Teaching Artists

Leslie Putnam (she/her)  grew up in the Buncombe County school system, earned a BFA in Musical Theatre from Western Carolina University. She has worked professionally as an actor, director, administrator, choreographer, costumer, and an array of other hats throughout her career. Her theatre education career began while she trained under the education department at Wayside Theatre in Middletown VA. She then served for six years as the Head of Early Childhood Development at Adventure Theatre in the Washington DC area. She continues to be an active teaching artist with Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning through the Arts. Leslie has taught theatre to thousands of children and has devoted her life to theatre education. As the founder and Executive Director of Playground Stage, this organization is how she gives back to the amazing WNC arts community that she calls home.

Anna Kimmell is an actor, educator, and theatre artist from Atlanta, GA. A graduate of Elon University with a BFA in Musical Theatre, she has performed in regional productions at RI’s Theatre by the Sea, CO’s Lake Dillon Theatre, VA’s Mill Mountain Theatre, NC’s Flat Rock Playhouse, AR’s Arkansas Repertory Theatre, GA’s Georgia Shakespeare, and on The Wizard of OZ National Tour, to name a few. Recent direction and choreography credits include productions of Footloose at Arkansas Repertory Theatre and A Charlie Brown Christmas at Arkansas Repertory Theatre and Flat Rock Playhouse. As an educator, Anna specializes in musical theatre, acting, and dance curricula for students of all ages. She served as the Director of Education at Mill Mountain Theatre, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Flat Rock Playhouse, and the Wortham Center. On a university level, Anna also led Musical Theatre Dance courses at Hollins University and the University of Central Arkansas. 

 Michelle is over-the-moon to be back with the Playground Stage team this summer! Ms. Michelle first teamed up with Ms. Leslie at a theatre education summer program in 2014 and has been instrumental in the growth of the Playground Stage Summer programs since 2020. Michelle grew up outside of Washington, DC and began acting at the age of 7 in a theatre camp much like this one! She holds a BFA in Musical Theater Performance with a minor in Teaching Artistry from Columbia College Chicago. In 2021 she earned her Masters Degree in Early Child Education with a concentration in Social Emotional Learning from the Erikson Institute in Chicago. She has worked for the past 10 years as an actor, educator, teaching artist, director, and choreographer in both DC and Chicago. Michelle enthusiastically believes that theatre is an effective - and super fun - way to empower young people and teach them critical life skills. 

  Chris (he/him) comes to Playground Stage merging his extensive experience in education and his professional theatre career. By day, Chris is a Kindergarten Instructional Assistant and Bus Driver at Hominy Valley Elementary. By night, he is an active stage manager, actor, writer, and board operator in the Asheville theatre community. He has stage managed shows for Montford Park Players, The Magnetic Theatre, Anam Cara, and Attic Salt. He is a regular contributor to the Asheville Fringe Arts Festival.  We are excited to have Chris onboard to share his love of both backstage and onstage theatrical arts with the students at Playground Stage. 

  Sydney Lyles (she/her) is a graduate of Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, NC where she studied musical theatre with a minor in creative writing. Sydney began her journey at Playground Stage as a College Teaching/Acting intern in summer 2022 where she played Miss Hannigan in Playground Stage's production of Annie. After graduation she returned to Playground Stage as the Summer Production Assistant, Assistant Stage Manager, and a part of the ensemble for the Summer Family Musical production of Shrek the Musical. Sydney teaches her own theatre classes during the school year and is excited to be back for another summer as the Production Assistant. You may even see her onstage in the 2024 Summer Family Musical Mary Poppins!