Lakewood Instructors 

Amy Gretencort

Amy Gretencort graduated cum laude from Cal State with a bachelor’s degree in Visual and Performing Arts, and obtained her Masters of Education from Portland State University. She has worked in theaters from San Francisco to Seattle, both on stage and behind the scenes. Amy has been teaching drama for 12 years and directing the after-school drama program at Waluga Junior for 14. In addition to directing, she has written 16 original plays and adapted 2 others. Her original works include The Boxed Circus, Rescue Me!, Dandelion, The Ghosts of Montmartre and Lost Souls.

Liz Hayden

Liz Hayden has an MFA in theatre and managed her own arts camp in Santa Monica, CA, prior to moving back home to Portland where she teaches, directs and acts.

Nancy McDonald

Nancy McDonald's acting credits include theatre, film and television. She founded the Shakespeare Stage Company in New York and The Writer's Lab in LA, teaches for Oregon Children's Theatre, Atkinson Graduate School of Management and PCC, and is a producer at Magaurn Video Media.

Peter X. O'Brien

 Artist, Peter X. O'Brien was born in Glen Cove, New York. His family moved to Wellesley, Massachusetts and then to San Francisco, California before finally settling down in Lake Oswego, Oregon. His interest in art was encouraged at an early age by his artistic mother. Peter has been drawing and painting ever sInce.

Peter earned a football scholarship to the University of Idaho. He spent 4 years in Idaho playing collegiate football and studying drawing and painting. In 1985, Pete signed as a placekicker with the New Orleans Saints. After a brief career in the NFL, He decided to go back to school and complete his college education. He graduated with a BA in Fine Arts from the University of Oregon.

Pete lives in West Linn, Oregon with his wife and children and has a studio in Lake Oswego. He still finds time to travel extensively looking for fresh subject matter to paint. He has studied under well known artists such as Tom Lynch, Tony Couch, Jan Kunz, Jim Ponti and Eric Wiegardt in his persisitent quest to expand and refine his craft.

Pete is considered by his peers as one of the emerging western artists and is participating in juried art shows throughout the west. He has been awarded 4 "Best of show" awards in the past two years.

Sandra Peabody

Sandra Peabody is an Emmy award winning writer and producer and also manages talent. Student acting credits include local TV/Film work, and weekly leads on network Television series and major films including guest starring roles on Boston Public, Providence, ER, Law and Order, Just Shoot Me, Judging Amy, 3rd Rock and Without a Trace.

Aaron Nigel Smith

Aaron Nigel Smith has been a serious musician since  age 11, when he began performing with the American Boychoir in venues such as Carnegie hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, and the Essex Cathedral in London. As a student he trained at the American Boychoir School, Interlochen Arts Academy, Manhattan School of Music and Marygrove College.  He has since performed professionally throughout the United States, South America, Europe and Asia. Aaron is a versatile musician who performs vocal music of many genres, including classical, jazz, gospel, pop and reggae.
 
He has shared the stage with many world-class musicians such as, opera great Jessye Norman,  reggae legend Ziggy Marley and jazz trumpeter Winton Marsalis. He has worked under the baton of some the world’s great conductors including Anton Armstrong, Robert de Cormier, Jim Litton, Albert McNeil, Andre Previn, Robert Shaw, and John Williams. In addition to being an accomplished vocalist, Aaron Nigel Smith plays percussion and guitar. He is a prolific songwriter, and an inspiring teacher to children of all ages.  In 2002, he founded FUNdamentals of Music & Movement, a fun approach to music and dance education for children.  FUNdamentals has since become the new standard for arts enrichment in Los Angeles, serving thousands of children. In the fall of 2007 Aaron franchised the FUNdamentals business model and classes are now being offered in Boston and New York City.

FUNdamentals’ early education client base includes Bright Horizons, Little Sprouts, Universal, Sony, Warner Brothers, Paramount, David E. Kelly, Mattel, & Fox Studios child care centers. In 2005, the FUNdamentals debut CD release, “Let’s Pretend”, won the NAPPA & IParenting Media Awards.  His new CD "Everyone Loves to Dance, received a Parents's Choice Award and recognition in People Magazine.  He recently worked with grammy award winning reggae artist Ziggy Marley on a new Bob Marley kids record, B is for Bob. Aaron Nigel Smith joined the cast of PBS Kids show, Between the Lions Live in 2008 and will continue touring with the show. He is a featured musical guest on seasons 9 of the Emmy Award winning television show.

Aaron’s simple mission is to inspire and be inspired by children through music and movement.  He hopes to reach the world community by collaborating with those who share his vision.

Douglas Webster

Douglas Webster is a performing teacher, director and producer.  Locally, he is winner of the 2009 Drammy Award for Best Actor in a Musical (Les Misérables, Broadway Rose). Winner of the New York Joy In Singing and Concert Artists Guild Awards, he has performed as soloist with orchestra and in recital across forty-six states in venues including Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, the Metropolitan Opera, on PBS, NPR and on Broadway. His recordings include classical and popular music CDs for Koch, New World, Yamaha, Kultur Video and the Grammy™ Nominated Disney Spectacular for Telarc. Mr. Webster made his debut singing the Celebrant in Leonard Bernstein's epic theater piece, MASS. He has since led twenty productions, including the premiere at Carnegie Hall, Dallas, Portland, Eugene, Denver, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania and The Vatican. As an educator, he has served on the faculties at the University of Oregon (Director of Opera), University of Memphis, and the summer programs for SUNY-Stony Brook and Colorado State University-Pueblo. He has been a guest teacher/clinician for university programs including: The Royal Conservatory in Toronto, The National Conservatory of Latvia, University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point and Colorado State University - Ft. Collins, presented by the College Music Society as a key-note speaker and clinician.  He holds degrees from Northwestern University and Indiana University, from which he received the Singing Hoosier Distinguished Alumni Award in 2005. His studies also include: The Banff Centre School of the Arts, Aspen School of Music, Santa Fe Opera and the Centre International de Formation Musicale (Nice, France). Douglas Webster currently lives in Portland with his wife, cellist and composer, Elizabeth Byrd.