Meet Our Instructors

Francesca Reilly is a Virginia based performer and educator whose love for theatre began at 9 years old after seeing the Broadway musical, Wonderful Town. 

A Northern Virginian turned Roanoke native Francesca moved to the star city after graduating from Hollins University where she received her Bachelor’s in Music with a focus in Vocal Performance. This year Francesca also completed her Master’s of Music Education from Shenandoah University.  Other accolades include a certificate in Music Theatre Performance. 

Francesca has been a member of choir for over 10 years and has sung in select ensembles at the county, district and state levels.  A few of her favorite acting credits include Mouse from Goodnight Moon the Magical Musical and Junie from Junie B. Jones the Musical. Off the stage, Francesca likes to get her Zen on as a certified yoga instructor, extending her love of the arts and teaching to the yoga studio and specializing in children’s yoga instruction.

Francesca is excited to be a part of the MMT family as the Director of Education!

francescareilly.com

Ashlinn Blevins is delighted to be teaching with Mill Mountain this fall. She has a certificate in Musical Theatre from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy located in New York City and is an alumnus of the Mill Mountain Theatre Musical Theatre Conservatory. You may have seen her recently as Fraulein Kost in Cabaret or part of the ensemble in escape to Margaritaville. She is forever grateful for the unrelenting support from her partner Chloe and her wonderful mom, dad, and sister. They’ve helped make all her dreams come true and made the little girl who wanted to make art exceptionally happy. She hopes to see you in class and can not wait to start the semester!

Bethany Costello is a Roanoke-based Music Director, Educator and Theatre Artist. A BFA Musical Theatre Graduate of the SC School of the Arts, Bethany loves sharing her passion of Theatre for Young Audiences locally and nationally. This passion has led her to working at Mill Mountain Theatre as the Conservatory Music Director, as well working on regional premiers, national tours and creating with companies such as The REV Theatre Company, The Kennedy Center, Florida Repertory Theatre, Mill Mountain Theatre, Virginia Children’s Theatre, Lexington Children’s Theatre, Missoula Children’s Theatre, CentreStage and Anderson University. Favorite creative team credits include: MATILDA, FINDING NEMO JR., THE ADDAMS FAMILY, SISTER ACT, SHE LOVES ME, TUCK EVERLASTING, ANNIE and ALICE IN WONDERLAND and every Conservatory Class she has been blessed to teach at Mill Mountain Theatre! 

Through teaching artistry, Bethany hopes to foster accessibility in the arts and empower students of all ages by equipping them with new tools to effectively engage with others, while reminding them of their greatest power: themselves! www.bethanycostello.com 

Kipp Dunn, a Virginia Tech graduate with a BS in Computer Science, is a professional software engineering consultant with a passion for the performing arts. This passion was ignited in early childhood when 4-H introduced him to drama and improv. He has performed in minimalist Shakespearean productions and was deeply involved in his 4-H improv club. Kipp has served as a judge for public speaking, presentation, and extemporaneous competitions. Additionally, he has taught guitar lessons to students of all skill levels and tutored a variety of subjects, including math and computer science. Having made Roanoke his home for the past four years, Kipp is excited to contribute his unique blend of analytical thinking and creative expression to the vibrant community at Mill Mountain Theatre.

AnnElese Galleo is a performer and creative from the Roanoke Valley and is a recent graduate of the Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music with her BFA in Musical Theatre and an emphasis in dance. She was previously seen with Mill Mountain in MadLibs Live! (Merrily), Bright Star (Ensemble/Dance Captain), Elf (Ensemble/Swing), and most recently in Escape to Margaritaville (Associate Choreographer/ Ensemble). She has also been seen in the studio as a guest teaching artist as well as the Director and Choreographer for The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley.

Ginger Poole is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association and an Associate member of the
Stage Directors and Choreographers Union. She has studied, taught, choreographed, and performed throughout the U.S. She has worked in GA, HI, FL, MS, SC and VA with, Theatre in the Square, The Alliance City Series, Theatre Gael, Synchronicity Performance Group-GA, Mill Mountain Theatre-VA and SC Children’s Theatre. Originally from Atlanta, she has worked with the N.F.L. and The Atlanta Falcons as their director and choreographer and The Atlanta Opera.

Prior to coming to Mill Mountain Theatre, she was based out of North Carolina where she has worked with Flat Rock Playhouse, the State Theatre of North Carolina, in over 25 productions. She was a part of the Education program at Flat Rock Playhouse for 5 years where she taught for their Apprentice Companies and their Conservatory Program in Acting, Dance, and Musical Theatre.

Ginger has taught at The University of Southern Mississippi, Western Carolina University, William Carey College, Mississippi University for Women, and currently teaches at Hollins University.

With Ginger’s strong background in dance she finds herself not only acting and dancing on stage but also directing the choreography and classroom skills for her students. Ginger holds her M.F.A. in Acting Performance from the University of Southern Mississippi and continues to teach acting and dance.  She has worked with students that range in age from kindergarten through professionals.

Ginger has worked in commercials, voice-overs, film, stage, and the classroom, and was profiled in the book FIRESTARTERS as “the actor”.

Ginger serves on the following Board of Directors: South Eastern Theatre Conference (SETC Secretary, Second Term), Junior League of the Roanoke Valley (Past President and Current Nominating Committee, Second Term), Burton Performing Arts Advisory Board, The Roanoke City Public Schools Education Foundation, and she has served on the Review Panel for the
Virginia Commission for the Arts. She was the recipient of the DePaul’s Women of Achievement Award in the Arts in 2013 and was named the 2016 Kendig Award recipient for Individual Artist. Ginger is also a guest host with WSLS, the NBC affiliate, Daytime Blue Ridge television show, and is the host of the new Mill Mountain Theatre Podcast, Meet Me at Mill Mountain. She is very proud to be a member of the Mill Mountain Theatre team and looks forward to its continued growth, success, and artistic influence in the region.

Keeley Morgan is a performer from Panama City, FL and a recent graduate of the University of West Florida with her BFA in Musical Theatre. She recently performed with Mill Mountain in their production of Cabaret as Frenchie and on their tour of The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley. Some of her favorite credits include Suzy – The Marvelous Wonderettes, Ensemble/Choreographer – The Drowsy Chaperone, and Brooke Wyndham – Legally Blonde. Keeley is beyond excited to share her love of dance and the arts with you all and can’t wait to see you in class! 

Matt Shields is a native of Virginia, having grown up in Loudoun County, he first moved to the region in 2013 to attend school at Radford University where he graduated with a BS in theatre.  After working for a few other companies, Matt is happy to call MMT his artistic home. In the past few years Matt has served in a variety of jobs around Mill Mountain, including Props Master, Costumes Manager, Teaching Artist, Scenic Designer and Company Manager.  Matt is very happy to now be serving MMT as the Director of Production and is grateful to MMT for all the faith they have put in him over the years.

Larry Robert Smith III is a theatrical artist working as an apprentice with Mill Mountain Theatre in Roanoke, VA. He made his professional debut at Theatre West Virginia. This would inspire him to seek further training at West Virginia University, where he earned a dual degree: a BFA in Musical Theatre and a BA in Dance. 

At WVU, Larry was involved in many productions as a performer and choreographer/director. Some of his favorite roles were: Prince Topher in Rodger + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Daryll Ames in Bright Star, and Bill Nolan in Carrie: The Musical. A highlight of his collegiate career was performing in Cloven Kingdom, a choreography by Paul Taylor (Restaged by Maureen Kaddar). 

Larry is delighted to be teaching at MMT. He has a passion for teaching musical theatre styles of dance, focusing particularly on finding emotion in movement; furthermore, the ways in which a solid foundation can help all dancers more readily achieve emotional expression through dance.