VOICE | ACTING | DANCE
At CCT, we offer Private Instruction in the performing arts of voice, acting, and dance. Our faculty members are experienced performers and pedagogues, bringing the highest quality of instruction and real-world knowledge to students of all ages.
Each session is tailored with the student in mind and will build on the student’s talents; stretch the student’s awareness; and bring the student a deeper understanding of technique, choice, and preparation. Additionally, our faculty will teach performers about stylistically appropriate and healthy techniques in their area of expertise.
OUR INSTRUCTION
Our Private Instruction is perfect for anyone looking to learn or build upon performing arts skills or for those looking to prepare for upcoming auditions at their school, a prospective university, or with a theatre company. We are ready to assist with selecting repertoire as well as to identify opportunities for auditions and performances both within CCT and beyond!
Meet
Our Faculty
Our staff is truly dedicated to the passions of theatre and strongly believe that our classes help transform lives.
Dr. Lara Brooks
Voice Faculty
Ages 12+
Dr. Brooks is a Lecturer of Voice at The Ohio State University where she teaches Classical, Musical Theatre, and CCM voice. As an Estill Figure Proficiency teacher, she is currently working towards being an Estill Master Trainer.
Dr. Brooks holds her Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz Studies and her Masters in Classical Vocal Performance and Literature from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and her Bachelor of Music Education and Bachelor of Music Vocal Performance from Central Michigan University.
Dr. Lara Semetko-Brooks is a versatile soprano known for her silvery voice and energetic presence on the stage. She has performed with Opera Kansas, Michigan Opera Theatre, Lyric Theatre @ Illinois, The Forum Theatre, Greensboro Light Opera, in such roles as Mabel in Pirates of Penzance, Tytania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Eurydice in Orphée Aux Enfers, Clara Johnson in Light in the Piazza, Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and Lilli Vanessi in Kiss Me, Kate.
As a contemporary voice specialist, Dr. Brooks frequently presents workshops regarding flexible voice technique and cross-training of vocalists. Sessions ranging from “Crossing Genres: A Classical Singer’s Guide to Jazz”, “I’m Not Singing Opera Today”, to “Healthy Belting Techniques for Classical Singers” have been presented at The International Congress of Voice Teachers in Stockholm, Sweden, The National Association of Teachers of Singing, Kansas Music Education Association, Jazz Education Network, SHSU Art Song Festival, and to universities and high schools throughout the Mid and Interior West. She is passionate about teaching functional voice and allowing vocalists to explore all styles of music. Her research interests lie in updating educational curriculum to meet the demands of the industry for Vocal Athletes.
Nick Cosgrove
Voice and Acting Faculty
Nick Cosgrove is absolutely thrilled to be joining the CCT team! Nick has been working as a professional singer, actor, voice teacher and acting coach all over the U.S. and Canada for over 20 years. He performed as Frankie Valli in the hit-musical Jersey Boys for three years on Broadway and the 1st and 2nd National Tours and received his BFA in Acting / Musical Theatre from Carnegie Mellon University.
Regional acting credits include: Bad Jews (Short North Stage); Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Rock of Ages, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and Saturday Night Fever (Drury Lane Theatre); Darling Grenadine, Footloose, Oklahoma, and The Bridges of Madison County (Marriott Theatre); Mamma Mia (Paramount Theatre); Snapshots (Northlight Theatre); and four summer seasons at The MUNY. Nick has also been seen on television guest starring in NBC’s Chicago Fire, and leading commercials for Liberty Ford and Kemba Financial Credit Union.
Off-camera and off-stage, Nick has always been passionate about helping other performers hone their craft. Whether it’s coaching a scene or monologue, helping a client find vocal ease during a voice lesson, or talking through general audition concerns, Nick’s goal is to help clients build the confidence they deserve to tackle any challenge ahead with the belief that they truly are enough. www.nickcosgrove.com
Zac DelMonte
Voice Faculty & Artistic Director
For the last decade, Zac has been a producer, music director and conductor, voice teacher, and accompanist for theatre companies around Central Ohio. A graduate of The Ohio State University, Zac earned his Bachelor of Music education with a focus in Choral Music, and now serves on the Choral Conducting Staff at The Ohio State University and as the Vocal Director for Musical Theatre at Wellington, an independent school in Upper Arlington.
To schedule private lessons with Zac, please email him directly at zac@columbuschildrenstheatre.org.
In addition to his long career as an educator and professional musician, Zac is also a frequent adjudicator for a cappella and choral competitions and a featured presenter at the Ohio Educational Theater Association’s yearly conference. Zac is a passionate advocate for the arts and a proud member of the American Choral Directors Association and the Educational Theatre Association.
Mallory (Fischer) Wolfe
Voice Faculty
Mallory Wolfe is a Columbus performer, voice teacher, and elementary music educator. Mallory received a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Muskingum University, and received a dual Master’s degree in Vocal Performance (Musical Theater) and Vocal Pedagogy from New York University Steinhardt.
With more than 6 years of voice teaching experience, she works with all ages to help singer’s find their unique “voiceprint”. Most recently, Mallory was seen in the Butterfly Guild’s production of Cinderella as “Stepsister Joy”. www.mallorywolfeactor.com
Kelsey Hopkins
Acting Faculty
Kelsey Hopkins has been part of the CCT family since she first appeared on their stages in 2001. Since then, she went on to earn a BFA in Acting with Emphasis in Musical Theatre from Wright State University and was honored with the Tom Hanks Scholarship.
After college, she moved to NYC where she was able to pursue her career and had the opportunities to do film, cabarets, improv, Off-Broadway workshops, and travel to professional theatres nationwide as an acting teacher and performer. Kelsey has trained in acting techniques such as The Stanislavski Method, Viewpoints, Laban, Meisner, Stella Adler, Classical, and Chekov and has attended masterclasses from some of the biggest names in the industry including Sutton Foster, Liz Calloway, Alice Ripley, Dave Clemmons, and Stephen Schwartz.
With her guidance and mentoring, Kelsey’s students have gone on to be accepted into some of the top Theatre Programs and Colleges in the country such as Northwestern University, NYU Tisch, Boston University, The University of the Arts, Interlochen School of Performing Arts, and The School of Creative and Performing Arts in NYC
Myles Lawson
Dance Faculty
Myles Lawson As an Irish dance competitor, Myles placed top three at the Mid-America Regionals, top 10 at the North American Irish Dance Championships, and achieved recall at the World Championships. He has always been passionate about delivering the best performance possible, and this passion ignited into a professional career in dance at the age of 17 while finishing out his senior year of high school.
Some of his favorite roles/tours: lead role of The Priest in “Romeo & Juliet” touring China; choreographer and lead role of Aidan in “A Celtic Christmas Story,” debut in NYC; dance captain and lead role of The Prince in “Rhythm In the Night,” touring North America. Myles is thrilled at the opportunity to build a foundation through his teachings and choreography with his various students to come. “I am absolutely jazzed to continue working with such a phenomenal organization and build on something extraordinary – the love for dance and the arts.”
Chelsea Melcher
Voice Faculty
Chelsea Melcher is nicknamed “Columbus’ Sweetheart Soprano” and is an internationally acclaimed opera singer. Chelsea received a Bachelor’s of Music from Central Michigan University, a Master’s degree in Music from The Ohio State University and, holds a Performance Diploma from the world-renowned Jacobs School of Music under the study of Heidi Grant Murphy, Kevin Murphy, and Timothy Noble.
Chelsea’s performing credits include collaboration with Opera Columbus, Opera Seabrook, Opera Project Columbus, Columbus Symphony, Ohio Light Opera, and ProMusica Chamber Orchestra among numerous others.
Chelsea was inducted into the “Music Hall of Fame” (Coldwater, MI) and awarded the Margaret Speaks Scholarship, Jacobs School of Music Graduate Tuition Award, Jacobs School of Music Performance Certificate Recommendation, Women in Music (Columbus) Award, and received first place in numerous concerto competitions.
Chelsea is the founder of Vocal Career Academy and Nerves Be Gone Academy, Professor of Entrepreneurial Performance Anxiety within Chalene Johnson’s Marketing Impact Academy, Professor of Voice at Siena Heights University, and Co-Founder (with her husband Paul Melcher) of Red School of Music. Chelsea specializes in coaching performers to manage anxieties and gain a natural confidence onstage and in auditions. Her masterclasses, coachings, and courses have helped hundreds of students gain confidence, take their mind off the opinions of others, and truly enjoy performing.
Hunter Minor
Acting, Dance, Vocal, Piano Faculty
From Pickerington, Ohio, Hunter Minor is your everyday, midwestern, charcuterie-loving, older brother, who happened to fall in love with the world of Theatre. He fell down a rabbit hole when he saw Alice in Wonderland at Pickerington Community Theatre, inspiring him to audition for their production of Bye Bye Birdie.
After his 37 bar cut of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” and a flawless dance call in his soccer sneakers, Minor booked the role of Randolph McAfee. He seamlessly transitioned from a sports kid to a theatre regular throughout the Columbus arts scene, culminating in his admittance to his dream college program at Wright State University.
Greg Mallios
Acting Faculty
Greg Mallios has been acting since he was ten years old. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Greg has lived and worked all over the Midwest and East Coast in both Theatre and Film. He has worked at some of America’s most prestigious Regional Theatres including The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.
He currently teaches in the School of Fine and Performing Arts at Wright State University. Greg received his BFA in Acting from Wright State University and his MFA in Acting from The University of Florida.
Colton Weiss
Dialect Coach
Colton Weiss is a college advisor at The Ohio State University and passionate dialect coach. Colton received a dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Theater/Music Studies and Speech & Hearing Science from the Ohio State University and a Master’s in Voice & Speech Pedagogy (MFA) from Harvard University/American Repertory Theater Institute.
Colton has coached with companies throughout Central Ohio and the greater Boston area including #Hashtag Comedy Columbus, Tecumseh Drama, and A.R.T. @ Oberon (Violet the Musical, dir. Sammi Cannold) to name a few.
Colton presented work with the voice and Speech Trainers’ Association (VASTA) and the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE). He has been published in the Voice and Speech Review with new article and workshop ideas currently in the works.
Colton has spent time training in NYC and abroad under Russian masters from the Moscow Art Theatre School (MXAT – Moscow, Russia). He also holds certifications with Knight-Thompson Speechwork (KTS) and One Voice Integrative Studies.