JAYME JOHNSON grew up in Madison, WI where she has had the pleasure of performing and working with many different theatre and dance companies.  Her love for the arts began when she was three years old and her parents enrolled her in dance classes.  She continued training in ballet and jazz until age 16. 

While attending LaFollette High School, Jayme was the choreographer for the dance team where she performed in the different styles of poms and hip hop.  She was also a member of the Show Choir and had opportunities to choreograph musical sets.  Throughout her high school years, Jayme became very involved in every aspect of theatre from playing violin in the pit orchestra, to designing stage hair and makeup, working on the running crew, and performing in the annual musicals. 

Jayme graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire in December 2005 where she earned a BA in Theatre Arts with a minor in Dance and an emphasis in Music.  During her collegiate career Jayme concentrated on theatre and dance management, continued to study ballet and jazz, and also gained a passion for tap and modern.  While pursuing her degree, she was involved with student and faculty works as a member of University Theatre, Concert Dance Company, and Woman’s Concert Chorale.  She is very happy to return to Madison, and is looking forward to working at Forte Studios.

ELYSA HELLERMANN grew up in Cambridge, WI, where she began dancing at the age of five. For thirteen years she studied ballet, jazz, tap, and lyrical in the small town of Deerfield, WI.  She was a member of the Cambridge High School show choir for four years, and choreographed many of the numbers that the show choir performed.  Elysa has had the opportunity to perform twice at Walt Disney World with the Cambridge High School show choir as well as with the Cambridge High School marching band and color guard of which she was captain for two years. Additional performance and choreography credits include church services and shows, holiday shows, girls’ camps, and high school musicals.

Elysa’s  collegiate dance training began at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, FL. While there, she studied under Demetrius Klein, a professional modern dancer and company owner and his wife, Kathleen, who was also a professional modern dancer.  Her ballet instructor was Eileen Hebron, formerly of the American Ballet Theatre.  She also had the opportunity to take master classes from Steven Caras, a former dancer for the New York City Ballet. 

In the fall Elysa will be attending the University of Wisconsin—Madison to continue her dance training.  She will be working towards a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Dance.

STEVEN STACK has played many roles within the world of theatre, most notably those of actor, director, playwright, and drama instructor.  He has acted in professional productions both in the Columbia, SC area and locally, as well as voiceover work for television commercials.  Steven has directed shows starring actors of all ages, from age 5 to adult, including 5 summers teaching accelerated drama courses for grades 4-9 through the Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth.  He has written and directed two full-length plays, as well as countless scenes and one-acts.

As a full-time drama teacher, Steven created a middle-school curriculum at a school that had never had a theatre program before.  In addition to teaching drama full-time for several years in South Carolina, he taught at Spring Harbor Middle School in Madison before accepting his current job teaching 7^th-grade math at Wright Middle School.  He continues to incorporate as much theatre as possible into his elective courses.