Cynthia Speakman
Founder and Artistic Director
Cynthia has been an actor and performer in Sacramento since 1993. She was a long-time member of the highly successful performing ensemble, StoryVoices. Speakman, who holds a B.S. in Elementary and Special Education, has taught after-school theatre arts at Leonardo da Vinci School since 2000. She has also worked with the Any Given Child program in the Twin Rivers and Sacramento City School Districts. She also taught with the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission Model Arts Program Robla School District for two years. Additionally, Cynthia has participated in the Seminar Planning Effective Residencies for Students offered by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as well as various workshops for Teaching Artists offered through the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission (SMAC). Cynthia has found OnStage to be the most enlightening and heartfelt experience of her life.
Jenny Winstead-Rodriguez
OnStage Teaching Artist
Jenny Winstead-Rodriguez is a creative writer and teaching artist. Jenny graduated with degrees in English and Theatre from the University of Kentucky, with a focus on creative writing and playwriting, and has since worked with youth and arts organizations across California, including Youth N.O.W., Shakespeare Society of America, and the Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative. She began as a teaching artist with OnStage in Spring 2023 and is serving as a Resident Teaching Artist with SCOE in Fall 2023. Theatre is a passion for Jenny, along with education and literacy. She recently served with 916 Ink's Read On! program where she worked one-on-one with K-6 students who were below reading level. Outside of the classroom, she has worked in management at a Beverly Hills EdTech organization as well as the Administrative Director at a local literacy nonprofit. Jenny strives to create equitable learning environments that are welcoming, stimulating, and - importantly - fun!
Stephanie Leibforth
OnStage Teaching Artist
Stephanie Leibforth is an actor, teaching artist, playwright, and certified yoga instructor 200-CYT. She is so excited to be teaching with OnStage Theatre Arts again this year. Inspired by her opera singer father, Stephanie got her start on the stage early, dancing in the Sacramento Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker when she was five. Modeling, commercials, and community theatre classes followed; she studied theatre and acting and participated in productions throughout high school and at CSU Sacramento. Favorite credits include: Anne Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank, dancing in West Side Story, and Dames at Sea, Grace +4 (other roles) in The Dining Room, and most recently Audrey in the award winning Good Morning Miriam with Big Idea Theatre’s One Act Festival (Best cast, best direction). In 2022, after a 20-year career in the private sector and public service, Stephanie left her job at the State of California to pivot back toward her more creative path. She is enjoying finding ways to apply the skills she gained during her career in her new roles.
Lindsay Jones
OnStage Teaching Artist
Lindsay has a life-long love of community theatre, and has performed with various companies throughout the Sacramento area. She has always wanted to teach theatre in some capacity, and is excited to start another year working with students through the OnStage program. “I am so happy to be teaching kids at a young age all of the wonderful tools you don’t even realize you’re getting when you perform live theater: Public speaking, collaboration, confidence, movement,” Lindsay says. When she's not teaching with OnStage, Lindsay can be seen performing in a monthly improv show in Sacramento. Lindsay is a proud mom of two children, and she lives in Elk Grove with her family.
Michael Coleman
OnStage Teaching Artist
Michael is an accomplished actor, director, and designer who has worked in Northern California for over 35 years. He has directed productions of A Wrinkle In Time, The Uninvited, Duck Hunter Shoots Angel, 27 Wagons Full Of Cotton, Clue The Musical, Peter and the Starcatcher, The Stupidest Angel, And Then There Were None, Evil Dead The Musical, Deathtrap, and The Musical of Musicals-The Musical. Favorite acting performances have included Into The Woods, Brighton Beach Memoirs, BABY, Cabaret, As You Like It, The Merchant of Venice, Gilligan's Island The Musical, The Mousetrap, Leading Ladies, The Play That Goes Wrong, Blood and Ice, Forever Plaid, Cinderella, The Fantasticks, and The Outsider.
McKenna Sennett
OnStage Teaching Artist
McKenna Sennett is an actor, director and teaching artist. She graduated from CSUS with a degree in theatre. McKenna started working in theatre education last year and has loved being able to share the magic of theatre with K-12 students. Along with working as a teaching artist for OnStage, McKenna also teaches for B Street Theatre's afterschool programs and as an acting teacher for their Studio for Young Actors. In addition to theatre education, McKenna is also a passionate actor and director. Favorite roles include Hamlet (Hamlet), Anna (After the Blast), Lady Macbeth (Macbeth), and Christopher Boone (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime) McKenna directed Sac State's senior production of Spring Awakening (Frank Wedekind) and is currently directing The Fall in Big Idea Theatre's Annual One-Acts Festival.