TEACHING ARTISTS

Ali Lemus (formerly known as Ali Dizikes) is originally from the Washington DC area and is so excited to be teaching for the Palace Education department! She holds a BFA in Theater performance from Virginia Commonwealth University. She moved to NYC after graduation and worked for ten years in various theaters around New York as well as in commercials and film and television, joining the Screen Actors Guild in 2005. She began working regularly as a Stand In on Film and Television Productions from 2005-2011. She can be seen as Rachel in the Independent film “Peace After Marriage,” a Tribeca Film Festival winner. She was seen most recently on stage as Bella in “Lost in Yonkers” at The Palace Playhouse. She lives in Georgetown with her husband and two daughters who are 5 and 7 years old and their fur baby Coco. When not in the theater she can be found at home submitting self tapes for commercial auditions, swimming, running or riding her bike with her family.

Kali McBurney Taha is a 2013 graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Drama, studying at Playwrights Horizons Theatre School and Stonestreet Studios. She has enjoyed performing in various original works in New York City, as well as singing in the choir for the Off-Broadway production of Lucas Hnath’s “The Christians” at Playwrights Horizons. Before moving to Texas, Kali worked for Wingspan Arts, an arts enrichment organization in New York City, where she organized after-school programming for several public schools. Working at the Palace since 2017, she has taken on many hats, including acting in Theatre for Young Audiences productions and directing education productions. When not onstage or backstage, Kali can be found spending time with her husband and daughter, most likely taking a stroll around town and stopping at a coffee shop along the way.

Rose Yurcina is a performer, voice teacher and music director who recently relocated to Seattle after a decade of performing, teaching, and music directing in the Austin area. While in Texas, Rose performed in and music directed over twenty productions with the Georgetown Palace Theatre. Her favorite Palace roles include Peter in Peter Pan and Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. She also taught with the Palace Academy and served as the lead vocal instructor for the Palace Performance Company. Rose is enjoying living closer to all her family in Washington and getting into the Seattle performing arts scene. She recently music directed a production of 9 to 5 the Musical and is currently in rehearsals for the Christmas production, ‘Twas the Night Before. Rose loves that she can continue teaching all her Texas students remotely and she will always have a special place in her heart for The Georgetown Palace Theatre and especially the Palace Academy students.

Molly has been acting, writing, and directing in the Austin area for the last 12 years. Her recent acting credits include Steel Magnolias (Georgetown Palace Theatre), Junk, Pocatello, Waiting for Lefty and The Great God Pan (Street Corner Arts), Middletown (Hyde Park Theatre), Going with Jenny (Penfold), Trevor (Cap T), As You Like it (Shrewd Productions). She has also written and performed her plays Actor of the Year, Lady Without a Baby, MS, and I’m Still Leaving, which was selected as Best of the Fest for FronteraFest. She directed Twelve Angry Jurors and These Shining Lives for the Palace Performance Company. Molly received her M.F.A. in Acting from the University of Arkansas and before that her B.F.A in Acting from Avila University. Of all the work in the theatre she has done, teaching is her favorite.

Sarah Anne Hoagland is excited to be back for another season with the Palace Education Department! You can find Sarah Anne onstage, backstage, and teaching around the Palace! Sarah Anne is a graduate of the Professional Program at Broadway Dance Center NYC (concentrating in Musical Theatre & Tap). While in NYC, Sarah Anne trained under Richard J. Hinds (Newsies/Come From Away), Charlie Sutton (Kinky Boots), Justin Boccitto, and Lizz Picini. Sarah Anne also holds a BA/BS in Dance Performance and Hospitality/Event Management from Texas Tech University, where she graduated with top honors and was the banner bearer for The College of Visual and Performing Arts. During her time at Tech, Sarah received many choreography awards from peers and faculty. Sarah Anne was a member of The Texas Tech Dance Company and Vice President of Chi Tau Epsilon. Sarah Anne also had the opportunity to represent Tech and perform at informal and gala concerts of the American College Dance Festival. You can catch Sarah Anne in Season Two of ‘Rockette Summer Intensive’ on the MSG varsity channel, where her time with the Rockettes is featured. During her time with the Rockettes, Sarah trained under Eileen Grace, Kristin Altfather, and Annie Gibbons-Syke. Sarah Anne also has trained heavily under Acia Gray of Tapestry Dance Company and incorporates Acia’s tap syllabus into her teaching methods. She continues to train virtually with Broadway Dance Center under the mentorship of Richard J. Hinds, and recently completed the Online Musical Theatre and Fall Programs. For more information on Sarah Anne visit: www.sarahannehoagland.com

Jesee is originally from Chicago, IL. She has been performing and choreographing at the Palace since 2006. In 2010, she began teaching for the Palace Education Department. The Palace Performance Company formed shortly after that and Jesee has been the PPC Manager since the beginning. Jesee is currently the Education Administrator, PPC Manager, choreographs for a variety of levels, and teaches many of the dance classes for the Palace Education Department. She has studied dance for more than 20 years under various professionals including Lisa Boehm (Ballet), Frank Boehm (Jazz), Randall Newsom (Ballet, Graham Technique), Judith Chitwood (Ballet, Horton Technique), Paula Frasz (Modern, Tap, Musical Theatre), Karen Williamson (Ballet, Modern), Lila Dole (Spanish), Danny Herman (Broadway Jazz, Tap), Rocker Verastique (Broadway Jazz), Kenney DeCamp (Jazz, Performance), and Joel Hall (Jazz). Jesee moved to Austin in 2006 after graduating from Northern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management (Human Resources) and a Bachelor of the Fine Arts in Dance Performance and Education. She currently choreographs and performs in and around Austin, including multiple performances per year at the Georgetown Palace Theatre. Jesee taught ballet, pointe, modern, tap, and jazz for ten years prior to moving to Austin. She was a founding member of the award winning competition group “Petite Feet” with DancEncounter in Geneva, IL. While attending Northern Illinois University, Jesee was the director and producer of Art for Life, an AIDS benefit concert associated with Dance for Life in Chicago.

Veronica DeSantos Ryan has been performing in various ways since before the age of ten, and can often be seen on stage here at The Palace. Veronica has a degree in Journalism from Ohio University with specializations in English, Music, Theatre, and Dance. She is a former Teach For America alumni and a former middle school Language Arts teacher. She has worked in Round Rock ISD, and in South Texas in Brownsville ISD and Harlingen CISD as a teacher, athletic coach, and academic teams coach. While in Harlingen, Veronica had the privilege of helping to direct the music for The Little Mermaid Jr. for Harlingen High School South, as well as spending a summer teaching music with the Summer on Stage daytime performance camp for HCISD. She also performed in various community theatre productions in South Texas as well as sang with the South Texas Chorale. In the Austin area, she is currently a performing princess for Lexi’s Little Princesses, a member of the Songs for Young Whippersnappers entertainment group, and a member of the vintage singing trio The Vintage Dreams. She loves bringing her passion of music and acting to children of all ages.

Justin Dam has been with the Palace since 2015, first appearing onstage in shows and later joining the Palace staff as Assistant Technical Director in 2018. Justin Dam now serves as Associate Technical Director for the Palace, overseeing technical design for the shows brought to life on our stage, as well as serving as Master Carpenter for our build team. Justin has been working in and around theatre for 10+ years, ranging from aspects both behind the curtain and on the stage.

Roxane moved to Georgetown in 2002 from Indiana. She first experienced theater in high school in six different musicals. She has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue and a M.A. in Counseling from Liberty University. Roxane has also trained in dance and piano. She has professional experience teaching both children and adults. In addition, she has worked with Autistic children using Rapid Prompting Method (RPM), Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and the Son-Rise Program from the Option Institute.

Trina has been performing in and around Austin since she was 7. A regular performer at the Palace, she was the driving force behind creating the Inclusion shows for the theatre. Trina also is a mother to a young adult with Autism. Her son graduated from high school on the honor roll despite being minimally verbal. Trina attended Blinn Junior College and majored in Theatre and on a scholarship for French Horn. When not on stage she keeps busy writing and was published in local newsletters and The Austin American Statesman. She looks forward to engaging the minds and unique personalities of this group and encouraging them to explore the gift of expression.

David Blackburn is thrilled to be a part of the Palace Education team. In the past, he has been a music director, pianist, and instructor for kidsActing and the Zach Scott Education Program. David is also the vocal director and pianist for the Hendrickson High School Musical Theatre Program, the pianist for Uprising Church, and a private musical theatre vocal coach. David was the founding Artistic Director for Austin Theatre Project, where he served as music director/pianist/conductor for nearly thirty musicals. He has also played for the national tours of The Most Happy Fella, Guys and Dolls, and Victor, Victoria.

Jerry Brown has been involved in teaching for over fifty years and in theatre for even longer. He has taught every age level from early childhood to college students, and each summer works with AP English Literature teachers in week-long institutes. He has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in music and certifications in English, speech, music, and theatre arts. While living in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, he worked with students in both public and private schools. Each year he directed middle school and high school students in two productions—one of which was always a Shakespearean play. He directed and appeared each week in the television program The Carpenter’s Children, where puppets played a significant role. That resulted in puppeteering workshops led by Jerry and his spouse, Judy. Jerry was also active in Dallas/Fort Worth area theatres in such plays and musicals as Damn Yankees, Sweeney Todd, Lead Me A Tenor, Diamond Studs, Waiting for Godot, Rhinoceros, Our Town, and more. He was especially privileged to perform with his son, Damon, in Damon’s original play, The Light on the Diamond, that toured the United States and gave a special performance in Singapore. Since moving to Georgetown over fifteen years ago, he has enjoyed appearing in Georgetown Palace productions and last year began working with homeschool students in theatre arts. He is excited to continue that work this year with the Education Department.

Peg Patrone caught the theater bug early and began writing and directing front-porch variety shows when she was 8; she charged 5 cents a ticket! After a publishing career, Peg took her love for theater and writing to the Iolani School in Honolulu where she taught drama and creative writing across the curriculum. She accepted a fellowship to UT-Austin, and has lived in the Austin area ever since performing in community theaters, directing and, yep! still writing. Currently Peg teaches playwriting to adults at Senior University and is happily working with future writers and thespians here at the Palace. She loves infecting others with the theater bug!

Ella has been with the Palace since 2019 as a performer, and now as a teacher and choreographer too. Previous Palace main stage credits include: Elf (Jovie), Grease (Marty), Mamma Mia (Ali / ensemble), Peter Pan (Liza), and Newsies (newsie). She was also a part of the Palace Performance Company her last two years in high school, where she trained in vocals, dance, and acting, as well as getting to play Catherine in Pippin, and Rulon Stacey in The Laramie Project. This past year she joined the offstage side of Palace Education where she got to be an assistant for two shows over spring break, and a choreographer over the summer in summer camps! Before the Palace, Ella was training as a ballerina, and was a part of two different ballet companies, Ballet Royale, and Dance Institute’s Pre Professional Ballet Company. She was also on the top competition team at Dance Institute where she won several award’s, including: Overall Highest Score in the Competition (SEC), Outstanding Technique Award (NYCDA), 1st Overall Solo (WDC 2x & HOF), Top 12 Ballet Solos (YAGP International Ballet Competition), and she was invited to New York where she competed in NYCDA’s National Final. She is now signed with Acclaim Talent Agency, and you can catch her as Robin on season 1 of CW’s Walker!

Deborah was born in Ohio but has lived, worked, and has attended school in seven different states. In 1992, she received her BFA in Acting. She has been an educator via after school programs, children’s theatres, summer camps, community theatres, and public schools for over twenty five years. She has held a wide variety of positions and worn a great many hats including theatre board member, director, actor, stage manager, costume assistant and designer for theatre productions. After touring as an actor in children’s theatre, she pursued a teaching certification and continued to be part of a local acting troupe. Deborah received her certification in 2002 then taught high school, directed, and continued taking Masters classes in theatre production & design. After moving to Texas, she has continued her love for theatre on and off the stage.

Teaching Artists (New)

TEACHING ARTISTS

Ali Lemus

Kali McBurney Taha

Rose Yurcina

Molly Fonseca

Sarah Anne Dam

Jesee Smart

Veronica Ryan

Justin Dam

Roxane Dahl

Trina Sherman

David Blackburn

Jerry Brown

Peg Patrone

Ella Grace Harper

Deborah Hanna

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