Our Faculty

Michael has been an actor and director since childhood. Over the years he has co-founded two Latino theater companies; La Compañía De Teatro De Alburquerque, Inc. in the 1980’s, and more recently Teatro Nuevo México, where he served as Co-Artistic Director for four years. His work has been seen as far afield as Europe, Mexico and South America, including a stint with the National Theater of Venezuela. He is also an award-winning voice talent in both English and Spanish, providing voices for advertising, theater, television, audio books and video games. Since arriving in Seattle a few years ago, he has worked with several theater companies including Balagan, Theater Schmeater, and GreenStage, for whom he directed “The Tempest.” He was most recently seen jumping onto the roof of a train in Pork Filled Production’s “The Tumbleweed Zephyr,” and decorating a cake on television. He occasionally regrets having chosen theater over sleep.

Samara Lerman is an award winning filmmaker and actor with twenty years of teaching and coaching experience. She has directed and produced projects in Mongolia, Ireland, Denmark and the United States. Her films and performances have screened at festivals all over the world and can be found streaming on Amazon Prime and other digital platforms. She is the recipient of a Puffin Grant and 4Culture Historic Site Specific Grant. Samara’s voiceover clients have included; Banner Bank, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Ditto, MultiCare, the Committee For Children, and Microsoft.

Shana Pennington-Baird has been working in the Pacific Northwest theatre scene for twenty-five years. In addition to acting, Shana has produced concert series, managed large and small theatre festivals and summer camps, and planned events for small and large non-profits. After receiving a BFA in Theatre from Stephens College, she toured with the Missoula Children’s Theatre and settled in Seattle. A long-time veteran of Cabaret Productions, Shana is best known for her ability to quickly learn parody lyrics and perform on the fly. Shana’s voiceover clients include: Microsoft, Verizon, JP Morgan Chase, the Seattle Channel, South Lake Union Chamber, Audible.com, Mountain Credit Union, Impossible Acoustic, and more.  Shana has worked with the Bathhouse Theatre, 5th Ave Musical Theatre, Oregon Cabaret, Seattle Shakespeare Company, Civic Light Opera, ACT Theatre, Icicle Creek Theatre Festival, Okoboji Summer Theatre, and Book-It Repertory. She is working on a solo show called Broken Wide Open about her wild health adventures in Ireland.

Troy has been voice acting, on-camera acting and producing music in the Pacific Northwest for over 20 years. Since studying and graduating from the University of Missouri Theatre Department, Troy has landed countless notable roles. You can hear his voice in video games: Plants vs. Zombies, the X-box Mech Warrior series, SAW I and II, Halo Wars 2 and Kid Icarus: Uprising; as well as in radio, TV and web spots for the NFL, Yahoo! Sports, Amazon, Expedia, T-Mobile, Washington’s Lottery, AAA and Car Toys.