Staff

Ms. Faith
Owner/Director

Faith is delighted to be the director and owner of this fantastic Drama Kids program. Faith is a proud mother to her son, Bradley – and “Drama Mama” to Hillsborough County students for the last 10 years. Faith holds a BA in Education from the University of North Florida where she graduated at the top of her class. She has been involved in theatre for more than 25 years as an actress, director, choreographer and musical director. A certified Florida teacher, she has fifteen years of teaching experience, working with children of all ages. When she found a program that was focused on building confidence, speaking and acting skills in children, Faith knew it was the ideal fusion of her two passions!

Ms. Dulcie
Production Manager

Dulcie is the resident theatre ninja on the FL DK team! You can find Ms. Dulcie teaching, training, stage managing, directing, and organizing all things related to the Drama Kids Take 2 Performance Academy. Dulcie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania. After several years working in the local Hillsborough County office, Dulcie now works in franchise support in the Drama Kids national office. She lives in Brandon with her husband, Dave, son Eli, and daughter, Madeleine. Also at home are dogs Roxie and Stella and cats Charlie, Metro, and Celia. She loves to watch students unleash their creativity and imagination in a safe, judgment-free space. Why yes, you can be a princess-robotsuperhero-cat!

Ms. Wendy
Manager of Business Development

Wendy studied drama and acting throughout her education, attending after-school drama classes as well as performing at her drama school through her acting agency. She also achieved her Bachelor of Arts at the University of Northampton, UK in Performance Studies. Wendy was born in a little village called Marple, which is near Manchester, England. She now resides in Tampa since 2016 with her Cruise Director Husband, and their beautiful seven-year-old daughter, and gorgeous one-year-old daughter.

One of Wendys’ greatest accomplishments was working in various British television soap operas. Wendy has also worked in a variety of jobs over the years, including – but not limited to – Radio marketing & promotions, Theatre Technician, Video & Film production for local corporations, and Cruise Ship Entertainment. Wendy is entering her third year with the family here at Drama Kids and is our Captain of Wow!

Wendy is very excited to be a part of Drama Kids for Hillsborough County, and would like to welcome you to the family! Let’s go! Woo!

Ms. Amanda
Creative Development Manager/Lead Drama Teacher

Amanda is an actor/social media guru/ the brain to pick if you ever need help being extra creative! She had a wonderful time training in London, England where she received her Master’s Degree in Acting. She loves working with Drama Kids because it is truly where kids can be themselves. During classes, she tries to give students the space to be open, free, and creative. Just as she teaches the students, they teach her new things each class too. You will never master acting (or teaching), you are constantly learning!

Ms. Susanne
Drama Teacher

Susanne White has been a proud member of the Drama Kids family for over 5 years. She has always enjoyed being dramatic and making people laugh. Ms. Susanne has 20 years of teaching experience in the classroom. She currently teaches VPK in the morning and drama in the afternoon. She holds a BA in theatre performance and BS in special education from the University of South Florida. Ms. Susanne lives in Seffner with her husband, Michael, daughter, Rory, and two dogs, Baby and Teddy. She loves having a front-row seat to the amazing talent and creativity of the Drama Kids students.

Mr. Stephen
Drama Teacher

Stephen Ray has been a professional performer in the Tampa Bay area for almost 20 years. A graduate from Florida School of the Arts, he has been involved in every facet of theater from performing to directing, as well as stage managing, tour managing, sound design, production management, and more! Currently, he serves as the production manager for St. Petersburg Shakespeare Festival and narrates audiobooks on the side. He believes that the arts are extremely important for developing minds as it builds creativity, confidence, teamwork, and character (as well as just being plain fun). Stephen is married to his wonderful wife, Brandy, and has 4 fantastic kids. Let’s go, Drama Kids!

Ms. Christie
Drama Teacher

Christie, a Florida native who recently returned to the sunshine, holds her Master of Fine Arts in Directing from the University of Portland and her degree in Acting from Florida State University. She worked professionally in the theatre at Artist Repertory Theatre and Profile Theatre before moving back to her childhood home. Christie lives with a human and pet family including two little (human) ones, two dogs, a cat, and a fish named “Ketchup.”

Ms. Kayla
Drama Teacher

Kayla is ecstatic to join the Drama Kids team! Kayla has been participating in theatre since she was in elementary school. As a lover of theatre and learning, Kayla has experience in on-stage acting, costume design, makeup design, set design, directing, improv, and even competitive theatre. Kayla’s favorite thing to do in the classroom is to bring out the creative energy students have and give them the chance to express it freely. When she is not enthusiastically running around classrooms, you can find her at home with her daughter Emery, who she describes as quite the drama queen already!

Kayla is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Elementary education and plans to continue bringing artistic and theatrical elements into every classroom she goes into.

Ms. Tracey
Music Director

Ms. Melissa
Drama Teacher & Choreographer

Melissa has studied dance throughout her education. She received her BA in Theater and Dance from the University of New Hampshire. After graduating college, she worked at Walt Disney World, performing in all 4 of the theme parks. She danced in both the daytime and nighttime parades in Magic Kingdom and was also the project coordinator for the opening cast of several parades and shows.

Melissa lives in Lutz with her husband Mike, son Michael, and daughter Miranda. She is excited to join Drama Kids and is looking forward to sharing her talents with the students.

Ms. Jessica
Drama Teacher

Jessica Gainer is a teacher at Florida Drama Kids of Hillsborough County. She provides imaginative learning experiences while
building self-esteem, confidence, creative thinking, speaking skills, and leadership skills within each of her students. She graduated from the University of South Florida with her Bachelor’s in Elementary Education in 2009. After graduation, she began her first passion of teaching with Hillsborough County Public Schools, and later her second passion for drama began to develop. She continues pursuing both passions as they are infused with Florida Drama Kids of Hillsborough County.

Join our team! Drama Kids is seeking dynamic and fun part-time teachers to meet our growing class schedule.  Please visit our Contact Us Page and submit your interest.