Beth Galanty-Blaney

Executive Director / CEO

Beth received her Bachelor of Science from UCLA. A producer and production manager for commercials and music videos for over nine years, she worked on projects from Coca Cola to Madonna. She brought her organizational, people, and creative skills from the entertainment industry to KOS. Beth loves creating curriculum, programs, coordinating and being involved in every aspect of KOS as Executive Director/CEO. She enjoys watching each child shine and find their own voice.

Cari Derbise

Artistic Director

Cari received her Bachelor of Arts from UC Berkeley. She has taught and acted for many theater companies including Actors’ Gang and Theatricum Botanicum. Cari has traveled to New York, Scotland, France and India performing various theater styles from Commedia Dell’Arte to Shakespeare. As Artistic Director, she loves the creative process of script writing, directing, producing, and working with children to help them bring out their best.

Isabella Ward

Teacher

Isabella is a Puerto Rican American triple threat whose most recent credits include Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story and the new series entitled Parallel. She graduated with her Master’s in Musical Theatre from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and her Bachelor’s degree in International Business and Theatre from Rollins College. She joined the Broadway National Tour of Cinderella and went on to work in regional playhouses. Isabella offers private lessons for stage and tv/film acting, singing lessons, college audition prep and dance.

Kelci Loring

Teacher

Kelci’s favorite childhood memories include being at theater camp in the summer, where she would sing, learn scene work, write plays, form characters, and play theatre games all day long. Her passion is now paying this joy forward to the next generation! She has worked with several companies including Missoula Children’s Theatre, The Hangar Theater’s Next Generation, The Theatre Institute at Sage, Zooga Yoga, The Artsy Wagon, and more. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Musical Theatre, and has taken acting classes with Lesly Kahn, The Groundlings Studios, Shari Shaw, and Scott Seditas Studios.

Madeleine Lemay

Teacher

Madeleine started improvisation theater at the age of 4 and continued doing theater all through adulthood. She has performed at the Minnesota Guthrie, Stagecoach Company, London’s West End, Hamline University, a comedy troupe and participated in Hollywood’s Fringe Festival 2023. Outside of KOS, you can find her spending time working in film and television, doing standup comedy, live improv nights, roller skating, sewing, and raising three pets.

Jennifer Knox

Teacher

Jennifer is a member of Actors Equity Association and Sag-Aftra, made her Off-Broadway debut in Seth Rudetsky’s “Disaster!” and toured the US as Demeter in “CATS.” She has trained extensively at Steps On Broadway and the Giordano Dance School, and currently trains at the Steppenwolf West and the Westside School of Ballet. She began working professionally in high school, and has a deep passion for sharing her love of theatre with the next generation of artists.

Lauren Carnahan

Teacher

Lauren is a singer, songwriter, and performer from Oklahoma. Her hit “Criminal” garnered over 2 million streams online. Lauren has been a part of several nationwide tours. She has trained with vocal coaches whose previous students include Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande, Scott Hoying of Pentatonix, and Lauryn Hill. She uses a style known as “speech level singing” based on the principle that “if you can talk, you can sing!” Today, she loves sharing her passion for music and helping others find their voice and keep their voice strong and healthy.

Steve Neumann

Teacher

Steve Neumann is a Teacher and Director. His specialties are Musical Theater, Directing, Shakespeare, Improv and working with young actors. A Michigan native, he is a BIG Chicago sports fan! To the actors: “In the words of Augusto Boal ‘we must all do theatre, to find out who we are, and to discover who we could become.’ Wishing all of you great success in your shows!”

Lena Kinney

Teacher

Lena is a Pennsylvania native and has been performing musical theater since she was 8 years old at the Pittsburgh CLO Academy of Musical Theater. She graduated with a degree in Broadcast Journalism from Temple University. She has been a stand up comedian and writer for 4 years and began teaching as an ESL instructor in 2016. Her note to her students: “Always make room for fun!”

Krystle Simmons

Teacher

Krystle danced and sang her way out of the womb and on through life. Her portfolio includes performances in various productions, some of her favorite being “Cats”, “Hairspray”, “Legally Blonde”, “Smokey Joe’s” and “Sophisticated Ladies”. Krystle is new to California and is really excited about working with KOS. To the actors: “Be true to yourself. The world’s a stage and you are the lead!”

Geoff Erwin

Teacher

Geoff graduated cum laude in Theater Arts/Business from Loyola University. He also studied acting at American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, as well as the Beverly Hills Playhouse, and has completed all of the improv classes at the Groundlings, and graduated from Writing Lab. Geoff’s expertise lies in singing and acting, getting kids to really open up to their potential in improv. He comes from a long line of dramaturges.

Princess Davis

Teacher

Princess began dancing at the age of 2 in ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, Pointe and Horton (modern) techniques. As a professional dancer, she has worked for various artists/companies such as: Beyoncé, Nike, Target, GA Lottery, Kelly Rowland, R. Kelly and Keith Sweat, just to name a few. Princess has been teaching children, or as she likes to call them “her muffins,” for over 15 years.

Jeremy Levy

Board Member

Jeremy is the founder of companies such as HF Systems, Inc. and TriLine Medical LLC, and is now in real estate development. He is also a Board Member of Feedonomics.com, Lagentia.com and First National Bank of Brookfield.

Elaine G.F. Hall

Founder

An internationally renowned acting coach, writer, and consultant, Elaine also founded The Miracle Project, a groundbreaking, inclusive, theater and film program. The subject of the Emmy Award-winning HBO film Autism: The Musical, she was featured on CNN, NPR, Oprah, in the New York Times, and honored at the United Nations.

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