Instructors

Aretta Baumgartner

John Bromels

has taught acting and theatre across the country for the past 12 years, working as an actor/educator with the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse in New York, Theatre at Lime Kiln in Virginia and the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. He also toured the country with Poetry Alive, based in North Carolina and ECA Educational Services, based in Michigan. Also an accomplished writer, his dramatic works have been performed from Maine to Florida and have been published in Southern Theatre magazine. John has a bachelor’s degree in theatre arts from Catawba College.

Jeff Groh

teaches theatre for Cincinnati Public Schools. He was Educational Director at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and has taught acting for the Carnegie Art Center, The Actors Studio and Cincinnati Country Day. He has toured the country performing poetry for students and has been seen onstage locally at Playhouse in the Park, Ensemble Theatre, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and Know Theatre. He has also directed Macbeth, Fiction, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and Defying Gravity.

Dewey Hawthorne

has been acting, directing, producing and teaching in theatre, film and television for over 20 years. He co-founded and served as director for The Acting Academy for 15 years. He was director of the Theatre Conservatory for the Governor’s Institute at Miami University for three years. In addition, he served on the board of directors of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) (Tri-State) for four years. Dewey Hawthorne has been a guest artist at Educational Theatre Association’s national conference and worked locally with Kings Productions. He currently teaches at Northern Kentucky University and actively works as acting and broadcast talent in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area. He has been teaching at the Playhouse since the early 1990s.

Terah Herman

holds a master’s degree in theatre from the University of Kentucky. This will be her second year teaching for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. She has taught a range of theatre classes for young children up to college students at the University of Kentucky, the Explorium of Lexington, COSI Toledo, Capital University, West Chester Academy of Music and various elementary schools. She has worked as a professional actress, director and dancer at theatres around the country.

Jake Lockwood

is an actor, director and writer. After 15 years and over 10,000 performances at Walt Disney World, Jake has returned home to Ohio. He has taught acting, improvisation, elementary arts integration and stage combat workshops for The Muse Machine, Wright State University and The Human Race Theatre Company. He has also directed for Zoot Theatre Company and Town Hall Players. Jake is thrilled to be returning to teach for a second year at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. A member of Actors’ Equity, Jake considers Dayton’s The Human Race Theatre Company to be his artistic home.

Kelly Pekar

is an actor, singer and director/teacher with a BFA in acting/musical theatre from Wright State University. A current member of the Playhouse's Bruce E. Coyle Acting Intern Company, Ms. Pekar is the founder of the Summer on the Stage musical theatre camp in Walton Hills, Ohio. A Cleveland native, Ms. Pekar has directed and taught in venues such as Ohio Lyric Theatre of Springfield, Playhouse South, Regina High School, Walton Hills Recreation Center and Yellow Springs High School. A performer at heart, Ms. Pekar has sung with the Boise Philharmonic and Cleveland Pops Orchestra and favorite theatre credits include West Side Story (Jersey Productions), A Little Night Music (New Stage Collective) and Sweeney Todd (Wright State University).

Jacqueline Raposo

hails from New York City where she has taught art, dance and drama at several schools and theatres for children 2 - 8 years old. She was the Special Events Coordinator for Millennium Talent Group, organizing private parties and acting workshops for children ages 3 - 12 while performing as Hermia in their acclaimed off-Broadway Fools in Love. Jacqueline is a producer with ModernEyes Theatre Company, has performed onstage in New York City and regionally and is a member of the Playhouse’s Bruce E. Coyle Acting Intern Company.

Bet Stewart's

main goal in teaching is for FUN to take place, with LEARNING sneaking along beside it, incognito... Actor, writer, musician and theatre artist, she is artistic director of Intuition Theatre, known for its innovative original work. Ms. Stewart has been teaching and performing for over 25 years and has been at Playhouse in the Park for over 10 years. Having created a unique style blending drama, comedy, mime, music, improvisation and clowning, her solo work is featured in a repertoire of one-woman touring shows: Chicken Fishing in America, I'm Right-You're Right, Off With Their Hats/Alice in Looking Land, and Sentimental Journey, the Life of Rosemary Clooney (all written by Ms. Stewart). Bet shares her teaching, writing and directing talents in theatres, art centers, prisons, schools and community centers throughout the region. She has studied with theatre masters around the world and is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati. She is on many artist rosters including Cincinnati Arts Association, Ohio Arts Council's Artist-On-Tour, Kentucky Humanities Council, VSA Arts Kentucky and Greater Columbus Arts Council. Bet believes theatre arts are a joyful adventure and belong to people of all ages and abilities!

Karie-Lee Sutherland

has worked professionally as a director, choreographer, writer and actor for over 20 years. She toured the world as a singer/dancer for the DOD-USO and is a veteran of live shows at Kings Island. She has also worked for King’s Productions, where she wrote and directed touring shows for Yogi Bear, Scooby Doo and the Flintstones. She was a Broadcast major at UC’s College Conservatory of Music and has received several Orchid awards, as well as a State Octafest Award for choreography. Karie-Lee has worked as a drama instructor for various schools and theatre companies in the Cincinnati area and is an instructor in the Drama Division at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music Preparatory Department where she teaches Musical Theatre Dance.

Missy Whitis

has taught everywhere from the coal mining hills of Kentucky to Kissimmee, Florida. She is a four-time honoree in Who’s Who Among American High School Teachers and has been recognized in Who’s Who Among American Professional Women. An award-winning director for schools and community theatres, Missy coaches the hip troupes “The Q City Players”, "The Grapes of Laugh", and "The Middle Child" — all currently performing in Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentukcy area. She is writing a book teaching the basics of improvisation and is the co-creator of “House That Jack Built.” Missy is also a highly sought-after speaker and facilitator for team building, improv in the workplace and generational issues.