Kids Take The Stage Instructors & Staff

Trevor Weaver

Trevor Weaver proudly wears the title of Artistic Director for Kids Take The Stage. Trevor spent a good part of his life working as a child actor in such notable shows as Eight Is Enough, Chips, Kids Incorporated, and 21 Jump Street. He has been honored to work with such esteemed actors as Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Ed Asner, and the late John Ritter. In addition to Trevor's copious television work, he has voiced over 100 radio and television commercials and several cartoon series characters. He has also acted in several off broadway productions in both New York and Los Angeles and studied with the late great Stellar Adler and Lee Strausberg personally. 

He very much enjoys the hard work and joy that comes from mounting truly great children's theater and he hopes that you enjoy your experience with Kids Take The Stage!

Stephanie Assisi

Stephanie Assisi is the Hiring Director and Lead Music Director for "Kids Take the Stage".  She has enjoyed being able to bring together such wonderful staff to make "KTTS" the best non-profit Children's Musical Theater in the Bay Area and beyond.  Stephanie has her BA in Vocal and Piano Performance from the University of CA. at Santa Cruz, and enjoys making her full-time living in both teaching and performing music.  A professional piano accompanist with years of experience in playing for schools such as University of TX. at Arlington, The Boston Conservatory and UCSC, Stephanie also plays and sings for many churches and musical theater venues across CA.  She is currently the primary pianist/piano accompanist at the St. Margaret of Scotland Episcopal School in San Juan Capistrano, CA., and teaches private piano and voice.  Ms. Assisi acts and models in the L.A. area, and is represented by the Michael Zanuck Agency of Agoura Hills, CA.  Stephanie is blessed and delighted to be married to the talented and handsome Artistic Director, Trevor Weaver, and they are expecting their first child this Feb. 2010.

Tiffany Burris

Tiffany Burris has always had a passion and love for dance. She studied dance at the School of the Arts in San Francisco for high school, and went on to UCLA where she majored in dance. Upon graduation from UCLA she taught dance to children, with an emphasis on musical theater, incorporating several styles of movement including Jazz, Ballet, Tap, Modern, Afro-Haitian and Hip-Hop. She is a true believer in the arts and loves choreographing for children. 

Caitlin Austin

Caitlin Tabancay Austin is excited to join Kids Take The Stage this year. An alumnus of the San Francisco Girls Chorus (SFGC), she earned her BA in Music History at UCLA, where she also studied traditional Bulgarian singing. She has directed children’s choirs at Kenter Canyon Elementary and the SFGC’s summer music camp. Caitlin currently performs with Kitka and the San Francisco Choral Artists, and she looks forward to working with young people in musical theater.

Amy Marie Haven

Amy Marie Haven is thrilled to be working with Kids Take the Stage once again. She is a graduate from UC Santa Cruz where she studied Literature and Theatre. She has acted and directed with many companies throughout California, as well as overseas including the award-winning Sleepwalkers Theatre (voted best theatre company of 2009- SF weekly), Shakespeare Santa Cruz, The Quixote Project, Rococo Risque, and Four Larks Theatre. She is proud and extremely grateful that KTTS allows her to share her passion for theatre with such talented children.

Sarah Byrne

Sarah Byrne is excited to be joining the KTTS teaching staff.  Sarah recently moved to the East Bay from New York, where she worked as a Musical Director for Kidz Theater NYC, taught private lessons and sang in the Young New Yorkers' Chorus.  Sarah has a B.A. from Haverford College and a Master of Divinity from Harvard, where she studied liturgical music and accompanied the Schola Cantorum chorale.  She played piano for her first show as a senior in high school, and since then has served as musical director and pianist for over 25 shows in Boston and New York.

Tyler Null

While a student at U.C. Berkeley, Tyler Null approached theater from many different angles - acting in numerous productions, directing frequently, and producing and designing many student works.  Since graduating, Tyler has made theater his sole profession as a heavily utilized lighting designer, and has also directed and produced many film projects.  Tyler is himself a product of youth theater programs, and is extremely excited to be a part of "Kids Take The Stage" and to work with these wonderful young talents!

David Belles

David Belles has always loved music. Brought up on American musical theater and Gilbert and Sullivan, his musical tastes have branched out to include all fields of music, from classical to jazz, from rock-and-roll to world music. David entered college as a piano performance major, but early on became involved in vocal music. He sang in choir for almost his entire college experience, and it is here that he developed his passion for group music. Graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor's Degree in piano performance, and a teaching credential in music the next year, David  was hired at Bullis Charter School in Los Altos, where he is currently the music specialist.
Throughout his musical career, David has received numerous awards and distinctions; he was given the Dr. David Stein Award for Choral Excellence in 2008, the year that he was appointed the assistant conductor for the East Bay Singers under the direction of Dr. Buddy James. Additionally, he has received multiple music scholarships from both Chabot College and CSUEB.

Bobbie Willmore

Bobbie Willmore (KTTS Coordinator) grew up in the New York City area and saw her first Broadway Show (No, No Nanette) when she was 5.  Ballet, choir and drama were a major part of her young life.  After graduating from SUNY Purchase she decided it was finally time to try theatre.  She spent the summer studying Shakespeare in London and was accepted to Circle in the Square Theatre School in Manhattan.  While she did get parts here and there, including an original play for children based on the story of Don Quixote in French set to music and as an extra in Carlito’s Way she found out that stage managers were more in demand and get paid.  Aside from stage managing many plays and musicals Bobbie has, also, taught drama workshops for adults, children (which is much harder) and women recovering from drug addiction.  She is excited to be back with a theatre group and looks forward to taking her 6 year old son, Joshua, to his first Broadway show.

Liz Schneiter

Liz Schneiter is thrilled to be back choreographing for KTTS, having thoroughly enjoyed her experience with the Alameda Aladdin Jr cast a few years ago.   A performing arts lover since she was a girl, Liz has taught, directed, choreographed and performed throughout Utah, Massachusetts, and California for many years.  Her most recent work includes choreographing for the Hamlin School's (San Francisco) musical theater productions (Fiddler on the Roof and Beauty and the Beast, Jr), in addition to teaching creative movement and technique at Kids 'N Dance (Oakland). Liz holds an MFA in Modern Dance Performance and Choreography from Mills College.  She looks forward to a wonderful summer with the Once Upon A Mattress cast!

Joseph AmicAngelo

Joseph AmicAngelo has been a dancer for over 18 years. From his first shuffle-ball-step performance, dancing has been his life. He attended Los Angeles High School for the Performing Arts, where he studied everything from tap to Afro-Brazilian, including Ballet and modern techniques. Joseph graduated from UC Berkeley in 2008 with a BA in theater and performance studies. He is now a freelance lighting designer and stage manager. Joseph is thrilled to be working for Kids Take the Stage and hopes to spread to the next generation of performers the joy and magic that theater has brought to his life.

Tonya Marie

Tonya Marie (Scenic Designer) is thrilled to have had the opportunity to design and create the sets for KTTS Charlie Brown. After earning a BFA in sculpture at Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio and raising 2 fantastic children, Michael 27 and Charline 23, Tonya packed up her 8 rescue cats, blind squirrell, sewing machines and saws, and one very tolerant partner Patric into an 18ft Uhaul to move across the country. Currently completing her MFA in sculpture at Academy of Art, SF, Tonya creates a wide variety of sculptural works under her freelance business Gypsy Cat Studios. With special passion for the challenge of designing functional or wearable sculptural pieces for performance art, she's created sets, props, costumes, puppets for Nickelodeon, Sesame Street, Ballet Met, College of Circus Arts. She also creates mascot character costumes and is currently completing one for Loards Ice Cream, so look for him in Alameda's parades!    www.GypsyCatStudios.com

Carla Choy

Carla Choy, a native Californian, has been taking pictures for over eight years. She is a graduate of Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara. Her favorite subjects to photograph are food and love. Her creative eye and attention to detail are key to her carefully crafted photographs. Besides shooting, Carla also enjoys dancing, baking and sharing meals with friends. She calls Los Angeles home.

Casey Peek

Casey Peek is a videographer/editor in the San Francisco Bay area. With over 14 years of experience, he has produced and edited several documentaries. Peek also produces instructional DVDs, provides live event coverage and creates customized video tributes, memorials, biographical videos, commercials and promotional clips. Peek's clients include the Alameda County Public Authority for In Home Supportive Services, the UC Berkeley Labor Center, the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the Giant Peach (an online clothing and music store) Kids Take The Stage, an East Bay children's theater company and The Lazarex Cancer Foundation. In addition to production, Peek also founded Progressive Films, a local company that distributes films and videos.