Faculty
SPOTLIGHT
B.J. Cleveland
BJ is celebrating 50 years under the dome! He has served as Resident Actor / Director / Choreographer for Casa throughout the years and has appeared in over 50 Casa productions. He has received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Live Theatre League of Tarrant County and DFWTheater Critics Forum.
Sarah Powell
Sarah has 15+ years of experience as a private voice and musical theatre instructor. She holds an MM in Voice from New England Conservatory & a BA in Voice from UNC-Chapel Hill. Most recently, Sarah was certified to teach Meisner in Music™.
Kristal Seid
Kristal is a vocal/acting teacher and coach, actor, singer, director, and music director with over 30 years of experience. She holds a BFA from Southwestern University in theatre, with a minor in piano and vocal performance and is certified in Somatic Voicework™ Levels 1 and 2.
ACTING
Jule Nelson-Duac
Jule is an actor, director, and producer who spent many years in Los Angeles. She holds an MFA from Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting at George Washington University and a BFA in Theatre from Texas Christian University and is a member of the Society of American Fight Directors.
CREATIVE STUDIOS
Taylor Wallis
Taylor is excited to return to Casa Mañana this fall! She holds a theatre degree from Millikin University and has worked as a theatre educator and performer in the DFW area for the last 10 years, having directed over 30 youth productions. After spending the last 5 years teaching theatre at Bransford Elementary in GCISD, she is currently pursuing her Master's in Counseling from Texas Wesleyan University.
CREATIVE STUDIOS
Katie Blanton
Katie Blanton is a graduate of Rider University with B.A.s in Arts & Entertainment Industries Management and Musical Theatre. As an educator, she has taught and developed curriculum for the Tony-Award winning McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, NJ. Since starting her artistic career at Casa Mañana at the age of 9, she is thrilled to now be under the Dome as a teacher and administrator to inspire the next generation of artists.
Apprentice
Penny Maas
Penny has worked as a professional actress, singer, and dancer in NYC for 20+ years. She teaches Musical Theatre Performance and Dance at TCU. She is a proud member of AEA, SAG/AFTRA and an Associate Member of SDC.
James McQuillen
Director of Theatre for Youth
Mr. McQuillen has been a music director for more than 25 years. He holds an MA in Arts Management from American University.
Merrill West
Merrill is a dancer, teacher, and choreographer as well as an adjunct faculty member at TCU. She had the pleasure of being on Radio City Rockettes for eight seasons. West holds a Bachelor of Music from NYU and is a member of the AEA.
All Abilities
Tina Farquhar
Tina has been a practicing music therapist for over 20 years. She has been the instructor for our Musical Theatre Production for All Abilities class since its inception nearly 20 years ago.
Jessica Dahl-Colaw
Jessica’s passionate about serving those in the special needs community and promoting inclusivity in theatre. She still loves to perform here and there and holds an MFA from the University of Texas at Dallas.