Karyn Overstreet | College prep audition Advisor/ Master Vocal Coach
SAN DIEGO | IN PERSON / ZOOM
Karyn is a master singing teacher and vocal coach that focuses on vocal technique with the student as well as audition prep. She is also known as a “song selection expert” and hand selects song pieces that enhance the student’s voice, personality, and type. She helps singers with their “unique artist sound". Karyn also works with the student on artist development. Karyn has been behind the table at Unifieds, live auditions for university musical theatre programs in New York and Los Angeles. Karyn is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS).
@karynoverstreetvocalstudio
This season Karyn has two clients on this coming season of American Idol and The Voice. Karyn Overstreet Vocal Studio has been recognized nationally 6 years in a row having winners in the YoungArts National Competition for Voice in categories of Singer/Songwriter, Pop, and Musical Theatre. Karyn’s clients have broadway national tours, major motion pictures, television, commercials, voice-overs and have signed major record deals. Along with celebrity clients Karyn works with all levels of talent and ages.
Broadway: Les Miserables; Broadway National Tours: Jekyll & Hyde, Barry Manilow's Copacabana. Off-Broadway: A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, The New Moon, Strike Up The Band at City Center Encores, Tip-Toes at Carnegie Hall. and well as various leads throughout the Regional Theatre scene. Karyn was the TV host for New York’s Metro Guide Channel: The Red Head Review, and was featured in the film Temptation starring Zoe Saldana, Adam Pascal, Alice Ripley. San Diego audiences will remember Karyn in Moonlight production’s record breaking Mamma Mia as Rosie, Old Globe’s Production of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, San Diego Musical Theatre's Production of 9 To 5 as Dora Lee and, the longest running musical in San Diego history: the 80’s musical journey of Mixtape with Lambs Players.
Sydney Forest Taylor | VOCAL & ARTIST DEVELOPMENT COACH
LOS ANGELES REPRESENTITIVE | IN PERSON / ZOOM
Sydney Forest Taylor is an LA-based songwriter, singer, artist development coach, and artist consultant. She holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Cal State Fullerton, a foundation that continues to inform her work across the music and entertainment industries. Prior to being signed to Disney Publishing as a songwriter and performer, she was an A&R executive for a Los Angeles-based boutique music publisher, where she represented catalogs such as Jimi Hendrix, Chicago, and Professor Longhair. She also signed, developed, and worked with new and up-and-coming artists. Sydney was the founder of Monday Night Music Club, a monthly showcase for emerging talent hosted at Genghis Cohen in Hollywood, and traveled to music conferences—speaking on panels, listening to pitches, and discovering new talent. These experiences ultimately paved the way for her own songwriting and publishing deal.
Sydney was signed to Disney Music Publishing as an artist and songwriter and began writing for film and tv projects. One of her favorite first projects were songs that were placed in Studio Ghibli/Hayao Miyazaki’s first (American) Disney release in the 1998 version of ‘Kiki’s Delivery Service’ as she co-wrote the songs and sang “I’m Gonna Fly” and “Soaring”. This season of life also led to on camera roles in WB shows like “Popular” (Ryan Murphy) with the show’s end title “High School Highway”, session singing on national commercials for Burger King and Bob Evans, and a duet with Graham Nash on his solo album “Songs for Survivors”.
Outside of the music business, Sydney has been a part of a “think tank” pitching reality show at NBC/Universal, led a national marketing team and social media campaign promoting movies like Dolphin Tale and 42 to the homeschool community for Grace Hill Media/WB.
Through the years, Sydney has been a private vocal, piano, songwriting coach, and music career consultant for aspiring artists and songwriters. She is very familiar with the ABRSM program of level testing and performance grades. She also works with students in intensive college prep programs getting into schools like University of Michigan, Carnegie-Mellon, and NYU.
An additional fun fact, her mother, Gayla Peevey, sang the original version of the Christmas classic “I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas” as a 10 year old in 1953 and debuted it on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Most importantly, Sydney has a heart for artist development and deep appreciation for every student’s individuality, young and old. Her joy is to really listen to what a student is seeking, when they take the leap to sign up for coaching, and intuitively unlock new levels of growth to become a partner in their dreams and goals.
Mackenzie Wrap | ASSOCIATE TEACHER
ZOOM
Makenzie is a singer and actress from Southern California who is A recent graduate from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Mackenzie started singing publicly at open mics when she was 9 years old. Shortly after that she began vocal training with Karyn Overstreet and has been working with her ever since. She has over 10 years of vocal training under her belt in various styles, whether it be pop/rock, musical theatre, blues and jazz or even some classical!
At age 13, Mackenzie broke into the LA Cabaret scene with the debut of her own solo show at the Gardenia Club in Hollywood. In reviewing her show for Cabaret Scenes magazine, Les Traub said of her singing ability, "Her vocal range and the control she has with her voice was on display as she scatted to the stratosphere...Be it pop, jazz, opera, country, traditional Great American Songbook, blues or Broadway, she handled it with ease."
Given Mackenzie's true passion for Musical Theatre, she was accepted into the Musical Theatre Conservatory at the Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) when she was in 6th grade and continued on through high school graduation. A couple of her favorite OCSA memories include being cast to play the role of Judy Bernly in OCSA's production of "9-to-5: The Musical" and performing in a duet with Matthew Morrison during the annual South Coast Plaza holiday tree lighting show in Orange County.
There is nothing more thrilling for Mackenzie than to share her talent during live performances. She was delighted to be invited by acclaimed songwriter Ken Hirsch to be part of his “Hits From Another Century Tour” at LA’s Catalina Jazz Club. She was also cast to perform in the Amy Winehouse tribute show at the Rockwell Table and Stage. Crossing over the border into Mexico, Mackenzie was a two-time guest performer at Alonso Moreno’s Big Band show at the Tijuana Cultural Center where over 1000 people attended. Finally, she loves singing at open mics whenever she can, including events such as Michael Orland’s open mics in LA and Palm Springs, Keri Kelsey’s open mic at the Gardenia Club, Tim Moore’s open MIC at Hennessy’s in La Jolla and at Don’t Tell Mama’s in NYC.
Most recently, Mackenzie had her first professional theatre working experience in South Dakota as part of the Prairie Repertory Theatre company where she performed as Vera in the stage adaptation of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None; as well as in the ensemble of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. She had a wonderful time diving into both of these shows and getting to explore the contrarian nuances of both murder mystery and golden age! Looking ahead, Mackenzie will be spending her fall semester of her Junior year working on the play, Gloria, by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, where she will be playing three different characters; as well as playing Kate Mullins in Titanic, directed by Broadway Veteran Telly Leung, come her spring semester.
Mackenzie has loved this new journey of teaching and helping others find their voice and express themselves through song. Singing has always been such a beacon in her life and she is so excited and grateful that she gets to share her love and passion with others who aspire to also learn about this craft and hone their skills!
Robert Townsend | Acting Coach
Zoom / In Person (San Diego)
Robert has been a professional actor for almost 30 years. On Broadway Mamma Mia! Broadway National tours of Jersey Boys, Camelot and Mamma Mia, as well as off Broadway and countless regional theaters across the country. A proud recipient of LA Ovation Awards for his portrayal of the title role in Jekyll and Hyde, and for his performance as Thomas Weaver in The Story of My Life. In San Diego, he has appeared on many of the stages of our thriving theater community, taking part in productions at The Globe, San Diego Rep, Moonlight, Starlight, and of course his home away from home, San Diego Musical Theatre. Nominated for numerous San Diego Critic Circle Awards, he received the Outstanding Lead Performance award for his portrayal of Georges in La Cage Aux Folles at SDMT.Other performance skills include voice overs, commercials, television, and big band crooning with Ray Conniff and His Orchestra. He has devoted the last five years (and counting) to Westview High School and the Westview Theatre Company (WVTC) as the Theater Director and Advisor. WVTC has grown to over one hundred acting and technical student collaborators and received much acclaim and acknowledgment for the performances and quality of the productions.
Joanna Sauntry | Dance Coach/ Choreographer Zoom/ In person San Diego
Joanna is a professionally trained dancer, performer, and choreographer with over 20 years of experience and an international career spanning musical theatre, live television, concert performance, multimedia production, and national and international touring productions.
Her performance credits include the Riverdance and Hilary Duff World Tour during the Most Wanted era, where she performed in London’s iconic West End, and sang at major live performance and entertainment industry events, including the American Music Awards. National and touring productions include Starlight Express, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Camelot.
Trained in the United Kingdom through the British Theatre Dance Association and the Royal Academy of Dance, Joanna built a strong foundation in classical and theatre dance before performing across major regional stages. Her credits include seasons with Sacramento Music Circus, Reprise! Broadway’s Best, and San Diego Musical Theatre, with performances in West Side Story, Cabaret, The King and I, Pippin, Applause, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
In addition to her performance career, Joanna worked as a guest choreographer, adjudicator and teacher in the United Kingdom, sharing her professional experience through movement coaching, performance training, and stagecraft. She has also worked with students throughout San Diego to create unique and authentic competition and audition pieces.With a background rooted in discipline, stage presence, musicality, choreography, and athletic performance, Joanna brings a dynamic blend of professional dance training, theatrical experience, creative direction, and international touring perspective to her work today.
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