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, 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."  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 Bollywood fusion 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 14 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.
 

Debbie grew up in the beautiful but rainy Pacific North West.  Portland, Oregon was her home town; this is where she first fell in love with theater and started performing at a young age. She was shy around people, but yet she knew in her heart this was what she wanted to do.  It was her passion...when she stepped on the stage it was like a whole new world of magic, and it became a way for her to open up and express herself.  She studied theater and acting in high school and continued her studies of performing arts, musical theater, dance, movement, and creative writing throughout college.  While working on her degree she continued to act and she has involved her whole life with the stage- community theater, dinner theater, and children's theater groups, as well as teaching through the Evergreen School District and now OC community centers and LB school districts.

She has acted in numerous stage productions throughout Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, and California.  A few of her favorite stage productions have been Rimers of Eldrich, Guys and Dolls, Owl and the Pussycat, A Night Must Fall, A Chorus Line, Our Town, Hello Dolly, Little Shop of Horrors, West Side Story, My Sister Eileen, Princess and the Pea, Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and Alice through the Looking Glass. Television appearances include Parks and Recreation, The Middle, Make It or Break It, and How Do I Look.  She helped in writing and interviewing for a short documentary titled "Homeless Street Youth of Portland" in 2008.Washington State was using it as an example for documentary course work.

Debbie has been teaching and directing youth, young adults, and adults for over 10 years.  She is extremely excited to be teaching for Take the Stage Productions.  She truly loves to teach and direct young people.  She believes acting will benefit children all throughout their lives no matter what they may choose to do in the future.  Acting helps students learn how to communicate, to listen to each other, to open up and express themselves, all while having fun.  Debbie can't wait to create some amazing memories and magic with her students.

 Brenda Orellana is a Latinx-Queer actor, writer, and producer, born and raised in Los Angeles CA. Brenda has built her career playing strong, courageous, and deeply empathetic women. She is classically trained and works in theatre and film. Her favorite roles have been Grace in Alias Grace, Jess in King Charles III, Emma Tenayuca in People Where They Are and W in Lungs. Since performing her one-woman show, I Am A Rose, she has been a guest artist at California State University Summer Arts, and has been teaching solo performance and acting to young artists at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She is also a founding member and Co-Artistic Director of Hear Me Roar Theatre, a theatre dedicated to giving a platform to underrepresented minority playwrights and actors. Most recently, she has written and shot her first short "My Little Tomate" in Hollywood and work-shopped her full length play Sun Kissed Montañas at The Carousel Theatre in Knoxville, TN. Brenda holds her MFA from The University of Tennessee Knoxville, and BA from CSU, Long Beach.