Courses
Instructor(s)
- Emilia Kister
- BC Campbell
- Daniel Goody
- Paul Lebel
- Winnie Westergard
- Alia Swersky
- Barry Sebastian
- Brynne McGregor
- Chelsea Cook
- David Taylor Gomes
- Ellen Forney
- Geof Alm
- J. Gordon
- Jeff Brice
- Jimmy Shields
- Kate Jaeger
- Kelly Ash
- Lauren Boilini
- Leanna Keith
- Lily Hotchkiss
- Lucie Baker
- Meg McLynn
- Nicole Beerman
- Nikki Rice
- Renee Plevy
- Robynne Raye
- Samar Abulhassan
- Sarah Bixler
- Zoe Crago
Cornish+ Choir (Sunday)
Emilia Kister
Emilia Kister began singing in a children’s choir and learning piano at the age of four, in Moscow, Russia where she studied at the Gnessin Specialized Musical School for Gifted Children. At the age of ten, her family immigrated to the United States and Emilia continued studying piano at the Kaufman Music Center in NYC. During High School, she sang in the school Choir, an a cappella group and fell in love with chamber music. For college, Emilia attended the Eastman School of Music to pursue a degree in piano performance, while there, she sang in the Eastman Chorale and continued to make music with others through accompanying and chamber music. During her third year of studies, Emilia switched from piano performance to music education, and hasn’t looked back since!
Cornish+ Choir (Monday)
Emilia Kister
Emilia Kister began singing in a children’s choir and learning piano at the age of four, in Moscow, Russia where she studied at the Gnessin Specialized Musical School for Gifted Children. At the age of ten, her family immigrated to the United States and Emilia continued studying piano at the Kaufman Music Center in NYC. During High School, she sang in the school Choir, an a cappella group and fell in love with chamber music. For college, Emilia attended the Eastman School of Music to pursue a degree in piano performance, while there, she sang in the Eastman Chorale and continued to make music with others through accompanying and chamber music. During her third year of studies, Emilia switched from piano performance to music education, and hasn’t looked back since!
Portrait Demonstration
Renee Plevy
Award-winning Palm Beach/New York portrait artist, Renée Plevy, has captured the attention of art lovers, students and aficionados for more than 40 years. Renée’s paintings have been featured in more than 65 shows and galleries, including a one-woman museum show at the Paterson Museum. She has received national attention and garnered numerous awards including “Artist of the Year” from The Bloomfield Art League and First Prize from the Boca Raton Museum Artist’s Guild.
Starting in 2011, she has founded “Portrait of a Woman”, which annually raises monies for Quantum House by honoring prominent Palm Beach Woman at a special luncheon. Six oil portraits are unveiled at the luncheon, all of which become part of a legacy portrait series for Palm Beach County.
Renee now does extensive teaching of her craft at the Boca Raton Museum Art School, and special workshops at the Mandel Public Library in West Palm Beach, and The School of Visual Arts in Jupiter.
Frequently called upon for special projects, Renee has found herself painting a portrait of Vanilla Ice for his Vanilla Ice Project television show, as well as being a part of it. Doing television and radio are always a fun part of being a bit of a celebrity in the Palm Beach community.
When a member of the art community in New York City, her art studio in 41 Union Square was always jumping with activity, between teaching portraiture at the School of Visual Arts, and being a part of the Artist Equity Committee to find a visual arts center for the tri-state area for the 16 national art organizations based in NYC.
Having studied under internationally renowned portrait artists, John Howard Sanden, David Leffel, Robert Beverly Hale, and Clyde Smith, she has developed her own style using classical museum quality techniques.
As a colorist, interpreting personalities through upbeat colors, Renee has incorporated magnificent South Florida tropical colors into her portraits, resulting in joyous life like paintings.
Pre-Ballet (Saturday)
Creative Movement (Saturday)
Cornish+ Choir (Sunday)
Emilia Kister
Emilia Kister began singing in a children’s choir and learning piano at the age of four, in Moscow, Russia where she studied at the Gnessin Specialized Musical School for Gifted Children. At the age of ten, her family immigrated to the United States and Emilia continued studying piano at the Kaufman Music Center in NYC. During High School, she sang in the school Choir, an a cappella group and fell in love with chamber music. For college, Emilia attended the Eastman School of Music to pursue a degree in piano performance, while there, she sang in the Eastman Chorale and continued to make music with others through accompanying and chamber music. During her third year of studies, Emilia switched from piano performance to music education, and hasn’t looked back since!
Cornish+ Choir (Monday)
Emilia Kister
Emilia Kister began singing in a children’s choir and learning piano at the age of four, in Moscow, Russia where she studied at the Gnessin Specialized Musical School for Gifted Children. At the age of ten, her family immigrated to the United States and Emilia continued studying piano at the Kaufman Music Center in NYC. During High School, she sang in the school Choir, an a cappella group and fell in love with chamber music. For college, Emilia attended the Eastman School of Music to pursue a degree in piano performance, while there, she sang in the Eastman Chorale and continued to make music with others through accompanying and chamber music. During her third year of studies, Emilia switched from piano performance to music education, and hasn’t looked back since!
Producing Music
BC Campbell
Musical & Theater Foundations
Nicole Beerman
Nicole is an actor, singer, dancer, choreographer, teacher, visual artist, wife to Josh and mother to Max and Huxley. Nicole has lived and worked on both coasts, loves to create, garden, and do construction! On screen, Nicole has been seen in Nike, LG, and T-Mobile commercials. On stage in Adrift (Sam French Festival), Big Effing Deal! (Duet with Reggie Watts), Cabaret (Gregory Award Nominee), Mary Poppins, Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, How to Succeed, Once Upon A Time in New Jersey and many Village Originals (Village Theatre), The Constant Wife (Seattle Rep), Cabaret (5th Ave, AMTSJ, Ordway Center), Wonderful Town (5th Ave), Ming the Rude (Empty Space), Elephant and Piggie, Fire Station 7, Sleeping Beauty (SCT), Tapestry (Oregon Cabaret Theatre), and many more. As a choreographer and dancer Nicole had the honor of working with Sonya Tayeh and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival with running the dance call for the original production of Head Over Heals. In New York, Nicole’s work has been seen at the HERE Center, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Clubbed Thumb, Astoria Performing Arts, The Management and Acting Manitou. In Seattle, at KIDSTAGE, Cornish, Oregon Cabaret Theatre, The Triple Door, Café Nordo, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Fantastic Z, and Art Institute of Seattle. Nicole is currently teaching at Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle Film institute, and Westlake Dance Center. She has also taught at UW, Art Institute of Seattle, Hunter College High School, VAM Studios, 5th Avenue, Century Ballroom, McCarter Theatre Company, Jersey City Dance Academy, and The Studios. Nicole holds a BFA from Cornish College of the Arts, is a certified Simonson Technique teacher and a member of Actors’ Equity.
Kate Jaeger
Kate Jaeger is an actor, director, educator, audition coach, and improviser. Locally she has performed with 14/48, Annex Theatre, ArtsWest, Jet City Improv, Macha Theatre Works, New Voices, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Taproot Theatre Company, Teatro Zinzanni, Village Theatre, and Wooden O. Favorite roles include: Adelaide in Guys and Dolls and Madame Thénardier in Les Misérables (Village Theatre); Mary in Persuasion: A New Musical, and Louise in Always…Patsy Cline (Taproot Theatre Company); and Ursula in The Little Mermaid (Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre). As an educator, Kate has worked with Jet City Improv, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Film Institute, Taproot Theatre Company, Village Theatre, and Youth Theatre Northwest.
Technical Theater
Daniel Goody
Daniel Goody has been working in the performing arts field since 2001 starting in the UK as a sound engineer. Presently working as the Head of Audio at the Playhouse in Seattle for Cornish College of the Arts, his work has spanned many disciplines over the years including audio, light and video design. His primary collaboration since 2015 has been with the Danish immersive theatre group Sisters Hope.
Following a decade in Sweden as the Technical Director at the culture house Inkonst Malmö, Daniel formed artistic partnerships with a number of performance, dance and theatre groups based throughout the Nordic and European regions. These collaborations, with groups such as; Institutet, White On White, Jon & Juli and Lucie Tuma explored the family, critical whiteness and the relationship to the body on a wholly radical level.
Costume Design
Chelsea Cook
Chelsea Cook is a freelance costume designer, educator, and business owner. Her work has been seen at Kentucky Opera, Seattle Shakespeare Company, Seattle Opera, Village Theatre, Tacoma Opera, George Street Playhouse, ArtsEmerson, and more. Select favorite designs include Ernest Shackleton Loves Me (Off-Broadway Alliance Award, Second Stage Theatre); O+E (Seattle Opera) She’s Come Undone (Gregory Award Nomination, Book-It); What We Talk About When We Talk About Love (Book-It Repertory); and Medea (Seattle Shakespeare Co.). She has a B.A. from Cornish College of the Arts.
Stage & Screen Combat
Geof Alm
Geoffrey Alm has been teaching Stage Fighting at Cornish since 2008. A Certified Teacher with The Society of American Fight Directors since 1987, he is also a Certified Fight Director and Fight Master. Professionally he has been choreographing fights since 1988, locally and Nationally. He’s a proud member of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Actors Equity, and SAG-AFTRA.
Acting for Stage and Screen
Meg McLynn
Meg McLynn is an actor, vocalist, and teaching artist who has been seen on stages and screens throughout North America. Meg loves to share her passion for performance with students of all ages, and it is her belief that the work we do in “the studio” is applicable to all aspects of our everyday lives.
Having studied for 7 years under renowned voice teacher, Kristin Linklater, Meg now works with students to help them take ownership of their wonderfully unique voices. She teaches Voice and Speech at Cornish College of the Arts, and she serves as a vocal coach with Jack Straw Studios. She has assisted with voice training at Columbia Business School and World Leaders Forum in New York City. Meg also teaches Voice and Acting classes at Freehold Theatre Lab and Mighty Tripod Studios in Seattle.
Meg is a member of the Seattle-based vocal trio, Blue Plate Special, and has been an Anthem Singer for the Seattle Seahawks. As a concert soloist, she performed the songbooks of Patsy Cline, Judy Garland, and Carly Simon with Purple Phoenix Productions. Local acting credits include roles with Seattle Shakespeare Company, Book-It Rep, Seattle Symphony, ArtsWest, Seattle Opera, Seattle Public Theatre, Washington Ensemble Theatre, Theatre22, Harlequin Productions, and 14/48: TWQTF, as well as the feature films “Different Drummers”, “7 Minutes”, and “Colton”. You can see her in the series, “The Girl in the Woods” streaming on NBC/Peacock.
Stop Motion Puppet Fabrication
Nikki Rice
Born and raised in Seattle, Nikki moved to California to attend college, receiving a BFA in Film Production in 2002 from Chapman University. For the next 6 years she worked various office jobs in the film industry while also earning a Masters Degree in Secondary Education. In 2006 Nikki decided to shift her career to Special Effects Make-Up working at Creature FX studios and from there segueing into the stop motion world, beginning in 2008 with Shadow Machine on the Adult Swim hit show, Robot Chicken: Season 3. Nikki has worked as a puppet fabricator, lead fabricator and department head on numbers stop motion television shows, commercials and films, helping create iconic stop motion characters for such shows/films as Happy Honda Days (Socal regional commercial campaign for the last 12 years), Ask the Story Bots, Buddy Thunderstruck, Anomolisa and Ted Lasso to name a few. In 2022, the next adventure brought Nikki back home to Seattle to be closer to family and to hang out her own shingle as Puppets Northwest, offering a one stop shop for puppets of all kinds, SFX, 3D modeling/printing and educational outreach of all of the above.
Dance Intensive
Street Dance Forms
Social Dance Forms
Lucie Baker
Lucie Baker is a dance artist, educator, and expressive arts facilitator based in Seattle, Washington. Her parents met in a community folk dance group so social dancing is in her bones. She loves social dance for its joy, community, and expansive self-expression. As a teacher, she strives to create a supportive environment where students can connect and explore. Her classes integrate her background in western concert dance and social dance with her love of somatics and anatomy. From a young age she was surrounded by a diversity of dance styles including swing, ballet, modern, balkan folk dance, and more. Her curiosity for movement led her to pursue a career as a professional performer and choreographer in New York City and abroad working with many notable artists including Jane Comfort, Tamar Rogoff, Erica Essner, Phantom Limb and Seattle Opera. In her training, she earned a BFA from the Juilliard School and an MFA from the University of Washington. After many years of performing, creating, and teaching, she became interested in the intersection of dance and mental health and received her expressive arts therapy training at the Tamalpa Institute, founded by Anna and Daria Halprin. She continues to develop her artistic practice alongside while also serving as a faculty member at Cornish College of the Arts, University of Washington and Century Ballroom.
Improvisational Practices
Alia Swersky
Alia Swersky is a movement artist, performer and educator deeply engaged in dance improvisation, durational time-based art, film, site-specific work, and environmental installation. She is an artist and an educator with degrees from Cornish College of the Arts and an MFA in dance from the University of Washington.
Her artistic path over the last two decades has been shaped by this yearning for deep and meaningful connections with people and places. As a co-creator, ritual maker, and a “horizontal” director, Alia seeks to touch others through dance, somatic presence, vulnerability, and fierceness. Her work ranges from full audience participation to intimate acts of One-to-One performances, site-specific dances for film and live performance, as well as durational time-based art that includes physical acts of endurance, repetition, stillness, subtlety, singing, soft energetic grace, abstraction, caricature, and a deconstruction of clichés such as extreme high femme expressions. Her teaching and art-making seek to create practices that embrace endurance on stage and in life as acts of resistance, resilience, release, and beauty.
As a performer, Alia has also toured nationally and internationally as a member of the LeGendre Performance Group and has performed in the works with many Seattle artists, some of which include The Maureen Whiting Company, Khambatta Dance Company, Jurg Koch, KT Niehoff, and Salt Horse.
As an educator, she has taught at Cornish College of the Arts for sixteen years and in the Seattle community at Velocity’s Strictly Seattle Festival, and the Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation (SFDI). She was a long time Co-artistic director of Dance Art Group (DAG), a non-profit organization that promotes the practice and appreciation of dance and somatic education in the Seattle area, including the Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation.
Screendance
Writing for Screen
Samar Abulhassan
Samar Abulhassan is a writer and teaching artist living in Seattle. She's a Hedgebrook alum, Jack Straw Writer and holds an MFA from Colorado State University. She's worked with Seattle Arts & Lectures’ Writers in the Schools since 2008, and for Hugo House's Scribes program and the Skagit River Poetry Foundation since 2010. She was an instructor for Cornish's summer film program in 2019.