American Stage

Musical theater is more than just singing and dancing; it's acting through a song. By using material from Broadway and movie musicals, your child will explore how to interpret a song and gain strong collaborative skills by working on group numbers. This class will culminate in a final sharing of their works in progress on the last day of the session.

Ryan's BIO:
Ryan Hill-Joustra is a singer, songwriter, actor, director, and teaching artist. She is a Berklee College of Music alum where she studied Contemporary Writing/Production and Vocal Performance. During her time at Berklee, she discovered a love for composing, arranging, and directing. She was heavily involved in the growing Musical Theater Performance and Writing Initiative at her alma mater. After college, Ryan spent time performing in various cities in Ohio before moving to Chicago where she attended classes at The Second City and began teaching private voice and musical theater classes. Since moving to St. Petersburg, she can be found teaching at American Stage (since 2019) and Creative Clay (since 2024). Ryan specializes in teaching musical theater and cabaret performances. She’s currently the music director/producing director and performer with sketch comedy group Dirty John’s.