Jennifer Bales- Artistic Director

Jennifer graduated from Chapman University in 2012 with a B.A. in English Literature and minors in vocal music and dance.  Jennifer has been involved with the performing arts from a very young age.  She started dancing at 3 years old, and her vocal career started at the age of 6 when she joined the Pacific Chorale Girls' Chorus (which she auditioned for after her parents explained to a tearful Jennifer that she could not join the All American Boys' Chorus like her brothers before her).  Around the same time, Jennifer discovered her love of musical theater while participating in summer theater camps.  Musical theater combines Jennifer's passion of acting, singing, and dancing, and thus will always hold a special place in her heart.  Favorite musicals Jennifer has performed in include Oklahoma!, Man of La Mancha, Grease, Fiddler on the Roof, The Pajama Game, Lil Abner, Beauty and the Beast, and Young Frankenstein.  On the screen, Jennifer works closely with Gargoyle Media production company, and has appeared in many of their short films, including the award-winning "Nine Lives,"  as well as their debut feature length film Aria Remix, currently in post-production. She also plays Nessarose in Gargoyle Media produced web series "Green Girl Diaries," based on the Musical Wicked.  Jennifer has been a member of two  dance companies.  She studied Egyptian Cabaret Bellydance and various international dance styles with Layla and the Lotus Dancers, and focused on ballet, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, and tap during her time with Images Dance Company, of which she was a founding member.  She has also used her dance chops both performing in and choreographing music videos for local L.A. artists.  Jennifer was also an original cast member at Orange County dinner theater Teatro Martini where she performed for five years.

If anything matches her passion for the performing arts, it is being able to share that passion with her students.  Jennifer has been teaching for 16 years-everything from ballet to hip hop to voice to musical theater.   Jennifer began teaching for Take the Stage in 2015 and is now the Artistic Director. Arts education is incredibly important, and Jennifer can attest to the huge role performing arts has played in her development, confidence, and happiness.  She is thrilled to be able to share that passion and joy with her students!

Sheldon has been in love with musical theater for as long as he can remember. He started off doing theater in middle school where he performed in productions of Once Upon a Mattress and High School Musical.  He began his directorial career in high school when he entered HBAPA, where he was a part of the Musical Theater and Dramatic Production departments. It was in the dramatic production department that he fell in love with writing and directing plays. When Sheldon left high school he put theater to the side to obtain a degree in Education in hopes of becoming a Special Education teacher. He currently works at Moffett Elementary with special education students and he is excited to have jumped back into theater and directing again, as it has been his dream for awhile to return to the wonderful world of Theater!

 Paul Scott is pleased to be joining Take the Stage Productions, having been involved with theatre and the arts his entire life. Paul took his first acting class at a community center at the age of 9, and continued on to do musical theatre productions at the same center, with roles such as Ren in Footloose and The Wolf/Cinderella’s Prince in Into the Woods. He then went on to study musical theatre at CSUF, taking ballet, jazz, and tap dance, as well as voice and movement, acting, musical theatre performance, and even performing in Xanadu and the cabaret, Miscast. Paul then went on to perform in regional theatre, with Performance Riverside (Legally Blonde and Shrek the Musical), Cabrillo Playhouse (Godspell), and the world premiere of the play Jupiter Moon at the Garage Theatre in Long Beach. Paul is now finishing his Bachelor’s Degree in Screenwriting and Production Management at CSULB, while teaching theatre, music, and writing throughout SoCal when he is not performing or in production.
 

 KRISTIN NEMECEK holds an M.F.A. in Acting and Performance Pedagogy from California State University, Long Beach and has 15 years of experience as a professional actor, director, choreographer, producer, and teaching artist in New York City and Southern California. She was the Resident Theatre Director at St. Anthony High School for three years and also teaches at Cerritos College and Orange County School of the Arts.  

Julissa Cárdenas is happy to be back for another summer with Take the Stage Productions. Julissa graduated from Cal State University Fullerton with a degree in Theatre Arts and an emphasis in Playwriting. Julissa's passion for theatre and writing began when she was in elementary school where she first started taking acting classes and began coming up with her own ideas for stories. Her love for the arts has only grown over time. When Julissa isn't writing up a script or crying over cute dog videos, she works as a substitute teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

 Mallory Kerwin is thrilled to be joining the Take the Stage Productions team and continuing her work in the performative arts as well as working with children in the new year! A Summa Cum Laude Graduate from Cal Poly Pomona, and a graduate of the Orange County School of the Arts, she has appeared in dozens of musicals in the Southern California region in roles such as Sally Bowles in Cabaret, Paulette in Legally Blonde, Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, Velma in Hairspray, and Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress. In addition, she has worked with children for 15+ years as an entertainer, professionally portraying their favorite Disney princesses and custom characters at private parties and public engagements. Having done hundreds of events all over southern California, she also owns her own entertainment company, and works as a Professional Mermaid, Marilyn Monroe Tribute Artist, and performs in musicals regularly. She knows the impact the performing arts have had on her own life, is ecstatic for this opportunity to share the arts with more children on an even broader level!

 Jenny Formica has been working professionally as an on-camera, stage, and voiceover actor for ten years in and around Los Angeles and has studied with wonderful schools including Second City, Upright Citizens Brigade, The Prep, and Anthony Meindl. In addition to her acting and improv training, she also attended the University of La Verne where she graduated  Summa Cum Laude and received a B.A. in Rhetoric and Communication. Jenny most recently played Cinderella’s Stepmother in Into the Woods and Ethel Toffelmier in The Music Man. Behind the scenes, she has also enjoyed her time working as the Stage Manager for Beauty and the Beast as well as the assistant director for Annie Jr.