Kelly Cates, Resident Teaching Artist, joined the teaching artist team last year after moving back to Charlotte from the DC area. She previously served as a teacher and director at Imagination Stage, working with grades K-12 in both music and drama. She was also the drama and music specialist at the Ivymount School in Maryland, where she worked with students with special needs. Kelly is excited to be back in her home town and back at Children's Theatre, where she took her first acting class.

Tracy Davis, Adjunct Teaching Artist, recently graduated with a Master’s degree in Musical Theatre from the University of Montana. She has won several awards for singing musical theatre in statewide competitions and has been performing since she was a child in musicals and plays. Some of her favorite show credits include Baby, Seussical, Jesus Christ Superstar, Bye Bye Birdie, The Music Man, and Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado. Tracy has had a successful voice and piano studio for several years and has also enjoyed directing children’s musicals. A native of the Carolinas, she is excited to move back and join the CTC community this year.

Joanna Gerdy, Adjunct Teaching Artist, has been teaching, acting, directing, and writing plays with Children’s Theatre since 1994. She has worked as a resident artist in schools at all grade levels, teaching a wide range of curriculum topics through drama. As Artistic Director of the Heart to Heart Theatre Ensemble, Joanna directed high school actors in Twist and Shout, her original play about dating violence that toured CMS high schools each semester for seven seasons. As Director of “Shakespeare in the Schools”, a program she started several years ago, she directed adult professional tours and created student interactive workshops for CMS. At Children’s Theatre, she has taught pre-school through high school classes and directed several OnStage productions, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry IV, Romeo and Juliet, The Comedy of Errors, Hamlet and The Witches’ Tale from Macbeth. She has also served as Artistic Director of Chickspeare, a Charlotte all-female Shakespeare ensemble, and acts and directs professionally with many local theatre companies.

Brenda Giraldo, Adjunct Teaching Artist, has been working with the Charlotte community as a dancer, choreographer and teaching artist sharing her Latin American culture through the arts for the past 10 years. She is a 2007 graduate of Queens University of Charlotte with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art Studio/Art History and a minor in Spanish. Brenda appeared as the principle dancer and choreographer in the 2007 dance theater production of Enrique’s Journey (based on the novel by Sonia Nazario) for Ballet Folklorico Las Americas. In 2008 she won the Metrolina Theatre Association award for outstanding choreography and was nominated for outstanding lead female actor for her work in the CAST theatre production of Limbo. She also received the 2009 National Youth Theatre award for outstanding choreography for CTC’s Onstage production of ¡Bocón!. At heart she is an artist and an educator who enjoys the daily opportunity of working with young minds and helping them explore their creativity.

Sidney Horton, Adjunct Teaching Artist, serves as the Community Involvement and Scholarship Coordinator for Children’s Theatre of Charlotte. He has performed and directed in theatres throughout Charlotte; his recent credits include: The Drama Club, Blue, Driving Miss Daisy, and Gem of the Ocean. Sidney has won several MTA awards for directing and acting. Sidney’s teaching credits include: Afro-American Cultural Center, Moll Productions, Opera Carolina, Davidson Community Players and Trinity Episcopal School. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Afro-American Cultural Center and for NCTC (North Carolina Theatre Conference). Sidney is a proud Pirate from East Carolina University receiving a BS in Theatre Arts Education.

Craig Kolkebeck, Resident Teaching Artist, joins the teaching artist team this year but is familiar to Children’s Theatre through his work as an actor in Holes, the wrestling coordinator for The Wrestling Season, and as a guest artist with Ensemble. He has directed all over the world and most recently worked as an adjunct instructor of theatre at Catawba College. Craig holds a Masters of Arts degree with a concentration in Directing from the University of Texas at El Paso and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from St. Lawrence University in New York.

Marie Nodine, Adjunct Teaching Artist, has continually been engaged as a teaching artist for preschool and elementary aged children at Children's Theatre of Charlotte since 1989. She previously worked with Grey Seal Puppets and was an artist-in-residence at Discovery Place. Her resume includes both stage and commercial acting. Currently, she is a storyteller at various schools and churches.

Chaz Pofahl, Adjunct Teaching Artist, is a familiar face to Children’s Theatre. After three years as a Tarradiddle Player and two summers as a CTC teaching Artist, Chaz is excited to be teaching this year. He has appeared on stage with Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte, CPCC Summer Theatre, Barebones Theatre Group, Charlotte Summer Theatre, and Pineville Dinner Theatre, as well as Children's Theatre of Charlotte, and currently works as an actor/educator with the Charlotte Shakespeare Festival.

Amanda Roberts, Adjunct Teaching Artist, recently graduated from Winthrop University with a B.A. in Theatre with K-12 Teacher Certification. Throughout her time at Winthrop she was involved in many productions working as both a performer and director. Her performance credits include Rachel in To Gillian on her 37th Birthday and Lucy Gale in Shiloh Rules. She also directed a theatre for youth production, Step on a Crack. Amanda worked with community theatre classes at Village Square Theatre in South Carolina, in addition to participating in a children’s theatre summer tour with Patchwork Playhouse. She looks forward to further sharing her passion for theatre and is thrilled to be working with Children’s Theatre of Charlotte.

Karen Steele, Teaching Artist, as a devoted artist educator, Karen Steele has taught theatre education, dance and music in a variety of venues for children and adults for over twelve years. During Karen’s tenure in Charlotte, she has worked as an artist educator for Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, the Afro-American Cultural Center, ArtsTeach, The Blumenthal Performing Arts Center and Community School of the Arts. She is also a professional singer, dancer and actor.

Allison Tansor, Adjunct Teaching Artist, is in her third year as a teaching artist with CTC. Allison is a professional actress in both stage and commercial/film work and a proud member of Actors’ Equity. She was most recently seen at Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte in The Scene for which she was nominated as Best Actress in a comedy and Best Newcomer to Charlotte. Before relocating to Charlotte with her husband and little girl, Allison worked onstage in NYC at The Looking Glass Theatre, Town Hall; toured and performed in-school residencies throughout the Midwest with MadCap Productions; toured the eastern seaboard with TheatreWorks USA; performed with Baltimore Shakespeare Festival; and participated in the inaugural Fringe Festival in Washington, DC. Allison is thrilled to return to work with such talented students at CTC and can’t wait for another amazing year!

Patrick Tansor, Adjunct Teaching Artist, holds a B.F.A. from Carnegie Mellon University's School of Drama, and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union for Professional Actors and Stage Managers. Regional credits include: The Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Folger Theatre, Everyman Theatre, and The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He is a native of Washington, DC and spent his early years as an Army brat traveling from base to base in Western Europe. During these early years, Patrick developed his passion for two universal and globally recognized art forms, Theatre and Soccer! He is incredibly excited about the beginning of classes and looks forward to working with the students to hone their craft. Patrick is also an Upper School Faculty Member at Providence Day School and is the "Mr." to another Children's Theatre Teacher, "Mrs. Allison."