Playhouse Teachers

Laura Graham 

Laura currently works as Artist in Residence in the theatre dept. at Bak Middle School of the Arts. Originally from New York, Laura studied acting, improvisation and dance there for many years and performed regularly in the tri-state area. Since moving to Florida, she has appeared in several Lake Worth Playhouse (Stonzek) productions and has served as Assistant Director to Daniel Eilola, the Playhouse’s Artistic Director. Laura has also performed with local improv troupes.

Deshon Allen

Deshon has been with the Lake Worth Playhouse theater outreach program for over 10 years.   His performance credits at the Playhouse include Rent, Tommy, Rock of Ages and Footloose and he most recently was the choreographer for Beehive.   In 2018, Deshon was awarded the Nicole Lee award for outstanding commitment to the Lake Worth Playhouse as she was his mentor as a teaching artist .  He currently works as an Event Information Guide for the Miami Dolphins.

Carl Barber Steele

Actor, singer, director, educator – Carl has been entertaining the masses for over 40 years . Originally from the NYC area he has performed on stages across the country and overseas.   He has been nominated for several awards including the Carbonell and the Perry.

Kassie Meiler

Kassie is a freelance choreographer, dance instructor, and runs her own social media agency, GOAT Social Media. She’s choreographed over 50 musicals, including many at the Playhouse such as Newsies, West Side Story, Heathers, Footloose, 9 to 5, Annie, Flashdance and Bye Bye Birdie. Kassie has a BA in Theatre (FSU) & an MA in Mass Communications (UF). She’s also spent numerous summers as a dance assistant and work study in NYC for Theatre Arts Center and Broadway Artists Alliance. She currently teaches private lessons and master classes to students across South Florida and specializes in college audition preparation and tap.

Autumn Kioti Horne

Autumn Kioti Horne (any/all) is an interdisciplinary artist/master naturalist/performer and director. They have created and helmed numerous children’s and professional theatre programs. A South Florida native, local appearances include Theatre Lab, Zoetic Stage, GableStage, Florida Stage, Caldwell Theatre, and others.  In NYC, they originated the roles of Cassandra in THE HIVE, Veronica in SHE CALLS ME FIREFLY and others.  Their interdisciplinary art has been presented in galleries/spaces throughout the US and beyond, including La Mama, Dixon Place, The Queens Museum, Last Frontier and more.  They have also appeared in award-winning films at Lincoln Center, Art Basel, Sci-Fi London, Palm Springs Film Festival and more.

Michael Materdomini

Michael is a Dreyfoos School of the Arts alumni and is currently working as a professional actor here in South Florida. He was with MNM Theatre company for their last two seasons and was in Heathers The Musical here at the Lake Worth Playhouse. Michael wants to share his love of the stage with the younger generation and hopes to inspire young actors.

Elizabeth Robinson

Elizabeth has been working in arts education at the Playhouse for 5 years and is beyond thrilled to return. She holds a BFA in Musical Theatre and has directed, choreographed and taught numerous classes and children’s performances during her time here. Elizabeth’s own passion for theatre was discovered at the Lake Worth Playhouse when she was a child taking classes and aims to inspire the same in others.

Patrick Price

Patrick Price found Improv at a young age, his first experience being in Middle School, and it was the first time he can recall feeling confident speaking in public. He continued pursuing it through high school and college at PBSC where he was part of the in-school house troupe. After graduating, he saw no reason to stop doing what he loved and moved into the exciting world of Improv (where you sometimes get paid!). Amongst his proudest accomplishments are being a founding member of his three favorite groups- Old Childe (with NYC comic Steven Cohen), Small-Medium-Large (his first group to do musical improv), and Long Story Short (a touring group who had two standing bi-weekly engagements and corporate events at their height). When not performing, Patrick was always eager to teach and thanks to his friendship with local improv legend Kat Kenny and her Actor’s Rep theater programs, he was able to be an instructor with YAG (a program for young artists). Let’s not forget the festivals! He’s been featured in Miami’s, Gainesville’s, and most importantly Palm Beach’s! Recently, he founded a two person group with Griffin Corallo (as seen with the Palm Beach Opera society, so we fancy!) called PatGriff RickFin and he can’t wait to see where that road leads! Improv will always be in Patrick’s heart and he cannot wait to share its gift with the world.