Summer Musical Theatre Faculty and Guest Luminaries
Julie Boyd (Director)
Julie Boyd teaches acting at The New School for Drama, College of the Performing Arts, Queens College and Artsbridge Gap year.
NY favorite Acting Credits: Noises Off directed by Michael Blakemore on Broadway, Gemini at 2nd Stage directed by Mark Brokaw and Admissions at Lincoln Center directed by Daniel Aukin.
Regional Favorites: The Piggy Bank and The Misanthrope at The Guthrie directed by Garland Wright, Prayer for my Enemy at Hartford Stage directed by Bart Sher, and Lloyd's Prayer at Actors Theater of Louisville directed by Kenneth Washington.
Julie has worked as an actress and director with the Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference for many years, as well as Sundance, Shenandoah and Perry-Mansfield New Plays. Directing credits include Fordham University, Yale School of Drama, NYU Graduate Acting, University of Utah, ACT School, University of MN Guthrie, HB Studios, EST, Passage Theater, Guthrie Lab, and Colorado Repertory Theater.
TV/Film: Margaret Mead and The Man Who Came to Dinner for PBS, The Good Wife, Law and Order, Sopranos, Rescue Me, The Beat, Prairie Home Companion and Dave Chappell Show.
Julie is the recipient of a Fox Foundation Acting Grant.
Alexander Tom (Musical Theatre Director)
Alexander is the music supervisor for the Montclair State University BFA Musical Theater program. He was part of the inaugural 2020 artEquity BIPOC Leadership Circle with continued training by facilitators Nicole Brewer, Jacqueline Lawton, Carmen Morgan, and national organizations artEquity and Race Forward. He maintains active memberships with Musicians United for Social Equity (MUSE), Local 802 AFM, and the BMI Lehman-Engel Musical Theater Advanced Workshop.
A strong advocate for new work development, he continues to work with National Alliance for Musical Theater, creating incubation programs at Montclair State University and Sands College of Performing Arts at Pace University, and participating in new works initiatives with Arizona State University, Shenandoah Conservatory, North Central College, and Phoenix Theatre. Additional appointments include Signature Theatre, Paper Mill Playhouse, the Rev Theater, Southeastern Summer Theater Institute, Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre, Creede Repertory Theatre, Arizona Broadway Theatre, and Chicago Musical Theatre Festival. Broadway: Here Lies Love, The Music Man. Off-Broadway: The Visitor. Regional: Dr. Seuss’ “Grinch.” (10th national), State Fair, Bandstand (The Rev), Sound of Music (Paper Mill Playhouse), Yemandja (Mass MoCA), Pacific Overtures (Signature Theater), and Baked! (Prospect Theater Company, NAAP, NAMT).
Danielle Amedeo (Vocal Technique, Musical Theatre Intensive)
Danielle Amedeo is currently on faculty at Pace University and Marymount Manhattan College teaching musical theater singing. Danielle has also taught for for The Voice Lab specializing in trans-feminization speech and singing work.
Danielle has a decade of experience teaching voice to actors, singers and public speakers. Her Tony and Oscar-nominated students can be found in feature films, on- and off-Broadway, and with jazz, rock, and soul bands throughout NYC.
Danielle holds a Master’s Degree in Voice Pedagogy from Rider University and is AmSAT certified in the Alexander Technique (Dimon Institute, 2017). She received her BFA in Drama from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and has trained extensively with leading instructors and pedagogues.
Hannah Lundy Connell (Vocal Technique, Musical Theatre Workshop)
Hannah Lundy Connell holds a Master’s degree in Voice Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College at Rider University. She is currently on the voice faculty at Marymount Manhattan College and serves as an associate voice teacher at Amanda Flynn Voice Studio in New York City. Hannah’s clients have performed in prominent Broadway productions, including Once Upon A Mattress, A Wonderful World, Some Like It Hot, and Six, as well as in regional theaters and tours. Hannah received the Distinguished Voice Professional certificate from the New York Singing Teachers Association and holds a B.F.A. in Musical Theater from Southeast Missouri State University.
Eboné Johnson (Dance, Musical Theatre Intensive)
Eboné "VanityZo" Johnson is a professional dancer, teacher & choreographer based in NYC fluent in Hip Hop, Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Modern & Musical Theatre. She's been dancing since the age of 2 & has trained at the Alvin Ailey School, Debbie Allen's Dance Academy, Broadway Theatre Project & The Sarasota Ballet. She started working professionally at 13 years old choreographing a commercial for Nickelodeon's "The Big Help" in 1999 & danced behind Chaka Khan 2001 under the direction of Debbie Allen and Dave Scott.
She was a supporting lead actress in the Hollywood dance film Step Up 2 in the 410 crew (chor by Dave Scott, Hi Hat, Jamal Sims & Rhapsody James) she danced in the VMA nominated music video Hideaway with Kiesza and toured with her at worldwide music festivals/concert venues including Governor's Ball, Mad Decent Block Party, Madison Square Garden, Staple's Center, Barclay's Center, The JUNO Awards, Future Fest Australia and on the primetime TV shows Late Show w/ David Letterman, Ellen, Jimmy Kimmel Live, & Good Morning America. Ebone danced in the BET Soul Train Awards 2009 Commercial and over the years she has choreographed, danced behind & in music videos with such artists as The Roots, Ryan Leslie, Pusha T, DMX, Rick Ross, Chaka Khan, Eminem, Ludacris, Warren G, Trey Songz, Kiesza, Diplo & Skrillex, Ciara, Method Man, Red Man, Mary J Blige, Teddy Riley, El Debarge, Tisha Campbell, Tachina Arnold, Timbaland, Blackstreet, Doug E Fresh, Teyana Taylor, Pharrell & many more. Ebz has toured internationally as a dancer, teacher & choreographer in Tokyo, Hiroshima, Osaka, Australia, New Zealand & Moscow, Russia for the TV show Dance TNT (Russia's SYTYCD) as a guest choreographer.
Currently, Ebz has retired from backup dancing and continues to teach Hiphop & Street Jazz at Broadway Dance Center & in the Musical Theater departments of both NYU & Juliard while working on her solo music & acting career.
Michele Lee (Dance, Musical Theatre Workshop)
Michele is a New York-based dancer, teacher, and all-around performance artist. She began her career as a young dancer in a small town in Pennsylvania; her love for dance flourished, and she continued her studies at The Hartt School, where she studied under alumni from ABT, Limon, and Martha Graham dance companies. As she explored New York, Michele took opportunities to work in all types of creative spaces, from concert dance with Dance Theater of Harlem to burlesque companies like Company XIV, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Kennedy Center. Michele is more than a Performance artist. She believes in supporting the art community by pushing for arts education in all communities.
As her career continues to flourish, Michele remains focused, pushing herself to new and exciting extremes on/off the stage and screen. Michele continues to work towards new ways to combine her talent of performing and teaching as a way to create change for her community and future generations.
David Gaines (Musical Director/Accompanist)
David Gaines is a NYC based pianist/musical director/arranger. He’s currently a member of the faculty of Juilliard’s Drama Division, where he has worked as a vocal coach since 2010. He has also worked extensively as music director/coach with NYUs Graduate Acting Program.
As Musical Director, he has worked with cabaret artists such as Andrea Marcovicci, Penny Fuller, KT Sullivan, Jeff Harnar and many others.