Meet The Team

Dede established kidsActing in 1980, when she discovered her passion was working with children. Dede received her BSE in theatre education from the University of Kansas, ran a newspaper in Tahiti, worked in theatre in NYC, and got her master's degree in film from UT. She's worked with the Coen brothers on movie, television and commercial projects, and was awarded a gubernatorial appointment to the Texas Film Commission board. Dede has written, directed, and produced eight original musicals: The Velveteen Rabbit, Cyberella, Waking Sleeping Beauty, Monsters!, The Emperor’s New Shows, Goldie, Alyce in Wonderland, TX and Bugs, each with original songs created for the productions by many great Texas songwriters, including Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker, Marcia Ball, Ray Benson, Robert "Beto" Skiles, and all of The Flatlanders: Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, and Joe Ely.​ She has produced and directed over 100 productions, receiving numerous nominations and awards for her work. She was voted Best Stage Director by the Austin Chronicle.

A native Austinite, Tiffany graduated from Anderson High School and went on to study Interior Design and Architecture. She has worked as kidsActing's office manager since 2005 and managed our moves from our long-time location on Burnet, through a couple of temporary homes, until we found Center Stage Theatre. Tiffany is known as kidsActing's central nervous system, because she calmly keeps the administration running smoothly, corralling various artistic departments and personalities.  She is the ultimate "cat herder." She has a gift of organization and attention to detail, and keeps candies on her desk!

Jazz found her love of theatre at the age of 4 while participating in acting classes and productions in Los Angeles. When she moved to Austin she became a kidsActing student, participating in seven shows including two of our original productions, Bugs and Goldie, a Fish Story. Jazz began working in kidsActing in 2003 as Enrollment Director and added the role of Production Manager to her responsibilities in 2012. She is also an established stage manager with various companies in Austin, including Dirigo Group, Glass Half Full, and is a Company Stage Manager for the Rude Mechs. Children's theatre is her first love, and she is excited to bring her experience and knowledge to kidsActing and teach students about the technical aspects of theatre. 

Mary has been a theatre kid ever since she saw CATS at 5 years old. She started taking theatre classes when she was 11, and continued throughout high school, where she was the president of her ITS chapter. She majored in Generalist Theatre at Tarleton State University and loves every aspect of theatre!  She is an alum of the honorary theatre fraternity, Alpha Psi Omega. Some of her favorite roles have been Titania (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Earthworm (James and the Giant Peach), and Charlotte Hay (Moon Over Buffalo). When Mary is not at kidsActing, she likes to bake, read, cuddle with her three cats, and perform one-woman musicals in her car. She is also a company member of Cold Frame Collective, a local community theatre group.

Kel Sanders has held many positions at kidsActing including, but not limited to, teacher, box office manager, stage manager, light/sound board op, the list goes on. He is a graduate of St. Edward's University (class of 2011), where he majored in Theatre Arts with an emphasis in Performance and minored in English Writing and Rhetoric. He is also an actor, appearing in such shows as Alice in Wonderland, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Schadenfreude (Cold Frame Collective), Antigone (Oh Dragon Theatre), All My Sons (Palindrome Theatre), and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Mary Moody Northen Theatre) He has previously been a member of Palindrome Theatre and St. Edward's Transit Theatre Troupe. He loves comic books, Nintendo games, and his dog Grayson

Kenzie first stepped on stage at the age of 12, and hasn't left since. She completed her BA in theater at Keene State College. While acting was her specialization, she also studied comedy improv, technical theater, costume design, and set design. After graduating, she moved to Sydney, Australia where she continued to study theater and film at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. While in Sydney, she was also trained in the Meisner Technique. Afterward, she moved to New York City where she acted both on stage and screen. She continued her studies with several local New York acting coaches. In March of 2021, she relocated to Austin to continue acting. When not acting or teaching, she loves hiking, kayaking, and playing with her dog, Bondi.

Anthony Neuendorff has been involved in theatre for most of his life. As a former student here himself, Anthony found his love for theatre on the kidsActing stage and has been involved with the company since 2012. Wearing many different hats throughout the years, Anthony has found himself mainly stage managing and directing the many different productions put on during the school year, as well as teaching summer and break camps. When he is not teaching, Anthony is active in the Austin community theater scene, getting to take to the stage himself on occasion, or he is at home hanging out with his two adorable fur babies, Peach and Hermione. Anthony hopes to bring a compassionate, engaging, and approachable energy to the classroom and onto the stage to bring out the best in each and every student.

Mady Morneault began their journey at kidsActing as a student at only 5 years old. Mady thrived through summer camps and later became a proud member of the elite ensemble all throughout middle and highschool . Some of Mady's favorite roles include Roxie Hart (Chicago), Eponine (Les Mis), and Little Red (Into the Woods). With kidsActing as Mady's very first job at 14 years old, they've worked as a teaching artist, director, and choreographer for 10 wonderful years. Mady graduated with a degree in Theatre and Dance from UT Austin and has additional experience in professional event production. KidsActing has always been Mady's "home away from home", discovering their passion in both teaching and performance. Mady is proud to be a part of shaping the next generation of creatives through the powerful magic of theatre! Outside of kidsActing Mady loves to cuddle with their dog, Hercules, paint, and go bouldering. 

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kidsActing summer camps sparked Nate's love for theatre starting at age 5. Since then, he's explored just about every area of theatre, and especially loves lighting design, playwriting, and directing. He just completed his first year as a Theatre Education major at The University of Texas at Austin, and over the past year has been teaching weekly classes and helping many kiddos build confidence and creativity on stage. He is so excited to spend his first summer as a teacher, helping campers discover the same love of theatre that started his journey! 🎭✨

Hey I'm Bubba and I'm extremely excited for this summer! There's nothing I love more than singing, dancing, and acting. I love having fun and staying active around Austin. I've worked for Kids Acting for a year now and I am absoultely loving it!

This will be Ashley's 4th summer with kidsActing but she has been teaching acting for around 8 years. She started acting herself when she was 7 years old in a program similar to kidsActing and fell in love with it and continues to love it everyday. She is very excited for another amazing and fun summer.  

David has played with the national touring companies of The Who's Tommy, Once on This Island, and many others. He began his professional career as music director in summer stock at the age of 16. Since then he has been involved with hundreds of musicals. Among his favorites are Most Happy Fella, Guys & Dolls, and Victor/Victoria.

Patrick Anthony is a freelance lighting and scenic designer who works regularly with Austin, Texas-based Filigree Theatre, The Vortex Repertory Company, Austin Shakespeare, and Capital T Theatre and internationally at the Dublin Fringe Festival. In addition to his work as a designer Patrick teaches stagecraft in the department of theatre at St Edward's University. Patrick is the recipient of the 2012, 2016 & 2021 B. Iden Payne award for Outstanding Lighting Design, as well as the 2016 & 2017 Austin Critics' Table Award for Lighting Design, and was recently nominated for two more B. Iden Payne Awards for Outstanding Scenic Design and for Outstanding Lighting Design for The Filigree Theatre’s production of Antigone. 

Lowell Bartholomee is a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts where he studied film. He has been a video designer for theater since 2002 and has provided designs for the Rude Mechs, the Dirigo group, Red Then Productions, Salvage Vanguard Theatre, Breaking String, Austin Playhouse, and several other companies. Lowell's designs have been awarded the Austin Theater Critics Table and B. Iden Payne Award. He is also an award-winning actor, director, and producer. Lowell teaches and mentors students in Sound Design at Southwestern University.

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Robert Fisher is a highly respected sound designer and audio professional in the Austin theater scene. He is best known for his long-standing work designing soundscapes and audio for productions at kidsActing, Austin Playhouse, Rude Mechs, and Hyde Park Theatre.