Meet the Ordway Education: Online Teaching Artists!

Our Education team and roster of teaching artists are committed to delivering the best in Arts Education to your students!

Read on to learn a bit more about each teaching artist:

Rush Benson is an actor, dancer, teacher, musician, and choreographer originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 2013, Benson graduated from Gustavus Adolphus and received degrees in Theater and Dance. Most recently seen in Mamma Mia at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, past projects have taken him to venues such as the Guthrie, the Ordway, Park Square Theatre, Artistry, Cowles Center, Southwest Theater Company, The Red Eye, and across the globe. He also works as a dance teacher for the Guthrie’s Education Program, Cowles Center, Zenon Dance Company, and directs and choreographs for many schools in the Twin Cities area. His teaching style is focused on unlocking your own sense of internal rhythm and finding ways to be as expressive as humanly possible. Additionally, he is an avid fun lover and adventure enthusiast. Obligatory Social Media References (Instagram/twitter: @shutuprush)

Reese Britts ORDWAY: Ordway Cabaret: Gotta Dance!, Smokey Joe's Cafe and Mamma Mia!. Guthrie Theater: South Pacific. Jungle Theater: Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley. Artistry: A New Brain, Footloose. Lyric Arts: RENT, Young Frankenstein, Hairspray. Dangerous Productions: Spring Awakening. Training: BFA Musical Theatre, University of Minnesota Duluth. Upcoming: Artistry: Mame. "Let's Dance!"

Gabrielle Dominique A South Minneapolis native, she graduated from St. Olaf College in 2017, where she earned bachelor's degrees in Theatre & Dance. Since graduating, she has had the privilege of working as both a performing and teaching artist. When she isn't on stage, she spends her time working with the theater students of Spring Lake Park School District 16, Anoka Middle School for the Arts, and SOAR Regional Arts in St. Michael, MN as resident choreographer. She is also fortunate to have shared her work with several Twin Cities companies, including Ordway, Guthrie Theater, Minnesota Opera, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Children's Theatre Company, Wonderlust Productions, Theatre Latté Da, Artistry, Playwrights' Center, Flying Foot Forum, and Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater. She thanks her family and partner Patrick for their constant love and support. Enjoy - 5, 6, 7, 8!

Ivory Doublette has performed regionally with MainStreet Theatre in Rancho Cucamonga, CA; The Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, IL; and locally with Jungle Theater, Theater Latté Da, Penumbra Theatre, Ordway Center, Park Square Theatre, The Playwrights Center, History Comes to Life, Intermedia Arts, Children’s Theatre Company, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Old Log Theatre, Nautilus Music-Theater, Interact Theater and Illusion Theatre. Ivory is a Faculty member at MacPhail Center for Music. She also sings with her family’s Gospel Quartet, SeVy (Say-V) sevygospelquartet.com. Ivory has a Bachelors in Theatre Arts from the University Of Minnesota-Twin Cities. She is an AEA member

Will Dusek is humbled and excited to be making his Ordway debut! He has been involved in theatrical productions since he was in seventh grade at Nativity of Our Lord grade school, through high school at Cretin-Derham Hall, and now continuing into his education at Illinois Wesleyan University. Some of his past credits include Jesus ( Jesus Christ Superstar) ,Billy Lawlor ( 42nd Street), originating the role of Jack Hart ( Aces in a City of Gold by Travis Ulrich), and originating the role of Evan (Devil’s Advocate by Sam Hulsizer) . Will is currently a rising sophomore at Illinois Wesleyan and pursuing his BFA in Music Theatre. He sends all of his love and gratitude to his family, the CDH Theatre Department, his friends at home in Minnesota, and all of his friends and professors at IWU! @willdusek

Vanessa Gamble has worked with just about every major theater company in the Twin Cities, including the Ordway on a number of different shows, although her favorite Ordway show OBVIOUSLY was when she helped workshop a brand new musical with the one and only Dolly Parton. She also co-founded and co-produces 2 theater companies with her husband Jeremiah and she begat 3 kids who are all (seemingly) turning out to be pretty great humans. She teaches voice lessons and song writing to all ages, from ultra beginners to ultra professionals. Check out what she’s doing next at www.bucketbrigadetheater.com.

Renee Guittar ORDWAY: In The Heights, A Chorus Line. Chanhassen Dinner Theatres: Disney's Beauty & The Beast, Camelot, Grease, Newsies, Holiday Inn, Mamma Mia!. Guthrie: The Music Man. The Old Log Theater: The Wedding Singer. Collide Theatrical Dance Company: Lot of Livin’ To Do, The Belmont Hotel, Class of ‘85, Zoot Suit Riots, C.L.U., Dracula, Romeo & Juliet. The Magic of Jared Sherlock: National Tour. Teaching: Ashley Ballet Arts Academy, Cowles Center Teaching Artist. Training: Gustavus Adolphus College. Member of Actor’s Equity.

Chloe Hart graduated from Simley High School in 2019, where she was heavily involved in student council, was German Club President, played volleyball, and participated in the theatre and choir programs. Simley participated in the Spotlight Showcase every summer, and Chloe was a five time recipient of the highest ranking, Outstanding in a Leading Role. Some of their favorite roles include Amber Von Tussle (Hairspray), Cinderella (Into The Woods), Hope Harcourt (Anything Goes), Tin Man (Wizard of Oz), Sandy (Grease), Wednesday Addams (The Addams Family), and Tony (West Side Story). After auditioning, Chloe was chosen to be a Triple Threat finalist in 2018, and was a Triple Threat Winner in 2019! Chloe is so excited and thankful to be making her Ordway debut!

Paul Hill graduated from the University of MN - Twin Cities in 2000 with a Masters Degree in Percussion Performance, as a student of Fernando Meza. Since then he has become an active freelance percussionist and teacher in the Twin Cities, and Twin Ports areas. He is the former Principal Percussionist & Assistant Principal Timpanist of the Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra, as well as having played with the Minnesota Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, Winnipeg Symphony, and may local theaters including the Guthrie, Children's Theater, and Chanhassen Dinner Theater. Paul also plays drum set with various local big-bands, and a Radiohead Tribute band. Paul teaches at Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Olaf College, as well as privately. Paul has recorded with Michael Colgrass, and Gunther Schuller, and is currently starting up a custom drum, and mallet making business.

Andy Kust is an award-winning music director, vocal coach and pianist, currently serving as the Resident Music Director at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres. Previously, Andy was the Resident Music Director at the Duluth Playhouse, was on the musical theater faculty at the University of Minnesota Duluth and was a Teaching Associate for the Lyric Opera Theater at Arizona State University. Andy keeps a busy schedule as a coach and accompanist, with clients appearing on Broadway and across the country. He is a regular keyboard substitute for national tours and is the Associate Music Director for the Hennepin Theatre Trust Spotlight Program. Training: B.A. from Luther College and M.M. from Arizona State University. andykustmusic.com

Nickie Kromminga Hill is a musical theatre performer and educator with numerous credits under her belt. Locally she has performed in 18 shows at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, and also appeared at the Ordway, Troupe America, and Paul Bunyan Playhouse. Additionally, Nickie is on the Musical-Theatre faculty at Shell Lake Arts Center in Wisconsin, has choreographed at over 20 schools in the metro area and holds a K-12 Theatre and Dance License. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of The Spread Sunshine Gang, a non-profit with the mission to spread goodness, kindness, and generosity to all! Nickie recently published her first book, “Things I’m Thinking About: a daughter’s thoughts on the loss of her mom.” available now on Amazon. 

Andrea Mislan: Hailing from Winnipeg, Canada, Andrea graduated with distinction from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Professional Division and performed with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet company for several years. She has performed around the Twin Cities in the Ordway’s Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Guthrie’s Guys and Dolls, West Side Story, Cyrano de Bergerac, and Chanhassen Dinner Theater’s Holiday Inn. She has also performed title roles and choreographed for several Collide Theatrical productions. Other national credits include: Cirque du Soleil’s Viva Elvis, Chicago International tour, Celine Dion’s A New Day, Cape Fear Regional Theater/Pioneer Theater: White Christmas, Peter Pan. Royal Winnipeg Ballet: Giselle, Swan Lake, La Bayadère, Nutcracker, Serenade, Don Quixote. Television appearances: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Oprah, Ellen, World Music Awards, The Toy Castle. Locally, Andrea has taught at Ballet Co Laboratory, Collide Theatrical, St Paul Ballet, the Guthrie Theater, and numerous master classes in ballet, contemporary, jazz, musical theater, and Fosse style internationally. Her keen and unique teaching style focuses on performance quality and technique through breath, with full body awareness to enhance performance skills of all levels.

Britta Ollmann is a Minneapolis-based performer, teaching artist and coach. She has appeared on Broadway, on stages across the country (The Old Globe, Asolo Repertory Theatre, freeFall Theatre), and with some of Minnesota's most beloved theatre companies (Ordway, Theater Latte Da, Guthrie, Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, Children's Theatre Company). Britta holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and a Master's degree in teaching from Hamline University. She resides in NE Minneapolis with her husband, photographer and actor, Lucas Wells, their sweet son, Ronan, and their little dog, Cooper.

Grace Renstrom is honored to make her Ordway debut! She is currently a freshman at North Central University and is an Intercultural Studies Major! Grace has a special place in her heart for theatre! It has given her a sense of purpose when she thought she had none. Some of her favorite credits include: The Witch (Into the Woods),Lead Dynamite(Hairspray), Teen Angel (Grease), and Elmer (Newsies). She would love to thank Ashland Productions, SpotlightEducation, Kim kokx, and Kelli Foster Warder for growing and teaching her to be the best she can be! 

Emma Schuld is thrilled to be making her Ordway debut! She is a recent graduate of Cretin-Derham Hall high school, where she performed in her first show at age 9. She has continued to perform ever since, some of her favorite credits include: Linda Mason (Holiday Inn), Judas (Jesus Christ Superstar), Yonah (Children of Eden), and Anytime Annie (42nd Street). Next fall, Emma will begin her first year at the University of Minnesota-Guthrie BFA Actor Training Program. She sends a heartfelt thank you to her family and friends, Spotlight Education, and the CDH Theater Department for years of support and guidance. @emmahschuld

C Ryan Shipley THEATRE: Ordway: Ordway Cabaret: Gotta Dance! Artistry: A New Brain (Roger Delli-Bovi), She Loves Me (Sipos), Mary Poppins (Bert), Candide, The Music Man (Olin Britt), The Drowsy Chaperone (Robert Martin), La Cage aux Folles (Phaedra), Singin’ in the Rain (Don Lockwood), On the Town (Gabey), 42nd Street (Billy Lawlor), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Jimmy). Upcoming: Mame (Beauregard). Old Log Theatre: Holidays with Bing (Bing Crosby), Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical (The Doctor). Park Square Theatre/Girl Friday Productions: Idiot’s Delight (Italian Officer/Choreographer). Cedar Summerstock Theatre: You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (as Director), Pirates of Penzance, Annie, Oklahoma!, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, 9 to 5 (as Choreographer). Paul Bunyan Playhouse: Annie (Rooster). Sabes JCC: Biloxi Blues (Don Carney). Minneapolis Musical Theatre: Zanna, Don’t! (Tank), The Robber Bridegroom (Goat). TRAINING: B.A. in Theatre, St. Olaf College. TEACHING ARTIST: Guthrie Theater, Stages Theatre Company, Steppingstone Theatre Company, Artistry, Project SUCCESS, Hennepin Theatre Trust.

Jack Strub: I am currently finishing up my junior year at Simpson College in Indianola Iowa with a Music and Theatre Arts double major and a minor in Arts Management. Some of my favorite onstage credits include: Dr. Thomas Stockmann (An Enemy of the People), Edward Bloom (Big Fish), Shrek (Shrek the Musical), Modern Major General (The Pirates of Penzance), and Cornelius Hackl (Hello Dolly). Last summer I was the director-in-residence with a community theatre in Leon, IA for their production of Into the Woods where I was the director, music director, and set & projections designer of the show. This past semester I was the set designer for Simpson College's production of Doubt: A Parable, and this summer I will be a company member for St. Croix Festival Theatre's 30th season. 

Allyson Tolbert has toured nationally in productions of Mel Brooks’ The Producers, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and Catch Me If You Can. She has also appeared with Portland Center Stage, the Guthrie Theater, Westchester Broadway Theatre, and Old Log Theatre.

Tony Vierling: THEATER – Ordway: Singin’ in the Rain, A Christmas Story. Chanhassen Dinner Theatres: Mamma Mia!, Holiday Inn, Newsies, Grease, Cats, Crazy For You, Oklahoma!, Anything Goes, Brigadoon, 42^nd Street, Camelot. Guthrie: Midsummer Night’s Dream, My Fair Lady, Roman Holiday, 1776, She Loves Me, Pirates of Penzance, Merrily We Roll Along, Babes in Arms. Papermill Playhouse: Little House on the Prairie. MN Actor’s Theater: How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying. TUTS-Houston: White Christmas. Fitzgerald: Wild Party. Pantages Theater: Hair. NATIONAL – We the People (assistant choreographer), Little House on the Prairie (ensemble/dance captain), A Chorus Line. OPERA – MN Opera: Rusalka, Street Scene, Showboat, Mikado. New Orleans Opera: Romeo and Juliet.

Introducing Ordway Education: Online!

Photo by: Laura Alpizar

Dear Educators, Parents and Friends of Ordway Education,

We are committed to supporting our community, and want to continue this support even in the midst of unprecedented changes to your school year. 

To that end, the Ordway Education team is so excited to announce the launch of Ordway Education: Online, a place for teachers, students and caregivers of all ages to continue to experience arts education.

Ordway teaching artists will create lessons, activities and video tutorials focused on all things Broadway, musical theater and the performing arts!

If you are:

 - a teacher preparing online content for students,

 - a parent searching for arts education tools and lessons,

 - someone loves musical theater and needs a dose of joy in this stressful time,

This is a tool for meant for you!

You can find us on YouTube and on the Ordway's website.

Make sure to subscribe to this blog for written lesson plans, content and encouragement.

Stay in touch with us through social media using the hashtag #OrdwaySchooled.

We can't wait to see you back at the Ordway but in the meantime, let's make some beautiful art, together!

Your Partners in Education, 

Kelli, Chloe and Sarah


Major support for Arts Education at the Ordway has been provided by Fred C. and Katherine B. Andersen Foundation.

Playwright in the Windy City: Interview with Caity-Shea Violette

Ordway Education is taking the opportunity to feature professionals in the world of theater, as well as check in with Ordway Education alum. This month we chat with Chicago based playwright and actor Caity-Shae Violette.

Photo Credit: Tom Vin

In one sentence, what is your job description, and why do you love it?
I am a playwright, actor, and the manager of marketing and communications for a non-profit serving people living with mental illness; I love that these roles allow me to continuously learn how to share captivating stories that ignite compassion and inspire others to engage in larger social conversations.

How are you connected to the Ordway? 
In 2009, I was an education and community outreach intern to help organize and execute the Flint Hills International Children’s Festival for the spring semester of my senior year of high school at the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists (SPCPA).

My time as an intern at the Ordway allowed me to practice professional communication and collaboration while being able to seek guidance from a mentor and network with theatre professionals in the arts administrative field. This was absolutely invaluable to both my college experience and my post-grad career as it gave my relatively blank resume a variety of administrative, organizational, and collaborative skills, backed by the credibility of one of the leading artistic homes in Minnesota.

What is your favorite memory of your time at the Ordway?
I loved seeing the variety of performances that took place at the Flint Hills International Children’s Festival. My personal favorite festival performance was the Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia’s presentation of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Eric Carle Favourites.


When did you decide to become a professional actor/playwright?

I discovered my love for playwriting in my junior year at SPCPA, when I was selected to participate in a new play intensive program created in partnership with the Playwrights’ Center to complete during our J-Term session. J-Term was a few week session where SPCPA students took a break from academic classes to only take artistic classes. Around the same time I was cast in my first regional theatre production at the Children’s Theatre Company in a show with a similar new work atmosphere called Fashion 47 co-written by Randy Weiner and Diane Paulus. I think being able to see the new play development process from both the writer and performer perspective is what solidified my decision to pursue storytelling as profession.

Photo Credit: Tony Adams

What is the most unexpected place your career has taken you?
The theatre department at the University of Minnesota, Duluth (where I earned my BFA in Theatre with an emphasis in acting) participated in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, a program that begins with nine regional festivals of thousands of undergraduate and graduate theatre students from around the country and culminating into a national festival based on the results of the previous regional festivals. Festival attendees are students who have been nominated for a particular artistic achievement and gather to network with professionals, take workshops, and celebrate each other’s work.

After attending both the regional and the national festival in Washington D.C. when my full-length play Target Behavior received the National Partners of the American Theatre Playwriting Excellence award in 2012, I was fortunate enough to return once again to both the regional and national festivals in 2013, this time as both a playwright and actor. That year, my ten-minute play Disconnect was selected as one of four national finalists for the Kennedy Center Ten-Minute Play Competition and received a staged reading. Later that week in the festival, I had the tremendous honor of performing a section of my ten-minute play, Save The Date, on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center as an Irene Ryan Acting Competition Region 5 winner and National Finalist. That was definitely a wonderfully unexpected surprise to say the least.


What is the most rewarding part of writing a new play?

My favorite part of writing a new play is being able to share that story with people outside of the artistic community. I’m fortunate enough to be active in mental health advocacy and some communities of survivors of sexual and physical abuse in Chicago. As the majority of my work centers around silenced stories of gender-based violence and oppression, I am able to learn from and share this work with the phenomenal individuals in these communities.

What is the best piece of career advice you have received? Worst piece of advice?
Best piece of advice: People want to work with people who love what they do. If you’re nervous for an audition or interview, anchor yourself in the joy of being able to share what you love to do most with someone willing to be an audience, even for 60 seconds.

Worst advice: You can be a playwright or an actor, but you need to choose which you want to be great at. (Almost all of my best work as an has come out of things I’ve written for myself, if for nothing else than audition material).

If you won the lottery, and never had to work another day in your life, what is the first thing you would do?

Pay off all bills for my mom, my best friends, and myself, then start finding organizations I want to support and travel around to be involved with them.

Who is your mentor, and how have they shaped you?

The biggest mentor in my career as a playwright was absolutely Tom Isbell at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. In addition to being an accomplished actor, playwright, and author, he was also my acting professor, academic advisor, the supervisor of four undergraduate research opportunity grants I received to write new plays, the director of plays in which I acted, as well as the director of my first full-length production. After reading the first play I had ever written, a quirky, messy one-act play, he offered to teach me, mentor me and encourage me to apply for various grants and Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival submissions. As my school didn’t have a playwriting program beyond an intro class taught every other spring semester, Tom spent countless hours reading over 20 drafts of my full-length and several drafts of multiple shorter plays, then meeting with me to discuss overall feedback and go page-by-page to discuss individual moments, dialogue, and stage directions.

Photo Credit: Tony Adams

While he insists on never taking credit for the accomplishments of his many fortunate students, I truly cannot imagine any part of my creative career without his unwavering support. I’ve learned to be confident in owning the work I’ve put into earning opportunities I’ve received because the ability to create is the only constant in an artistic career, recognition is most certainly not. This confidence, however, and everything I have achieved thus far in my career is the direct result of Tom’s guidance. My career as a writer truly began when he believed it was worth fostering.

Tom’s new book, “The Capture”, comes out January 19th, 2016! Support an educator, a mentor, a sensational writer, and read the sequel in this thrilling trilogy while you do it.