Meet our staff
We are proud to have a staff of working industry professionals from a variety of disciplines and educational backgrounds to give your child the best performing arts education possible.
Azalia Correa
Artistic director
Teresa Tuccio
Executive director
Asalia was born in México. She decided to pursue acting and attended the Instituto Arte Escénico and directing at the Nacional Autonomous University of México (UNAM), Years later she immigrated to the United States. She furthered her studies within the performing arts at the Theater of Arts (TOA) in Hollywood, California. One of her first jobs on screen was as a host of television shows called "¿Cómo hacer excursionismo?" and "Te Toca." Several soap operas including "Los años perdidos”, “La última esperanza”, "Los años pasan” and " Te Amaré en Silencio." Today, in addition to the theater and television, she apply her skills as a makeup artist, costume designer, choreographer, food stylist, dubbing and voice-overs. She firmly believe that an artists discipline is central to human development, whether it's done through acting, painting, music, sculpture, etc. Her beliefs have been her motivation for over 30 years and as such, hope to pass along some of that passion on to others through her teachings.
Teresa Tuccio is an actor since she was 9 years old. She studied in Mexico City in “Centro de Educación Artística” and has in her career more than 12 plays like “Mamá nos quita los novios” or “El amor en tiempos de Odio”. Also appeared in Telenovelas like “Tierra de Pasiones” and “Los Plateados”. She has 34 years of an acting career and for the past 4 years she has been focused on passing that experience to the new generations.
Alejandra Flores
Founder
Laura Rhi
Camp Director and After School Program Administrator
Laura Rhi, Actor and Director. Laura has trained at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Hollywood, Ca and studied classical theatre with John Barton at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford England. Some of her favorite stage work includes productions of, Taming of the Shrew, American Dream, Anna In The Tropics, MacBeth, Betrayed and Los Vendidos. Laura is an Irene Ryan Nominee and co - founded Teatro Nueva Alma Theatre Company. She co-wrote and produced all the their shows. She also wrote, directed and starred in the acclaimed one person show December 30, 2000. Laura has been a guest director for 11 years at East Los Angeles College, where she is also a proud alumni of.
Estela Scarlata
Associate Producer & Set Designer
In early 1970 she joined The Internation Aliance of Television and Stage Employees and worked for all the major networks as Assistant Stage Dresser and Assistant Prop Master. In 1973 she co-founded the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts. She designed and executed over 180 shows, winning numerous artistic acheivement awards for scenery and costume design. As a playwright, she created a series of children plays as well as L.A. Premier of Wanted: Experience Operators (the first Latino Musical), among others. In 1999, King Juan Carlos of Spain knighted Estela Scarlata and bestowed her with the Cross of Isabella Catolica for her contribution to the development of Latino-American theatre in the United States. In 2009, Ms. Scarlata started a new venture: producing, writing, and creating children's theatre shows for the Los Angeles Theatre Academy, a young and energetic organization that embraces all children of L.A. Since then she has add another 18 shows to her credits.
Mari Sandoval
Musical Theatre
Choreographer
Mari Sandoval was trained in ballet, classical Spanish dance, and flamenco in Spain and the United States by such notables as Carmelita Maracci, Vladimir Lupov, Jonette Swider, Enrique "El Cojo", Carmen Mora, Inesita Lupe del Rio, Nana Lorca, and Roberto Amaral. Mari performed with Roberto Amaral's Ballet Expanol de Los Angeles as the principal dance and the company's ballet mistress. She has performed in theatres suchas the Lobero, Wilshire Ebell, Japan America, Fox Smother's, The Center for Performing Arts at CSUN, as well as numerous other venues throughout the United States and Canada. She was a choreographer for the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts from 1987 to 2009 where she created choreographies for opera, zarzuelas, and numerous plays. Mari's other credits include musical theatre productions and dance theatre productions such as Evita, Cats, The Cobbler's Many Tales, While Beauty Slept, among others.
Ted Owens
Drawing & Music
Instructor
Alejandra Flores has appeared in almost 40 theatrical productions, mostly in lead roles. She has worked with the Center Theatre Group at the Mark Taper Forum, Cornerstone Theatre Company, Bilingual Foundation of the Arts and Cal State University to name a few. She received a Drama-Logue Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theater and a Cesar Award for supporting actress. Her most important film credits include: Friends with Money, Coyote, El Salvador and A Walk in the Clouds. Her television credits include Switched at Birth, Southland, Sons of Anarchy, Prime Suspect, 24, ER, Nip/Tuck, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Brothers and Sisters, The Shield, Justice, Summerland, The Guardian and a recurring role in The Bold and the Beautiful on CBS (2002-2004). Alejandra has directed many major theatrical productions such as the family christmas play Too Many Tamales for The Bilingual Foundation of the Arts (11 consecutive years). Blood Wedding for Cal State LA and Aguila Real at Occidental College. Alejandra also hosted and produced the Community Affairs show Foro 22 on KWHY-TV, a show that ran for 12 years. She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the Conservatory of Theatre (CUT) at the National University of Mexico, UNAM. Alejandra is proud to be the recipient of the Artist-in-Residence (AIR) Program and the prestigious City of Los Angeles (COLA) Individual Artist Fellowship grant from the Department of Cultural Affairs 2008-2009. She is the founder of The Los Angeles Theatre Academy, a non profit theatrical/educational organization for all ages.
Carlos Brown
Costume Designer
Carlos is an award-winning wardrobe designer. Mr. Brown has worked in many major motion picture films, television series, and commercials. He also has extensive credits and awards in theatre productions. He received an "Ariel" (Mexico's "Oscar") for the movie Like Water for Chocolate, Law & Order L.A., and many other hit series.
Leslie Bee
vocal instructor
Leslie was born in Los Angeles, California and there she developed a love/hate relationship for jazz, but Leslie has jazz in her DNA thanks to her father’s musical genes. During Leslie’s formative years he was a jazz radio DJ and singer who played piano and vibes day and night driving the family crazy. You can’t escape a good thing. Leslie began singing professionally, in New York after finding twenty dollars on the street, and then stopping to have a drink with friends. While having that celebratory drink with friends, the piano player asked her to sit in with the band. This request has taken Leslie Bee around the world. After singing weekly at the Tribeca Bar & Grill, within three months she was singing before the Prime Minister of East Berlin; behind the Iron Curtain and touring Prague, France and Italy’s jazz clubs. Leslie returned to LA and performed at many of the top jazz venues in Southern California.
Lydia Moreno
Fitness instructor
Artist and musician, Ted Owens is an award-winning watercolorist and has been an instructor for more than 30 years. A third generation artist, Ted started painting at the age of 7, later creating and designing CD artwork, packaging for national food products as well as artwork for print.