Performers

Drew Redington

Performer

is a St. Louis native and is a current working Actor in NYC. Broadway Credits: Mean Girls (Damian Understudy), The Prom, Holiday Inn. Drew has been involved in a giant range of shows from traditional musicals to current pop rock hits. He also has been a part of the creative and developmental processes of current and upcoming Broadway shows as well. Training: Elon University. Drew is very well experienced in the everyday life as an actor and how to make the most out of a career. His goal is to help students understand their own individual self and how they can bring themselves to thrive in show business. Classes include audition technique, camera technique, college prep, pop-rock styles, general Q&As and is happy to tailor classes to students needs as well.

Gabi Stapula

Choreographer / Performer

is a performer, choreographer, educator, and forever student living in NYC. This summer she was the director/choreographer for The Muny Virtual Kids Troupe 2020. She recently performed in the reading of Wanderer that is heading to Papermill Playhouse’s 2021 season. She has been seen on stage at The Goodspeed Opera House, Theater Under the Stars, The Rev and Arena Stage (Washington DC). As a choreographer, she has worked as an associate for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live, Hermès Huereka Fashion week and events for the Robin Hood Foundation and Target. She has taught at schools, studios and theaters around the country and all over Zoom! Gabi is a proud member of AEA and the #MSAfam. She received her BFA in Musical Theatre from Pace University with a minor in Commercial Dance. www.gabistapula.com

Karilyn Ashley Surratt

Performer

is a New York City-based dancer, actor, educator, and writer with credits spanning from being the first Native American Radio City Rockette to choreographing for and co-starring on Fox’s Gotham. From comedy to drama and spectacular entertainment in between, she has toured nationally as a cast member in the Tony-nominated Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, been a featured dancer on Saturday Night Live, toured internationally as Consuela (u/s Anita, Rosalia) in Joey McKneely’s acclaimed West Side Story, and was a brand ambassador for The Rockettes. In print, she has been a cover model for Reader’s Digest and featured in campaigns for Farever Art of Los Angeles, CA, among others. Karilyn has also written for regional publications, blogs and social media as a cast member of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas national tour, Stages St. Louis, The Rockettes and as a student at Oklahoma City University.

Emphasizing storytelling through movement, character development, and emotional expression, Karilyn combines her professional performing experience and pedagogical training from her bachelor’s degree in Dance Performance from Oklahoma City University to develop age and level appropriate dance class curricula. She is committed to developing students’ technical mastery, artistry, confidence, and love and appreciation for the performing arts in a fun environment. From local studios to Radio City Music Hall, and from New York City to Taipei, she has enjoyed guest lecturing at her alma mater, teaching official Rockette Experience classes during her tenure on the famous line, conceiving an award-winning Black History Month program for Oklahoma City Public Schools, and, most belovedly, teaching for arts outreach collaborations and artist residency programs at Goodspeed Musicals, Stages St. Louis, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, and now The Muny U.

Karilyn’s career kicked off in St. Louis as a student dancer in Pelagie Green Wren’s locally renowned dance line, touring the metropolitan area, entertaining audiences, and preparing her to launch her professional career, while still a teenager, one unforgettable summer at The Muny. Forever grateful for the after-school dance classes in her school’s gym that introduced her to a love that turned into a career, Karilyn is excited to guide the next generation in the next steps of their artistic journey at The Muny U!

Richard Riaz Yoder

Performer

is an Astaire Award-winning Broadway veteran of five Tony-nominated and winning musicals. He is most known for being one of Four Porters in On the Twentieth Century starring Kristin Chenoweth, for which he was nominated for Best Male Dancer in a Broadway Show by the Astaire Awards. His Broadway credits include White Christmas, On the Twentieth Century, Shuffle Along, Hello, Dolly! and My Fair Lady. TV credits: Conrad on Mom (CBS), featured performer on The Late Late Show with James Corden staring Zac Efron, Zendaya and Hugh Jackman, featured performer for the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C.; and two Tony Awards telecasts. He can also be heard on the revival cast recordings of Hello, Dolly! and On the Twentieth Century. He has also worked as a master tap and jazz teacher around the country when not performing.

In addition to his credits, Richard has had the pleasure to work onstage with Julie Andrews, Billy Porter, Bette Midler, Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Bernadette Peters, David Hyde Pierce, Victor Garber, Laura Benanti, George C. Wolfe, Savion Glover, Peter Gallagher, Kristin Chenoweth, Adrienne Warren and Beanie Feldstein, to name a few.