Brett J. Roden is thrilled to be in his 6th season with VCT as we celebrate our 15th year of award-winning, professional theatre in the Commonwealth! Before becoming P.A.D. in 2019 he served as Assistant Artistic Director & Director of Education since 2017. Brett is an experienced Musical Theatre professional (Producer, Music Director/ Conductor/ Pianist/ Vocal Coach, Theatre Educator and Performer), administrator and business person. He prides himself on inspiring his team to create an outstanding, top-notch theatrical experience for his students, collaborators and all involved. He currently resides in Roanoke full time, after moving to the area in 2017 from upstate New York. Brett was named by Roanoker Magazine as one of Roanoke’s 40 under 40 young professionals in 2022, in recognition of his continued excellence as a leader in the theatre community in the Roanoke Valley and beyond. Up next, Brett will be traveling back to MA this summer to serve as the Music Director of the summer, collegiate Musical Theatre Conservatory program at the Tony Award-Winning Barrington Stage Company for the month of June and then back to Roanoke to finish out VCT's 22-23 Season with our annual summer concert in Elmwood Park! Some of his favorite credits include serving as music director, vocal coach and teaching artist for the Tony Award-Winning Barrington Stage Company, Redhouse Arts Center, P&HCC Patriot Players, Syracuse Children’s Theatre, Bogardus Performing Arts Center, SUNY Potsdam’s Creative Arts Camp, Crane Opera's Education Outreach Program, Roanoke City Schools and a variety of school systems throughout New York. In his free time he enjoys traveling across the Southeast and Northeast regions of the country to see professional theatre and sing/ act  professionally as he is able! He is a graduate of The Crane School of Music & SUNY College at Potsdam where he studied Music & Theatre.

Jeanne is a native of Charlottesville, Virginia and after traveling and moving all over, she embraced Roanoke as her home in 2008. Having worked in the non-profit industry for more than 20 years, she is well and truly dedicated to helping others and promoting arts & culture as an important method of educating our youth and adding benefit to our communities. She loves sharing the fabulousness of Virginia Children’s Theatre and helping families and children experience the joys of live arts. In addition to her non-profit work, Jeanne is an active community volunteer and serves as Vice President of the Kiwanis Club of Roanoke, the Roanoke City Library Foundation, and Greenvale School Foundation. In her off-hours Jeanne can frequently be found puttering in the garden, attending concerts, or drinking a glass of wine on the patio.

Lana Huffington is a performing arts professional (Educator, Stage Director, Administrator, Actor, and Dramaturge) with a B.A. in Drama & History from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (minor in American Sign Language). She has worked with off-broadway (SoHo Rep.), regional (Triad Stage) and children's theatres (Peppercorn Children's Theatre, Springville Center for the Arts) throughout the east coast. She is the founder & producer of The Salted Light Theatre Company. Some of her favorite directing credits are DUTCHMAN by Amiri Baracka (The Salted Light Theatre Company), and co-direction of THE JULIES: A KINDA SORTA ADAPTATION OF STRINDBERG'S MISS JULIE by Calley N. Anderson (UNC Greensboro Mainstage). Her favorite acting credits include: HAIRSPRAY, THEMBA, PIPPIN, and TAMING OF THE SHREW.

Emily is a Kansas and Oklahoma native who graduated from Oklahoma City University in 2021 with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Performance and minors in Stage Management and Directing. She found her love for theatre at a young age by performing in children’s shows at Topeka Civic Center and practicing scenes from Hannah Montana in her living room. In high school, she had the opportunity to perform in the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland in a show titled Dark of the Moon. That experience solidified her dream of pursuing theatre as a career and now she gets to live that dream as the Resident Stage Manager for VCT! Amidst her Type A personality and being the hangout scheduler of her friend group, Emily fell into her love for stage management her sophomore year of college. Since then, she has stage managed for shows such as Art, Clean Slate, Clowns, Lovers, and Women in Pants, and most recently, A Christmas Carol at Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, whose production was recognized by the New York Times and the BBC. She also served as the Production Manager for the Festival of New Works 2021 at OCU. When she’s not doing theatre, she loves spending time with her rescue cat, Mocha, creating new spreads for her bullet journal, and watching Pixar movies.

Laura grew up in Southern California and started her theatrical career at the age of 11 in OKLAHOMA! For the next 25 years, she performed professionally in musical theatre productions in CA, AZ, MT, and NV. With a BA in Education from Arizona State University and a MA in the Humanities from Cal State University Dominguez Hills, she began a new career in arts administration. Laura served as the Director of Arts Education for the Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs. In 2001, accepted a position as an Arts Education Specialist at the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington D.C. In 2007, Laura and her husband Stuart moved to the Roanoke area. Since then, she has served as Director of Development for the RSO, Roanoke College, and Goodwill Industries of the Valleys. Laura is delighted to return to her theatrical roots and be part of the Virginia Children’s Theatre team.

Bethany Costello is a NC native teaching artist, educator, actress and musician. An avid traveler and lover of wellness, Bethany is a proud graduate of The South Carolina School of the Arts (2019) and holds a BFA degree in Musical Theatre. Bethany has served as a Musical Theatre Artist (music director, educator, curriculum developer, assistant director, performer, vocal coach and accompanist) with companies including The REV Theatre Company, The Kennedy Center, Florida Repertory Theatre, Lexington Children’s Theatre, Missoula Children’s Theatre, CentreStage and Anderson University.  Favorite artistic credits include: JUNIE B. JONES: THE MUSICAL, SISTER ACT, TWELFTH NIGHT, ALICE IN WONDERLAND, ALABASTER (THE WORLD PREMIER), ROMEO AND JULIET and INTO THE WOODS. She aspires to foster accessibility and joy for the arts to students of all ages.

Kaitlin Pennington is a Roanoke native and is a graduate of James Madison University where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance. After graduating, she moved to Washington, D.C. to work with Dance Place as their Youth Programs Intern. While living in DC, she performed, taught, and worked with multiple arts organizations throughout the city, most notably Imagination Stage and District Dance Arts. Kaitlin is also a co-founder of Coalescence, a platform for emerging interdisciplinary artists to network, create, and show work. She is currently continuing her education at the University of Kentucky to receive her Master’s degree in Arts Administration. Kaitlin started working with VCT in April 2021 when she choreographed Mary Poppins Jr. Since then, she has had the joy of choreographing Peter Pan Jr., serving as a Teaching Artist for multiple classes, and getting to work with many of the talented youth at VCT!

Brad Ogden is a theatre director and graphic designer based in Brooklyn, New York. With a specialty in branding and marketing for the performing arts, Brad has collaborated with a wide range of design clients, from non-profit theatre companies to Broadway artists. His work as a director has been seen at festivals, universities, and regional theatres from Philadelphia and New York to the Czech Republic — and includes five large-scale musicals on the mainstage of Maine's historic Ogunquit Playhouse with their company of teenage actors. Brad is drawn to developing, devising, and directing projects that unravel the past, speak to the present, and move us toward a more progressive future. He is thrilled to join the VCT team and contribute to the exciting, meaningful work happening in Roanoke! www.brad-ogden.com / www.ogden.design