Upstage Team

Artistic Director & Founder

Adrian Cohen

Adrian has been a professional actor and drama teacher for over 25 years. He was born and educated in England completing a BA (honors) at Leeds University and a Drama Diploma at the Arts Educational Schools, London.

Adrian has worked extensively in film and television with credits including Ocean’s 13, Entourage, General Hospital, The King of Queens, Frasier, Bruce Almighty, and recurring roles in 24 and iCarly (as Mr Devlin).

Adrian started Upstage in 1999 with a simple principle at its core — to create an environment that would produce fully rounded young performers:

“I wanted the students to take part in all three disciplines (i.e. acting, singing and dance) so that when they perform on stage, they have what we call ‘chops’ — that’s how actors are taught in England. And the skills learnt in the performing arts are so useful to young people whatever future career they choose.”

Managing Director

Julie Bank

Julie has been part of the Upstage family for over a decade, starting in 2004 as a volunteer at Westwood Charter before joining the Upstage Production Team in 2014. She has a Masters of Social Service Administration Degree from the University of Chicago and has been working with children and families for over to 25 years, first in foster care and more recently as an international adoption social worker. Originally from Texas, her love of Musical Theatre started with a High School production of “Grease” and was revived when the oldest of her four children joined the Upstage Program.

Julie loves being a part of the Upstage Theatre Schools family and loves working with the amazing Upstage staff and students!

Director, Choreographer, Media Coordinator

Taylor Sherry

Taylor Marie Sherry grew up in Chicago in a family deeply entrenched in the theatre world. She is a graduate of Florida State University with her BFA in Musical Theatre, training with Broadway’s Michael Hayden and Fred Chappell. Taylor spent two summers in college performing at the Highlands Playhouse in North Carolina, and also choreographing and assisting musicals at Elgin Academy’s theatre camp. After graduation, Taylor spent her summer as a resident company performer at Music Theatre Wichita, working with fantastic leaders such as Peggy Hickey, Wayne Bryan, and Nicholas Palmquist. There, she also had the opportunity to play Amber in Hairspray, choreographed by Al Blackstone. Taylor lives in LA pursuing her acting career, and to grow her directing and choreographing experiences.

Production Manager

Danielle McFadden

Danielle is thrilled to wear various Upstage hats! She joined the production team for the launch of Upstage Conejo’s Summer Camp in 2019 and for its expansion into other schools in the Conejo Valley, while also serving as the parent production volunteer at Brookside Elementary. Danielle grew up and hightailed it out of Florida to NYC where she graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Drama. She has been a part of the theatre for over 20 years, from performing as a member of a resident theatre company on New York City’s Theatre Row, to the national tour of the Drama-Desk Award winning play Charlie, Victor, Romeo. Danielle also enjoys performing locally (including Four Star Awards for best lead actress and best supporting actress) and roles in film and TV including Welcome to the Family. She has trained at Upright Citizen’s Brigade in improv and loves sharing think-on-your-feet acting and improv skills with students including co-teaching Upstage’s week-long showcase camps in the Conejo Valley!

Director

Jason Currie

Jason attended The Juilliard School on a full vocal performance scholarship. After graduation he performed in regional and touring productions all over the US. He has also scored numerous indie short films and web series.

In July of 2009, his YouTube hit Girls In Pantyhose was released and to date has over 2.5 million views, while his work on My 2 Black Girlfriends won him the 2014 IAWTV Award for Best Original Music.

He is a founding member of comedy troupe Fred For Nothing and the award-winning comedy song troupe Stupid Songs. Jason also facilitated Opera Improv, a collaboration between the Groundlings and LA Opera. Jason joined the It Gets Better tour in 2012 where he travels the country speaking, performing and doing outreach for underserved and at-risk LGBTQ youth.

Director, Choreographer

Mike McClure

Mike McClure was a musical theater major at the University of Cincinnati, College Conservatory of Music (CCM) and has performed, directed, choreographed and taught in New York, Los Angeles and many places in between.

Favorite roles as a performer are Don Lockwood in Singin’ in the Rain, BJ Gibson in
The 1940’s Radio Hour, and Orin, the dentist, in Little Shop of Horrors. Favorite shows as a director/choreographer are Hairspray, West Side Story, Music Man, and Romeo & Juliet, the Rock Musical.

He choreographed the national tours of Gypsy and The Sound of Music, as well as regional productions of Cats and Hair.

Mike has taught jazz, musical theater dance, acting, and filmmaking in various locations over the past 20 years and has gotten to share the stage with musical theater legends like Gene Kelly, Tommy Tune, Joel Grey, George Hearn, and Sandy Duncan.

Director, Choreographer

Beverly Wilkerson

Beverly received her BFA from the Boston Conservatory of Music, at Berklee, in Drama/Musical Theatre/Dance with Honors in Directing. In NYC, she performed at Lincoln Center, Off Broadway, and regionally. She did several productions of Sweet Charity and Sugar Babies, one of each choreographed by award-winner Susan Stroman. In LA, Beverly appeared at the Whitefire, Powerhouse, and Court theatres, and at the Comedy Store and Luna Park. She played violin for John Cleese in a DirecTV ad, and won many game shows (including Wheel of Fortune). She appears as a dancer in Sia’s movie Music and in Netlix’s Ratched, and plays tennis in the Roger Ailes’ movie. She sings with the a cappella group “The Music Companie” and the quartet “Jazz and All That.” She has been sharing her passion — directing, music directing, and choreographing children’s theatre — for 13 years, and is thrilled to join the Upstage team!

Choreographer

Meghann Lucas

A Boston native who’s been dancing since she was three, Meghann studied Dance and Theatre at both Hofstra and Jacksonville Universities. She has been teaching dance for the past 9 years in both the New England and Los Angeles areas. She has performed with local dance and theatre companies and most notably in the hybrid dance-theater company, Thrance.

Currently, she is a preschool dance teacher at Temple Isaiah Preschool in addition to owning her own dance company for the past six years, Kickstart Dance, located in West LA. She had her choreography debut with the Upstage Production of Peter Pan this summer! She couldn’t be happier teaching kids… and dancing!

Director, Choreographer

Mario Mosley

Mario Mosley attended the UCLA School of Theatre, Film, and Television. Some of his credits include World Music Awards, Dreamgirls, Walk Hard, Castle, MadTV, RuPaul’s Drag U, Dance Your A** Off, Nickelodeon, Heineken, Kia, Sprite, Miss Universe Pageant, Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, iCarly, Popeyes, It Gets Better Tour, Michael Jackson’s Sisterella, Notre Dame de Paris, Joe’s Garage, and many more.

Mario is a longtime Lythgoe Family Panto Choreographer, having worked on such shows as Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Aladdin, to name a few. This summer, he went to Sydney, Australia to choreograph a brand new 3D production of Jack & the Beanstalk at the world famous State Theatre. His love and talents in some many fields of the arts have presented him with the opportunity to work with some of the most exciting names in the entertainment industry, including Beyoncé, Michael Jackson, Prince, Ariana Grande, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, The Pussycat Dolls, Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dogg, Zac Efrom, Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson, Olivia Holt, and the new Disney sensation Ruby Rose Turner.

Choreographer

Bria Robinson

Bria Robinson is from Chattanooga, TN. She attended Earlham College in Richmond, IN, where she majored in Theatre Arts and minored in Business Management. After graduating, Bria moved to New York to start here career in the arts, and participated in a fellowship program at the Brooklyn Academy of Music for production and stage craft. She has been a stage manager for shows such as Plaza Suite, 24hr Theatre Project, among others. She really enjoys theatre and loves the people that she meets throughout her experiences.

Choreographer

Alison Smith

Alison has been a professional dancer and actress for 25 years here in Southern California. She has been in numerous plays, musicals, television productions, industrials and has been lucky enough to travel the world with her talents. She grew up on the stage dancing, transitioned into film and television in her 20s, learned make-up artistry in her 30s, and has worked as co-owner in a successful photography business as well.

Alison has taught dance as a guest artist throughout many studios from Kansas City to Southern California. Her love for dance and choreography has continued even as she has settled down in South Pasadena to raise her three young children. She continues to teach dance at local studios, audition commercially, and is involved in the School district directing productions and state-recognized show choirs. She has also implemented a dance program within the elementary schools, and shares her talents as a teaching artist for Disney musicals in schools. Alison feels at her best when she is inspiring kids and people through dance and expression and is thrilled to be part of the Upstage team.

Musical Director

Katie Bottomley

Katie Bottomley is a singer-songwriter living in Los Angeles with her husband and two little black dogs. With a degree in musical theatre, she is also pursuing a second degree in biological sciences. She has performed in several regional theatre productions, as well TV and commercials.

Katie has been teaching voice, piano, and songwriting for over five years. Working on her third album, she is a well established artist with a top-notch band that plays locally around California. Through her music, she hopes to help spread feminism and fight for women’s rights around the world. She also aspires to one day work alongside conservationists and biologists to help keep our ocean ecosystems alive.

Musical Director

Angelica Smith

Angelica is an avid lover of music and has been singing in choirs since she was in high school. After high school, Angelica lived in Borken, Germany for one year as an exchange student where she studied language, culture, and the performing arts. She has since been studying voice at Santa Barbara City College, San Francisco State University (B.A. in Spanish), Moorpark College (where she won an award for Best Actress as a newcomer), and continues with private coaching.

Angelica is active in community theatre in the Ventura County and has been in productions such as Nunsense, Dogfight, Curtains, Nuncrackers (CSP), West Side Story (CPT), and a number of productions at Moorpark College.

Teaching kids music and seeing their faces light up with enjoyment is a gift Angelica doesn’t take for granted. She is incredibly grateful to Upstage for including her in the team.

Musical Director

Ken Jones

Ken is thrilled to be joining the ranks at Upstage Theatre. Working throughout Chicago, he made a career in Music Directing throughout the area at Educational Institutions and Theatrical Venues.

Ken Jones, Piano, Voice, WWs

Musical Director

Gabriel Oliva

Not the average Spaniard, Gabriel grew up half in San Diego, and half in Seville, Spain. His first words were a “me gusta” followed shortly by “juice.” He still speaks Spanish regularly to his family across the sea who have a hard time believing “El Pollo Loco” is a restaurant.

Gabriel attended the USC School of Theatre and quickly transitioned into professional acting and singing after graduating with honors. Growing up with two opera-singing parents, he has an in-depth knowledge of singing technique. Gabriel’s music education continued and expanded through 10 years of performing in the barbershop group The Dapper Dans at Disneyland Resort. His musical experience aided his transition into the world of voice-over. You can hear Gabriel’s voice in Star Wars: Rogue One, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and several episodes of Disney Channel’s Elena of Avalor.

Musical Director

Debra Lee

Debra Kay Lee has been singing in choirs since she was nine years old. She went on to study music at CSUN and toured Europe with John Alexander and the University Singers. Debra has had the pleasure of teaching music and theatre to children since 2006. She has worked on productions such as Annie, High School Musical 1 & 2, Guys and Dolls, Little Shop of Horrors, and Into The Woods.

Debra has appeared on Good Morning America singing with The Caroling Company. As a comedian she opened for Jerry Seinfeld at the Hollywood Improv and for Suzanne Edwards at the Country Music Radio Festival in Nashville. Some of her favorite roles have been Svetlana in Chess, Yucca in My Cup Ranneth Over and Bobbi Lynn in The All Star Radio Broadcast of 1939. Her TV and film credits include Capitol, Days of Our Lives, the indie film Lost and the web series Nora Breaks Free. Her theatre roles include Mrs. Fezziwiz in Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol, Diedre in Richard’s Cork Leg and Enid in A Chorus of Disapproval.

Debra loves teaching at Upstage Schools and seeing the amazing growth and joy that the kids experience from their participation in the program.

Michelle Ghaffari

A native Angeleno, Michelle was immersed in the city’s cultural offerings from a young age, and her Bachelors in English Literature from UCLA subsequently led her on many journeys—from writing true crime and editing art volumes for local museums to interviewing celebrities for national publications. Her participation in a vital local music scene was later documented in a film she co-wrote and produced. Passionate about arts education, Michelle has produced numerous school theater productions and worked for a local theater’s education program. She also created Young Writers Workshop, a summer camp and in-school workshop for the care and nurturing of young writers. She first worked with Upstage at Westwood Charter School in 2004–6 and Michelle couldn’t be happier to join this talented team once again!