Lead Roles

Production Team
 

Hanna Atkinson (She/Her | Production Manager) is excited to join Caroline Calouche & Co. and the Charlotte Cirque & Dance Center as production manager.  She has previously worked with Caroline Calouche & Co. as the calling stage manager for its 2023 production of Clara’s Trip and is looking forward to joining the company for its full 2024-2025 season. Hanna is a Charlotte native and attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she received degrees in Theater Design & Technical Production and Business Administration. Trained as a stage manager & theater electrician, she has worked with a variety of theater, dance, and opera companies across the country.  Most recently she has worked with Toledo Opera, Opera Carolina, and the Chautauqua Opera Company & Conservatory. 

 

When not backstage, you can find her spending time outdoors or with her nose in a good book! 

 

Valerie Wheeler (She/Her) | Stage Manager) has served as a Production Stage Manager at opera companies and festivals across the US, including New York City Opera, Portland Opera, Opera Carolina, Toledo Opera, Opera Grand Rapids, Wichita Grand Opera, Wolf Trap Opera Company, Opera Cleveland, University of Southern California/Thornton Opera, Opera Santa Barbara and Chautauqua Opera. With over 25 years of experience in the field, among her additional roles and credits, she served as Production Manager for the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival from 2010-2017.

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John P. Woodey, Lighting Designer

John has designed for numerous companies including the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Olney Theatre Center, Imagination Stage, Shaker Mountain Opera, Theatre Charlotte, Gallery Players(Off Broadway), Access Theatre(Off Broadway), Chautauqua Opera and Charlotte Ballet. John has also designed lighting for broadcast including Netflix’s Fortune Feimster’s Sweet and Saltyand the ACC Football Honors Program. John spent time in London designing for the Central St. Martins School of Art where he designed lights for “The Birds Project.”  Other lighting credits include assisting at Baltimore’s Centerstage, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Geva Theater and the Alley Theatre. John was faculty and designer at DeSales, Catholic and Johnson C. Smith Universities. He is the Assistant Professor of Theatre at Winthrop University specializing in technical direction and design.  He completed his graduate work at Ohio University where he received the regional Peggy Ezekiel Award of Outstanding Achievement in Design. He is a member and Vice President of the IATSE Local 322 in Charlotte, NC. www.johnpwoodey.com

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Sara Petty - Costume Designer

Sara is a local of North Carolina who has been involved in theater her entire life. After earning her BFA in Theatre Technology and Design, she started her professional career in The Berkshires of Massachusetts. Having always wanted to go back for her masters in design, she found herself returning to her home state in 2019 to earn a MFA in Costume Design. Through University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Sara was able to experience film, and find a new medium to explore with design. She is interested in the connection between people's personality and the expression of it through clothes as a medium.

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Emily Heilig - Pattern Maker and Costume Technician

Having been mesmerized by the artistry of cirque for decades, Emily is honored to have made costumes for Clara's Trip. Currently, she is the full time Cutter/Draper at Children's Theatre of Charlotte and a proud member of IATSE Local 491. She has been creating costumes, professionally, for almost 25 years; Radio City Rockettes, original Broadway productions of The Little Mermaid and Shrek the Musical, Cirque du Soleil Special Events, Utah Shakespearean Festival, Santa Fe Opera, Tuacahn Center for the Arts, as well as numerous smaller regional theatres, Richmond Ballet, Carolina Ballet, and Charlotte Ballet. Emily has shared her knowledge of theatre and costuming, while also mentoring students, at UT-Chattanooga, UNC-Greensboro, and UNC-Chapel Hill.

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Jennifer O’Kelly, Scenic Designer

Jennifer enjoys regional work with inventive theatre and dance companies and has been the lighting designer for CC&Co. since 2008. Regional credits from classics to experimental include; Rooms and AESTUO-Dogma Engine, Clara’s Trip, A Goddess Tale, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bus Stop, Dracula, Angels, Charlotte Dance Festival, Nutcracker, Misterioso, A Christmas Carol and The Scarlett Pimpernel for NC Shakespeare Festival, Alban Elved Dance Co., Caroline Calouche & Co., Clarence Brown Theatre, Winston-Salem Festival Ballet, and Triad Stage. She also enjoys art direction and production design for film and television including Shuffleton’s Barbershop, The Shunning, The Confession, Juwanna Mann, Having Our Say and Home of the Giants. Jennifer earned her MFA at UNCSA and operates Muse Scenic Studio in Winston-Salem, NC.

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Athena He-DeMontaron - Rehearsal Director for Raleigh Community Ensemble

Athena He-DeMontaron (she/her) is a graduate student pursuing her master's degree in Poultry Science at NC State University. Originally from Charlotte, NC she has been dancing since 2005, beginning with Chinese Traditional dance and ballet. She has trained in a variety of movement styles since then including contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, modern, and pointe as well as competitive figure skating. Athena is an alum of Charlotte Cirque & Dance Center and a former member of the Caroline Calouche & Co. Youth Ensemble, where she trained and performed in the disciplines of sling, silks, trapeze, lyra, and partner acrobatics. Upon graduation she moved to Raleigh, NC and began her undergraduate studies at NC State University. She has been a member of the State Dance Company since the Fall of 2019. SDC has been the highlight of her undergraduate career giving her amazing opportunities to work with outstanding choreographers like Tracey Durbin, Monica Bill Barnes, and Britt Whitmoyer Fishel as well as lifelong friendships. 

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