Our People
Management Team
Elaine leads the team after introducing Chickenshed to New York when she relocated from London with her husband and two children in the Summer of 2016. Both children were raised as active members of the Chickenshed community from the age of six months old.
After more than a dozen years of commitment to Chickenshed, Elaine’s vision is that every child should have access to inclusive theatre and believes the magical world of Chickenshed is a gateway by which to make that happen.
Contact Elaine (Admin@chickenshednyc.org)
Elliot brings to Chickenshed NYC his combined backgrounds as a not-for-profit executive, theatrical producer, strategic consultant, and legal professional.
He is responsible for the financial, business, and planning aspects of the company, and he serves as secretary to the board of directors.
He has worked for many internationally-related organizations, including Royal Shakespeare Company America and the Mariinsky Foundation of America.
Cyndi's role encompasses a wealth of experience as an actress, teacher, director, producer, and mother of a child with mixed abilities. She has had the pleasure of directing and teaching acting, musical theatre performance, and private voice for over 25 years in New York City, London, Russia, and around the globe. She was one of the founding instructors of the performing arts academy at Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma - beginning with just 20 students. By the end of her tenure, the enrollment had grown to over 300.
Returning to New York City with her family, Cyndi worked as a director - leading over 60 productions at regional theatres across the US; and around the world, including a bilingual production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in Russia and a Chickenshed production of Arabian Nights in London.
In addition to her role at Chickenshed NYC, Cyndi serves as the Artistic Director of The Studio & The Studio AP, a pre-professional musical theatre company at Shuffles Tap and Musical Theatre School.
Cyndi's acting credits include Off-Broadway, National Tours, Television, Film, and Commercials. She volunteers for the Broadway Cares / Equity Fights Aids Easter Bonnet Competition, which raises millions every year to fund medical care and research.
Cyndi believes that students of all abilities should be exposed to all facets of the arts to discover what makes them unique. She feels that there are no small parts; one should be prepared to perform any role – ensemble, supporting, or a lead – with no one being greater than the other. By pursuing this philosophy, her students work in every aspect of the entertainment industry, including acting, casting, producing, and directing.
Cyndi holds a Bachelors in Musical Theatre, and has completed her studies for a Masters in Creative Writing, from the University of Central Oklahoma. She is a member of Actors Equity Association.
Contact Cyndi (Artistic@chickenshednyc.org)
Nathalie is a UK based team member. She has been involved with Chickenshed NYC since its inception. Nathalie liaises between the UK and NYC teams and she works across a range of areas including Marketing, A/V production, Website, Strategy and Donor Engagement.
Nathalie is also one of our founding Board members. She is a passionate believer in the transformative power of the performing arts on children's lives. She has a background in television production and as an event coordinator.
Contact Nathalie (Artistic@chickenshednyc.org)
Theatre Practitioners
Nikki (she/her) is an actor and teaching artist currently based in NYC. She grew up in northern Virginia and graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Drama and a minor in History. While at NYU, she studied musical theatre and screen acting and completed intensive training in commedia dell’arte and clown. She has built and implemented curriculum for theatre classes and camps across the NYC and DC areas, and on computer screens across the country. Recently, she helped found Soft Brain Theatre Company and produced and performed in "The Raven" by Carlo Gozzi at The Chain Theatre. She takes a process-oriented approach to teaching and seeks to uplift student ideas while nurturing the development of creativity, confidence, and collaboration.
Mollie is a NYC based multi-hyphenate theatre artist, who is thrilled to be a new member of Chickenshed NYC. After working for many years on stage, she moved her efforts backstage, stage managing, directing, designing, and writing. She has worked for different companies and collectives in New York City and beyond. Mollie believes theatre must be accessible to everybody, both as a practitioner and an audience member. She can't wait to get to know all of you, and is honored to be a part of the team.
Katie Hardin is a New York City based choreographer, dancer, and educator. Originally from Oklahoma City, she has been teaching for 5+ years to students from 3-18 years of age. She has had the opportunity to perform and choreograph both regionally and Off Broadway! Katie is elated to join the Chickenshed family.
Dalton Harrod a New York City native! He graduated in Drama at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts and has since been proud to be working on stage and screen for the past twelve years. Dalton is so grateful for the Chickenshed team, and all the incredible positivity & growth they help instill in the future generations of Chickenshed Players!
Jaymie recently completed her Master of Arts in Applied Theatre from the City University of New York School of Professional Studies. She is thrilled to connect her experiences in programming with children, teens, and adults with her love of theatre. She is excited to join the Chickenshed NYC team and hopes to continue in work that invites people to explore possibilities together. Jaymie also loves seeing, performing, and talking about stand-up comedy. If you want to start a 3 hour conversation with her, ask her about her cat Bastian.
Lance was born in San Francisco California on September 9th 1988. At the age of 13 he took an interest in hip hop; dancing around the house down and learning the latest moves from music videos. At the age of 14 Lance’s mother enrolled him in a dance company called “Dance Live” in Riverside California. After a few months Lance found a different company called FBC (Funk Beyond Control) to further his dance training. Lance was promoted to being one of the directors of FBC, where he began making up choreography on his own. Many years of training passed and at the age of 21 Lance made a decision to move to New York, with hopes of finding better opportunities for dance. Upon his arrival Lance immediately found a Hip Hop company called WRT competing at various showcases and competitions throughout the New York area. Lance also took the opportunity to live abroad in China for three months teaching Jazz and Hip Hop. Currently Lance is an assistant director for WRT and teaches full time as a choreographer in the performing arts department at York Preparatory school.
Madison (she/her) is very excited to be working with Chickenshed NYC. Madison is a theatre educator born and raised in Reno, Nevada with a recent Bachelors of Science in Human Development and Family Studies with minors in Developmental Disabilities and Dance. Her passion lies with creating equitable and inclusive theatre and dance programming for youth. She recently choreographed "Bring It On: The Musical" and "Descendants" at Reed High School.
Jacob (he/they) is ecstatic to be working with Chickenshed NYC. Jacob recently graduated from the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama where they earned a BFA in Drama with a focus in directing. He can’t think of a better way to spend his first year in New York than being a part of Chickenshed. Some of their recent directing credits include Lungs by Duncan Macmillan at Southern Plains Productions, Woyzeck by Georg Buchner at Carnegie Mellon University, and E-z Fix by Tacy Hoida at Carnegie Mellon University’s New Work Festival. Find out more about him at his website: jacobmusgrove.com.
Hannah is an actor and educator from Hampton, Virginia. She is so excited to be a part of the Chickenshed NYC family and create with such wonderful individuals! New York credits are the female swing in The Office, A Musical Parody and the choreographer for the Off-Broadway production of Friends The Musical Parody. She would like to thank her friends and family for their unending support and love!
Celebrity Allies
Consultants
From New York to Nashville, Amy Sapp has managed social media for clients throughout the entertainment industry for over six years. Her portfolio runs the gamut, from NBCUniversal to The Tony Awards. Outside of digital media, Amy programmed Late Night at 54 Below for six years and now programs concerts at the historic Franklin Theatre in Franklin, Tennessee. Amy was profiled in Forbes at 22 years-old for booking and producing. She founded and runs Amy Sapp Presents, LLC. amyesapp.com
Eric is a graphic designer and art director, and is currently the Senior Manager of Creative Services at Disney Theatrical Group. He has developed artwork and created campaigns for Roundabout Theatre Company, New York Theatre Workshop, Ars Nova, Huntington Theatre Company, Vineyard Theatre, and more. ericemch.com
Greg is a Helen Hayes Award nominee and has directed, designed, built, or painted sets or costumes for over 150 shows in Washington, D.C., New York City, San Diego and elsewhere. Companies include Chickenshed NYC, Helen Hayes Award-winning Factory 449: A Theatre Collective (founding company member), Perisphere Theater, Rainbow Theatre Project, WSC Avant Bard, State of Play Productions, The In Series, Barabbas Theatre, UrbanArias, Actors' Theatre of Washington, Aspen Theatre in the Park, Provincetown Theater Company, Diversionary Theatre (founding company designer), Teatro Máscara Mágica, San Diego StageWorks, San Diego Actors’ Theatre, San Diego Junior Theatre, and The Old Globe. Greg earned his B.A. in Theatre from San Diego State University and his M.A.T. in Museum Education from the George Washington University. By day, Greg is the director of the MA in Museum Professions program at Seton Hall University, and principal of Purple Cow Career and Talent Development.
Heather Dugdale, is a Juris Doctor, Certified Fundraising Executive and Philanthropic Strategist with her consulting firm Give & Get Give: Fundraising Strategies for Non-profits. Before starting her consulting practice, Heather built her non-profit career by serving in all levels and sizes of non-profit leadership including as the Founding Executive Director of San Diego Teen Court, as a Regional Manager for the San Diego Foundation and as the Resource Development Director for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego. Heather has used her varied non-profit experience to support small to large non-profits with all areas of development including fundraising, strategic planning, donor stewardship, Board development and governance. Chickenshed NYC is the perfect size non-profit for Heather's skills and expertise and she is inspired by the amazing mission and work that changes the lives of so many children and families. heather
Lizzie is an NYC-based arts marketing professional & designer with experience in both nonprofit and commercial theatre. She is currently finishing up a B.A. from NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study with a concentration in Cultural Media & Marketing.
Morgan is a graphic designer, currently based in Pittsburgh but always somewhere in between a window seat and an orchestra seat. She works full-time at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, developing artwork for everything from children's theater festivals to touring Broadway.
Paul is a Board Member of Pixl Evolution, a UK based video & audio live events business, operating primarily in the corporate and special events sectors, working closely with production agencies to deliver exceptional solutions. They are part of Entertainment Technology Partners (ETP) group, where Paul serves as President of their European operations. ETP owns a number of event brands in the USA including LMG Show Services, LMG Music Touring, LMG System Innovations, Event EQ, Premier AV, BrainHub & COIL Learning.
Board Members
Travis LeMont Ballenger is a generative artist. As a producer, he has developed and produced work with a number of artists, including Katori Hall, Lynn Nottage, Whitney White, Lydia R. Diamond, and Gordon Greenberg. He most previously worked as the Associate Artistic Director at The Old Globe, and before that held positions with The Drama League, Dallas Theatre Center, Market Road films, and Arena Stage. He is currently a producer at Lia Vollack Productions.
Kim serves as Senior Vice President and Global Head of Design for Barbie and Fashion Dolls at Mattel Inc. and as such sets the creative vision for fashion doll brands including Barbie. She is committed to keeping the brands she leads innovative and reflective of the world kid’s see around them. Throughout her 20-year tenure at the company, Kim has maintained a creative process that emphasizes purpose-driven, human-centric design. As featured in the Hulu documentary Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie, in 2015 she led the design of the most diverse doll line in the brand’s history. This bold product reinvention led to a TIME cover, was named one of the “Top 25 Inventions of 2016” by the magazine and received the coveted “Doll of the Year Award” from the Toy Industry Association. In March of 2019 Kim was honored with the Visionary Leadership Award from Shane’s Inspiration for championing the addition of dolls that utilize a wheelchair and a prosthetic limb to the Fashionistas line.Adding representation of physical disabilities to this core Barbie doll line is an example of the brand’s purpose to inspire and nurture limitless protentional through play.
Kim resides in West Hollywood, California, and is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana. She is passionate about the advancement of women and girls, supports the arts and LGBTQ+ organizations in her community and serves on the board of directors for the Wright Institute Los Angeles, a mental health non-profit. Kim is a member The Toy Association’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
Jay Eisenhofer is the Co-founder and Managing Director of Grant & Eisenhofer, P.A. An accomplished lecturer and author in the field of securities litigation and shareholder rights, Mr. Eisenhofer also published a debut novel with his son Mark called “Black Shadow”. Mr. Eisenhofer serves as a member of the NYU Law School Advisory Board for the Center on Civil Justice and is a trustee of the Horace Mann School in Manhattan and serves as Chair and Member of the Ideal School of Manhattan Board.
Currently, Jay is based in New York, married with 5 Children. His son Scott has been participating in the NYC Chickenshed Youth program since 2019.
Stacey Feller graduated with a BS in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of
Pennsylvania. She was a CPA and worked at Ernst and Young and then as the Chief Financial
Officer of Drake Management, an SEC registered investment advisor. Stacey joined Drake at its
inception in 2001, as CFO. Drake grew from a start-up with less than 15 employees to about 100
employees, in multiple offices, and managed over $10 billion in assets during her tenure. In
2009 Stacey decided to become a stay-at-home mom and has spent the past 13 years at home,
raising 2 very special, unique boys - Wesley (who is 17) and Noah (who is 13). Wesley and
Noah both have many strengths and some real challenges, and interestingly in a lot of ways one's
strengths are the other's weaknesses. Stacey spends her time advocating for her sons to ensure
that they are being taught in ways that meet their needs and works with all their service providers
to monitor their progress continuously adjusting goals and progress targets to help them grow.
She is often evaluating programs aiming to find the right environments at the right times. Noah
was introduced to Chickenshed when it first came to NYC and Wesley has been actively
involved during the past few years. Stacey has played roles on school PA's, has organized
fundraisers and also has been involved on the Board of The Meeting House, an organization that
offers a wide array of social emotional learning programs for all ages. Stacey lives in Manhattan
with her husband, Andrew (who she met in college), Wesley and Noah.
Nathalie is a UK based team member. She has been involved with Chickenshed NYC since its inception. Nathalie liaises between the UK and NYC teams and she works across a range of areas including Marketing, A/V production, Website, Strategy and Donor Engagement.
Nathalie is also one of our founding Board members. She is a passionate believer in the transformative power of the performing arts on children's lives. She has a background in television production and as an event coordinator.
Contact Nathalie (Artistic@chickenshednyc.org)
Vikki Heywood lives in the UK and is the Chairman of Mountview, Drama Academy, a board member of the National Theatre, and a trustee of the Foyle Foundation. Until 2018, Vikki was Chairman of the Royal Society of Arts, the first in its history to be invited to return for a second three-year term. She has just completed being Chairman of 14-18 NOW – a £50 million programme of First World War centenary arts commissions that reached over 35 million people, across the UK, over five years.
Matthew is a Chartered Accountant who is Vice-President Tax at Seadrill Management Ltd.
Matthew and his wife Francesca have been constant and strong supporters of Chickenshed in the UK for many years. Their two children participated in children’s and youth theatre since 2005 and one is now a BTEC student.
Matthew has been a Director & Treasurer of Chicken Shed Property Company since August 2012 and Director/Treasurer of Chickenshed Theatre Trust since November 2011 and is a member of the Finance Committee.
Matthew has served as a Director of American Friends of Chickenshed since 2013. When the Board of American Friends of Chickenshed was expanded and reorganized to support the work of Chickenshed NYC, Matthew agreed to serve as Treasurer and lend his experience and expertise.
Shari Sapp, a San Diego native, graduated with a BS in Finance from the University of Colorado Boulder. She worked in New York City as a lending officer for Creditanstalt and in London as a research associate for Alta Berkeley Associates, a venture capital firm. Shari has served as a board member for a variety of organizations, among them Jack Taylor School (UK), Rancho Santa Fe Education Foundation, Torrey Pines High School Foundation, Rancho Santa Fe Women’s Fund, Miracle League of San Diego and Pacific Ridge School. Shari is currently on the board of Feeding San Diego and is Chair of the Chancellor’s Parent Leadership Society at the University of Colorado Boulder. Three of Shari’s four children participated in Chickenshed UK in the late 90’s and Shari served on the Gala committee for many years during that time.