beauty Jenna,
From one role to the next, your hard work, commitment and dedication shine in every part you’ve tackled. Five shows this year (so far) — what an amazing
journey!
We are so proud of the risks you took this year and how you bring every character to life with passion and grace.
Keep chasing your dreams!
We love you so much, Mom & Dad
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LOVE - MOM, DAD, GINNY, MURRAY & DUNCAN
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YAT DIRECTORS & Administration
Sarah Doolin Roy
Chief Executive Officer
J. Scott Handley
Artistic Director
Natalie Futrell
Managing Director
Kassidy Canova
Program Coordinator
Jessica Cavanagh
Director of Acting
Isabel Chistoni
Director of Dance
Marketing & Development Assistants
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YOUNG ACTORS THEATRE
Alison Grimes
Director of Music
Fran Lagos Isaiah Ramsey
YAT Teaching Artists
Za’Riyah Drayton
Kelly Greisl Piper Greisl
Wanda Rivera-Ferri
Elaine Hendriks Smith
Ty Stone
Lisa Hight Gina Jordan
Todd Teagarden Colleen Towey
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Sarah Roy
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, YOUNG ACTORS THEATRE
Sarah Roy comes to YAT from American
Ballet Theatre (ABT), where she was Director
of Marketing Communications & Strategic Partnerships. In 2020, she was a Women in Power Fellow at the 92Y. Roy previously served as Communications Director at New American Economy, a bipartisan coalition of 500 CEOs and mayors for immigration reform. She was
a Deputy Director of the Council on Foreign Relations, and is a current term member of
the think tank. In 2013, she acted as Commu- nications Director for a negotiation process between the five parties of the Northern Ireland Executive to bolster and build upon the Good Friday Agreement. Roy holds an MPA from New York University’s School of Public Service and graduated summa cum laude from Marymount Manhattan College. She is in the current class of Leadership Tallahassee. Her most important role is raising her children, Doris and Sloane, with her husband Dave Roy.
J. Scott Handley
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
J. Scott Handley most recently served as the Executive Director, Founder, Music Director, and Vocal Coach for the non-profit organiza- tion, Broadway Method Academy (BMA). The company grew from his private voice studio attracting students from all over the tri-state area seeking elite musical theater training.
At BMA, he implemented an educational partnership with the prestigious Westport Country Playhouse. In 2002, Handley became department chair of musical theater at Region- al Center for the Arts in Southern Connecti- cut. Many of his students have won awards including the National Jimmy Awards and have gone on to receive degrees in Musical Theater at the top musical theater programs in the nation. Handley is an accomplished collabo- rative artist, having worked with Alice Ripley, Klea Blackhurst, Nicholas Rodriguez, Meredith Inglesby, Steve Blanchard and Noah Rickets
to name a few. He holds a BA from the Florida State University College of Music.
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Natalie Futrell
YAT MANAGING DIRECTOR,
DIRECTOR OF BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Natalie Futrell enjoys overseeing the day to day operations of the theatre. She has worked at Young Actors for fourteen years, serving as the Education Director, Company Manager, and drama teacher, directing the Kid’s Company, Middle School Company, and the Performers Unlimited program. She has stage managed over ten Mainstage productions. Her pride and joy is directing the students at YAT. Some of her favorite directing endeavors include Beauty and the Beast, Finding Nemo Jr, 13: The Musical, Elf, and The Wizard of Oz. Futrell would like to thank her parents, Mark & Marian, for enrolling her
in a High School Musical YAT summer camp in 2006, which would lead to her strong sense of love for the arts. In her spare time, she is the Midday on screen talent at the Florida Lottery, putting her theatre training to use.
Jessica Cavanagh
DIRECTOR OF ACTING
Cavanagh got her start at YAT (c/o ‘93!), and she currently teaches all 7th-12th grade Company Acting classes as well as Playwriting. For YAT’s main stage, she’s had the opportunity to adapt and direct both Little Women and Pride and Prejudice, as well as directing Sweeney Todd in 2023 and last season’s Romeo & Juliet. Cavanagh is an actor, voice artist, and play- wright, with a career in Dallas, Texas that spans the past 20 years. Favorite stage credits in- clude A Streetcar Named Desire, August: Osage County, Outside Mullingar, Doubt, A Feminine Ending, Hamlet, Mr. Burns: a post-electric play, and ‘Night, Mother. Her semi-autobiographical play, Self-Injurious Behavior, opened in Dallas
in 2018 and was given an AEA workshop run off-Broadway, followed by an L.A. premiere in late 2019. You can hear her voice on Cartoon Network/Hulu/Netflix in shows such as My Hero Academia, Attack on Titan, Fairy Tail, One Piece, and dozens more! Thanks to Tina and Alison for the gift YAT has been, and continues to be, in her life!
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Isabel Chistoni
DIRECTOR OF DANCE, CHOREOGRAPHER OF
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Originally from Connecticut, Chistoni discov- ered YAT in the summer of 2022 when she joined the creative team of The Addams Family as a guest choreographer. Soon after, she joined the team full-time and now oversees the dance curriculum for students of all ages, as well as choreographs mainstage shows and the Studio Singers high school troupe. Some YAT projects include the following: Elf: The Musical, Pride and Prejudice, 13: The Musical, Swee-
ney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Carousel, and Carrie. In 2023, Chistoni worked closely with FSU’s musical theatre program when she had the special opportunity to choreograph their production of Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus! Additionally, Chistoni is grateful to have made her directorial debut on the YAT stage in their 2024 summer production of Mean Girls. Some stage credits include Cabaret (Frenchie), Newsies (Finch), The Little Mermaid (Aquata), In The Heights (Swing), and Freckleface Strawber- ry (Ballet Girl). She is particularly grateful to J. Scott Handley, former teacher, for introducing her to YAT. Thanks go out to family and friends for their continuous love and support!
Alison Grimes
YAT MUSIC DIRECTOR, MUSIC DIRECTOR OF
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Alison B. Grimes has been honored by The
Tony Awards, The Broadway League, and the American Theatre Wing for Excellence in The- atre Education. Grimes received her Bachelor’s degree in Music from Florida State University as a voice and piano major studying with such notable artists as David Wingate and Edward Kilenyi. She has been the Musical Director, Pia- nist and Vocal Coach for Young Actors Theatre since 1979, and serves as Pianist and Assistant Director at Fellowship Baptist Church. At YAT, Ms. Grimes is heavily involved in long-term planning with regard to season, secondary, and touring shows. With over 45 years of perform- ing, directing and teaching experience; she has countless performances and over 100 produc- tions to her credit. Grimes also has a diploma
in Writing for Children and Teenagers. She has been awarded in Who’s Who in Music and the Extraordinary Performing Artists of America.
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Kassidy Canova
PROGRAM COORDINATOR, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF BEAUTY & THE BEAST
Canova serves as the Program Coordinator and choreographer of the ACT ONE touring troupe at YAT. She is a graduate of Florida School of the Arts, where she studied Musical Theatre and Directing. Upon graduating Canova taught and choreographed for Asbury Arts Center in Middleburg, Florida, and directed/coached var- ious events for Showtime USA in St. Augustine before returning to her hometown in 2018. She has choreographed various Junior productions at YAT including Frozen Jr, The Addams Family Young @ Part, Mary Poppins Jr, Nemo Kids, and Mean Girls Jr. Some performance highlights for Canova include her roles of Ruth Condo- mine in Blithe Spirit and Constance Ledbelly in Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) at Florida School of the Arts, Lady Beaconsfield in Jekyll & Hyde with NRM Performance at the Monticello Opera House, and most recently as the Nurse in Romeo & Juliet with the talented students of Young Actors Theatre.
Piper Greisl
YAT TEACHING ARTIST, ASSISTANT CHOREOGRAPHER OF BEAUTY & THE BEAST
Greisl is a dance teacher for both enrichment and company classes, as well as the choreog- rapher for YAT’s all-girls group, The Cadences. Starting her life in the theatre as a ballet danc- er, Greisl studied ABT curriculum standards
at various studios in the area, including The Tallahassee Ballet. She first branched into mu- sical theatre during middle school and hasn’t stopped being involved since. After attending YAT for a total of two years (c/o ’22), Greisl began her studies at Florida State University. She’s currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Media & Communication Studies, a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre (Stage Management Track), a minor in English, and a minor in Classics. Greisl is also a student blogger for Broadway World, where she publishes articles about
her experiences in the theatre as a full-time student. Greisl has also occasionally worked on YAT productions as Assistant Choreogra- pher and/or Backstage Coordinator, including Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Carousel, Carrie, Mean Girls, and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. When it comes to performance credits, some of her favorites include The Baker’s Wife in Into The Woods, Jo March in Little Women, Alexi Darling/Others in Rent, Megan Jones in Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic, Texas in Cabaret, and Sandra/Florence Colleymore in The Play That Goes Wrong. She was also in a production of Cats one time.
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Colleen Towey
WARDROBE MANAGER, OFFICE ASSISTANT
Colleen Towey enjoys wearing many hats at Young Actors Theatre, as resident costume designer, office assistant, and teaching artist to the youngest students. Colleen has been designing costumes for stage in and around Tallahassee since 2017, in educational, collegiate, and community theaters. Some highlights include Mean Girls, Romeo and Juliet, and Sweeney Todd at YAT, Hansel and Gretel and Patience at Florida State University Opera, Light in the Piazza and She Loves Me at Arts at Faith, and Les Miserables and Aida at Leon Per- forming Arts. She is thrilled to be back at YAT for her fourth season, as YAT has been a part of her family for generations. Colleen is grateful to her mentors, Naomi Rose-Mock and Christina Marullo, for their tutelage and guidance, as well as her fellow YAT staff members for providing such a welcoming community and wonderful place to create art.
Ty Stone
TECHNICAL MANAGER
Ty Stone hails from Lincoln High School, where- in he got his first introduction to theater. Since his introduction to YAT, he has quickly taken
a deep understanding of the theater and how
it works. He has last served as their resident sound designer, and stagehand for all of YAT’s 49th season. He also served as the Assistant Music Director for Studio 609’s production of Carrie: the Musical, as well as serving as the music director for Mean Girls Jr. When it comes to performance, Ty likes to highlight the roles of Tom Watson in Parade, The Beadle Bamford in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Bobby Strong in Urinetown: the Musical. Ty is excited to continue his career
in theater with the remainder of YAT’s 50th season and the seasons to come!
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Jack Jammer
CARPENTER
Jack Jammer is a local designer, carpenter
and problem solver who is deeply honored to be a part of YAT’s production of Beauty and
the Beast. This is his first show at YAT, and
as he is humbled to be part of such a robust and creative team. Jack has been building
and designing sets for the past decade, and is slowly collecting his infinity gauntlet of working on every single stage and with every single company across the Big Bend area. His recent work includes Hello, Dolly! and Aladdin Jr. with Quincy Music Theatre, Mousetrap with Theatre Tallahassee, and A Winter’s Tale with Southern Shakespeare (The tornado didn’t play nice with that set, sadly). He would like to send a massive thank you to Alex and Gavin for their incredible design work and camaraderie on Beauty and the Beast, and to his captain, Brennan, for her eternal support.
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it CAN be done.®
Proud Supporter of Young Actors Theatre and 50 years of inspiring youth in the magic of performing arts.
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