Rachel Jones (Program Director)
Rachel Jones has been at Pope High School since 2018. She arrived after working in the Alliance Theatre education department for nine years as a teaching artist and administrator. Her directing credits include The Man of La Mancha (Brewton-Parker College) and No Exit (Impulse Reparatory Theatre). After earning her MFA in theatre from Savannah College of Art and Design, she worked with several notable Atlanta directors including Rosemary Newcott and Justin Anderson. She has worked on productions for Synchronicity Theatre, Aurora Theatre, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
Benedetto Robinson (Fight Choreographer)
Benedetto Robinson is an actor, fight choreographer, action performer and playwright based in Atlanta. He has been local for the better part of the past ten years, working in theatres across town and across the greater southeast.
Benedetto holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting from Elon University, where he studied acting techniques from Meisner, voice work techniques from Katherine Fitzmaurice, the principles of movement set down by Francois Delsarte in his Applied Aesthetics, and in the principles of fight choreography utilized by the Society of American Fight Directors.
Benedetto has been a student of fight choreography since his own high school years in the state of Maine through an organization called the Maine Academy of Staged Combat; fight choreography has been a passion of his ever since, and in the years that followed, through his time at University in Elon and thereafter, he has been a consummate student of the trade.
Selected fight choreography credits include Romeo and Juliet at the Atlanta Shakespeare Company, The Lost Colony at the Roanoke Island Historical Association, Marian: The True Tale of Robin Hood at Georgia Southern University, Hamlet at ForgeLab, The Horn in the West with the Southern Appalachian Historical Association, The Telltale Heart with Essence To Crux Theatre, Robin Hood with Hampstead Stage, The Red Nose of Courage with Clown Corp. LLC, and The Banksy Exhibit at Underground Atlanta. Benedetto trains and sometimes teaches with Havoc Movement, an action collective based in Atlanta.
It is Benedetto’s belief that the ways in which we depict, engage with, and consume violence in our entertainment - whether through theatre, through television, through movies, or through other forms of media - require the utmost respect and critical thought; to depict violence without an understanding of its stake and circumstance is to perpetuate it.
Sarah Elizabeth Wallis (One Act Vocal Coach)
Sarah Elizabeth Wallis has been performing, coaching, and helping to develop theatre & film curricula in Atlanta, GA since 2009. She graduated from the Savannah College of Art & Design with a BFA in Performing Arts & a minor in Music. Since then has been freelancing & teaching around Atlanta (including an action-packed 9 years on staff in the Alliance Theatre's incomparable Education Department!)
Sarah loves to teach and believes wholeheartedly in the power of storytelling to deepen our empathy and make the world a better place.
Some favorite credits include:
Roe - Horizon Theatre
Legacy of Light - Synchronicity Theatre
Love on Retreat- feature film directed by Brittany Underwood
Luperca - short film directed by Rainn Mowris
Funky Chicken - short film directed by Will Amato
Help - short film directed by Yuqi Lin
Wayfinding - Synchronicity Theatre
The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls - Alliance Theatre
Equus - Actor's Express Theatre
Tigers Be Still - Aurora Theatre
Waiting for Balloon - Alliance Theatre for the Very Young
Johnna Mitchell (Spring Musical Director)
A founding member of Act3 Productions/Act3 Academy, Johnna has taught, choreographed, directed and performed in local theater for the past 20 years. The honored recipient of the Metro Atlanta Theater’s distinguished President’s Award, Ms. Mitchell enjoys encouraging actors of all ages to find their voice, on and off stage. Her compassionate teaching style invites students to flourish and grow in their art. She is committed to “meeting the performers where they are” in order to help them reach their performance goals and potential. Nominated for several MAT awards, in the categories of choreography, directing, lead actor, major supporting actor, and minor supporting. Johnna is proud to be the winner of ten MAT awards in various categories.
Vicki Chase (Musical Director)
Vicki Chase is a graduate of the University of Tennessee with a degree in Voice Performance. She has performed as a soloist in operas, musicals, oratorios as well as churches throughout the southeast. She has commercial television and radio experience. She thoroughly enjoys working with children of all ages, and is thrilled to be a part of the Musical Productions and Drama Clubs for East Side, Timber Ridge and Tritt Elementary schools, as well as, Dickerson and Dodgen Middle Schools.
In addition to directing musicals, Vicki has maintained a Voice and Piano Studio for almost 20 years. She is passionate about helping people of all ages find their own voice, and believes in teaching the student, not the subject. A mother of two grown sons, she and her husband live in Indian Hills with their dog.
