Rebekka Austin – Director
Rebekka Austin studied music at Brigham Young University with an emphasis in both Vocal and Bassoon Performance. She has a passion for Opera and has sung professionally for many years. She has had lead roles in The Marriage of Figaro, Carmen, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Siour Angelica and The Magic Flute. She has also been in the chorus of Rigaletto and The Mikado. Playing the piano from the age of four, she is an accomplished pianist and accompanist. She has taught all skill levels for nearly twenty years and enjoys bringing music to the lives of musicians both young and young at heart. She has also been both organist and pianist for area churches, and is an accomplished Bassoonist, performing many years as the principal Bassoonist in several Symphony Orchestras. Rebekka enjoys learning to play musical instruments. She is proficient in thirteen instruments and strives to learn more.
Rebekka directs three Community Choirs in Tracy, the Children’s choir, Youth Choir and a special auditioned a cappella group called the 12 Tones. She lives here in Tracy with her husband, Kevin and two beautiful boys Walker (3) and Garrett (1).
Kenneth Cefalo – Director
Kenneth Cefalo owns Main Street Music located in Tracy, CA. Main Street Music’s line of business is retail musical instruments. Ken also plays a variety of instruments and supports his passion by providing services, support and his own skills to increase music education in the community. Ken has directed Encore (a juried competition for the Tracy Performing Arts Foundation) highlighting the talents of children between the ages of 8-19.
Laura Hagler – Director Laura Hagler has been involved in community theatre for over 15 years. Acting credits include: Once Upon a Mattress, Grease, Barnum, Dracula, The Wiz, Godspell, Cabaret, Guys and Dolls and Born Yesterday. Directing credits include: The Crucible, Diary of Anne Frank, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Tracy, Our Town U.S.A. She has served on the board of Directors of Showcase Theatre Group, Chicago, IL, and the Tracy Performing Arts Foundation.
Diann McCannon - Director
Ms. McCannon earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Arts from UCLA. Following a 10 year professional acting career on stage and in television, she directed numerous stage productions in the Los Angeles area, and the critically acclaimed Willie & Esther, off-Broadway. She was awarded Best Director by the Hollywood/Beverly Hills NAACP Theatre Awards for her direction of Shakin’ the Mess Outta Misery. Some of her directing credits include: For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf, Sal, Frog Eyes, A Dopey Fairy Tale, Little Women, A Circle Unbroken, and An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein. Her college and workshop teaching experience includes acting, voice and diction, movement for the stage, and theatre history at Santa Monica College, Los Angeles Southwest College, and California State University Dominguez Hills. Ms. McCannon also served as the Manager and Artistic Director of the University Express, a performing tour group for UCLA’s Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools Office.
Geoff Turner – Director
Geoff Turner has been involved in the performing arts for the over 20 years. His roles have included set design, acting and directing for musical, comedy, and drama productions. Most recently at the Tracy Civic Theater, he directed The Wizard of Oz, A Little Princess, The Great Bean Caper, and The Housekeeper. He was also a director and producer for last year’s Director/Producer Scholarship, specifically for the film judging segments.
Scott Whiting – Director
Scott Whiting has been involved in the dramatic arts for over 30 years. He has been an actor, director, set designer, writer and theatre coach. Scott has directed more than 20 shows including, Flowers for Algernon, Little Shop of Horrors, The Curious Savage and The Folks Next Door. Scott has acted in dozens of plays, most recently in The Foreigner and And The Winner isÂ… for TPAF’s Bistro Series at the Grand Theatre in Tracy. Scott has also starred in two independent films and one television pilot. Scott has been teaching drama students since 1985 and looks forward to starting an improvisational workshop in Tracy in the near future.
