Whether she’s singing or dancing, there’s always fun to be had! We caught up with Ms. Lulu, our favorite creative arts teacher and talented Broadway star. We’re preparing for some fun story time, singing and dancing that you and your little ones can follow along with on @ecr4kids.

Tell us a little about yourself. I was born and raised in La Jolla, CA and from a young age knew I wanted to perform on stage. I ended up across the country in NYC where I stayed for 12 years and realized my dream of performing on Broadway!

When did you start doing musical theater? My first role was a munchkin in the lullaby league in The Wizard of Oz at age 5! I worked at a few local theatres in San Diego in my first couple of years of high school and at age 17, I took off for a theatre in Northern California where I worked in 8 shows, earned my Equity card and was recognized as a professional member of the Actor’s Union. From there I left for LA and then to NYC to study film and television. After graduation from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, I spent some time doing theatre in LA before heading back to NYC to pursue a full-time career in Musical Theatre.

Tell us what inspired The Broadway Clubhouse? I got the opportunity to be the Dance Captain and teach the 17 members of the children’s cast of School of Rock on Broadway. It changed everything! I felt a pull to be with kids and help pave the way for them to be successful as artist in this industry. It started to become more meaningful to me to inspire them and teach them then it was to star on Broadway.

I also knew my heart was pulling me back to California after 12 years in NYC and so I moved home to get going on teaching kids in December of 2019. A few months later I had a dream one night that I opened my own business. I woke up and thought: THAT would be so special and so cool. So, I did the research, started my business and named it The Broadway Clubhouse!

What ages do you teach? I am the Performing Arts Enrichment teacher at a preschool so the youngest kids I teach are 3 years old. At The Broadway Clubhouse I start with age 5 for private and group lessons. I have a few private students who are adults but my focused age group is typically from ages 8-18.

What do you love about teaching? I love teaching all kinds of things from dance, to singing to ukulele but my first love and the root of it all is acting. Even if you are a voice student of mine my goal is to get you storytelling more than get you to be the most technically savvy singer. I love to help with the mechanics of the voice first and then dive into what I believe is most important: telling the truth in the song and making it personal so that the acting supports the singing and the singing supports the acting. Same goes for dance. You have to feel passionate and have a story behind the dance rather than just being the best dancer out there. It all comes back to acting for me!

What’s your teaching philosophy? Each student is uniquely gifted and I like to help them play to their strengths before guiding them to think beyond their box and invite some challenge into their routine. The industry is full of talented people, so I like to encourage my students to bring something else to the table. Starting with kindness, inclusivity and smart networking skills. Talent will back you up, but being a good person is first!

Get to know more about The Broadway Clubhouse here!