Current Teachers:
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!
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.
Benjamin Crain
Benjamin Crain is a graduate of Liberty University’s Cinematic Arts Center and a full time video editor and graphics animator at Good Kid Productions. Benjamin has worked on several feature films and television productions local to Richmond and Los Angeles, assisting with production and art direction. Benjamin assists with CWorks’ film academy classes throughout the year, as well as edits recorded CWorks’ shows.
Benjamin Taylor
Ben is a CWorks Alum, and a Liberty University graduate, with a B.S. in Biblical Studies and a Piano Performance minor. Ben has been the Music Director for many main stage CWorks productions, and is currently musically directing "Willy Wonka." Ben has also taught music at CWorks Spectacular Kids Camp for years!
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.
Caitlin Glauser
Caitlin began CharacterWorks first as a student from 2011-2018 and recently transitioned from alumna to choreographer with her first mainstage CWorks production during the 2022-2023 season. She has had a passion for dance ever since she was a child and specializes in ballet and musical theater but has also dabbled in jazz, tap, and lyrical. She is also a graduate of William & Mary (B.S. Linguistics and French) and in her free time, you'll find her reading, puzzling, or spending time with her identical twin sister (Alyssa--also a teacher at CWorks).
Charlotte Elliott
Charlotte has been involved with CharacterWorks since 2011. In 2017, she began working as a CWorks teacher and music director. She received her B.M. in Music Education from VCU and has taught K-12 music in both public and private schools. Charlotte loves being able to share her passion for the arts with her students as well as help them find ways to use their gifts for God’s glory. She and her husband Alex have a daughter and a new baby boy.
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.
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.
Kara Pendagraph
Kara Pendagraph is a dance teacher, choreographer and performer working in the Richmond area. She holds a BA in dance from James Madison University and has spent summers studying at various workshops and festivals such as the American Dance Festival, the Bates Dance Festival, the Dance Teacher Summit and Dance New Amsterdam. Over the past 16 years, Kara has taught and choreographed for various programs throughout the city, including 12 years at Collegiate School where she served as the Upper School dance teacher and choreographed for their mainstage productions. She has also taught and choreographed for numerous CharacterWorks Theater summer camps, class sessions and productions over the years. Kara has been choreographing and performing with RADAR, a local modern dance company, since its inception in 2011, and has served as one of its Co-Artistic Directors since 2013. She is excited to work with the CWorks students this fall!
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.