pamela kinter
Founder, Artistic Director, and Acting Coach
Pamela Kinter is a performer and director, but above all, an educator. Her professional career began at the University of Maryland, with degrees in Acting Technique and Directing. She was asked to direct a children’s theatre production in Chicago over twenty years ago when…lightning struck! She realized that the natural ability of children to create, explore, and simply TRY was something to be encouraged and celebrated! Pam founded Stagelights in Greensboro, NC in 2010 to help children in the Triad explore the joys of theatre. She is proud to be growing Stagelights into a high quality, educational theatre program that was recently named, as a partner with Guilford County Child Development, in a national STEAM grant to bring theatre arts to the youngest and most economically challenged Triad students. Pam is beyond excited to be fulfilling her life-long dream of offering full-year, theatre arts programs!
amy shope
Choreographer, Tap Instructor, and Business Manager
Amy Shope is a professional dance teacher, performer, choreographer, writer, and bookkeeper in the Triad area. Amy joined with Stagelights in the summer of 2013 to choreograph the summer musical program, and she was so excited to soon after see Stagelights develop into a year-round studio. Amy is also currently an adjunct instructor of Tap Dance at UNC-Greensboro.
Amy trained at the Anna Marie Dance Studio in Wilmington, DE from the age of 4, learning ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, lyrical, and musical theatre. She received her BA in Dance and BS in Chemistry from Connecticut College in 2012 before receiving her MA in Dance Theories and Practices at UNC-Greensboro in 2014. Shows she has choreographed include You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown; Annie Get Your Gun; Bye Bye Birdie; Legally Blonde; Kiss Me, Kate; Spamalot; The Pajama Game;The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee; Chicago; The Addams Family; Freaky Friday; Newsies; Crazy For You; and Something Rotten. For years, Amy was a freelance writer for Dance Spirit and Dance Retailer News magazines and has presented her research at the Society of Dance History Scholars conferences in Trondheim, Norway (2013) and at Iowa State University (2014). She is a certified Essentrics™ instructor, teaching adult workout classes to strengthen and stretch all muscles of the body to help create a leaner, fitter, and younger physique. She also loves to bake!
anna Smith
Tech Director and Juggling Instructor
Anna Smith is a High School English and Theatre arts educator for Guilford County Schools. As a high school student, she was heavily involved in the arts and loved the sense of community she found among her peers. Anna received her BA in English Education at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and began teaching at Northern Guilford High School in 2014. After a year of only teaching English, she was given the opportunity to also teach theatre classes. She was fortunate enough to participate in Stagelights Mainstage the summer before she began her new career as a theatre teacher and took away many valuable lessons in how to best structure her program. Shows she has directed include Seussical The Musical, Beauty and the Beast, and Les Miserables. She has continued to participate in Mainstage as a director for the Junior Division show and can occasionally be seen performing in a Stagelights production as well. Anna is also an avid juggler and is always happy to show off her skills!
Danny Paparozzi
Music Director and Vocal Instructor
Danny Paparozzi is a classically trained tenor. Danny began singing in earnest through community musical theater as a high schooler, and he also has experience in the classical repertoire, having performed in numerous operas at the professional level. Previously, Danny was an active member of Opera Wilmington, performing in concerts with the company and in all of its operatic productions since its debut with The Merry Widow in 2014. In 2015, he performed with the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra as Tamino in their collaborative production of The Magic Flute with UNCW’s Opera Outreach Program. His recent productions include the role of Le Remendado in Bizet's Carmen and Don Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni. He looks forward to helping the next generation foster their own love of music and performance.
Jade McNamara
Dance Instructor
Jade McNamara, originally from the Outer Banks of NC, started her dance training at the age of 3 at Atlantic Dance studying ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, lyrical and contemporary. She went on to graduate from UNCG in 2019 with a BA in dance and an interest track in pre-physical therapy. During her time in undergrad, she performed in multiple student and faculty performances, including work set by Janet Lilly and Clarice Young in her time studying abroad in Italy. Since graduation she was Dance Project’s School Operations Intern for their fall 2020 and spring 2021 session. Jade began to assistant teach classes under Dylan Reddish, while also occasionally substituting classes such as Creative Movement, Ballet, and Open Level Modern. During the summer she continued to work and learn from Dance Project by assistant teaching dance camps and volunteering with ICan dance camp. Jade is so excited to be able to blend her love of dance and theatre and share that with her students. She can’t wait to see you in class!
Amanda Scholz
Vocal Instructor
Amanda is a classically trained soprano originally from Denver, Colorado. She has studied voice and piano for 15 years and has performed in operas, musicals and choirs both nationally and internationally. Amanda has appeared with the Montefeltro Music Festival in Novafeltria, Italy, and with Greensboro Opera, UNCG Opera Theatre, and Opera Fort Collins. Her most notable roles include Gretel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Fairy Godmother in Viardot’s Cendrillon, and Nella in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. Amanda holds degrees from Colorado State University and the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.
Amanda is most passionate about teaching voice and piano. With 4+ years of teaching experience, she especially enjoys witnessing her student find confidence in themselves, both musically and otherwise. She is an advocate for healthy singing, body awareness, relaxation, and positivity in her studio. She specializes in a technical approach to singing, incorporating elements of yoga and the Alexander Technic in her teaching. Amanda is passionate about supporting her students through all trials they may face as an artist and as a person. She believes nothing is more important than advocating for your self (vocally and mental health wise), and she is excited to help her students grow in this way.
Amanda enjoys spending time with her husband, baby girl, and cat in her free time. She also loves running, cooking, and warm beverages!
Jason rune
Vocal Instructor
Jason Rune is a second-year MM student in vocal pedagogy. Jason received his BS in psychology from Coastal Carolina University, where he focused on developmental psychology and quantitative research. As a trans man and private music teacher, he focuses on gender equity, transgender vocal pedagogy, and teaching methods for neurodivergent musicians. In high school, Jason was ranked as one of the top sopranos in South Carolina and attended the ACDA National Honors Choir twice. Some of Jason's previous credits are Buddy in Sideshow, Aeneas in Dido & Aeneas, Don Basilio in Le Nozze Di Figaro, & Cliff Bradshaw in Cabaret. Teaching is his passion, and he is so happy to be at Stagelights!