Alana Smith

Alana Smith came to CharacterWorks from the theater department at Virginia Tech. While studying acting, she also discovered a love for teaching. God’s plan sent her back to Richmond to continue pursuing her passion in her hometown. Some of her favorite roles include: Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, the title role in Eurydice; on the local stage with Quill Theater as Margaret in Much Ado About Nothing and the Evil Queen in Cymbeline; and with Virginia Rep as Red Dog in Go, Dog, Go! She has been teaching with CharacterWorks since 2008 and has had the wonderful opportunity to direct many CWorks shows since 2010. She lives in Midlothian with her husband, Daniel, and their 3 sons.

Alayna Souders

Alayna Souders has been singing and dancing for as long as she can remember and is stoked to be joining the Character Works team! She choreographs for Midlothian High School Show Choirs and has been enjoying working with other local groups via dance and vocal clinics. Alayna is looking forward to advancing her knowledge of music through multiple outlets in the coming year including VCU’s vocal ensembles and education program. As a CWorks alumni, Alayna could not be more excited to be rejoining this amazing community!

Alyssa Glauser

Alyssa Glauser is a CharacterWorks alumna (alongside her twin sister Caitlin) and joined CWorks as a Stage Manager in 2022. She has had a passion for art and design all of her life and enjoys spending time in creative pursuits whenever she can. Alyssa is a graduate of The College of William and Mary with a double major in Biology and Italian with a concentration in Art History. She has always been drawn to a wide variety of interests and enjoys learning something new every day. When she is not at CharacterWorks, Alyssa enjoys reading and spending time with the people that she loves (including her cat, Luna).

Ashley Love

Ashley has her B.S. in Performance Pedagogy and an M.A. in Performance Studies from Bob Jones University. After grad school she taught junior high and high school English, theatre, and public speaking for ten years at a private school in South Carolina. During these years, she started a theatre program at her school and directed and coached over eighteen youth productions, while also co-founding a children’s theatre in Myrtle Beach, SC. She recently received her M.F.A. degree in Theatre Pedagogy at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Audrey Snyder

Audrey is a graduate of William & Mary with a BA in Music. She also studied acting at W&M and musical theatre at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts CAP21. After graduating she performed professionally in the Richmond area and NYC in dozens of productions. She is now mom to 3 girls, teaches preschool at West End Presbyterian Church and works as a voiceover artist.

Benjamin Crain

Blair Keeley

Blair Keeley graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Furman University, attended the film school at the School Of The Art Institute of Chicago and graduate school at the Portfolio Center in Atlanta. Blair has been a parent, a volunteer and a board member with CharacterWorks since 2010. Blair has seven kids, and every single one has participated with CharacterWorks in classes, camps and shows. Blair and his lovely wife Hannah are entrepreneurs and operate multiple business in their spare time. Blair is also a very serious person, never served in the Prussian military and is bald by choice.

Jacob Filegar

Jacob Filegar is a graduate of Liberty University’s Theatre Arts program and is a CYT Richmond Alumnus and CWorks staff member. Previously, Jacob has performed and stage managed with Alluvion Stage Company and toured with Virginia Rep On Tour (formerly Theatre IV On Tour), performing for elementary and middle school students across the country. During the school year, Jacob directs, stage manages, and designs for CWorks shows, teaches classes, and helps manage CharacterWorks' sets and props inventory. In the summer, Jacob serves as one of CWorks' Summer Day Camp Directors.

Joshua Mullins

Joshua is a graduate of Radford University with a BA in Theatre. Since graduating, he's been teaching and acting in the Richmond area. Notable acting works include: She Stoops to Conquer, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare [abridged], School for Lies, All’s Well That Ends Well (Quill Theatre); It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, After December, Hugs and Kisses (Virginia Repertory Theatre); A Hotel on Marvin Gardens, The Unexpected Guest (CAT); Photograph 51 (The New Theatre); and Hamlet (Richmond Catholic Theatre). He also teaches Theatre at Henrico High School through their Center for the Arts. He lives with his incredible wife, Anika, and their dog, Peanut.

Joy Osborne

Joy began with CharacterWorks (then CYT) in 2003 as a college student working in the first CYT summer camp program and has been on staff in different capacities ever since. She is an alumna of both Liberty University (B.S. Consumer Sciences) and Virginia Tech (M.S. Ed). When not at CWorks, Joy homeschools her four children, runs with her dog Luna, and teaches AWANA at Swift Creek Baptist Church.

Katy Anna Harris

Katy Anna is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University with a BFA in Theatre Performance. After graduating, she went to London to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she received a certificate for Shakespearean Acting. Katy Anna is also an Elby Award winning chef, graduating from Culinard in 2015, just before giving birth to her daughter, Marlowe. Some of her favorite theatrical roles have included "Beatrice" from Much Ado About Nothing, "Cassandra" from Agamemnon and His Daughters, "Fred" from Once Upon a Mattress, and "Slater" from Catacombs.

Rebecca McNamee

Becky started dancing at 3 years old after she saw Singin' In The Rain and never looked back. She graduated with a BA in Musical Theater from James Madison University in 2009. Becky was fortunate enough to direct as well as perform at school and found that she loved teaching and directing as much as she loved performing. Becky performed professionally at various regional theaters and in DC before moving to Richmond. Some of her favorite past roles include Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Hunyak in Chicago, Rusty in Footloose, and Sally in You're a Good Man Charlie Brown. She enjoys sharing her love of Jesus and performing with her students both in our Academy class program and as a show director. Becky and her husband, Shane, have 2 daughters, Emma and Clara.

Sarah Healy

Sarah Healy is a proud alumni of CharcterWorks with over 20 productions under her belt since 2008. She has worked CWorks summer camps and co-directed 2 shows alongside her father, Morgan Day. In 2019, Sarah received her B.M. from Liberty University in music education and taught 4 years in a public elementary school near Williamsburg. In 2023-2024 Sarah was awarded teacher of year at Seaford Elementary School. Since 2018, she has been teaching private voice and piano lessons to students ranging from 6-16. This past summer, Sarah and her husband moved to Richmond and welcomed their first daughter, Irenna, into their family. As a new mom, Sarah is not returning to the public school classroom, but is excited to jump back into CharcterWorks classes! She is looking forward to using her voice, education, and experience to equip young singers with new confidence and technique!

Tracia Everton Austin

Tracia Everton Austin received a Bachelor of Music Education from James Madison University and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Virginia Commonwealth University. After teaching music in both public and private schools, she began teaching classes for CharacterWorks and for almost two decades has served as one of the Music Directors. Tracia also works in film and TV as a casting assistant at Anne Chapman Casting, has a private vocal studio and has helped coordinate the Kings Dominion Festival of Music for over three decades. She and her husband, Terry, who has conducted several pit orchestras for CWorks, love to travel and have twin sons, Joshua and Seth, who are CWorks alums.