Staff
Artistic Staff
Executive Artistic Director - JoAnne Woodard JoAnne Woodard was appointed Executive Artistic Director of HITS Theatre in June 2008. A teacher, performer, director and acting coach, she has an incredible breadth of experience and depth of knowledge in working with children and young adults. As a performer, JoAnne has appeared in over 200 plays, musicals, television pilots and national commercials. She was also a member of the off-Broadway improvisation troupe, “New Yuk City". As a teacher, JoAnne has taught acting, directing, musical theater, improvisation, and auditioning in public and private schools for the past 15 years. From grade school to middle school to high school, she has directed productions and been an Artist-in-Residence. She has been a Master Teacher at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee in the BA, BFA, and MFA programs. She has also been a Master Teacher at the University of Miami in both the Frost School of Music Opera Program with Dr. David Alt, and in the School of Liberal Arts with Vince Cardinal. JoAnne has conducted seminars in acting and auditioning across the country including the International Thespian Festival and the Educational Theater Association of which she is a member. |  |
Laura Salas grew up in the Sugarland/ Richmond, TX area. She has been dancing for about 15 years, and she has been involved in theatre since 7th grade. Laura received a BA in Musical Theatre from Columbia College Chicago, and moved back home after graduation. Her Chicago credits include Copacabana, The Who's Tommy, and her favorite project: playing Maria in West Side Story at CCC. She made her Houston debut in The House of the Spirits at Main Street Theater, and was recently in The Laramie Project, which was self-produced by the cast. She is very excited about working with such a wonderful group of children on Cats!
Tenor Jack Beetle’s stage experience has been diverse: Shakespeare, musical theatre, plays and opera. He was recently in the world premiere of the Car Crash Opera: an animated opera for adults, which was featured in performance at New York City Opera’s VOX Festival. Operatic roles of note include: Il Conte di Libenskof in Rossini’s Il Viaggio a Reims, Jim Casy in Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath, Pluto/Aristeus in Orpheus in the Underworld, Il Podestà in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera, Tebaldo in I Capuleti e I Montecchi. Jack spent three consecutive seasons with the Ohio Light Opera and was featured as King Ouf in L’étoile, Colonel Fairfax in Yeoman of the Guard, Hilarion in Princess Ida, Count Stanislaus in The Birdseller, and Marco in The Gondoliers. Prior to pursuing an operatic career, Jack worked in regional theatres, where he performed in more than forty productions over the course of five years. An active classical and musical theatre voice teacher, he believes in a solid technical foundation that will allow a student to sing at their best. A native of Sicklerville, NJ, he received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music and is currently pursuing a Master of Music from Moores Opera Center at the University of Houston.
Dr. Kyle Kindred is currently Assistant Professor of Theory and Composition at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. A native of Arkansas City, Kansas, Dr. Kindred earned a Bachelors of Music in Piano Performance and Theory/Composition at Wichita State University, studying under Walter Mays and Dean Roush. From the University of Texas at Austin, he earned a Master of Music in Composition as well as a Doctor of Musical Arts studying under Donald Grantham and Kevin Puts. Kindred’s compositions have been performed in the US, Canada, Japan, and Europe, having received awards including Best Music at the 2006 Nevada State Marching Championship, a spot in the 2000 National Bandmasters Association’s First Biennial Young Composer Mentor Project, winner of the Claude T. Smith Memorial Composition Contest in 2001, and First Prize in the National Federation of Music Clubs 2001 Victor Herbert (ASCAP) Prize in Composition. For more information, you can visit his website at: http://kylekindred.com
Pianist Stephen W. Jones of Charleston SC began playing the piano at the age of seven and has since performed extensively as a solo and collaborative pianist regionally and nationally. He has been heard and seen on nationally broadcast radio and television programs including KUHF and KUHT. Mr. Jones has been a participant and prize winner in piano and concerto competitions, including the recipient of the Ruth Burr Award in the 2007 Nina Wideman International Piano Competition. He also made his orchestral debut with Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue in the summer of 2009 under the baton of Maestro Hector Aguero. Aside from solo piano, Mr. Jones collaborates extensively, specializing in vocal music and opera. He has played for numerous recitals, master classes, and recordings for singers in all voice parts. Recently, Mr. Jones was an assistant opera coach and staff accompanist for La Fabbrica, an opera festival held in Tuscany, Italy, where he collaborated with renowned American composer, Ricky Ian Gordon. He recently finished his last season as the principle pianist for the Moores Opera Center, where his performances ranged from La Finta Giardineira and A Midsummer Night's Dream to Saint of BleekerStreet. He continues to work with the Moores Opera Center and will be performing in Mozart's Lucia Silla and Grapes of Wrath this season. Mr. Jones played for Divergence Vocal Theater's inaugural season in The Ottavia Project and The 10th Muse.
Eva De La Cruz has been active in the Houston theatre scene for several years in a variety of capacities. She was previously the Assistant General Manager for the annual Houston Shakespeare Festival, where she had held the title of Associate Producer for HSF and the Children’s Theatre Festival for four years. She has also served as the Managing Director of the newly-formed Classical Theatre Company, where she is still involved as an Administrative Associate. Last season, she worked as the Production Manager for the world premiere of The Gold, a new musical, at Miller Outdoor Theatre. Other arts administration credits include work with Arts With an Impact and Nova Arts Project. Eva received her BA in Theatre from the University of Houston, where she served as the Head of Publicity for 3 years, and as Assistant Production Manager for a year immediately following her graduation. Eva has been a member of Actors’ Equity Association since 2005, and has worked as a stage manager for over 35 local productions at theatres including: Stages Repertory Theatre, Main Street Theater, HITS Theatre, The Children’s Theatre Festival, Talento Bilingue de Houston, and the University of Houston. This season at HITS, she taught the first-ever technical theatre class, and assistant directed the teen production of Les Miserables. She is currently directing the Mainstage class production of Cats, as well as assistant directing and stage managing the Miller production of the same show.