HISTORY, ETC.
OUR HISTORY:
Broadway On Tour was founded in 1989 by Daniel Halkyard with the goal of providing a professional environment for children and young adults to learn theater arts and performance. The theater has been in continuous operation ever since at various locations around Orange County and, has continued to improve the quality of instruction and performance every year. We have a volunteer board of directors to handle show production and administration. Our artistic staff for each show are hired as contractors, there is no permanent overhead. We properly license all shows we perform and have a long term relationship with our performance venue.
OUR MISSION:
We strive to provide Orange County and the surrounding area with affordable live theatre for young actors and families to enjoy by giving aspiring performers a safe place to learn and explore the arts while receiving the highest quality theatre training and being a part of an experience that mirrors our community through diversity, inclusion, fairness, and opportunity.
OUR DIVERSITY POLICY:
Reflecting our World through Diversity
Broadway on Tour (BOT) is committed to creating a safe space free of to foster the growth and creativity of Orange County and surrounding area youth in a theatrical environment. We believe that every person deserves to be treated with respect, equality, and love regardless of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, beliefs, or gender. Our goal is to celebrate the diversity of our world through the creation of art, and to also reflect these values within our organization. BOT strives for our stages, board, and audience to mirror the wonderfully diverse community of Orange County. We advocate the “free to be Me” culture, so that BOT can truly be a safe space for all.
We commit to:
• Inspire community members to audition for our shows, volunteer, or join our board and creative team in order to tell stories through theater that reflect our world.
• Create a space where our performers, volunteers, patrons, board, and creative teams hold one another up with love, kindness, in hope that all generations that come after will see one another as equals regardless of race, ability, identity, or religious affiliation.
• Promote diversity within our board, performers, creative teams, production teams, and audiences, to create opportunities which advance BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth, whether backstage or onstage.
• Foster a creative environment through diversity to ensure fairness, justice, and inclusivity in our policies and procedures.
Our efforts to promote diversity, inclusion, and equity include:
• Discounted community rates and supplied select community groups with complimentary seats to each of our productions.
• Open captioning at every performance to ensure that our deaf and hard of hearing audience members can access shows.
• Sensory friendly adjustments to accommodate neurodiverse theatre patrons.
• Open casting for all roles regardless of race, color, gender, or socio-economic status.
• Casting of youth performers to include those who identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) or LGBTQ+
• Our board is open to include those who identify as women, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) or LGBTQ+. Our current board is 90% female and includes members of the Asian and LGBTQ+ community.
CREATIVE TEAM
Creative teams vary from show to show, but we always use theater professionals from the Orange County area. Here's a look at some of our recent directors, musical directors, and choreographers:
JOHN BLAYLOCK
Director, Musical Director, Resident Writer
John holds an MFA from the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He is currently a resident writer and literary manager for Broadway On Tour. Together with BOT, he has workshopped ten new musical theatre pieces over the past twenty years, all with the help of young Orange County actors and their families, and he received the National Youth Arts Outstanding Director award for his direction of BOT's 2019 production of Sweeny Todd. His writing has been produced across the country, and in 2015 he worked as William Finn’s assistant at New York City Center for Encores! Off-Center’s production of A New Brain. John also musically directs for McCoy Rigby Arts, teaches creative writing at Chapman University and California School of the Arts – San Gabriel Valley, and is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild.
CRYSTAL DANCER
Choreographer
As a proud alumnus of Broadway on Tour, Crystal is excited to make her
return to BOT! She has been immersed in the performing arts, including dance, roller skating, and musical theater, in Orange County since childhood. For 15 years, she showcased her talents along the streets of the Disneyland Resort. Crystal has also performed at Tokyo Disney Resort as a Roller-Skating Pixie and starred in her own 1950s Roller Skating Swing Dance show at Universal Studios Japan. Her choreography experience includes choreography work for Knotts Berry Farm, OCSA MT, YSL, and MTW Workshops. Currently, she serves as the Theatre Arts Specialist and a Teacher at Stagelight Performing Arts in Brea. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, baking with her children, and spending time with her menagerie of animals.
SARAH GRANDPRÉ
Musical Director
Sarah earned her B.A. in Vocal Performance and Music Education and has over fifteen years of teaching and directing experience in Southern California. She is the founder and director of Voices of Hope Children’s Choir; under her leadership the choir earned the coveted “Golden Buzzer” and the title of semi-finalists on season 13 of NBC’s America’s Got Talent. The choir most recently competed on America’s Got Talent: All-Stars. Sarah and her choir had the privilege of performing with Josh Groban, Pentatonix and Tokio Myers in televised appearances on NBC’s Red Nose Day, America’s Got Talent Champions and ABC’s WEDay. She has served as a guest music and choral director in productions with CSU Fullerton, Chapman University, McCoy Rigby Entertainment, 3DTheatricals, Vanguard University and Broadway on Tour Youth Theatre including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Dogfight, Spring Awakening, The SpongeBob Musical, Zanna, Don’t!, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, The Gift of the Magi, and Broadway Lights the Holidays. Sarah is an accomplished soloist, with career highlights including: Brahms’ Requiem at Carnegie Hall, Beethoven’s Mass in C Major at Royce Hall and performing internationally with Hour of Power, Live! Sarah teaches voice and musical theatre technique at CSU, Fullerton in addition to maintaining a successful private studio in Orange County. @sarahgrandpre / sarahgrandpre.com
MICHELLE HERNANDEZ
Musical Director
Michelle discovered BOT while playing soccer in a shared venue way back in 1996. She saw a sign that said “Auditions” and said, “Yes thank you!” She has been performing ever since and is grateful for this project that brings her back to where it all began! A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and CAP21, Michelle coaches privately full time (OC ProVoice) in addition to performing and vocal directing. Past vocal directing: McCoy Rigby Arts (Joseph… Dreamcoat, Godspell), OCCT (High School Musical, Big Fish), and Orange County Community Theatre (In the Heights virtual production). She has previously taught at OCSA IA, The Music Hall, OC Hit, and others. Michelle recently performed the role originated by Daphne Rubin-Vega in the Central Coast premiere of the musical Miss You Like Hell (Beatriz). Other acting credits include Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Yitzhak), Elegies for Angels Punks and Raging Queens (Angela), Big Band Beat at Tokyo Disney Sea (vocalist), and In the Heights virtual production (Daniela). Love Like Aly
@ocprovoice | www.ocprovoice.com
AMANDA MURPHY
Choreographer
Amanda developed a love for Musical Theater choreography as a high school student. Over 100 productions later, Amanda is still choreographing musicals and still loving it! She has choreographed for many local theaters including Orange County Children’s Theater, The Maverick Theater, The Attic Theater, The Huntington Beach Playhouse, the La Habra Depot Theater, and many high schools – but Amanda has been the go-to choreographer for BOT since 1998. Some of her favorite credits include: Shrek the Musical, Aladdin, Seussical the Musical, All Shook up!, Joseph.. Dreamcoat, High School Musical, and Peter Pan.
SHARIE NITKIN
Director, Choreographer
Sharie has been a performer since childhood and a theater teacher for over twenty years. She is an Academy for the Performing Arts (APA) alumni, holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theater Arts from San Francisco State University, Teaching Credentials in PE, Dance, Music, English, and Theater, and a Masters Degree in Education from National University. She’s taught and directed/choreographed/vocally directed throughout California and NYC, with organizations such as: APA, Musical Theater Academy of Orange County, Art of Dance & Ballet Academy, the Leadership Program, Huston School of Music & Theater, the Children’s Civic Light Opera, Cabrillo Playhouse, and the OUSD VAPA, as well as previously heading up the performing arts department (theater/musical theater/choir) at El Rancho Charter School in Anaheim Hills. Sharie was previously the Theater Department director at McCoy Rigby Arts for six years, teaching and directing over 20 productions, and is now MRA's studio director. She still occasionally performs, but her heart is truly devoted to working with youth and young actors. Kisses to her hubby Hector and her daughter Frankie.
KARIE SEASOCK
Director, Choreographer
Karie's choreography can be seen in music videos, local theater companies, and high schools. She is the resident choreographer of the Pacifica High School choir program including an award-winning show choir. Karie can be seen performing around the Disneyland Resort, Knott's Berry Farm, and on the Disney Channel in "The Suite Life On Deck". One of her favorite accomplishments includes six years performing in the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. Karie teaches dance at the Orange County Song and Dance Company.
BOARD
LAURIE HOLDEN
Interim President, Artistic Director
Laurie has been with Broadway On Tour for over 25 years and believes very strongly in what live theater can bring to the community: for those acting on stage as well as for the audience. She has directed countless shows, and was nominated for National Youth Art's Best Director award for the 2019 BOT production of Be More Chill.
Broadway on Tour Executive Board
Laurie Holden - President
John Blaylock - Literary Manager
Kari LaFleur - Treasurer
Vicky Fish - Secretary
Members: Kathi Benjamin, Nicole Chang, Christina Grimes, Louise Lloyd, Amanda Murphy, Jessica Nordell, Karie Seasock, Heather Thompson
Kathi Benjamin
John Blaylock
Nicole Chang
Kari LaFleur
