Meet the ACTing Up Faculty: Nationally Recognized Artists with Arkansas Roots
- ACT News
- Apr 30
- 6 min read
This summer, ACTing Up is led by a faculty of nationally and internationally recognized artists—all with deep connections to Arkansas. Our teaching artists bring decades of experience from Broadway tours, Off-Broadway productions, regional theatres, film sets, university classrooms, and creative studios across the country.
Designed as an immersive, three-week experience, ACTing Up invites students to train, collaborate, and create in a supportive, ensemble-driven environment. Each program track offers hands-on learning in both performance and production, grounded in professional practice and process.
Whether you’re stepping into acting, developing your voice, exploring movement, or working behind the scenes in design and production, you’ll be guided by artists who are actively shaping the field—while investing in the next generation of artists here at home.
Meet the faculty leading each program area—artists who bring professional experience, a commitment to mentorship, and a shared investment in the next generation of Arkansas artists.
Musical Theatre Faculty
Chris Klinger: Acting + Frozen Director
Chris will be leading acting training and directing for Frozen, guiding students through performance technique, character development, and storytelling for the stage.
Chris Klinger has been a theater artist for over 20 years, working as an actor, director, and educator. He earned his BFA in acting from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. He studied and performed on Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, and performed with the Lyric Repertory Theater in Utah for several years. His most recent credit was “Cardinal Richelieu” in UCA Summer Theater’s production of The Three Musketeers. Chris currently serves as a theatre instructor at North Little Rock High School where he has taught for three years. His favorite role of all time is that of “Father” to his two sons, whom he loves very much.
Katherine Greer: Dance + Frozen Choreographer
Katherine will be teaching fundamentals of theatre dance and choreographing Frozen, focusing on movement, storytelling through dance, and ensemble performance.
Katherine Greer holds a BFA in Dance Performance and a BA in Theatre Arts from UA Little Rock and is in her first year as a theatre teacher at Episcopal Collegiate School. Katie has worked in theatre/dance performance and education in Arkansas for the last 15 years. Favorite choreography/directing credits include: As You Like It (Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre) Much Ado About Nothing (AST), Mxcbeth & Henry V (Shake on the Lake), Beckett’s Briefs (UA Little Rock), La Cage Aux Folles, Sweet Charity and Follies (Argenta Contemporary Theatre), Dragons Love Tacos (Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts) As You Like It (UA Little Rock) and Trifles (Cat Collective). Favorite acting credits include: Olive (Spelling Bee) Inga (Young Frankenstein) Thing 1 (Cat in the Hat) , White Dragon (Dragons Love Tacos), Val (A Chorus Line), Grandma (The Addams Family), Young Woman (Machinal), Hermia (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Elaine (Arsenic and Old Lace), Mrs. Peachum (Threepenny Opera), Duke Senior, Corin (As You Like It), Potiphar’s Wife (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), Ursula (Sweet Charity), Suzy (The Marvelous Wonderettes), Belize (The Learned Ladies), Frenchy (Grease), Jovie (Elf the Musical).
Angela Kay Collier: Voice + Frozen Music Director
Angela will teach voice and singing fundamentals and direct all vocal music for Frozen, helping students build vocal confidence, musical storytelling, and ensemble sound.
Angela Kay Collier is a singer, actor, teaching artist, and music director who resides in North Little Rock with her husband, two kids, and Piper the dog. She is passionate about helping people of all ages build confidence in their voices so they can share compelling stories because everyone’s voice matters.Most recently, Angela served as music director for Oklahoma! and The Prom at Actor’s Theatre of Little Rock (ATLR), as well as The Hunchback of Notre Dame at the Royal Theatre and Spring Awakening at ATLR. Her favorite roles include Eve/Ma Noah in Children of Eden, Lenny in Crimes of the Heart, and Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins the Musical.Angela holds a Bachelor of Music in Musical Theatre from Ouachita Baptist University, where she graduated cum laude. She has collaborated with theaters across the United States, including Missoula Children’s Theatre, Dallas Children’s Theatre, Wildwood Park, and The Rep. Since 2022, she has taught middle school students in Broadway Bootcamp at ACT.In 2015, Angela opened her voice and acting studio, AKCollier Studio LLC, where she now teaches more than 50 students ages 6 to 85.
Acting for Stage & Film Faculty
Mary Hollis Inboden: Acting
Mary Hollis will guide students through acting for both stage and screen, focusing on authenticity, emotional truth, and professional industry insight.
Mary Hollis Inboden is an LA-based actor and writer who hails from Bono, Arkansas. Her recent screen work includes The Righteous Gemstones (HBO) and starring alongside Annie Murphy in AMC’s critically acclaimed series Kevin Can Fk Himself, also available on Prime Video. Additional television credits include Superstore, Good Girls, Murderville, Boss, The Act, and NCIS: Los Angeles. She can next be seen as Mama Kay in the upcoming Lifetime movie Desperate Forgiveness: The Phil and Lisa Robertson Story, premiering May 16.Before relocating to Los Angeles to star in the ABC comedy The Real O’Neals, Mary Hollis founded The New Colony Theatre in Chicago. There, she helped devise and premiere original works, including 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche (published by Samuel French), Calls to Blood (winner of Best New Play at the 2010 New York Fringe Festival), and The Warriors, a play about the Westside Middle School shooting, which she survived.In Northeast Arkansas, Mary Hollis hosts the NEA Theatre Club, a monthly gathering where young theatre artists explore full scripts, improvisation, and scene study. Follow us @neatheatreclub for more information. She also proudly serves as a Jonesboro Talent Ambassador for Always Jonesboro. Mary Hollis splits her time between Arkansas and Los Angeles.
Corbin Pitts: Acting & Filmmaking
Corbin will lead acting and filmmaking training, blending performance with industry-level filmmaking insight and creative entrepreneurship.
Corbin Pitts is an actor, filmmaker, and Eagle Scout. His professional career began when he was five years old and he founded his own production company, Heroe Productions Entertainment when he was eleven. He is a rising junior BFA Film and Television major at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta. He was named Arkansas Times’ Best Filmmaker and Best Actor of 2025 and Best Filmmaker of 2024. When he was 18, he wrote and directed the SAG-AFTRA feature Good Time Charley, which will be released in 2026. Selected TV/Film credits include: True Detective (HBO), Mystery League (PBS), Jesus Land, The Neglected, Crescent City, Murder at Hollow Creek, Ghosts of the Ozarks, and more. Theatre highlights include: The America Project (Off-Broadway Wksp), The Music Man (Broadway National Tour with Shirley Jones), ELF, Mary Poppins, World Premiere of Project Elan, and Willy Wonka at Arkansas Rep; World Stage Premiere of Mrs. Miniver, World Premiere of During Wind and Rain, Newsies, A Christmas Carol, and more at Argenta Contemporary Theatre. ELF and The Nerd at Murry’s Dinner Playhouse. Follow his work at corbinpitts.com and heroeproductions.com.
Design & Production Faculty
Miranda Young Rice: Design & Production Instructor
Miranda will lead visual design work, helping students explore scenic design, puppetry design, and visual storytelling for theatre.
Miranda Young Rice is a visual artist and educator with a background in design, theatre, and arts education. She graduated from Kansas City Art Institute, where she developed a strong foundation in visual storytelling and design. Miranda spent 13 seasons with the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre (AMFA) as a scenic designer, properties master, and painter and is excited to return to theatre production after several years working in arts administration. She currently serves as a visual arts teacher at Mills University Studies High School, where she fosters creativity, critical thinking, and confidence in her students.
Jeremy Williams: Design & Production Instructor
Jeremy will guide students through design and creative development, focusing on visual storytelling and ensemble-based creation.
Jeremy Williams is an award-nominated director, choreographer, and producer whose work spans theatre, musical theatre, and ensemble-driven dance-theatre, with productions presented Off-Broadway and at regional theatres and festivals across the United States and internationally. His directing credits include critically acclaimed BABEL, MURROW, and The Woman Who Was Me, all recognized for their dynamic physical storytelling and ensemble rigor. His work has been recognized through competitive grants, commissions, and national presentations. Jeremy is the Founder and Producing Director of Convergences Theatre Collective. He holds an MFA in Theatre: Contemporary Performance from Naropa University and has taught at leading university programs across the US.
Join Us This Summer
We are beyond excited to bring together this incredible team of artists and educators for our Summer Academy. Each instructor brings a unique perspective, professional experience, and a deep passion for teaching the next generation of performers and creators.
Spots are limited—don’t miss your chance to train with working professionals and be part of an unforgettable summer of theatre.
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