Your Team

Darla Lemay - Darla returns this year as the Arts Director of Stageworks Academy of the Performing Arts. Darla has worked for Stageworks for 27 years. Darla has dedicated her professional life to growing a performing arts school in the City of Leduc for all who wish to learn about the performing arts no matter their gender, their abilities, or their financial status. Darla believes the performing arts are for everyone who has a desire to increase their self-confidence, improve their Arts development, and build relationships with fellow performers. In her years at Stageworks Darla has placed herself in every part of the operation of Stageworks including taking dance classes, performing in Hairspray, Directing Shows, Choreography, Teaching, Productions Director, Executive Director, and Arts Director. Darla has also created and taught in Theatre Arts, Preschool Dance and KinderTap, and the creation and implementation of a Theatre Empowerment Program for Adults with Special Needs, the Intensive and Accelerated Dance Programs, the Accelerated Production Company, and the S.T.E.P. (student teachers educational program). In her 27 years, Darla has taken on many capital projects involving Stageworks including overseeing the construction of a Student Lounge, a New Third Studio, and more importantly the design and lobbying of Stageworks Academy in the beautiful Cultural Village. Darla has also directed many Broadway Productions such as; Annie, Annie Get Your Gun, Sound of Music, The King and I, High School Music, Oliver, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Coat, Hairspray, Grease, Beauty and the Beast and Mary Poppins. She has also been involved with community projects such as the Edmonton International Airshow, Leduc’s 100th Anniversary, Leduc’s LRC Opening, Alberta Winter Games Opening Ceremony as well as the Alberta Special Olympics Winter Games Opening Ceremony, and the Fundraiser Picks on Sticks. Darla’s training includes two certificates through Reliance College of Business in Regina, Saskatchewan, and Arts and Cultural Management Program in Edmonton’s Grant MacEwan’s University which was achieved with High Honours. She has also traveled and trained in New York City, New Jersey, Virginia, Orlando, Phoenix, Las Vegas, New Orleans, and Edmonton, Alberta attending business conferences.

Miss Gen - Gen was born and raised in Leduc and began her dance career at the age of 2. She has trained in Jazz, Ballet, Tap, Pointe, Contemporary, Irish and Musical Theatre. Gen has traveled all around the world to pursue the best training possible including New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Virginia, Las Vegas, Edmonton, Crowsnest Pass, Calgary, New Orleans and Orlando. She has had the opportunity to dance in the Alberta Winter Games, Alberta Special Olympics Games, Stars at Sea dance cruise in Los Angeles, Downtown Disney parade in Orlando, and has recently trained with Broadway Connection and Broadway Dance Centre in New York City.  Along with being the office administrator, Gen is also the preschool coordinator at Stageworks. Gen holds her Intermediate certificate with the Royal Academy of Dance and holds a certificate in Progressing Ballet Technique. She has completed her level 1 Acrobatique training in acro dance as well as her year 1 in the ADAPT syllabus. Gen has also received her year 1 training through the University of Nevada for dance studies. Gen has studied under many programs including Dance’M Preschool program, Twinkle Stars dance curriculum, Al Gilbert Tap Syllabus as well as the Royal Academy of Dance Ballet program. She has accomplished many things throughout the years and her groups and students have received many awards in various competitions and festivals including adjudicators choice, most promising and most outstanding. Gen is committed to the education of dance for her students to receive the very best training possible.

Miss Gen also doubles as the Office Administrator at Stageworks.  She is the first voice you will likely hear when contacting Stageworks to help you out.  She works as the main registrar, bookkeeper, and front of house services for all our productions at Stageworks.

Miss Melissa - Melissa returns for the 8th year as our Theatre Instructor. She has also worked behind the scenes in past Stageworks Musicals such as Grease & Footloose and Guys and Dolls. She also performed the lead role in Mary Poppins. Melissa is dedicated to creating theatre, championing other artists, and to helping the next generation find their voice. Melissa was born and raised in Leduc, and found her passion for the stage and everything theatre, while in high school at Beaumont Comp. Melissa graduated from Grant McEwan's Theatre Arts program and since graduation has toured plays in the fringe festival across Canada written and produced by her production company Poiema Productions. Some of these plays include Happily Ever After?, The Seminar, Middleton: A Folk Musical, and The Seminar: Breakthrough! Melissa has also had the privilege of performing in Ken Brown's adaptation of Joan of Arc in the Fringe Festival. Melissa has also been a part of creating and producing a charity fundraiser called Fashion For Freedom!

Miss Andrea - has been teaching for 4 years. Andrea is trained in Al Gilbert and Cecchetti, and has studied in Las Vegas, New York, Calgary and Kelowna at numerous workshops and classes. Training since the age of 3 Andrea has had many performance opportunities some including Alberta Ballet's 'The Nutcracker' and "Mid-Summers Dream". Hoping to learn and better share her passion Andrea has just graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education.  Andrea's students have received numerous awards from competitions and festivals and she herself has received a choreography awards. She looks forward to another great year with Stageworks.

Miss Taylor - Taylor was born and raised in Cold Lake, Alberta.  At the age of 4 she began ballet and fell in love.  Since then she continued dancing for 16 consecutive years, competing and learning across North America and in Europe in the genres of Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical, and Hip-Hop.  In 2013 and 2014 Taylor received multiple scholarships to travel to Los Angeles and learn from Emmy Award winners Travis Wall, Mia Michaels, and notable choreographers Sonya Tayeh, Stacey Tookie and Jackie Royal.  After such an amazing experience in Los Angeles, Taylor began her teaching career in the same place her dance career began.  Taylor was given the opportunity to take her first set of Vocational Exams in the Royal Academy of Dance located in London, England in 2015. Taylor’s dance journey took a brief hiatus in 2016 to attend University and she is extremely excited to be back to teaching.  Miss Taylor will be teaching the Showstars, Twinklestars, and Princess Ballet on Sundays.