Instructors
TOPHER WARREN:: Musical Theatre Audition Techniques for Adults, Musical Theatre Audition Techniques, Improv for Teens High School, Academy, and Acting for Kids Home School
A native of Gulf Breeze, Florida, Topher has been performing on the Pensacola stage for over 20 years and is even an alumnus of PLT’s education program from the early 2000s. After graduating from Pensacola State College and the University of West Florida with a BFA in Musical Theatre, Topher toured with the Missoula Children’s Theatre, performing and teaching children all across the United States and Canada. Topher servers on the Artistic, Treehouse, and Studio 400 Committee.
He is also a member of the Florida Association for Theatre Educators (FATE) as well as the American Association of Community Theatre. Topher is thrilled to be back in Pensacola after working as a Director, Actor, and Teaching Artist in Atlanta, GA. Some of his favorite stage credits include The Gryphon (Alice in Wonderland), Charlie Brown (Snoopy the Musical), Mr. Hart (9-5), Lancelot (Spamelot), The Cowardly Lion (Wizard of Oz), Toad (A Year with Frog and Toad), Nick Bottom (Something Rotten), Mal Beineke (The Addams Family) and directing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Jr, the musical [Title of Show], the People’s Choice Award winner for Studio 400 in 2014, and the musical 13, the People's Choice Award winner for Treehouse in 2024.
Benjamin Haupt:: Musical Theatre for Kids and Musical Theatre Audition Techniques
Benjamin is a graduate of The University of Alabama’s Department of Theatre and Dance. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts in Theatre with a concentration in Musical Theatre, he moved to New York City and began working professionally. Regionally, Benjamin was seen as a dancer and u/s King Triton in Disney’s The Little Mermaid (Red Mountain Theatre Company), Dean in All Shook Up (SummerTide Theatre), and was featured in the dance ensemble of Salgado Production’s Ragtime, which played a limited engagement at
The Axelrod Performing Arts Center with Revolución Latina. In New York City, Benjamin was a member of the Original Cast of the Off-Broadway Production of Frankenstein: The Musical. Following his NYC departure, Benjamin has been seen locally as Nick Arnstein in Funny Girl (Pensacola State College) and Dr. Frederick Frankenstein in Young Frankenstein (Stagecrafters Community Theatre).
Anna “AJ” Johnson:: Stage Sprouts, Acting for Kids, Musical Theatre for Kids, Imrov for teens - middle school
Anna “AJ” Johnson graduated from Samford University with a BFA in Theatre for Youth. She has taught theater and dance in the United States, Haiti, and Taiwan. Her work in nonverbal storytelling was featured in the BroadwayWorld blog. Growing up in Pensacola, AJ danced at Ballet Pensacola for nine years, which led to her love of dance and focus on movement-based acting and nonverbal storytelling. In addition to teaching, AJ is a performer and a writer.
She has appeared in several Pensacola Little Theatre productions (A Chorus Line, Cinderella, and The Cat’s Meow). Her original scripts have won several awards (Love isn’t Real, “Original Script of the Decade” from BroadwayWorld Birmingham 2020; Lost and Found, “Audience’s Choice” from the Samford Theatre Short Film Festival 2020). When she isn’t teaching, dancing, or writing, AJ is a Research Coordinator at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. She has a passion for encouraging and educating young artists.
BRANDI HICKS LANE :: THE plt ACADEMY
A native of Pensacola, Brandi has been active at Pensacola Little Theatre since her debut as one of the 3 Blind Mice in Mini Masquers Babes in Toyland in when she was 5. After high school, she realized that working behind the scenes was where her interests actually lie, and has been mostly in backstage roles since then. She has directed and stage managed for all 3 of PLT's series, most recently directing Puffs. When she's not at PLT, she's a Supervisor for the Healthy Families program at Children's Home Society.
Bandon Mayo :: Dungeons and Dragons
Brandon has been playing and running roleplaying games for over 20 years and is excited to introduce a newer generation of gamers to the fun, excitement, creativity, and adventure of D&D. He has been a volunteer at PLT since 2018, acting and directing in shows like The End of Jack Cruz, Legally Blonde, and Incorruptible.
Justin Gaylard :: Musical Theatre Audition Techniques and Musical Theatre Audition Techniques for Adults
Justin Gaylard is no stranger to cattle call auditions. Auditioning and performing while getting his BFA in Musical Theatre from MHU took him from dinner theater to professional summer stock to theme parks to everywhere in between. An extended contract doing a children’s show at Busch Gardens fueled the fire for Justin’s other passion: teaching. Hundreds of students, several grade levels, and a Masters degree later, he now works to support teachers within Escambia County schools.
Over the years, you may have seen Justin onstage as Robbie Hart in The Wedding Singer and Man 1 in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change at PLT or Fredrick Frankenstein in Young Frankenstein at PSC. His choreography was seen onstage last season in 13 the Musical at PLT.
He is excited to combine his passion for the arts with his passion for teaching in this fun and essential class!
Kayla Phillips :: Stage Sprouts (Monday) and Musical Theatre for Kids
Kayla Phillips is a performer, teacher, choreographer, and director in the Pensacola area. Kayla has been performing for the past 9 years. Some of her favorite projects include portraying Sally in Puffs (Pensacola Little Theatre), directing and choreographing Seussical Jr. (Pensacola Little Theatre), and creating sensory friendly performance opportunities for those with sensory sensitivities in our community. Kayla loves being apart of the Pensacola Little Theatre community and is excited to share her love for theatre with her students
veronica Lindholm :: acting for kids
Veronica Lindholm has been apart of the Pensacola theatre community, both on and offstage, for over a decade. In addition to volunteering at PLT, she was a 5 year member of the Pensacola Children’s Chorus and has been performing at Pensacola State College since 2014. She has also directed, choreographed and assistant directed productions in the community and was a voice and musical theater teacher for 3 years. She gained her A.A. in Theater from PSC and her B.A. in Arts Administration with a focus in Performing Arts from UWF.
Mary Husar :: acting for teens - middle school
Mary Husar recently moved to Florida and is excited to be an instructor with Pensacola Little Theatre. She graduated with a BFA in Acting from The University of Nebraska, and then attended the MA Theatre Program at The University of Illinois. Mary was named one of the top ten directors to watch by The Chicago Sun Times, and in addition to directing and acting in Chicago for over a decade, Mary has also worked and lived in New York and Boston, as an actress, director and instructor.
Mary has taught acting and other theatre-related courses to students ranging in age from 4-80, from novices to Academy Award winning actors. Mary served as the Theatre Department Chair at a Community College in the Midwest, a position that was both challenging and rewarding.
In addition, Mary also serves as a dialect coach, her credits include “Canyon Del Muerto”, a Netflix film, and most recently as an instructor for The Film Academy at Acting Out Birmingham. Mary has appeared in over 50+ commercials, several films and has acted in dozens of theatre productions. As a director, she has directed over 35+ productions for regional and community theatres. She has been a proud member of Sag/AFTRA and AEA for decades and is currently represented by Aligned Stars in Atlanta.