Joey Pipia (Artistic Director) studied acting with Oscar winner William Hickey and at New York University. He is a graduate of The Joanne Barron Acting Studio in Los Angeles where he studied the Sanford Meisner Acting Technique. He spreads the good word of theater as a teacher, director, actor, and professional entertainer. Joey has appeared on TV, film, and on stages across the country. He tours with The New Old Time Chautauqua vaudeville and educational circus.

Linda Dowdell is a musical director and composer whose work has been produced at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Women’s Project and Productions, Los Angeles Theatre Company, Tribeca Performing Arts Center and New York’s Summer Play Festival. During her ten year tenure as original musical director of the Mark Morris Dance Group and Michael Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project, she toured the globe performing with guest artists from Yo-Yo Ma to Michele Shocked.

Michelle Hensel has been studying, performing and living theater for over 35 years. She has studied with Seattle improv guru Matt Smith, and recently took part in the wild and wonderful Shakespeare in the Dark, led by Joey Pipia, where she honed her improv skills, became a fortune-telling shark, and balanced a large crab on her head.

Judy Nichols holds a Bachelors degree in Vocal Music and a minor in Drama from California State University Chico. She has performed in over 200 productions, including musical theatre, dramas, comedies, operas, and dance productions. She has also performed with the improv troupe, Hooray for Captain Spaulding. She is the current president of Bremerton Community Theatre.

Jenny Pipia has been teaching piano to children and adults for 25 years. She worked as the music and program director for Joey’s Gym for Children in Beverly Hills from 1987-1993 and has been the organist and music director at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church since 1995. She plays clarinet with The New Old Time Chautauqua’s Fighting Intruments of Karma Marching Chamber Band/Orchestra. Jenny holds a Bachelor of Music from Ithaca College.

Derek Kavan, has been doing improv for the past five years with Unexpected Productions. He has been in such shows as Magnum Farce, An Improvised Christmas Carol, Honky Tonk, Black Eyed Blonde and The Complex. He is the Education Coordinator of Unexpected Productions and can be seen regularly in the classroom and on stage Fridays and Saturdays in TheatreSports.

Phina Pipia graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College in 2009. She currently lives in New York City, where she dances with the Julian Barnett project, Cori Kresgi and Dancers, and codirects the performance group, Generation Goat Rocket. Phina also teaches dance and Pilates in New York City.

Kate Bessey, is originally from Quilcene and recently returned to the area after nearly a decade in Cordoba, Argentina. She began her theater training in the community theater groups of Jefferson County and honed her skills at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. She has taught drama in New York City and in Argentina, she also worked with independent theater troupes for several years in Argentina. She is currently working on a MA degree in Applied Theater at the University of Victoria, BC where she lives with her husband Santiago and son, Lorenzo.

Erik Van Beuzekom, an Associate Instructor with Dueling Arts International, is a classically trained actor, currently working as the Artistic Director of The Paradise Theatre School. Having received his BFA in theatre from Chapman University in Southern California, Erik cofounded theatre companies in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. Most recently Erik directed the fights for Romeo & Juliet, Spit Fire Grill, A View From a Bridge, and The Distance From Here.

The Chameleon Theater
800 W. Park Ave
Port Townsend, WA 98368
360-379-1068