JENNI BARBER

Director/Choreographer, “Matilda”

Acting Instructor (Junior Academy and Pre-College Academy)

Broadway credits include Wicked (Glinda),  All My Sons (Lydia Lubey), Sunday in the Park with George (Celeste #2/ Elaine), The Nance (Joan), Annie (Grace Farrell), The Performers (Sundown LeMay) and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Olive Ostrovsky). New York and regional credits include the Signature Theatre revival of Lynn Nottage’s By The Way, Meet Vera Stark (Gloria Mitchell), the Huntington Theatre Company production of Sunday in the Park with George (Dot/Marie - Elliot Norton Award-winner), Private Lives (Hartford Stage), As You Like It & The Tempest (Sam Mendes' The Bridge Project), From Up Here (Manhattan Theatre Club), Paint Your Wagon and A New Brain (Encores!), Oklahoma! (The Muny), and Guys and Dolls (Music Theatre of Wichita). Television credits include “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” "Master of None," “Elementary,” “Smash,” “Law & Order: SVU” and the Emmy Award winning “The Electric Company.” Graduate of the University of Michigan Musical Theatre Department.

 

BREE PETERS

Director, “Newsies”

Bree Peters is a 5th generation local who spent her life in the Hawaii theatre scene, since she was a young girl. She has worked professionally as an actress, director, producer, and a puppet designer/creator, at many of Oahus theatres. She is most well known for her nearly 40 year relationship with Manoa Valley Theatre, where she served as the Associate Producer, and Artistic Director, before moving to Hawaii Island in 2017. She has produced hundreds of productions both for TV and stage. As an actress some of her favorite roles have been Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Constance, in the Constant Wife, Barbara in August Osage County. and one of the five women in Love, Loss, and What I Wore.  As a Director, her productions of Fun Home, and Peter and the StarCatcher have been highlights. She currently serves as the Artistic Director for Hawaii ArtSpace (HA), a theatrical non-profit she founded a few years back, that has recently moved from Hawaii Island, to Oahu. This is Bree's first project with Ohana Arts, and she is excited to work with Hawaii's talented youth again!

 

JASON DEBORD

Music Director, “Matilda”

Music Instructor (Junior Academy and Pre-College Academy)

Jason DeBord is Associate Professor of Musical Theatre at the world-renowned University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance.  He was the resident music supervisor for both the Broadway and national tour productions of Once – The Musical and cast the production of the show in Seoul, South Korea. His Broadway credits also include Shrek, Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, Rock of Ages, Legally Blonde, All Shook Up, and Rent among others. Other New York credits include Bare – The Musical, Fat Camp, Bat Boy – The Musical, Radio City Christmas Spectacular, The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, City Center Encores!, and countless developmental productions of new works. In the summer of 2020, he served as segment producer for the St. Louis Muny’s Online Variety Hour. He also created new dance, vocal and song arrangements for the revised version of Lerner & Loewe’s Paint Your Wagon, which was produced at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle, the Ordway Theatre in St Paul and the St. Louis Muny. DeBord played and conducted the national tours of A Chorus Line, Rent, and Urinetown – The Musical. His playing is featured prominently in the 2009 Sony Pictures Classics release Every Little Step, and he has played on multiple recordings for stage, film and television. Regionally, DeBord has worked on new musical theater productions at the Old Globe Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, A.C.T., the Alliance Theater, and the 5th Avenue Theater.

 

RACHEL MACKENZIE

Music Director, “Newsies”

Music Instructor, Musical Theatre Intensive Program

Rachel MacKenzie is a NYC based Singer, Music Director, Accompanist, Teaching Artist, and general enthusiast of all things arts. Rachel is a Professor at the University of Albany, works as an accompanist and coach at NYU Steinhardt, and serves as a Voice Teacher at NYC Vocal Studio. Her students have performed Off Broadway, in National Tours, Regional Theaters, and Karaoke Bars around the country. You can also find her singing backup for some of Broadway’s favorite voices, acting in shows, learning new instruments, and having jam sessions with her friends and family. Instagram: @ramackenzie, @racheldoesthesingthing

 

LEXIE FRARE

Choreographer, “Newsies”

Music Instructor (Junior Academy and Pre-College Academy)

Lexie Fennell Frare is thrilled to be joining the faculty at Ohana Arts. She holds a B.F.A in Musical Theater from Emerson College and a Masters in Educational Theater from the City College of New York. Lexie is the Resident Choreographer of the White Plains Performing Arts Center, an equity company located right outside of NYC. She has also choreographed for numerous other companies and new works festivals such as Westchester Broadway Theater, Depot Theater, Millbrook Playhouse, Midtown International Theater Festival and New York Theater Festival. Lexie was nominated for Best Choreographer for the Midtown International Theater Festival, as well as multiple Broadway World Awards for her work at WPPAC. Lexie has also been on the roster of teaching artists at Disney Theatrical Group, Carnegie Hall Education and the Lee Strasburg Institute. She works with students all over the country, prepping them for college auditions and interviews in the performing arts. She is currently a full time musical theater and drama teacher at Riverdale Country School in NY. 

 

LAURIE  RUBIN (Ohana Arts Co-Founder & Co-Artistic Director)

Private Voice Instructor

Acclaimed mezzo-soprano, Laurie Rubin performs in a variety of genres, including classical, pop, and musical theater. New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini praised her “compelling artistry,”“communicative power,” and the “earthy, rich, and poignant qualities” of her voice. Los Angeles Times critic Mark Swed described her as “a young mezzo-soprano whose voice is darkly complex and mysteriously soulful and who adds intense emphasis to every word of text.” Laurie has performed with the likes of conductor John Williams and opera star Frederica von Stade. She has given concerts at London’s Wigmore Hall, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center and the White House, among others, presenting programs that tell her unique story through music. Her album Do You Dream In Color? was release in 2012, the same year as her memoir of the same name, published by Seven Stories Press. The title track of the album, co-written by Laurie and composer Bruce Adolphe, premiered in its orchestral version in a performance she gave at the International Human Rights Conference in Lucerne, Switzerland and in a performance she gave with the LA Chamber Orchestra. Laurie is co-founder and Co-Artistic Director of Ohana Arts. In 2013, she embarked on an extensive North American concert and book tour.  She and composer/producer, Jenny Taira form the vocal-piano duo, PureLand. Their first single and music video, “The Girl I Am,” was released in March 2014.  She and Jenny have also written the Ohana Arts original musicals, "Peace On Your Wings" and "Class of 2020".

 

SARAH DANVERS

Group Manager, “Explorers/Believers”

Stage Manager, “Matilda”

This year will mark the 5th year that Sarah Danvers has been with Ohana Arts.  A theatre alumni of The University of Hawai'i, she currently works at the Honolulu Theatre For Youth as the stage manager and head editor for their television show The Hi-Way.  Sarah has also worked on shows for other local companies which include Hawaii Shakespeare Festival and Kumu Kahua Theatre.  Ohana Arts is always something that she looks forward to every year.

 

IZABELLA HACKWORTH

Group Manager, “Believers/Imaginers”

Aloha, my name is Izabella Hackworth but you can call me Hōkū. I am a graduated college student from Windward Community College with an Associates degree in Liberal Arts. I am also the character Calci Calcium who is friends with Hawaii's favorite Lani Moo of Meadow Gold Dairy. I am also apart of an ʻUkulele team called Team Hale. I love working at Ohana Arts as a Group Manager and helping the kids pursue their passion in the performing arts.

 

MACKENZIE O’COYNE

Group Manager,  “Visionaries”

Hi! My name is Mackenzie O'Coyne (aka Macko). I am 20 years old and a rising junior at USC, receiving a BFA in Musical Theatre. I am from Murrieta, California. I love soup. I am a Disney adult (embarrassing, I know). I am passionate about alkaline water. I love singing jazz. When I'm not doing theatre, I enjoy sewing, doing crafts, fashion, going to the beach, watching movies, going to over-priced coffee shops, and laughing with my amazing friends! After college, I will continue pursuing a career in the arts, either on Broadway, in film, TV, music, etc. ; Wherever the wind takes me. 

 

KENJI SANEHIRA

Stage Manager, “Newsies”

Kenji Sanehira is excited to return to Ohana Arts to stage manage the 2022 production of "Newsies"! He is currently a junior at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and is studying Computer Science. This will be his fourth year with Ohana Arts and his fourth time stage managing a production. His previous stage managing credits include "Our Time" (OA), "Art After Dark II" (CTAA), and "Once on This Island" (CTAA). He cannot wait to meet all of the new and returning faces of Ohana Arts and is ready for an amazing summer!

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LEXI SCARBROUGH

Group Manager, Dreamers

Acting Instructor, Musical Theatre Intensive Program

I am beyond thrilled to be returning for my 3rd summer with Ohana Arts as the Dreamers group manager! I graduated from Auburn University in Alabama with a BFA in Theatre Performance, and since then I have enjoyed growing my educational and artistic practice onstage and off. I currently live in San Antonio, Texas, where I recently directed a 6th-grade production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. I am so looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones this summer as we pursue arts, love, and peace together.