Virginia Perry Smith
Theatre Program Director Instructor: Acting, Directing, Technical Theatre, Musical Theatre, Theatre History Email: [email protected] Ms Smith attended Florida State University where her studies focused on Child Development & Early Childhood Education, in the College of Human Sciences. After a twenty-four year professional career with The Walt Disney Company, and falling madly in love with sharing her passion for theatre and production with students for whom she launched an after-school middle school theatre program in 2012, Ms Smith completed her Theatre degree at Meredith College (Fall 2016). Favorite highlights of her time in the Meredith College Theatre program include performing the role of Egeus in William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and Mrs Starr in "A Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas," and as the Production Stage Manager for the musical "Merrily We Roll Along." Ms Smith completed her Theatre Teaching Licensure in 2019. Her career with The Walt Disney Company began in Florida in the Fall of 1990. In 1993 Ms Smith relocated to Los Angeles, California to work with Weissman/Angellotti as a Publicity Coordinator. While there, she assisted with the marketing & publicity campaigns for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS / Emmy Awards), the 1994 Peoples Choice Awards, and the 1993-94 Golden Globe and Academy Award (Oscar) campaigns for "The Piano," "The Snapper," and "Into the West." Embracing her passion for film and television production, she quickly transitioned to the role of Senior Staff Coordinator for Walt Disney Television Production, working on the "corporate side" of such classic television hits as "Boy Meets World," "The Ellen Degeneres Show," and "Home Improvement." In 1996, Ms Smith returned to Orlando, Florida to join the Walt Disney Feature Animation, Florida studio, where she worked on such classic animated films as ‘Mulan,’ ‘Lilo & Stitch,’ and ‘Brother Bear’. In 2004, Ms Smith returned to California to continue her work with Walt Disney Animation Studios in the role of Story Production Department Manager for ‘Rapunzel Unbraided’ (an early predecessor to ‘Tangled’) with Director Glen Keane. After being selected to collaborate with Senior Management to launch the re-imagined award winning Animated Shorts Production program, she then managed the Development process for "Goofy: How to Hook Up Your Home Theatre" and "Prep & Landing," as well as transitioning to manage the front-end Production Departments (Story, Editorial, Visual Development, and Look Development) for the ground breaking animated short "Glago’s Guest." It was her time with Walt Disney Feature Animation that taught her the intricacies of Story analysis, character development, scene staging and script development. In 2007, Ms Smith became the second employee to join Disney Research, a cutting edge collaborative Research & Development group within Walt Disney Imagineering. Together with Vice President Joe Marks, she worked diligently with WDI Leadership teams to establish the infrastructure of this world-class research organization, including oversight of establishing research labs in Zurich, Switzerland (in collaboration with ETH University), Pittsburgh, PA (in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University), and Boston, MA (in collaboration with Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology/MIT). As a part of her work with Disney Research, Ms Smith and her family relocated to Dublin, Ireland for two years to oversee a research/production project for ESPN (in collaboration with Dublin City University/DCU and University College Dublin/UCD). Once relocated back to America, Ms Smith and her family settled in Raleigh, North Carolina and she transitioned to working remotely as the Research Communications Manager for Disney Research. This role included working closely with Disney Research Leadership and Communications Management teams within The Walt Disney Company to promote internal and external communications for the Disney Research portfolio, including coordination of press releases, oversight of conference sponsorships, University engagements & Outreach activities, and project/event management. It was during this time that Ms Smith founded the award winning after-school theatre program at Carroll Magnet Middle School in Raleigh, NC (2012-2019). It was her time with Walt Disney Imagineering & Disney Research that taught her the importance and magic of creating exciting worlds and scenarios to allow characters to spring to life, fully realized, from the guests' imaginations! While with Disney Research, Ms Smith served on the New Tech Demos Committee for ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) SIGGRAPH 2008, as Co-Producer of the 2009 ACM SIGGRAPH/Eurographics Symposium on Computer Animation (SCA), as Workshop Manager for the Computing Community Consortium (CCC)/Computing Research Association (CRA) Road Mapping for Interactive Technology Persuasive Experiences workshop and as part of the support team for the ACM SIGGRAPH Conference Advisory Group and for the International Scientific Advisory Committee (ISAC) for the Canadian GRAND research network. Additional past projects include Producer of "Antique Shop" (the predecessor to "Mila") an animated short film involving rendering research. It was her time working on the College and Academics side of Disney Research that taught Ms Smith the importance of "deep dive" understanding of the technologies that underlie the finished product, and the critical importance of the "soft skills" (communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, adaptability, leadership and creativity) that are highly sought by today's top employers. Ms Smith is thrilled to have the opportunity to bring her theatre and professional industry experience to her Theatre students at Longleaf School of the Arts! The Art of Theatre is so much more than just acting or lights or set dressings. By making our students aware of the real world career applications of the skills that they are learning through our theatre program, we are giving them unique perspectives that they can then transfer to their work, both in and out of their theatre experience. - When developing her classroom lessons, Ms Smith always keeps an eye toward preparing her students for college and career - no matter what field they should choose. When she isn’t immersing herself in her passion for teaching theatre and creating exciting productions, Ms Smith enjoys adventures with her family, philanthropic activities, reading books, and playing any type of games. Ms Smith resides in Raleigh, North Carolina with her hilarious family - and they are truly the center of her world! Ms Smith is also a past member of the Screen Actors Guild, Women in Film, and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). |
Terrell Hooper
Choral Music Director Instructor: Lyra, Bass Ensemble, Musical Theatre Email: [email protected] Dr. Terrell Hooper currently serves as Director of Choirs at Longleaf School of the Arts in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. Previously, Dr. Hooper served as Assistant Professor of Choral Music at the American University of Sharjah, where he conducted the AUS Choir, the AUS Chamber Choir, taught class piano and lectured on western classical music. Prior to his appointment at AUS, Dr. Hooper taught secondary choir and AP music theory at Yongsan International School of Seoul in South Korea. Dr. Hooper has conducted the Korea International Music Educators’ Association (KIMEA) Middle School Honor Choir, was a guest conductor for the Camarata Music Company, and served as the director of professional development for KIMEA. Dr. Hooper’s choral students have been selected to participate in the KIMEA National High School Honor Choir and have traveled to Tianjin, China and Yangon, Myanmar for Middle School Honor Choirs hosted by the Association for Music in International Schools (AMIS). Dr. Hooper’s teaching has been recognized with such honors as the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award and induction in to the year-long Future Faculty Program at the University of Georgia. Dr. Hooper has presented his research on how students practice four-part chordal piano music at the International Symposium of Performance Science in Kyoto, Japan and the (AMIS) Teachers’ Conference in Seoul, South Korea. Whether teaching, performing, or researching music, Dr. Hooper finds constant joy in helping others develop a passion to be life long music learners. Dr. Hooper holds a Bachelor of Arts in music from Winthrop University, a Masters of Music Education, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Georgia. Further study at the Kodály Institute of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Kecskemét, Hungary. |
Elise Janson
Dance Program Director Instructor: Dance, Choreography, Musical Theatre Email: [email protected] Elise Janson has 25+ years of professional dance experience in NC and NYC. She holds three degrees; one of them being in Dance Performance / Education from ASU. Some of her training /dance performance experiences consist of but are not limited to Peridance, Alvin Ailey II, Cary Ballet, Infinity Ballet, ADF, Yin Yu, Jessica Lang, Alonzo King, NCDF, Shaleigh Danceworks, High Point Ballet, Barry Kerollis, Sherone Price, Tracy Durbin...etc. She has been teaching for 15+ years and strives to create a positive learning and collaborative environment where her students love to learn, find creativity and expression in their movements styles, and receive professional instruction to further their dance career. Miss Elise has developed her own professional dance company in the past five years that travels all over NC and outside of NC to perform and give back to the community. |
Bailey Rose
Instrumental Music Director Performing Arts Department Chair Email: [email protected] Bailey Rose is a graduate of East Carolina University, where he was a graduate assistant with the athletic bands pursuing the degree of Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting. Prior to beginning his graduate studies, Bailey served for three years as Director of Bands at North Lenoir High School in La Grange, NC. During his tenure at North Lenoir, Bailey led the the band program in establishing a year-round concert band curriculum in addition to a curricular jazz ensemble and extra-curricular athletic bands. Bailey also worked with colleagues in Lenoir County to establish the All County Band program, a two day honor band clinic that features the top middle school and high school band students from each band program. Bailey graduated cum laude from East Carolina University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education where he studied conducting with Dr. Scott Carter and Dr. Bill Staub, saxophone with Dr. Jeff Bair, and music education with Dr. Greg Hurley, Dr. Cynthia Wagoner, and Dr. Jay Juchniewicz. In 2012, Bailey was selected as a Maynard Scholar by the College of Education. Bailey’s professional affiliations include memberships in the National Association for Music Education, the North Carolina Music Educators Association, and the North Carolina Bandmasters Association. Bailey is a Life Member of the Kappa Sigma chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi, National Band Fraternity and is a recipient of the J. Lee Burke Student Achievement Award. |