Our Teaching Team
Beverly Poole
Beverly Poole has been a resident of Seattle and a lover of local theatre her whole life. She graduated from the UW in 2013 with a BA in theatre, and several years teaching already under her belt. She has continued to work around the city as an Actor, Director, and occasionally as a prop maker with REBATEnsemble, the Seattle Public Theatre, and Primrose players, among other companies, and can be seen practicing her craft in Murder Mysteries with the American Immersive Theatre. She joined up with Stone Soup Theatre in 2016, and has loved every minute of it since. Beverly loves improv, comedy, Shakespeare, myths and legends, and musicals (Especially with the youngest kids!), and loves passing on her expertise to every age group.
Ellen Dressler Smith
Ellen Dessler Smith started working with Stone Soup in the Spring of 2019. She is a local actor/ director who has worked on many stages around town including (but not limited to): Village Theatre, Seattle Musical Theatre, ArtsWest, Bainbridge Island Performing Arts, and is on the board of ReAct where she performed in School House Rock: Live! last fall for the 3rd time. She has toured schools around the country with Living Voices and Small Change Original Theatre. And works with The Criminal Justice Training Center, UW Medical Center, Effective Arts, and Life Center NorthWest as a scenario actor.
Keller O'Malley
Keller O’Malley is a Seattle-based theatre artist, teacher, and clown from Houston, Texas. He graduated in 2019 from Cornish College with a BFA in theatre – original works; and hopes to bring the joy and spectacle from circus to theatre and the narrative creativity and depth from theatre into circus.
Keyla Christenson
Keyla is originally from Iowa, where she received her degrees in Theatre Arts and General Music. She made her way to the great state of Washington in 2016, and loves the PNW. She has participated in Theatre since childhood through performing, lighting design, stage managing, and now, teaching. In her daytime gig, Keyla teaches elementary music, glee choir, and vocal technique through Myriad Music School and Dance Academy. When not participating in fine arts, lost in a book, or hiking a trail, Keyla can be found spoiling her two animals, Luna the Cat and Rosie the Dog, as well as her loving partner, Mallory the Human.
SONYA SHAW
Sonya Shaw is a Seattle based freelance stage director, choreographer, and teaching artist- specializing in children’s theatre- whose work has been seen on several local stages such as The Moore Theatre, ACT, Broadway Performance Hall, Youth Theatre Northwest’s Mainstage and Stone Soup’s The Downstage. As a teaching artist, she has worked with Seattle Opera, Seattle Public Theatre, Youth Theatre Northwest, Studio East, Stone Soup Theatre, Broadway Bound, Three Dragons Academy, and in both public and independent schools. Sonya holds a Bachelor of Music in Voice Theatre (University of Colorado at Boulder); a Professional Certificate in Directing for Stage and Screen (University of Washington) and completed the WA State Teaching Artist Training (TATLAB) program in April 2016. Her formal training in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern, & Broadway began at age 3 and she hasn’t stopped dancing since! Post-graduation, she was invited to dance with Ballet East Dance Theatre (formerly Ballet East Austin), but declined to join the art rock band, Maximum Coherence- who wrote & recorded 3 albums, a soundtrack, performed live on radio, television, & at a variety of venues from SXSW Music Festival to NW Film Forum. Other favorites include playing Victoria in Women and Wallace, performing in the operas, The Marriage of Figaro, and The Ballad of Baby Doe.
Steve Judy
Steve Judy graduated from Marshall University with a BFA in Theatre Performance. Acting in various roles from Peter Pan in Peter and the Starcatcher to Christopher in Curious Incident from the Dog in the Nightime, Steve uses his training and background in education to empower kids with theatre!
TESS BERGER
Tess Berger graduated from the University of Puget Sound in 2020 where she received a BA in Theatre Arts and Business. In her time at university, she received a well-balanced theatre education including acting, directing, theatre history, dramaturgy, and more. Tess was the president of both the improv team and musical theatre club, where she got the opportunity to learn teaching skills in both. Tess has previously directed several children’s productions in her hometown of Oakland, California, including a musical variation on a Midsummer Night’s Dream. She loves working with children specifically because she believes theatre offers unique opportunities for each individual child depending on their needs — whether they are a natural performer or need help coming out of their shell, or anything in between. In addition to working at Stone Soup, Tess is also a graphic designer.
TIM TAKECHI
Tim has been a part of the Stone Soup Theatre family since 2008. His involvement has mostly come in the form of creating theatrical fun with kids outside during the hot summer months. When he isn’t doing Summer Stage, Tim can be seen onstage at various theatres across the Puget Sound region.
His acting credits include “Theatre Magic: And Other Things We Need” at Centerstage, “The Antipodes” at Short Order Theatre Company, “Goldendale” and “Handle with Care” at Burien Actor’s Theatre, “The White Snake” at ReAct Theatre, “The Pillowman” at Tacoma Little Theatre, “For Better” at Phoenix Theatre, “Waltz of the Toreadors” at Dukesbay Productions, “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” and “Snow Falling on Cedars” at Bainbridge Performing Arts, and “Cannibal! The Musical” at Unexpected Productions. He has also worked extensively with Turbo Turkey Productions, a local sketch comedy troupe.
When he’s not doing theatre, Tim works as a nonprofit marketing/communications professional.Tess Berger graduated from the University of Puget Sound in 2020 where she received a BA in Theatre Arts and Business. In her time at university, she received a well-balanced theatre education including acting, directing, theatre history, dramaturgy, and more. Tess was the president of both the improv team and musical theatre club, where she got the opportunity to learn teaching skills in both. Tess has previously directed several children’s productions in her hometown of Oakland, California, including a musical variation on a Midsummer Night’s Dream. She loves working with children specifically because she believes theatre offers unique opportunities for each individual child depending on their needs — whether they are a natural performer or need help coming out of their shell, or anything in between. In addition to working at Stone Soup, Tess is also a graphic designer.
Zoe Stadler
Zoe is so excited to be teaching with Stone Soup. She deeply believes in power of theatre to connect children to a community of friends and their authentic selves. Previously, she assisted classes at Oregon Children’s Theatre, taught at various outdoor camps, and served on the student theatre board at her university. She is a graduate of Western Washington University with a degree in Theatre Arts and a concentration in Educational Theatre.