“Fortunate is the word that describes my experience with this incredible group of students, my co-mentor, and our incredible project mentor. They allowed me to witness their vulnerability and always kept my level of joy high. I watched the students craft and create so effortlessly and that’s rare. They deserve all of the praise for the grace they held for each other and the creativity that poured out! Jackie, you’re fearless with who you are and I love that about you. P.S: We got you to write something down 😉  Elsa, you have magic in your fingertips and joy in your veins. Mia, you are our inspiration and you are the pulse of the show. Sydney, you are a word smith and you’re always rising above. Elisa, I am so thankful to have taught beside someone who is as go with the flow as me! I will miss seeing you! Joel, thank you for your grace, compassion, and time management. We all know that E and I need it!”

-Porscha Shaw, Writing Mentor

“Refreshing. That’s the word I keep coming back to when trying to encapsulate the essence of Dumb Club. We’ve all seen and read countless portrayals of the highschool experience. Often, they feel like caricatures, painting decayed and outdated versions of teenage reality. They skim the surface. Dumb Club dives headfirst into the depths of what it means to make mistakes, what it looks like to grieve, and what it feels like to belong.

Since the very first day of rehearsal, the writers of Dumb Club had a clear priority to write a show that was, at its core, human. I found myself constantly in awe of their fearlessness, jumping into difficult conversations about even more difficult topics, all the while maintaining so much grace, patience, and compassion. The energy in the room as these young creators crafted these characters felt like DnD magic. And as if they had infinite stamina, they spent hours discussing and debating plot points, picking apart character relationship decisions, and of course, rewriting.

It’s very refreshing to watch such a diverse group of characters discover what it means to truly be heard and seen. What I find most refreshing of all, though, is how the writers went about crafting those moments of honesty. To me, Dumb Club’s main challenge to convention is in regards to how it portrays communication. Again, I found myself in awe as these eager minds created dialogue that was full of thoughtful communication, empathetic communication examining the philosophical idea of intention versus impact.”

-Elisa Money, Music Mentor

Janet Cole Hamilton (Director) has been with KIDSTAGE since 2006. She developed her own, “Skills for Theatre… Skills for Life” through acting, directing, forming a theatre company, serving on boards for arts organizations, and time in corporate America working with freelance artists, graphic designers, and game designers. Janet has served KIDSTAGE in a variety of roles and at different points has managed classes, camps, productions, and Institute/Pathway. KIDSTAGE allows Janet to pursue her lifelong passion for arts integration as she develops the emerging STEM and school outreach programs. Personal motto: Duck for Luck.

Elisa Money (Music Director/Music & Composing Mentor) is a songwriter, musician, and copyist from Vancouver, Canada. She has performed at 54 Below, The Commodore Ballroom, and played for the 5th Avenue Theatre, Village Theatre, Seattle Musical Theatre, and many more throughout the US & Canada. She has worked locally on new musicals at the 5th Avenue Theatre, ACT, Village Theatre, Book-It Repertory Theatre, and the Seattle Rep. She has also worked on new musicals for The Arsht Center in Miami, Florida, as well as in California, New York, Pennsylvania, and British Columbia. Select Seattle credits:  Hansel & Gretl & Heidi & Günter (Village Theatre), Hart Island (Village Beta Series), Howl’s Moving Castle (Book-It Rep), Shout Sister Shout (Seattle Rep), Rosie the Riveter (5th Avenue AMT), Mamma Mia! (Seattle Musical Theatre). Original music:  The Seed EP and Canadia, PA. elisamoney.com

Porscha Shaw (Writing Mentor) is a recent graduate of the Professional Actor Training Program at the University of Washington. She is a native of Richmond, Texas and a graduate of Santa Fe University of Art and Design where she majored in Drama under the training of Jon Jory. Her recent Seattle credits include:  Seattle Rep’s Shout Sister Shout and NINA SIMONE’s Four Women; Upstart Crow’s Richard III, The Last World Octopus Wrestling Champion, Lamplighter, 12 Ophelias, By The Way, Meet Vera Stark; Sound Theatre’s Hoodoo Love, As You Like It, The Octavia, Iphigenia and Other Daughters; Wooden O’s Love’s Labour’s Lost, Force Continuum.

Colleen Nielsen (Stage Manager) Previous stage management credits with KIDSTAGE include: The Wiz, Hairspray, Legally Blonde, Tarzan, and three Sing It Forwards.   KIDSTAGE is always a favorite program to work for.   Additional stage management credits include but are not limited to Cabaret, My Fair Lady, Afterwords, The Passage, and String(VTFNM and VO productions).   This one goes out to my SM mentors: MW, PB, MP, BW, and JP.