KDB has been writing, directing , teaching and acting for nearly two decades, and has worked her way from Boston to San Francisco to Miami to Los Angeles. The Artistic Director and Founder of Atlantis Playmakers, KDB currently resides in Los Angeles in the off-season where she is writing a text book on Shakespeare for high school students. She coaches professional actors and has had the pleasure of co-teaching a course with Roz Symon, former Education Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (Stratford-on Avon, England). She has developed curriculum and taught students of all levels for the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Dublin Theater Company, the California Shakespeare Festival, Pembroke Pines Charter High School, Muskrat Theater Company, and of course, Atlantis Playmakers, where she develops the curriculum for the studio programs. She has her BA in English from the College of the Holy Cross, and has trained with the Classical Acting Program at SF Shakespeare, the American Conservatory Theater, and Dueling Arts International. KDB has directed more than 100 plays, from Shakespeare to world premieres, from opera to musicals. She has had success as a playwright as well in Boston and San Francisco, including Locked from the Inside and the smash AP hit The Bride among her 15 or so produced plays. KDB performs rarely these days, but was seen during the 2005 season in both Love Letters and Fool for Love. "Director, fight choreographer, playwright and performer, Basso is a jack-of-all-trades..." - Callboard Magazine, San Francisco
FACULTY BIO: Amy Joy Laffin
Amy has been teaching with Atlantis Playmakers Studio program since 1999. She has her degree in Education from and an Associates degree in theater from Middlesex Community College. Amy brings nearly a decade of experience coaching theater and working with children to her workshops which are always considered favorites with the students. Amy has also been a member of the professional company since our first season in 1998. She has created dozens of memorabe characters for the stage, for plays ranging from classics like The Comedy of Errors and Romeo and Juliet to contemporary world premieres, like A is for Apple.
FACULTY BIO: Jared Culverhouse
Founder of Working Man’s Clothes Productions, Jared started the company in 2005 in New York City. Working Man’s Clothes Productions has produced the works of such playwrights as Romulus Linney, Bekah Brunstetter, Samuel Bret Williams, Chisa Hutchinson, among others. He has his BFA in Acting from The University of Texas at San Marcos and is a professional director. Last year one of Jared’s directorial endeavors won the 2010 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding New York Theatre. This play was also published after Jared’s production of the play, making it his third consecutive play to go to the publishing house from the production. As an actor Jared has been seen in Twelfth Night (Best Supporting Actor, Dallas Morning News), To Nineveh (Best Ensemble Cast, New York Innovative Theatre Awards), Penetrator (New York Premier) among others. Jared has recently directed the world premier of the new play ‘The Spitting Image’ at Boston’s Factory Theatre. Jared is known for being a great acting teacher and coach in New York and is excited to now be in the Boston-area.
FACULTY BIO: Darcie Champagne
Darcie Champagne: Darcie has her MFA in Acting from The Actors Studio Drama School in New York and her BFA in Musical Theatre from Emerson College in Boston. She has been seen on the Broadway stage in Broadway’s Rising Stars, the Off- Broadway Stage in Women Beware Women, and the underground theatre scene of New York and Boston in many original productions. A strong believer in theatre that impacts a community, Darcie was the Company Manager for the 77-th Season of the esteemed Peterborough Players in New Hampshire, where she was also a member of their Acting Company. She is a founding member of the Artistic Council for Working Man’s Clothes Productions in NYC. Darcie enjoys her time as an acting teacher with a focus on the voice and speech. Darcie is delighted to be back in the Boston area and was recently seen playing the role of Tonya Harding in the new Rock Opera ‘Tonya & Nancy’ at American Repertory Theatre’s Oberon Theatre.