Bios

Overview | Bios

	Lori Sanders Director and teacher Lori Sanders has a B.A. and teaching certificate in Theater Education from Brigham Young University. Lori has been performing her entire life: acting, singing, dancing, cheerleading, and more. She has directed and/or choreographed 20+ shows in Utah Valley in the last ten years. Some of her credits include: Disney's Beauty and the Beast Jr., Once On This Island Jr., You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown; Wizard of Oz; Seussical; Music Man; Honk; School House Rock Live!; Annie; Peter Pan; and Great Expectations. Lori is one of the original founders of Center Stage, and has directed CSYP productions for the past 9 years. Previously, Lori was on staff with Pleasant Grove Youth Theater for six years and directed a variety of productions. Lori has taught in several local schools teaching musical theater skills to students after school. She also loves to perform and has most recently been seen on stage as Rose in Bye Bye Birdie. She is currently CSYP’s Performance Company director and acting teacher.

	Maria Hopkin Knowing that music would be a dominant aspect of her life since she was a little girl, Maria Hopkin has pursued, and is still pursuing every opportunity to hone her skills and talents. She has been involved in performance and theater since about age 9, some of her favorite roles being Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Glinda in The Wizard of Oz, and Chava in Fiddler on the Roof. She is a private voice and piano instructor, having studied both at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming, and Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Georgia. Maria has a passion for teaching kids and finds tremendous satisfaction in watching them grow and develop as musicians. Working in a musical theater setting has been a life-long dream, and she is overjoyed to be the Performance Company’s new musical director.

	Kristen Rae Bradley Kristen Bradley loves dancing and teaching, so teaching kids how to dance is her dream job! This is her 5th year with CSYP and she taught for several years prior at the Scera Youth Theater in Orem. She has been performing since she was 8, and her favorite part of any musical has always been the dancing. She started helping choreograph for school productions when she was 12, and hopes to continue for many years to come. The most recent productions she’s been seen in have been Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Kiss Me Kate, Peter Pan (Tiger Lily), and The Wizard of Oz (Glinda). Some of her favorite choreography projects have included Seussical jr., The Wizard of Oz, The Jungle Book, and Honk! Kristen is currently the Performance Company's choreographer and dance teacher. She is also the choreographer, dance teacher, and director of Broadway Bound.

	Corinne Mayberry Corinne Mayberry has been with Center Stage Youth Performers since the very beginning and has loved it. She has had many opportunities to be on the stage all over the community as well as back stage and behind the scenes ever since she could walk. Corinne graduated from Brigham Young University in Recreation Management and Youth Leadership in April 2004. She currently works as the Youth Education Coordinator for USU Extension 4-H and Thanksgiving Point in Lehi. Corinne is currently the Performance Company's assistant choreographer and works closely with our oldest group. She is also the producer of Broadway Bound.

	Megan Jensen Megan Jensen is a senior at Brigham Young University and is majoring in Business Management with an emphasis in marketing. She is so excited to start another year with Center Stage! This is Megan’s 3rd year at CSYP and she thinks that each year just gets better and better! She loves studying, but happily welcomes the break in her studies each week when she is able to come to Center Stage. Megan has been performing on stage since she was 10, but her love of singing and dancing came way before then. Growing up, it wasn’t uncommon that her 7 siblings would tell her to go “sing in the bathroom” because they were tired of all her singing! To anyone that has similar siblings, she says, “Come sing and dance with us, we won’t tell you to sing in the bathroom, I promise!” Megan spent her childhood days growing up in countries such as Japan, China, and Australia. The most recent productions she’s been seen in have been, Disco Infero, Thoroughly Modern Millie (Muzzy), Australia’s production of Savior of the World (Mary) and Pippin (Catherine). Megan is a workshop assistant for the performance company, working closely with the middle group. She has also been a summer workshop teacher.

	Carson Center Carson has loved all kinds of theater since she was a little girl. She started rounding up the neighborhood kids to direct in plays, and decided she never wanted to stop! She has a BA and teaching certificate in Theater Education from Brigham Young University, as well as a minor in music. Carson has taught creative drama workshops at different elementary schools in Utah Valley, as well as directing and being involved with various student productions at BYU. She loves to perform, and some of her favorite roles include Berthe in Pippin, Marcy in Almost Maine, Thaisa in Pericles, Prince of Tyre, and Narrator in Joseph. Carson is so excited to be a workshop assistant for the Performance Company, working more specifically with the oldest group, and as the director and musical director for Broadway Bound.

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