Instructors
Hope Easter
Hope Easter started dancing at age 9 at the Anne Hebard School of Ballet in New York where she studied Ballet and Jazz. She has also studied Tap, Hiphop and Character Dance at the School at Steps. She has performed with Catskill Ballet Theatre, a regional ballet company, dancing both soloist and corp de ballet roles in ballet productions such as The Nutcracker, The Snow Queen, and Peter and the Wolf. Hope has attended summer intensives at Steps on Broadway, the Nutmeg Conservatory of Ballet, Richmond Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Nashville Ballet, and the State Street Ballet. She spent a year training at the Richmond Ballet and spent a year as a trainee at the Nashville Ballet under Paul Vasterling.
From 2018 to 2019 she was coached under the tutelage of Aaron Orza, former dancer with the San Francisco Ballet. In 2020 Hope joined the State Street Ballet in Santa Barbara CA where she performed in various productions throughout the year including the Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty. Hope is currently performing with the Continental Ballet in their 2021-2022 season. She is incredibly excited to be joining the Mayer Arts team and to share her love of dance with her students.
Lauren Paulson
Lauren is currently a junior at the University of Northwestern- St. Paul working towards degrees in Theatre and Early Childhood Education. Her acting and performance credits span the past nine years, but most recently she has been performing, designing, and working with stage management at UNW’s theatre program. Past experience includes many school and community theatre productions. She loves working with children and has enjoyed being a teacher’s aide, nanny, babysitter, and childcare worker. Lauren is ecstatic to work with Mayer Arts this summer, combining her two passions by instilling a love of theatre in the hearts of young children! In her free time she likes to read, spend time with friends and family, and run.
Kaylee Clauson
Kaylee is an incoming junior studying public relations and theatre arts at Concordia St. Paul. She also recently graduated from NYU’s performing arts industry program. Kaylee has been working as a theatre educator and director for the past two years in the twin cities area and surrounding. She is beyond excited to continue this work with Mayer Arts this summer.
Hannah Litzinger
Hannah is a sophomore studying exercise science and dance at Concordia University, St Paul. She has been dancing for 16 years and has assisted teaching musical theater and ballet classes for the past 3 years. She is excited for the opportunity to work at Mayer Arts this summer as a teaching assistant for many musical theater camps!
Katelyn Hendrickson
Katelyn has been performing for 19 years as a dancer, singer, and actor. As a dancer, she is trained in classical ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, and pointe. She was also a member of her high school and college dance teams that competed in high kick, jazz, and pom. While in college, Katelyn danced for the College of Saint Benedict Dance team for four years, and medaled at UDA Nationals. She was also part of the on-campus A Capella group, CSBeats, for three years. Katelyn’s coaching and teaching experience involves coaching the Rocori High School Dance Team for five years, teaching youth theater and dance camps through Community Education,and head instructing dance classes at the Medina Just For Kix. Katelyn is currently a school counselor at Anoka Middle School for the Arts, a Fall Performance Dance Team coach for Anoka High School, and a Varsity Assistant Coach for the Two Rivers High School Dance Team. She is excited for a fun summer of assisting and teaching theater camps, and teaching dance classes for Mayer Arts!
Sydney Summers
Sydney Summers is thrilled to be a part of Mayer Arts’ lineup. A graduate of Whittier College, she’s done everything from costuming to starring and theatre to film; but is always most excited to foster young artists. She’s been involved with theatre and music since its elementary school and has a deep appreciation for modern cartoons. In her free time you can find her writing music, winning awards for fashion design, and dressing her small dog in tiny sweaters.
Olivia Lundberg
Olivia Lundberg is a 2022 Centennial High School graduate and will be attending the University of Northwestern St. Paul in the fall to study acting and music. She has been performing since the age of six and has studied voice and acting for five years and dance for two. She is very excited to combine her loves of theater and childcare with Mayer Arts this summer.
Ava Kastl
Rachel Raeon
Rachel is brand new to the Twin Cities and is thrilled to be joining Mayer Arts! Originally from North Idaho, Rachel received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from The University of Montana. Prior to moving to Minneapolis, Rachel lived in NYC where she attended Circle in the Square’s Professional Musical Theatre program and then went on to perform and work in theatres regionally. Some of her favorite credits include Wendla in Spring Awakening, Sharpay in High School Musical and Margot in Legally Blonde. Rachel’s teaching background ranges from ski instructing, to theatre to English as a second language. You may also catch her teaching barre at Pure Barre in Minneapolis and St Paul. Rachel is so excited to explore, create and play with her musical theatre classes this fall.
Nora Targonski-O’Brien
Nora Targonski-O’Brien is MN made, New Jersey raised, teacher, actor and producer. Since moving to Minnesota, her work has expanded to film. Such as, The Hunter, a series of short episodes and feature film In Winter, available for streaming now. Her last live role was Ethlynann in Alligator Summer, performed at The Southern Theater late February 2020. Nora is excited to be back to in-person activities, especially theater. She believes the skills kids learn in theater class extend way beyond performance to how we listen and react to the world around us at large.
Lindsey Oetken
Lindsey is an actor and teaching artist, originally from LeMars, IA. She obtained her BA in Theatre Arts from Simpson College and most recently, her MFA in Acting from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Children’s theatre and education has a special place in her heart. Her first theatre job in college was for a small children’s theatre in northwest IA. Later, she spent a year touring the nation as a Tour Actor/Director for the Missoula Children’s Theatre. Lindsey is excited to be able to share her love of theatre and the arts, as well as make a positive impact on her community.
Aerin O’Malley
Aerin O’Malley has gone from Mayer Arts student to teacher and is thrilled to be back for another summer of theater and dance. Aerin is a senior at St. Olaf College majoring in political science, economics, and American studies. However, she is also active in the university’s theater department acting in productions such as You Can’t Take it With You, Proof, and Comedy of Errors. In the college’s dance department, she has studied tap, jazz, and modern dance and currently is one of the Bronze level coaches for the St. Olaf Ballroom Performance Team. Aerin’s performing arts education began with Mayer Arts, and she loves giving back that same education to the students in her class!
Marley Ritchie
Marley is thrilled to be apart of the Mayer Arts team! She started dancing at the age of three and Therater at the age of seven. During the work day she is a Montessori pre school teacher at Kinderhaus Montessori School in Roseville. Outside of work you can find Marley working through out the twin cities on or behind the stage, if that’s acting to choreographing, she loves the arts!
Jen Rae
Jen Rae is delighted to be working with the Mayer Arts students! Jen has spent the last two decades in or around the theater, and/or working with youth. An acting conservatory graduate of Cornish College of the Arts, she has gone on to work in regional theaters all around the country, from performing Shakespeare and musical theater, to heavy drama as a heroine in a nineteenth century Swedish play, or dressing up and singing “Busy Bees” as the Queen Bee with a hive of kindergarten aged bees. For the last thirteen years she has been a member of the national comedy troupe, The Washing Well Wenches (seen here at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival), is a member of Actors’ Equity Association (as Geneva Rae), and has directed children’s theater across the US, Canada, and Germany. She has also taught theater classes and worked in both public and private schools as a pre-k and elementary teaching assistant, as well as an athletic coach. Jen loves seeing kids find their own expressions through imagination and creative play, enduring the challenge and thrill of putting those expressions in front of others in a collaborative process with their fellow performers, and experiencing the belief that may be instilled in their developing self-esteem
Lindy Erdmann
Lindy Erdmann lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two children. She is excited to have her daughter, Willow assisting her with some camps this summer! She has been working in education for the past nine years and also just completed a degree to become a speech and language pathology assistant. Beyond her experience in education, she has a performing arts background having participated in theatre, music and dance for much of her life. Besides participating in the performing arts and attending performances, particularly her children’s, she enjoys reading, travel, and spending time at her family’s lake cabin. She is looking forward to working with your children this summer!
Marisela Weber
Sela Weber is an English teacher and theatre director at Rosemount High School. As an actress, Sela performed at the College of Saint Benedicts in productions: The Bacchae, Stop Kiss, Nathan the Wise, and The Tempest. She has also worked in theatre education at Steppingstone Theatre in Saint Paul and Anna Fiorentini Theatre School in London, United Kingdom. Sela is very excited to join the Mayer Arts team and continue to share her passion with her students.
