Our Staff
Our Young Experienced Artists
Jad Jacob
Jad is a writer, director, composer, pianist, and actor, and a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ Film & Television program, with a minor in Art History. He is the writer and director of two web series; a feature film; a documentary, I Am Syria, about Syrian refugees living in Stuttgart, Germany; and several award-winning short films, including It’s Not What It Looks Like and Waiting For Jerry. His most recent film, Benson’s Playground, had its premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood in February, as part of the 2020 Golden State Film Festival. Jad has composed original scores for all of his films to date, as well as for several other films. He has participated in over two dozen musical productions and plays as actor, musical director, and director, including performing as the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera – for which he was nominated for a High School Musical Theatre Award in 2017 – and has music directed youth summer shows in the Capital Region. He also sang at Carnegie Hall in February 2017 with the Honors Performance Series Choir. Jad self-published a book of original poetry at age 10, called Goin’ Down Above And Up Under; his original one-act play, Something Stupid, premiered in Manhattan in December 2019.
Instructor for Acting Studio, Piano Composition Workshop and Play/Script Workshop.
Maria Andreoli
Maria is currently a senior in the BFA musical theater program at Pace University. She has appeared in over two dozen musical performances in upstate New York, and New York City. Maria has experience in working with children as a director, musical director, choreographer, and camp counselor. She is well versed in many musical instruments including flute, guitar, piano, and other stringed instruments. She has worked alongside many Broadway professionals and has performed twice at Lincoln Center. Along with performing, she has been writing original music since she was young. Her most recent single “Buried Troubles” is available on all streaming platforms.
Instructor for Song Coaching Studio and Song Writing Workshop.
Lauren Sullivan
Lauren is an AMDA Integrated Musical Theater graduate who studied in both NYC, and Los Angeles. She has fine tuned her skills in Voice, Musical Theater performance, acting for Film, and acting for the stage. Studying with current working, industry professionals, she cultivated her talents thoroughly through multiple performances and workshops per week. Lauren has experience in Music Directing children’s performances, appearing in dozens of entertainment productions, and working behind the stage and the behind camera. She wrote and starred in her short film, “Nailed It”, a comedic thriller last spring, and has been working with friends and colleagues in their individual projects in both New York and Los Angeles. Honing her craft since she was 8 years old, she is proud and excited to share her knowledge with other creatives, and help them in their progression to become an accomplished artist with an adept knowledge and understanding of their talent.
Instructor for Acting Studio and Song Coaching Studio.
Zoe Gillis
Zoe Gillis was born in Cumberland, Rhode Island. Being raised in a musical, theatrical and dance family, Gillis was deeply involved in competitive dance training in all styles; Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Musical Theatre, Contemporary, Lyrical, Acrobatics, and Hip-Hop. By the age of 16, she took a step back from the dance world and focused on her theatre and singing technique while attending Beacon Charter High School for the Arts as a Theatre Major. Gillis was awarded her senior year in high school as Theatre Student of the Year. She is now a recent graduate from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy(AMDA) in New York City, where she completed the two-year conservatory program and received a certificate in Musical Theatre. Living and traveling back and forth from Manhattan and Rhode Island, Zoe is learning from both perspectives as she continues her training and auditioning in New York City, as well as teaching and inspiring young dancers at The Dance Factory in Lincoln, RI .
Some of her credits include Carrie: the Musical (Susan Snell), American Idiot (Extraordinary Girl), Into the Woods (Little Red), The Odd Couple: Female Version (Renee), Bring It On: the Musical (Campbell Davis), and Catch Me If You Can (Brenda Strong).
Zoegillisnyc.com
Instagram: Zoe.gillis