Diane Feldman, Director of Musical Theatre, Drama and Choir
Diane is a Los Angeles-based Director, Musical Director, Theatre Educator, Performer and Writer who has been working with youth ages 5 – 25 for more than 25 years. She is the Founder of Children’s Civic Light Opera (CCLO ™), one of the Los Angeles area’s most celebrated and most comprehensive theatre programs for youth. CCLO™ has been the recipient of several National Youth Arts awards, including Best Director and Best Ensemble in both Junior and Senior Divisions, and several of Diane’s alumni are currently working on Broadway, on stage and behind the scenes. Prior to receiving her Masters Degree in Educational Theatre from NYU, Diane studied theatre at UCLA's School Of Theatre, Film and Television for four years and received her Bachelor's Degree in Theatre from CSUN.
Recently, the educational musical theatre program Diane co-founded and directed/musical directed at Culver City Middle School was voted top Middle School in the country by the GLEE: Give A Note contest. Additionally, Diane directed/musical directed a staged concert reading of an original musical (LEMONADE) written and composed by one of her alumni, and the project was selected as the PR piece for a new contest being hosted by Festival of New American Musicals. Diane teaches acting, voice, musical theatre, creative dramatics, educational theatre and piano, and is a professional audition coach, as well.
Additional career highlights: Founder/Creator of Cheviot Hills Drama Camp in Los Angeles; Founder/Creator of Shining Star Musical Theatre at PS87 in Manhattan; (both programs remain in operation today.) Founder/Creator of Mini-Players, an award-winning educational musical theatre program for grades K – 2 at Westwood Charter Elementary School; presenter at California Educational Theatre Association (CETA) Conferences; Instructor/Director/ Musical Director at Hamilton High School’s Academy of Music; member, Actor’s Equity Association (Theatre for Young Audiences national tours.) In 2008, Diane was contacted by The Oprah Winfrey Foundations' Education Department and asked to design and implement a performing arts program for the students at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa (position was deferred).
Diane is thrilled to "play a role" at this incredible school and is honored to work with such a phenomenal group of colleagues who are all innovative, creative and passionate Artists.
