Our History:
Founded in 1981, Belasco Theatre Company strives to teach children the power of their own potential. Focused on excellence, talent, and hard work, instructors of Belasco Theatre Company never let the kids forget the most important thing is to love what you do.
Shows produced by BTC are like no other. The musical scores are recorded in the key of the actors singing them, so that everything sounds magical. Professional choreography, costumes, and makeup provide for a Broadway quality show everytime.
Our Instructors:
Executive Director Edward Belasco founded Belasco Theatre Company in 1981 for the purpose of introducing theatre arts to young people. He holds a degree in drama from U.C. Berkeley and has worked as a producer and performer for more than thirty years. He studied extensively with The Eric Morris Actor's Workshop in Los Angeles as well as Stella Adler.
Mr. Belasco taught each theatre season, inspired by the amazing and talented youth, "When I see my vision played out on the stage by these young people, it makes it all worth it," he explains. Over the last twenty-six seasons of BTC, Edward has led hundreds of young actors onto the stage in countless Broadway-style productions such as: Grease, Annie, Oliver, Flower Drum Song, A Chorus Line, and Guys & Dolls. His dedicated students grow up on the stage by his side and later go to attend prestigious universities like NYU and the University of Michigan.
Director:
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Shanti Belasco Glynn is the daughter of Ed Belasco and she founded the Southern California division of BTC in 2004. Directing and choreographing, Shanti has been dancing for over 20 years and is trained in ballet, jazz and musical theatre dance. She set foot on the stage at the young age of 7 as a student of BTC, singing and dancing her heart out in a variety of musical shows (A Chorus Line, West Side Story, Grease, Oliver, and Cats to name a few).
She grew up on the stage and thrived on the energy and excitement of theatre. After moving to Los Angeles, she trained with the Eric Morris Actor's Workshop in Hollywood. Today she holds a degree in Psychology from UCLA, where she graduated with a minor in Dance. She also received a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and a Master’s Degree in Multicultural Education from Cal State Dominguez Hills. For four years, she taught 4th grade in Torrance. Now, as she follows in her father’s footsteps, she is incredibly happy to have the opportunity to combine her passion and talent for the arts with her desire to teach young children. |
Vocal Director:
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Melissa Harding started performing at age 10 with BTC North. Studying private voice since age 9, she has appeared in countless musical theatre productions, playing roles such as Sarah Brown in "Guys and Dolls", Diana Morales in "A Chorus Line", both Sandy and Rizzo in "Grease", Mei Li in "Flower Drum Song", and most recently, "the Mistress" in Santa Monica College’s production of "Evita." She now lives in Santa Monica, studies musical theatre, and enjoys being the vocal director for BTC South. |
Vocal & Director Assistant:
Charlotte Lee hails from the San Francisco Bay Area. The middle of 3 girls in a very musical family, she's been singing and dancing since age 5. Through high school she dabbled in a variety of performance areas including running lights and sound for shows, taking on the role of Bebe Benzenheimer in A Chorus Line, and playing tuba for the concert band. After graduation she joined the performing arts group The Young Americans. Charlotte toured with the company for nearly 7 years, eventually company managing 1 national and 1 international tour. She has performed and taught all across the U.S, as well as in England, Ireland, Wales, Germany, Holland, Sweden and Japan. Most recently Charlotte worked for the Honolulu Theatre for Youth on Oahu.
Choreographer:
Jessica Guess Born and Raised in Ft. Worth, Texas, Jessica moved to L.A. at the age of 14 to train at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy. Trained in all disciplines of dance, Jesse’s experience has been widely varied. From opening the Jerry Lewis Telethon with African to performing Hip-Hop for Steven Spielberg at USC’s 75th Anniversary Gala, there has never been a dull moment. Her musical theatre credits include Guys and Dolls, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, with FWAFA. Added to her list is the great time she had while performing The Wiz with BTC several seasons back. Eager to try everything, she didn’t stop there and proceeded to assistant direct Bayou Legend under the direction of Debbie Allen and followed that as the lead choreographer for Performing Arts workshops. There her credits include: Beauty and the Beast, The Sound of Music, Robin Hood, High School Musical 1 and 2, as well as Wicked. She also performed with 2 different dance companies: Unity’s ensemble under the direction of Tessandra Chavez & Terry Beeman’s Dance Company. These experiences have led her to expand her horizons in the field of teaching and choreography. Jessica aspires to develop her career as a professional dancer and choreographer and looks forward to finding new opportunities to advance her talents as an actress.
Our Shows:
To date, Belasco Theatre Company has produced well over 30 shows, including:
Flower Drum Song
Grease
Annie
Damn Yankees
Big River
Little Shop of Horrors
Lil Abner
Oklahoma
Bye Bye Birdie
South Pacific
Guys and Dolls
The Music Man
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
The Wiz
Oliver
West Side Story
A Chorus Line
Fiddler on the Roof
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