Meet the Staff
Courtney Sarre
Artistic Director
Courtney Page Sarre, is originally from Toronto Canada. Since 1995, her training and career have been focused on working with children and teens, developing them to become the best
version of themselves, regardless of their personal circumstances. Her early experience as an artist includes studying theater at Douglas Anderson School for the Arts in Jacksonville, which propelled her to work as a live performer with The Walt Disney Company. Upon graduating from the College of Charleston with a degree in Children’s Theater at the College of Charleston she established the Musical Theater School for Washington D.C.'s Ballet Petite. There, she produced performances for "The White House Easter Egg Roll" two years in succession. In 2007 Courtney, returned to Mount Pleasant where she co-founded the Musical Theatre Center. Under her direction, their students went on to achieve national recognition for their performance skills. In 2018 Courtney struck out on her own to found the Charleston Academy of Musical Theatre (The Academy), with the goal of developing three key skills among all she works with. Their mantra is to ensure that no child who wants to train will be turned away. Courtney dedicated to the belief that all children have talent waiting to be awakened and is determined to provide theatrical development in a safe, healthy and nurturing environment. In addition to her professional work, Courtney Sarre is a wife and mother of two with a deep commitment to the Charleston community. She is an active community organizer and an advocate for the arts and special education for dyslexic children in our school system.
Diana Flaherty
Music Director/Vocal Coach
Formerly an opera singer of international renown, Diana Flaherty has been recognized for the ‘exceptional beauty” of her voice and the “expressive and dramatic” quality of her portrayals. The soprano’s career has encompassed the demanding title roles of Puccini’s Tosca and Turandot, as well Verdi’s Leonora in Il Trovatore, Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera, Luisa in Luisa Miller, Lina in Stiffelio, Desdemona in Otello, Cio Cio San in Madama Butterfly, Maddalena in Andrea Chénier, Giorgetta in Il Tabarro, Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, Nedda in I Pagliacci, and Micaëla in Carmen. Ms. Flaherty has frequented the regional opera houses of the United States, Europe and Hong Kong. In addition to opera, Ms. Flaherty has performed extensively in concert with New York Grand Opera Orchestra in New York City’s Central Park, Cleveland Suburban Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, New Jersey Opera Orchestra and the New Jersey Symphony among others. She is honored to have been selected to record a solo CD of operatic selections from Verdi and Puccini in Krakow, Poland’s with the renowned Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra. Upon receiving the Lys D’or Award in Paris, France, Ms. Flaherty performed a solo operatic recital with concert pianist Yuri Boukoff in Paris. Ms. Flaherty is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music and Jerome Hines’ esteemed Opera Music Theater Institute. She is very fortunate to have studied and worked with some of the industry’s most respected vocal teachers and coaches, among them Jerome Hines, Thomas LoMonaco and Jerome LoMonaco. In addition to her vocal training, Ms Flaherty studied acting with Actor’s Studio luminaries Robert Lewis, Charles Kakatsakis and Carol Rosenfeld. Since retiring from the stage to raise her daughter, Ms. Flaherty has maintained an active and successful private vocal studio. Her students have been the recipients of national awards of recognition, college scholarships and are regularly admitted to leading leading musical theater programs in colleges and conservatories nationwide. She has a great passion to develop the full potential of her students, and feels blessed to impart the breadth of her professional experience and training to her students.
Michelle O'Donnel
Director of Operations
Michelle has a B.A. from Mount Saint Mary's University. She was Southern Region Export Manager in the steamship industry before getting married and becoming a mom to two wonderful children. She got involved with fundraising for their school early in their education and held many volunteer positions, eventually becoming the Home and School Association President of Christ Our King - Stella Maris School. Michelle began working as Director of Operations for Charleston Academy of Musical Theater in it's inaugural year, and enjoys working with the instructors and Courtney to grow the company.
Kimberlee Ferreira
Director/Choreographer
Director, Choreographer, dance teacher, Mom and mentor. Kimberlee was the resident choreographer at the Greenville Theatre for the last 24 seasons before moving to Mount Pleasant, SC. She has also directed and choreographed shows for the South Carolina children's theatre, Bob Jones University, Centre Stage, The Younts Center, Mill Town Players, Artios Academy, and numerous High Schools to name a few. A dance teacher with over 40 years of experience, Kimberlee has also had the privilege of teaching and directing many awards winning competition dance teams and students to national dance titles and Broadway and tour contracts.
Samantha Brynildsen
Stage Manager/Choreographer
Samantha Brynildsen is an active choreographer, director, and educator in the South Carolina theatre scene. Her mission is to inspire artists to become the best version of themselves and to foster an uplifting creative community through empathy, exploration, and creative expression. She is a Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music Alum where she received her BFA in Musical Theatre. She has staged and choreographed productions in educational and community theatre over the years. She continues to direct, choreograph, teach, and provide coaching services to aspiring artists. Some of Samantha’s director and choreographer credits include Chicago High School Edition, A Funny Thing That Happened on the Way to the Forum, Footloose, Seussical Kids, Big Fish, and Catch Me if You Can.
Katarina Fradenburg
Teacher/Choreographer
Katarina is excited to be a part of Charleston Academy of Musical Theatre as a Musical Theatre teacher and choreographer for the after school programs. She earned her B.F.A. in Performing Arts from Adelphi University in New York, where she was a Theatre Teacher at Drama Kids International and Choreographer with the Center for Preparatory Studies in Music summer camp program before moving to South Carolina. She also currently teaches pre-K at the Goddard School in Mount Pleasant.
TBA
Production Supervisor
Kelsey O'Donnel
Assistant Stage Manager
Kelsey has been assisting Charleston Academy of Musical Theatre's Performance Companies since it's inception in 2019. She was Stage Manager for CAMT's production of Seussical Kids and Assistant Stage Manager for CAMT productions of Xanadu Jr, Mean Girls Jr, The Music Man Jr, Matilda Jr, The Little Mermaid Jr, Legally Blonde Jr, and Annie, Jr. She also assists with classes, workshops and summer camps at CAMT. Her passion is working behind the scenes, but Kelsey was also a performer with CAMT's Teen Performance Company, where she has performed in James & the Giant Peach, Jr., High School Musical, Jr., Spring Extravaganza 2021, Frozen, Jr., and Into the Woods, Jr. Kelsey is currently in her second year at George Washinton University in D.C. while still assisting with the Summer Camp program at Charleston Academy of Musical Theatre.
Nora Richards
Assistant Stage Manager
Nora is a Junior at Academic Magnet High School. She began assisting with classes and summer camps in 2023 and is currently assisting with CAMT's performance companies. Nora is also a Teen Performance Company Member, performing with CAMT since 2020. Most recently she played Patricia in Crazy for You: Youth Edition. Other shows include Grease: School Edition, Legally Blonde Jr, The Music Man Jr, Into the Woods Jr, Annie Jr, and High School Musical Jr. Nora loves all the opportunities CAMT provides both in performing and helping other companies with their shows.
Natasha Nast
Choreographer
Natasha Nast, a Baltimore, Maryland native, began her training in ballet, jazz, and tap at the age of 2 and went on to dance competitively until high school when she began her formal training in ballet and modern at the Baltimore School for the Arts and the Russian Ballet Academy of
Maryland. Upon graduation, Natasha joined the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre as a graduate student where she was one of the few dancers selected from the program to perform numerous company roles in a variety of full length classics choreographed by Marius Petipa (restaged by Terrence Orr), Derek Deane, and Anna-Marie Holmes as well as other works by choreographers, George Balanchine, Mark Morris, Dwight Rhoden, Harald Lander, and Lew Christensen. Aside from her work with the company, Natasha performed principal roles in Graduate Program productions and various outreach performances including a series of performances alongside Grammy Award winning recording artist, Daya, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Natasha spent four years dancing in Pittsburgh prior to moving to Charleston in 2017 where she is currently dancing as a company member with the Palmetto City Ballet and Unbound Ballet Project.
Natasha is experienced in teaching ballet, jazz, contemporary, and more to students ranging in age from toddler, to pre-professional teen, to adult. Alongside teaching daily classes, she specializes in setting classical repertoire, choreographing original pieces, and preparing students for competitions and company and college auditions. Natasha is thrilled to be working with the Charleston Academy of Musical Theatre this summer and looks forward to continuing on in the coming school year.