Elisa Ali is thrilled to be working with Summit Theatre Group! She has her degree in Theatre/TV/Film with an emphasis in Vocal Performance from Texas Christian University and has been choreographing for high school and musical theatre programs in the area since 2006! In addition to choreographing musicals, Elisa enjoys traveling with her family and taking time to cherish all the new adventures her three children are involved in!

Ginger Birch is a Lee’s Summit native and former company manager for Summit Theatre Group. She now focuses on teaching classes & camps through STG Studio and instructing private voice and piano through her home studio, Studio Chyrée, with students ranging in ages from elementary age to adults. Ginger holds a B.S. Vocal Music and M.S. Vocal Performance & Conducting. She has many years of teaching experience working with various age groups in educational settings whether it be with children’s choirs, church organizations, schools, non-profit organizations, or theatre groups. Her favorite directing experiences have been Beauty and the Beast, Shrek, Holiday dinner theatres, Descendants, and Little Mermaid Jr. Ginger is also an avid performer in the KC Metro area with experience in opera, recitals, choral groups, and musical theatre. Some of her favorite roles on stage have been in Sweeney Todd, Le Nozze di Firgaro, The Sound of Music, Almost, Maine, Pirates of Penzance, Annie, The Secret Garden, The Gifts of the Magi, and Silent Sky.

Chasen Brown is a graduate from UCM where he earned his BFA in Theatre: Design & Technology. He has been performing in the KC area for the last year and made his Summit Theatre Group debut in the summer of 2022 in The Ballad of Sweeney Todd. He is thrilled to be teaching at STG Studio any time he can! 

Reagan Ebert is a recent graduate from KU where she earned her BA in Theatre. She has been performing in the KC area since she was 6 and made her Summit Theatre Group debut in the summer of 2023 in The Little Mermaid! She is so excited to be teaching at STG Studio!

Jamie Harrel is a Kindergarten teacher at Hawthorn Hill Elementary. She has taught early childhood students for 23 years. Jamie earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Missouri State University and Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Baker University. She has two children that have graduated from Lee’s Summit West, one will be a junior at UCM studying digital media and the other will attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln next year to study theatre. Jamie enjoys reading, traveling, and time with friends and family. She hopes to combine her passion for education with a love for the arts while inspiring creativity in aspiring young actors.

Gracie Heath attended Lee’s Summit West High School and was heavily involved in their theatre and choir programs. She is now at UCM for a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design with a Theatre Minor. She has often stage-managed for STG in shows such as Not Another Christmas Letter, and The Little Mermaid JR. She was involved in LSW’s improv team and is now on UCM’s team as well! She is super excited to be sharing her knowledge of the performing arts with others. 

Brittany Hill is a Graduate Assistant and the Music Department Office Assistant at Calvary University. She is a recent graduate from Calvary University where she studied voice with Dr. Haekyung An. She is currently working on her Masters in Music at Calvary University. While pursuing her studies, she continues to teach several forms of art through her private studio and through Calvary University. She has been a featured soloist for several Oratorios and Masterworks Choruses including Handel’s Messiah, Faure’s Requiem and John Rutter’s Requiem. She has been in several opera scene works including Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and Elizabeth in Ballad of Baby Doe. She has performed in many shows on stage with Leawood Stage Company, Summit Theatre Group and Calvary University. She has sung the title role of Mary Poppins, Medda Larkin in Newsies, Rapunzel in Into the Woods, Sugar Plum Fairy in Shrek the Musical, Sour Kangaroo in Seussical and many more. Brittany has assistant directed and choreographed scenes and adaptations of shows such as State Fair, Cinderella, Fiddler on the Roof, The Most Happy Fella and Mamma Mia. Her technical resume includes quick change artist and dresser, designer for hair, makeup and costuming. Her designs for costuming, hair, and makeup can be seen on stage in several productions around Kansas City including The Barn Players 2017 production of The Crucible and Summit Theatre Group’s 2018 production of Shrek the Musical.

Ryann Hill is a stage manager and professional lighting and sound technician in the Kansas City Area. She loves education and teaching. She began performing in the KC area in 2015 and started doing tech at UCM in 2018. She is very excited to be teaching with STG Studio!

Kale Michael, graduate and theatre alumnus from Lee’s Summit West High School, now attends UMKC where they are dual majoring in Sociology and Theatre. Most recently, you may have seen their work as camp teacher and director for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee with STG Studio. Outside of Summit Theatre Group, they are an executive board member of UMKC’s University Theatre Association. Kale is thrilled to be a part of the STG Studio team.

Abby Morrison is a freshman at MCC Longview. Abby has grown up in a theatre family and has been heavily involved in theatre since she could walk and talk! Most recently, she performed in Footloose at Theatre in the Park! Abby has taught classes and summer camps at STG Studio since 2022. 

Brad Rackers has served as the theatre instructor and director at Lee’s Summit West High School for the past 10 years and has been teaching theatre for the past 16 years. Brad also serves as the Steering Committee Chair for the Kansas City Cappies, the Treasurer for the Missouri Thespians, and the Director of Electronic Communications for the Speech and Theatre Association of Missouri. He is also a founding member of STG Studio, the educational arm of Summit Theatre Group. Most recently he directed Summit Theatre Group’s production of Into the Woods. Brad holds a BSE in speech and theatre education from Missouri State University and an MA from Baker University in education.

Megan Roberts spends her days teaching as a reading specialist at Longview Farm Elementary School. Her love of theater, especially musical theater, was inherited from her musical family. Megan earned her Bachelors degree from William Jewell College with the help of a theater and music scholarship. She has her Masters from the University of Central Missouri. Her favorite roles she has portrayed are Fruma-Sarah in Fiddler on the Roof and Puck in Midsummer Night’s Dream. Megan lives in Lee’s Summit with her husband, Brandon, and her daughter, Kamryn. She first stepped into the STG Studio as a parent and now is thrilled to welcome students to the stage in the Intro to Musical Theatre classes.

Tara Rucker is an educator within LSR7. She has taught elementary students for the past 17 years. Tara earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She lives in Lee’s Summit with her husband, Jazz, and their two daughters. They enjoy impromptu dance parties and watching the girl’s perform on the fireplace “stage.” Tara also enjoys cooking, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. She’s excited to merge her passion for education and the arts while inspiring creativity in young actors at STG.

Mia Sparks is an alum of the Lee’s Summit West High School Theatre, Music, and Speech/Debate programs. She has been teaching camps and classes with STG Studio since 2021, but her experience with the group dates back to 2018’s Lion King Jr. Mia is currently studying music therapy at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music. She is also the music teacher at the Berkley Child and Family Development Center on UMKC campus, where she works with children from ages 6 months to 5 years old. Mia has performed in a number of plays, musicals, and operas in the KC area. She was most recently seen as Ariel in STG’s production of The Little Mermaid. Mia is thrilled to be a part of the Studio team. 

Becca is in her third year as STG president. Theatre is truly her passion, and she is thrilled to be part of the STG board through all of the exciting changes we have recently made. She has been involved in over 40 local theatre productions, many at STG: acting on stage, as a music director, and as an accompanist. She plays piano at PLMS for Black and Gold Choir, and for the musicals at LSW, and she enjoys teaching a fitness class for STG Studio. Becca and her husband Andreas have three children: Abbie, Emma, and Sammie, and have lived in the Lee’s Summit community for 23 years.

For over 15 years, Emily Stam was a middle/high school theatre director and teacher. During that time she taught a variety of theatre, film, and creative writing classes; coached the improv team; directed all types of productions including comedy, musicals, and Shakespeare plays; and guided students in creating original plays and musicals. She recently directed STG’s production of Bright Star with the fantastically talented Taylor Arri, and is excited to return to teaching kids about theatre — this time at STG Studio. Emily holds a BA in English & Communications from Trinity International University and an MA in Theatre Education from the University of Northern Colorado. She lives in Lee’s Summit with her husband and son.

Niki Stanley is a certified teacher with 21 years experience teaching theatre, public speaking and she is the theatre director for PLMS. She has worked in the talent industry as a booker and in radio doing promotions and voiceovers. Niki has been teaching with us since we opened our doors at Studio in 2021. She also offers private acting coaching year round.