Meghann Henry is a director, educator, and arts administrator focused on creating innovative theatre for young audiences (TYA). She holds an MFA in TYA from the University of Central Florida where her research focused on devising non-verbal movement-based theatre for 2-5-year-olds. As an artist she has worked with many companies locally and nationally including: The Coterie, Kansas City Young Audiences, Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Orlando REP, Curious Theatre, Denver Children's Theatre, and Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. Throughout her career, she has held many arts leadership roles including serving as the Program and Partnerships Director for Mirror Image Arts (Denver, CO) and Associate Editor of TYA Today, a trade magazine focused on current trends in theatre with and for youth, and is the former Education Director at The Coterie.
Becca Hudgins originally hails from the Land of Enchantment in Albuquerque, NM, and went to school at Stephen's College in Columbia, MO earning her BFA in Theatre Arts with an emphasis in acting. New to Kansas City, she is excited for all the wonderful artistic opportunities the city has to offer and is honored to be a part of The Coterie's teaching artist family.
Laura Jane Irwin-Henrickson has been an actress every since she can remember. She has taken classes in just about every aspect of theater you can imagine, from Shakespeare to Sword Fighting, and from Mime to Meisner. She graduated from Drury University in Springfield, MO, with an Bachelors in theatre under the direction of Robert Westenberg. In her spare time she loves to dance, sing, bake and crochet.
Erin Ivanov is a teaching artist, performer, and director who graduated from Missouri State University in 2004 with a BA in Theatre and Communication and an emphasis in Children’s Theatre. She was involved in the theatre from a very young age performing in church plays and then plays and musicals in high school and college. In college she was the leader for a traveling drama ministry group and was also a part of a children’s storytelling troupe. Her biggest theatre passion lies in directing and teaching. She has directed one-acts in both high school and college and directed a musical for the Robidoux Resident Theatre in St Joseph. She has years of experience teaching theatre classes and directing intensive musical camps for Robidoux Resident Theatre, CYT Kansas City, ACT1KC, and The Coterie. She is currently an English teacher in Kansas City. She loves teaching for The Coterie, inspiring students to explore their creative sides and to imagine the unthinkable!
Michael James received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Production Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design. After discovering his love for teaching, Michael shifted his focus from technical theatre to children's theatre, teaching both dance and theatre classes. He has worked as a musical theatre director, choreographer, stage manager, and production assistant in several Kansas City locations including The Coterie, The Culture House, Theatre in the Park, Kansas City Actors Theatre, and Olathe Civic Theatre Association.
Saya Jenks (she/her) is a teaching artist, performer, and theatre maker from the San Francisco Bay Area. Saya earned her B.A. in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity from Stanford University in 2016 and is working towards her master's degree in Educational Theatre at New York University. Saya has taught theatre and movement to children and teens at The Nueva School in the Bay Area, Chicago's Goodman Theatre, and NYU's Youth Theatre Ensemble. She also teaches applied improvisation and leadership development in both professional corporate and nonprofit settings.
Dee Jimenez is an actor, writer, and director who erned his MFA in acting at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. He has taught acting at schools in the Denver-Metro area in Kansas City. He loves hip hop, baseball, and The Simpsons.
Haley Johnson is thrilled to be back with the Coterie Theatre team. Before completing her Masters of Fine Arts degree at the University of Florida, Johnson was a teaching artist intern here at the beloved Kansas City Theatre. Currently Johnson is back in her hometown performing with theatres across Kansas City and is excited to be back with Cotetire as a full time teaching artist.
Ashley Jones is so excited to make her Music Directing debut with The Coterie Theatre's education department. She is a graduate of The University of Missouri Kansas City Conservatory and holds her Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education. She previously worked at Grain Valley South Middle School as the Vocal Music Teacher. During her time at Grain Valley, she also choreographed the Middle School Musicals Schoolhouse Rock Live Jr., The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley., Alice in Wonderland Jr., High School Musical Jr., and Aladdin Jr. as well as the High School Women’s Show Choir Amplified. She has appeared as a performer in several productions around Kansas City including Lula Buffington in Violet (OCTA), June Perry in Story of the Century (Fringe KC), From Broadway with Love (Leawood Stage Co.), and several performances with Shawnee Mission Theatre in the Park including Trix in The Drowsy Chaperone and Judine (Dynamite) in Hairspray. Her most recent role is Madam/F4/Gargoyle in The Culture House’s Production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She is currently working to grow her private voice studio, KC Songbirds (kcsongbirds@gmail.com) and also enjoys singing with her band The Ashley Jones Band (www.ashleyjonesband.com).
Hailey Jones is an extremely active force in the Kansas City theatre community. She is a graduate of the Professional Training program in Physical and Ensemble Theatre with Dell'Arte International in Blue Lake, CA and received her BA in theatre from UMKC. As an actor, creator, director, producer, teacher, clown, poet, she stays busy continually reaching out to inspire the world through theatre arts. Her mission is to continually create theatre that not just works, but lives and breathes. Her childhood motto was, "Be your own star, twinkle your own light."
Pages
sponsors' spotlight
Businesses and organizations! Step into the Spotlight as a sponsor of The Coterie. You'll help us flip the switch of creativity and awareness in Kansas City's youth.
