MEET OUR TEACHING STAFF!
Ashley Crane is thrilled to be back at SYT where she grew up performing. After graduating from Palm Beach Atlantic University’s Cinema/TV program and working with SYT to launch screen acting classes, Ashley moved to NYC to work with Industry Leading Acting Coaches Denise Simon, Penny Templeton, Bob Marks, T. Schreiber, and ReelArc! Ashley’s clients have worked on- and off- Broadway, gone on National Tours, and worked on shows like John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch, Saturday Night Live, I Am Frankie, Victorious, and more! She has had the opportunity to act up and down the east coast, and write for film, television, and theatre! When she’s not at SYT, studying in her adult acting class, coaching NYC clients over Zoom, or writing, she loves hanging out with her Shih Tzu Maddie and rock climbing!
Teaching this semester - Intro to Screen Acting (7th-12th)
Alexa Cotran is a native of Columbia, SC, and currently works as the Assistant Director of Choral Activities at Spartanburg High School. Alexa holds a B.M. in music education with a vocal performance certificate from the University of South Carolina Honors College, as well as a Masters of Music in choral conducting from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. While in Columbia, Alexa worked as one of the music directors for Town Theatre's Youth Theatre program. She taught voice lessons, as well as musically directed the youth productions. Outside of the classroom, Alexa has loved performing since she was a child. She was involved in performances at Town Theatre, in the Broadway Bound Theatre Company, Opera at USC, and Mercer University Opera. If she is not rehearsing a choir or in a theatre, you can find Alexa playing with her two cats, trying new restaurants, or exploring a new city!
Teaching this semester - Musical Theatre: Matilda (3rd-6th)
K. Ray Jones performs at theatres all across the upstate – Spartanburg Little Theatre, Centre Stage, Glow Lyric Theatre, The Warehouse and Proud Mary Theatre Company. He was also the theatre/drama teacher at High Point Academy. He strives to teach students the possibility of creating, especially in roles like Sebastian in The Little Mermaid at the Spartanburg Little Theatre. When not onstage, Ray teaches at Cyclebar Spartanburg and travels all over as a front man with the Emerald Empire party band company. Ray challenges students to always find joy in imagination and play regardless of their age.
Teaching this semester - The Day the Crayons Quit (1st-2nd), Musical Theatre: Beetlejuice & Hadestown (7th-12th)
Maddie Tisdel graduated cum laude from Converse College with a double major in musical theatre and history. She has been involved in theatre for over thirteen years, acting professionally in the Upstate area for Scrappy Shakespeare, Sparkle City Improv, Glow Lyric Theatre, Centre Stage, and The Warehouse Theatre. She has been teaching improv, Shakespeare, and audition workshops with Scrappy Shakespeare, Sparkle City Improv, and Converse College. Maddie has been with Spartanburg Youth Theatre for three years, and in that time she has developed a true passion for creating fun and engaging theatre with the kids of this city. Her favorite part of every class is watching the children connect through the joy of telling stories.
Teaching this semester - Actor's Studio: Musical Theatre (10th-12th)
Mary Thalassinos is a graduate of Wofford College where she received a B.A. in theatre. A Spartanburg native, she is proud to be working with the theater that embraced her as a child! After taking a youth theatre course in college, Mary interned with SYT the summer of 2018. Some of the classes Mary has had the extreme pleasure of teaching include, Musical Theatre: Beetlejuice & Mean Girls, Disney’s Onward, Fantasy Lands and Far-off Places, and Musical Theatre: Broadway Royals. In addition to working with SYT, Mary has also sound designed for Wofford Theatre.
Teaching this semester - Acting Foundations (3rd-6th), Musical Theatre: Beetlejuice & Hadestown (7th-12th) Musical Theatre: Matilda (3rd-6th), Imaginary Friends (K4-K5)
Connor Vetter is an actor, director, and acting teacher based in Spartanburg, SC. She graduated from Wofford College with a B.A. in theatre, and studied acting at the Moscow Art Theatre School. When she isn't making raucous Shakespeare plays with local theatre troupe Scrappy Shakespeare or splitting sides with Spartanburg's first, finest, and only improv team, Sparkle City Improv, you can catch Connor hanging out with her cats, eating spicy noodles, and watching Netflix. She is so thrilled to be returning for her fifth season with SYT and can't WAIT to have you in class. We're going to have an absolute BLAST!
Teaching this semester - Residency with Woodland Heights Elementary
