The People of Creative Stage

Madeline Bender

Madeline Bender is an international opera singer, arts educator, producer, and award-winning community leader. Her career spans professional performance, arts education, and community leadership. She has worked with leading stage directors, conductors, and singers in the classical music world and has spent more than a decade developing innovative approaches to performing arts education.

In 2014, Madeline founded Creative Stage Education Company, developing innovative, multidisciplinary, performance-based arts programs for children that center on creative collaboration across theater, music, puppet making, filmmaking, dance, and storytelling.

Madeline is also the Founder and Director of Creative Stage Collective (CSC), a nonprofit multigenerational theater troupe that brings children and professional artists together to create original, kid-inspired theater for public audiences. As a writer, lyricist, director, and producer, she has developed original productions for Symphony Space, Carnegie Hall, and the New York Public Library, collaborating with renowned opera singers and performers from Broadway, film and television, and the concert stage. She has pioneered a distinctive model of theater-making in which children and accomplished adult artists collaborate to create artistically relevant work.

In 2026, Madeline was named a New Yorker for New York Honoree by Citizens Committee for New York City in recognition of her community leadership. She was also invited to present at Lincoln Center’s Day of Learning at The Juilliard School, where she shared CSC’s multigenerational theater-making model with arts professionals and educators.

A passionate advocate for children’s education, Madeline co-founded Voices of Hope with conductor Timothy Long, serving as General Director of the opera gala in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The concert featured distinguished opera singers including Erin Morley, Samantha Hankey, Jennifer Hines, Gordon Gietz, Paul Whelan, and Bryan Register, among others, and raised more than a quarter of a million dollars to support educational opportunities for severely underprivileged children around the world.

As an opera singer, Madeline has been praised by The New York Times for her “dramatic stage presence,” “voluptuous soprano,” and “theatrical flair.” Over nearly 15 years, she performed leading roles on major operatic stages around the world, working with distinguished directors including Sir Colin Graham, Sir Peter Hall, Robert Wilson, David McVicar, Paul Curran, John Copley, and Sir Jonathan Miller.

Career highlights include Euridice in Orphée et Eurydice at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner; Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at La Monnaie in Brussels and Glyndebourne Festival Opera; Konstanze in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Baden-Baden and Aix-en-Provence festivals; and Violetta in La Traviata with Santa Fe Opera. She has also performed as soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the New York Philharmonic and Handel’s Messiah with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis.

Madeline received her Masters degree from the Manhattan School of Music.  She lives in NYC with her husband, operatic bass Paul Whelan. Her son, Zachary is studying voice at Oberlin Conservatory.

ANTERIOR LEVERETT

Anterior Leverette is a playwright and performer based in New York, and a second-year MFA candidate in Playwriting at Columbia University. She received her B.A. in Theatre and Performance Studies from Kennesaw State University and her M.A. in Africana Studies from Georgia State University. During her studies, Anterior was fortunate to hone her craft as a performer, director, dramaturg, and writer. After receiving her degree, she began working as a performer and writer for the Atlanta History Center. She served as a playwriting apprentice in the 2018/2019 Horizon Theatre AppCo. She is a Working Title Playwright Rosalind Ayers-Williams Scholarship Recipient, a member of the 2023/2024 Alliance Theatre Lead Reiser Artist, National Black Theatre SOUL Reading series playwright, a 2024 SheATL Finalist, and the recent recipient of the Dramatist Guild Foundation Hansberry-Lilly Fellowship.

ELLA Smith

Born and raised in the Twin Cities, Ella moved to NYC to study drama at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Ella Smith studied at the Stella Adler Studio and, in her junior year, was selected to attend the Shakespeare program at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. In addition to her classical training, Ella studied improv and sketch at the Upright Citizens Brigade where she fell in love with comedy.

Ella wrote, starred in, and produced a short comedic film titled “Period.” and wrote an 8 part mockumentary web series about non-union-regional-summer-stock-low-budget theater called “This is B.S.” which she also acted in and produced. The series is currently in post-production.

Her production company ‘Funny Girl Productions’ is currently in its second year and launching a children’s branch titled ‘Funny Kid Productions’. Ella is also an active member of the sketch comedy group Stupid Hot and when not acting, finds great joy teaching acting classes at Rikers Island Correctional Facility. Ella can be a local hire in NYC, Minneapolis, and Toronto and has dual American and Canadian citizenship.

Maggie Wehr

Maggie Wehr is a Brooklyn-based actor, filmmaker, and teaching artist who has been working with Creative Stage for the past two years. She holds a B.A. in Acting and Film from Pace University, where she graduated summa cum laude and was a member of the International Performance Ensemble. Maggie brings a strong background in devised theater, film and TV production, and collaborative storytelling to her teaching, encouraging students to explore creativity, teamwork, and practical filmmaking skills. Her professional experience spans acting, production assistance, and front-of-house operations for theaters and film festivals, including the Hamptons International Film Festival. As a film class teacher, Maggie emphasizes organization, imagination, and hands-on learning, helping young artists build confidence both on camera and behind the scenes.

DANIEL OAKES

Daniel Oakes is a professional actor, dancer, and singer based in New York City. A recent graduate from Swarthmore College, Daniel has been in many dramatic and comedic theatrical roles, including Betrayal by Harold Pinter, Angels in America by Tony Kushner, and The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder. He is also experienced in film work, having participated in multiple short films including Transference and Call Time, both directed by Elpiniki Tsapatsaris, and Float On, directed by Molly O'Sullivan. Daniel most recently appeared in Summer Shebang and Creative Stage Spectacular at Symphony Space with Creative Stage Collective. You can learn more about Daniel Oakes at danieloakes.org

McKlyin Rowe

Mckylin Rowe is an actor, writer, producer, and teaching artist who brings purpose-driven storytelling into the classroom. His work spans film, television, and nonprofit leadership, reflecting a deep belief in the power of story to build empathy, resilience, and connection. As a performer, he specializes in character-driven narratives that explore humanity and humor, with screen credits including American Underdog (Lionsgate) as well as numerous independent and festival films.

In addition to his creative work, he is the co-founder of the Joy+Us Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to sparking joy for individuals and families facing life’s toughest challenges, including those impacted by cancer, autism, and grief. Through community-based programs, storytelling initiatives, and creative partnerships, the foundation uses art as a tool for healing and hope.

As a film teacher, he encourages students to find their own voices, collaborate boldly, and understand filmmaking not only as a technical craft, but as a meaningful way to tell stories that matter and make a positive impact in the world.

Marissa Ryan

Marrisa Ryan (Creator and Lead-teacher, Comedy Improv) is a veteran performer of both stage and screen. Ryan made her screen debut in the 1983 film Without a Trace. From 1989 to 1993, she starred as Elizabeth Cooper-MacGillis in the NBC sitcom Major Dad opposite Gerald McRaney. She later went to star in the Independent films Love Always, Slaves to the Underground, Taylor's Return, and With or Without You. In 1998, Ryan joined the cast of Fox police drama series, New York Undercover as Det. Nell Delaney, during the show's fourth and final season. He guest-star credits include appearances on The Practice, Sex and the City, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Law & Order. Ryan co-starred as Abby Bernstein in the ensemble cast satirical comedy film Wet Hot American Summer. She reprised her role in the Netflix prequel series, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp in 2015. She has also appeared in films Don's Plum (2001), Riding in Cars with Boys (2001), and Brooklyn Lobster (2005). Ryan made her directorial debut with the independent short film Three Women of Pain, which she also co-wrote.

Ty Norris

Ty Norris is originally from Yorktown, Virginia and is a graduate of Christopher Newport University with a BA in Musical Theater. He moved to New York to pursue acting. A regular CSC artist, Ty has performed in the 2023 Summer Shebang and the 2024 Creative Stage Spectacular. He also recently performed in the Off-Broadway show, All Because of Infidelity, with Hanging Cow Productions. Also a talented teaching artist, Ty has directed and taught acting classes to kids ages 10-15 for nearly a decade.

GERRY VEGA

Gerry Vega (Musical Theater Builders, Lead Teacher) is a NYC based Singer, Actor, Writer who has most recently self-produced two of his own solo-cabarets: Growing Up? and Pennies From Heaven-- performed at The Duplex Cabaret Theater and Feintstein’s/54 Below.

Gerry has recently partaken in some exciting workshops and readings: Steadfast Tin Soldier (dir: J. Quinton Johnson), ‘Twas The Night (dir: Ted O’Gorman), and, most recently, Actor Therapy sings Spring Awakening at Feintstein’s/54 Below (Moritz/Ensemble)-- to name a few.

He joined Actors’ Equity Association in 2014, and is an active participant of Lindsay Mendez and Ryan Scott Oliver’s Actor Therapy community, where he has coached with Lindsay, Ryan, and other industry professionals, like Kirsten Wyatt, Stephen Sposito, Peter Duchan. He proudly writes for the Actor Therapy community blog, we less #basic.

Gerry plans to spend the next few months manifesting magic over his self-created pilot, Life of [a] Manny. Read more about Gerry HERE.

Madeleine Witmer

Madeleine Witmer is a singer, actor, dancer and songwriter from Broadway, Virginia. She graduated with a degree in Musical Theatre and Dance from Christopher Newport University, and then went on to tour multiple productions, including children’s theatre, with Virginia Repertory Theatre. She spent the last two summers at The Ferguson Center for the Arts as part of the company of the “New Musicals Lab,” workshopping multiple productions, as well as the world premiere of Drew Gasparini’s We Aren’t Kids Anymore. Since moving to the city, you may have caught her singing at The Green Room 42, Feinstein’s/54 Below, or as a featured songwriter in Gasparini’s “New Voices” series—which you can find on YouTube along with more of Mads’s original music. 

Madeleine is a regular performer with the Creative Stage Collective.

Julian Green

Julian Green has performed on stages from San Francisco to New York with credits ranging from Shakespeare to Improv. Originally from California, Julian has performed with the California Shakespeare Company, and trained with the American Conservatory Theater. In New York, Julian has trained and performed with the People’s Improv Theater since 2022.

PAYTON GEORGIANA

Payton Georgiana in addition to her work with Creative Stage as a teaching artist starting in the Fall of 2024, Payton Georgiana is an actor and writer, located in Brooklyn, NY. She is a graduate of the University of Central Florida, where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting. She was nominated for an Irene Ryan award for her role of #7 in The Wolves, and was announced the winner of best classical performance in KCACTF (Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival). As an actress, Payton Georgiana recently appeared on Law and Order: SVU. Furthermore, she made her Off Broadway debut in the leading role of Barbra Payton in Ode to The Wasp Woman, performed at The Actors Temple. She was the lead in an episode entitled “Mrs. Todd's Long Cut,'' part of the Dark Echoes Horror Series for Valencias Motion Pictures. She is signed with FORWARD Talent in Atlanta, Georgia and managed by Dream Maker Talent in NYC. Instagram: @Paytongeorgiana66