Staff

Heather Havel
Curriculum & Administrative Coordinator/Lead Teacher

Heather has been with Drama Kids of the Triad for five years now. She is super excited to meet new students, as well as welcome returning students, and watch them grow and progress throughout the year. Heather received her bachelor’s degree in theatre arts with a minor in dance from East Carolina University. She also has her Early Childhood Credentials for birth to age five. Heather has starred in Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Errors,” was assistant director for Disney’s “Aristocrats Kids” and “The Wizard of Oz,” and was director for an adaption of “Snow Queen” for the local community theater group, POPs, in Okinawa, Japan. Her love for teaching began when her now 4th and 7th graders were born. She has also been a substitute teacher overseas and for Guilford County, but she truly loves sharing the world with students through the lens of drama!

Karen Hincher
Lead Teacher

Karen Hincher is a Kernersville native who is excited about her 4th year of teaching with Drama Kids! She graduated from Brevard College in 2015 with her degree in Theatre Studies and loves using her education to teach kids how to love theatre! When she’s not teaching, she’s also working as a stage manager and director with local community theatre. In her free time, she loves to play volleyball, play board games, listen to music, and hang out with her awesome husband and their herd of cats!

Kimberly Hume
Substitute Teacher

Kimberly has been a Lead Teacher with Drama Kids since 2010. She enjoys helping students find something to love about themselves, focus on their own unique potential, and reach beyond what they imagine possible. Kimberly is currently working on a certificate course in American Literature and Culture from Harvard as well as her level 3 certification in American Sign Language. She is a Veteran 20+ year Homeschool Educator and began acting at age 7. Recently, she has appeared in multiple on screen features and background roles in several major motion pictures. In her spare time, Kimberly loves to train and hike with her four dogs, read, sew (she is our resident Drama Kids Costume Designer/Seamstress), write, act and bake.

Mariana Silva Posada
Lead Teacher

This is Mariana’s third year as a Drama Kids Lead Teacher. She was born in Columbia, South America. She attended Interlochen Arts Academy and she currently studies theater and education at Guilford College. Mariana has performed in various productions, including musical theater, since the age of 10. Her most recent performance was in the show, “Standing on Germany” that she performed at the Scotland Fringe Festival and the Scotland International College Theater Festival. Mariana is so excited to be a part of Drama Kids of the Triad!

Elyse Rodriguez
Lead Teacher

Elyse has been a teacher for Drama Kids for four years. She recently graduated with a Masters in Speech-Language Pathology from UNCG and works as a pediatric SLP. Elyse also holds a BFA in acting from Elon University and loves combining her passions of acting and speech in her Drama Kids classroom. She is a proud Ravenclaw who enjoys spending time with her son and two dogs.

Matthew Sara
Lead Teacher

Matthew is a UNCG graduate with a BA in Acting. He has been acting for fourteen years combining his professional and community experience. He has appeared in numerous films to include the short film “ZX-12,” which went on to be featured in the Cannes Film Festival in 2015. Other shows include: “Company,” “Twelfth Night,” “Macbeth,” “Seussical,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and “West Side Story.” This is Matt’s fourth year teaching for Drama Kids of the Triad and he is enjoying every minute of it and wouldn’t trade it for the world!

Judy Thompson
Teacher Mentor

Judy has been a Lead Teacher with Drama Kids of the Triad for over 7 years. She now supports the rest of the teaching staff by serving as our Drama Kids Teaching Mentor. She is originally from Germanton, North Carolina and has been acting since high school. Judy received her Bachelor’s Degree in Math and Physical Education from Guilford College. She taught math in the public school system for many years and then entered the corporate world to work for CPA firms, finally retiring from PAYCHEX, Inc. In her spare time, Judy is involved in community theatre and has performed with the Carolina Skyline Players. However, her most important role to date is playing “Grandmother” to her two grandsons, ages 9 and 15. She is excited to be a part of our Drama Kids family and has a true desire to make a lasting difference in the lives of her students.

Caitlin Wood
Media & Administrative Assistant/Lead Teacher

Caitlin is thrilled to return for her fifth year as a Lead Teacher at Drama Kids of the Triad. Originally from Delaware, Caitlin relocated to Greensboro after receiving her bachelor’s degree in drama from UNCG in 2015. She has over 10 years of experience in the performing arts and every week she combines her love of the theater and her love of youngsters to create one high-energy classroom full of movement, music and laughter.

Daphney Cochran
Lead Teacher

Daphney Cochran has been very blessed to be a Teacher with Drama Kids for six years!! She graduated from Forsyth Tech in 1998 with a Child Development Credentials 1 and 2 degree. She also completed Empire Beauty School in 2016 with a degree in Cosmetology!! She hosts parties and designs nails!! She loves every precious moment with her daughter and family, as well as her church family!!

Allison Wilson
Lead Teacher

Allison is originally from Durham and is here pursuing her BA in Theatre with a minor in Arts Administration from UNCG. She loves DIY projects, singing, dancing, swimming and eating when not busy with the theater. She has previously worked with the Community Theatre of Greensboro but is very excited to be back teaching for her fourth year with Drama Kids. Allison loves this opportunity to share her excitement for drama with other young minds!

Gwen Poole
Lead Teacher

Gwendolyn Poole serves as Director of the Liturgical Arts Ministry at Saint Matthews United Methodist Church in Greensboro where she writes and directs for the FirstFruits Drama Ministry and coordinates the DayStar Liturgical Dance Ministry. As a playwright with degrees in sociology and theatre, Gwen enjoys writing pieces that touch the hearts of the audience. One of her greatest accomplishments came when she was commissioned to write a historical drama for a theatre company in Kentucky. Her plays have also been produced by the City Arts Drama of Greensboro, Plaid Players of Burlington, NC and several area churches. For many years, Gwen has had the pleasure of teaching theatre basics to young students and watching them blossom on stage. She is excited to join the teaching staff of Drama Kids for her second year.

Nic Kursonis
Lead Teacher

This is Nic’s second year with Drama Kids. He’s a Kernersville native but recently graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University with a degree in Media Communication. The past four years he was part of a sketch comedy group called Friday Night Live. Now that he’s back home he’s working on writing his first TV show while also pursuing a career in acting. His life was changed when his theatre teacher invested in him and he hopes to pay it forward.

Caitlin Holland
Lead Teacher

Caitlin’s love for theatre started at the age of 4 as a rat in the Pied Piper. Since then she has performed with several community theatres. She also has a strong background in various areas of production to include: stage management, script writing, and directing. Outside of the theatre world, she is active in several ministries at church such as: orchestra, handbells, and youth ministry. She is thrilled to be joining Drama Kids for a third year.

Shanice Goode
Lead Teacher

Shanice Goode is a North Carolina native originally from Forest City, NC. She currently resides in Greensboro, NC where she graduated in 2014 from the University of North Carolina – Greensboro with a BA in Theatre, concentration Acting and a minor in Dance and African American Studies. Shanice has been seen in multiple performances around the Triad including Peppercorn Theatre’s children’s production of “Stoo’s Famous Martian American Gumbo” in 2019. Her hobbies include singing, writing poetry, and watching movies. She is excited to teach for Drama Kids to boost self esteem and confidence in children through acting. Her favorite quote is, “Still I rise” -Maya Angelou.

Tabatha Eaton
Lead Teacher

Tabatha believes that, “All the world’s a stage and everyone is the leading character in their own story.” She is thrilled to get to play a small role in the “drama” of each child that she teaches through Drama Kids. This is her first year being a teaching artist for Drama Kids and 4th year teaching her own kids while also tutoring for her home school community. She loves children, adores theatre and all things art based, and counts it an honor to work with such a fantastic company/family whose desire is to help children grow in confidence and virtue.

Jacqueline Church
Lead Teacher

Jacqueline has been involved in theater since 2014 and has loved every minute of it. She graduated from Walkertown High School in 2018 and is currently attending Forsyth Technical Community College to earn her theater education degree. She is engaged to her childhood sweetheart and they are getting married in July of 2020. She is a huge Harry Potter and Marvel fan and her favorite holiday is Halloween because of the costumes of course! Jacqueline looks forward to a phenomenal year of teaching!

Emma Chaiken
Lead Teacher

Emma is a student at Guilford College and originally from Davidson, NC. She is pursuing her degree in Psychology with a minor in Theatre. She has previously been a gymnastics coach and loves working with children! This is her first year teaching with Drama Kids.

Tatyana Samone
Assistant Teacher

Tatyana Samone is a southern girl from Winston-Salem, NC. She dabbled in the acting community as a young kid, and after earning a scholarship, she moved to New York City at the age of nineteen to pursue acting at “The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts”. Her TV debut was on the hit investigative documentary series “Homicide Hunters” as Sheryl. Following her move to California, she has been participating in developmental projects both commercial and theatrical including “Valley Slice”, and “Lupus LA PSA”. Now that she’s back in her hometown, she’s so excited to be sharing her gift with the kids at Drama Kids Of The Triad!

Chelsea Bell
Assistant Teacher

This is Chelsea’s first year teaching with Drama Kids of the Triad. She is pursuing a degree in Psychology from GTCC with plans to become an elementary teacher. She’s excited to begin working with children now!

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.