teaching artists

Our professional Teaching Artists are just that—artists who teach. We look for educators and actors who love to work with children, hold college or conservatory degrees in Theatre or Education and have experience in the classroom. NCTC offers ongoing teacher development workshops to make sure our Teaching Artists have the skills they need to bring out the very best in their students.

We focus on the process of theatre training rather than the product. And although we work hard to create a cohesive performance piece by the end of class, the journey and skills learned on the way are really what matters most. Our concentration is on the “whole kid” and helping them develop life skills that guide them in and out of the theatre world. Ensemble-based work is at the heart of our training at NCTC.

Interested in joining our teaching team?

Please submit a cover letter stating your teaching philosophy and a resume reflecting experience working with youth and/or a professional theatre resume & headshot to Stephanie Temple, Conservatory Director, at stephanie@nctcsf.org.

Stephanie Temple, Conservatory Director

Stephanie Temple, a Central California native, has been at NCTC since 2002, working as an teacher, director and Children’s Playwright-in-Residence. Ms. Temple specializes in curriculum development and creating devised works, and she enjoys mentoring both students and teaching artists. With a Master's in Drama from SFSU and a B.A. from the University of Southern California’s School of Theatre, Ms. Temple is also an actor, puppeteer (most recently seen as Kate Monster in NCTC’s Avenue Q,) and a director/choreographer. Over the past twenty years, she has taught acting, improvisation, dance and musical theatre at NCTC, SFSU, CSU Stanislaus, Merced College, PCPA Theatrefest and currently runs the drama program at Live Oak School in Potrero Hill. As director of the Family Matinee program, Ms. Temple has adapted and developed original plays such as Goldi Locks and the Three Aliens, Sock Puppet Jamboree, Bollywood Sleeping Beauty, The Odyssey, and Rock ‘n Roll Cinderella.

Kathleen Lee, Conservatory Programs Manager

Kathleen is a Southern California native with a big imagination! Kathleen is an interdisciplinary teaching artist with education and experience in technical theatre, movement, voice development, directing, improvisation, producing, puppetry, and creative writing. She’s a graduate of San Francisco State University where she received degrees in theatre and education while gaining first-hand experience as a teaching artist with grades K-12. Kathleen is an alumnus of the Young Playwrights Festival at the Blank Theatre Company of Los Angeles, and Stella Adler Theatre. Here at New Conservatory Theatre Center, Kathleen hopes to further develop new practices that build a compassionate theatre community, while inspiring new artist and challenging social norms.

Stephen McFarland, Conservatory Programs Advisor

Stephen McFarland grew up in Northeastern Pennsylvania and did his first show at the age of 5. Theater has been a part of his life ever since. Upon graduating with a BA in Theater from Marywood University Stephen toured the United States with Missoula Children's Theater and American Family Theater before moving to NYC. While in NYC Stephen worked as an actor, director, choreographer, dance teacher and yoga instructor. He was also fortunate enough to work at the Lincoln Center Theater where he got to work on Broadway shows such as The Light in the Piazza, South Pacific and War Horse. Since moving to San Francisco in 2012 he has primarily worked as an actor, florist and yoga instructor. He could not be more thrilled to join the team of extremely talented artists at NCTC.

Miia Ashely (After School Drama, Resident Artist, Youth Ensemble)

Miia Ashley is a California-raised Teaching Artist and Actor. After receiving her Bachelors in Musical Theatre from Chico State, she moved to New York City where she received her MFA from The Actors Studio Drama School. She is thrilled to be a part of NCTC’s inspiring and passionate family.

Ali Toia (Afterschool drama)

Ali Toia is a Los Angeles native who grew up with a passion for theater and music. In 2015, Ali moved up to the Bay Area where she received her bachelor's degree in Theater and Performance Studies at UC Berkeley. At Cal, she explored acting, directing, and costume design. Ali is also an alum of the Summer Training Congress at The American Conservatory Theater in SF. She is thrilled to be joining the NCTC team and explore the magic of performance with her students!

Sean Garahan (After School Drama)

Sean Garahan is an actor, teaching artist, and performing arts everyman. When he’s not acting he’s either tour managing a rock band, teaching theatre to all ages, or working stage crew at a Bay Area theatre. He was recently seen as Mat Burke in Anna Christie at the Dragon Theatre, as Bernard in Boeing Boeing at Ross Valley Players and as Paris in the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival’s Romeo & Juliet. Sean earned a BA in Theatre from Emerson College in 2008, is an EMC member of Actor’s Equity, and is a Resident Artist with the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. You can follow what he’s currently working on at seangarahan.com

Rebecca Hodges (After School Drama)

Rebecca Hodges grew up in San Diego, California where she was inspired by her two older brothers and their passion for theatre. She saw her first theatre production at a young age and quickly caught the bug. Rebecca left the sunny weather behind and moved to San Francisco and obtained her bachelor's degree in Drama Performance from San Francisco State University. Rebecca is also a freelance photographer in the Bay Area specializing in portraiture. She is extremely excited to join the NCTC Teaching Artist team and can't wait to start creating with her students!

Sophie Iribarren (Summer Youth Acting, Teen Acting Ensemble)

Sophie Iribarren is an NCTC alum who now teaches acting to the next generation of students. As a student, Ms. Iribarren participated in Teen Summerstock, High School Performance Ensemble, Musical Theatre and performed in several Family Matinee productions including, The Wizard of Oz, Anansi, the Clever Spider and the title role in Rock ‘n Roll Cinderella. She is currently a 7th grade Special Education teacher with a BA from UC Santa Cruz and a Master’s in Education from SFSU.

Katrina McGraw (After School Drama)

Katrina Lauren McGraw is a San Francisco native who has been acting and teaching for over 10 years. Katrina loves being able to combine her two passions, teaching and acting and being able to pass it on to our youth. Some past acting credits include Kate in Zanna, Don’t! (NCTC), Dynamite in Hairspray (Woodminster and PCPA Theaterfest) and Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray (Allenberry Playhouse) Abula Clauda in In The Heights (Cohose Music Hall), Trixy/Phantom in The Rocky Horror Show (Merchants Hall and A.C.T San Francisco), and Dionne in Hair (Bay Area Musicals). Katrina has taught children ages 6 months to High Schoolers and enjoys all of them very much.

Nicole Meñez (After School Drama)

A Bay Area native, Nicole Meñez is a recent graduate of the University of California in Santa Cruz where she received degrees in Environmental Studies and Theater Arts. During her time in Santa Cruz, she worked in a variety of productions through the Theater Arts Department as well as with Rainbow Theater Troupe, the oldest multicultural theater troupe in the UC system. Her experience lies in directing, acting, singing and dancing in various styles as well as spoken word poetry. Nicole's most recent credit is in her role as Assistant Director for American Conservatory Theater's 2015 production of Monstress. She hopes to open hearts and open minds in the work she produces, creating dialogue amongst diverse audiences and giving opportunities for underrepresented communities to share their stories. "What comes from the heart, goes to the heart".

Ely Orquiza (Afterschool drama)

Ely Sonny Orquiza is a multidisciplinary actor/teaching artist based in San Francisco Bay Area. He brings a combination of socially engaging arts education practices, commitment to diversity and representation, and limitless and bold imagination for the theatre. Ely has BA in Theatre from the University of California, Berkeley. Ely is an alumnus of NCTC's High School Performance Ensemble!

Jenny Rosen (Resident Artist)

A company member at BATS Improv since 2003 Jenny served as Dean of the BATS School of Improv for four years. She regularly performs long and short form improvisational theater at Fort Mason Center. As a teacher and coach, Jenny has worked with students from ages 2 to 102. She has taught for StageWrite, Live Oak, Haight Ashbury Cooperative Nursery School and dozens of other schools up and down the Bay Area. She enjoys using theater games to inspire collaboration, positivity, and creativity in and out of the classroom. A specialty is the incorporation of classroom curricula into theater training! Jenny has performed in Aspen, Improv Olympic (LA), The MET theater (NYC), The Moth and at the SF Fringe Festival. She has created original musicals for 64 4th graders at the Cathedral School for Boys, and can make up full length musicals on the spot. Born and raised in the Bay Area, Jenny Rosen lives in Potrero Hill with her husband and two children, Henry and Magnolia.

Luke Brady (Afterschool drama)

Born in Pennsylvania, Luke attended Wilkes University to earn his BFA in Theatre Arts. Afterwards, he moved to San Francisco to continue his studies. He attended the Academy of Art University to obtain his MFA in Acting. He is excited to be part of NCTC’s team and to help enrich youth education of the arts.

Paul Collins (After School Drama)

Paul Collins is an actor, director, and teaching artist. He earned his M.F.A. in Acting at CSU, Fullerton in 2011 and a B.A. in Theatre Performance at Middle Tennessee State University in 2002. While working on his B.A., Paul taught children’s drama classes after school, during the summer and co-founded the V.O.I.C.E.S. Arts Institute for Youth. He has worked as a teaching artist with Star Education and STRIVE in Los Angeles and with Stage Write and Kids on Camera in San Francisco. He has directed several productions for SF Youth Theatre and led classes for their 415 Teen Ensemble. Paul has been invited several times to teach Children’s Drama at CSU, East Bay. He is also a member of Idiot String which tours the Bay Area in the summers presenting productions for youth.

Sophie Nelson: (After School Drama)

Sophie Nelson grew up in Southern California but is happy to call the Bay her home! She just recently graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in Theatre and Performance Studies and a minor in Education and is excited to put her learning into practice. An actor as well as a teaching artist, she has been lucky to assist some incredible teaching artists in the Bay Area, including at the California Shakespeare Theater and Berkeley Playhouse. Having studied commedia dell’arte at the Accademia dell’Arte in Italy, Sophie hopes to bring to the classroom the same spirit of silliness, fun, and creativity that she garnered there! More than anything, she hopes to continuously work toward creating classrooms that engage students’ own knowledge and lived experiences. She would like to act as a facilitator in the classroom, helping to guide students toward their own unique understandings of dramatic expression! She is so happy to be joining this incredible and passionate group of artists and absolutely cannot wait to see what her students will create together!

Marie Cartier: (After School Drama)

Marie Cartier is a multidisciplinary artist born and raised, living and working in San Francisco. A trained actor, her work in theater also spans everything from light and sound operation to props design and education. She recently completed an artist in residency with the San Francisco Mime Troupe and created the original show, Yesterday is Tomorrow in collaboration with her sister and performance partner, Genie. Marie also goes on biking adventures to add to her Plein Air SF painting series, celebrating the natural beauty of San Francisco and Northern California. She holds BA's in Theater and Peace and Conflict Studies from UC Berkeley. (Check out the wide variety of her work at mariecartier.weebly.com)

Maya Herbsman (After School Drama)

Maya Herbsman is a Bay Area-raised director, playwright, and teaching artist. She is a recent graduate of Wesleyan University, where she received a B.A. in Theater. Maya has worked with children of all ages in hospitals, summer camps, on the softball field, and of course, in theater classes, and she has loved every second. She is honored and excited to be joining the amazing NCTC team!

Mikah Johnson (Afterschool drama)

Mikah Johnson (billed as Mikah Kavita) is a teaching artist and actor. She received her BFA in Acting for the Screen and Stage from Azusa Pacific University. Apart from acting, Mikah is passionate about stoking the creative flame in others so they might be empowered to boldly create and live.

Shelby Barnett (Afterschool drama)

Shelby Barnett grew up in Los Angeles but moved to San Francisco to pursue a career and degree in Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts, with a double emphasis in TV Production and Media Writing. Although Shelby plans to work in Unscripted Programming and Live Television Production in the future, she has a true passion for teaching youth about performing arts. Her most memorable drama experience has been training in improv comedy with Cinco Paul (Despicable Me), Diane Franklin (Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure) and Ian Roberts (Upright Citizens Brigade). Shelby hopes to introduce the NCTC community to various forms of creative expression, whether on stage or on screen, in order to further diversify the theatre and the media industry.

Jocelyn McMahon-Babalis (Afterschool Drama)

Jocelyn received her Bachelor of Arts in theater, performance emphasis, at San Francisco State University, where she participated in a variety of productions, including The Killing of Sister George, The Penelopiad and Much Ado About Nothing. She has also appeared in shows around the Bay Area such as Into the Woods, Red Light Winter, and Spring Awakening. Jocelyn has also taught at The Rabbit Hole, an SF based company for children and Young Actors’ Theater Camp where she got to lead workshops in acting, as well as assist in Master Classes. She was also a rehearsal assistant for Little People's Repertory Theater, a unique Santa Cruz based summer musical theater program for children 8-14 that produces an original rock musical annually (also where she began as a thespian). Jocelyn loves the freedom and exploration that comes with working in the theater and enjoys sharing that with children in a creative environment.

Lauren Kivowitz (After School Drama)

Lauren Kivowitz is a performer, a teaching artist, and an inclusive arts consultant with a strong background in theatre, improv, and music. She has a Master’s degree in Applied Theatre from CUNY School of Professional Studies and has facilitated classes for folks of all ages and abilities, using combinations of music, role-play, improv, story-telling, and play-building. Lauren is a passionate advocate for increasing accessible and inclusive creative arts practices, and is excited to contribute to the growth of this field in the Bay Area!

Samantha Aper (After School Drama)

Samantha Aper is an actor, dancer, and writer. She began her performance career as a dancer at the age of two. She fell in love with the stage and began participating in plays, musical theater, and independent films. She has a BA in creative writing from San Francisco State University and specializes in writing for the screen.

I always find myself looking forward to going to NCTC.

– Maya W.
NCTC is one of the happiest places on the planet.

– Julian H.
Participating in theater at NCTC has been positively transformative for our child. I can't think of a better and more enriching way for him to spend his time!

– Eve L.
NCTC has inspired me to open my mind to an array of different perspectives. Every time I walk into that theatre, I walk out learning something new about my own capabilities.

– Regina L.
When I'm at NCTC with my friends I can completely be myself.

– Masha S.
NCTC is one of the most welcoming and supportive communities I've been a part of, because they created an environment where I could freely express myself and have fun with some amazing friends.

– Jemma F.