Our 2026 Artists

Liza Gennaro

The Conversations: Keynote Speaker

Liza Gennaro is a choreographer, educator, and writer. Her book Making Broadway Dance, published by Oxford University Press, was released in 2021 and was awarded The 2023 Kurt Weill Book Prize for an outstanding scholarly book on music theater.

On Broadway, Liza choreographed the critically acclaimed Broadway revival of The Most Happy Fella, directed by Gerald Gutierrez, and the Broadway revival of Once Upon a Mattress, starring Sarah Jessica Parker. She choreographed Roundabout Theater Company’s Tin Pan Alley Rag (2010 Outer Critics Circle Nomination, Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical) and has choreographed extensively in regional theaters across the country, including Hair at Actor’s Theatre Of Louisville, directed by Jon Jory, the world premiere of A…My Name is Still Alice at The Old Globe in California, and the world premiere of Martin Guerre at Hartford Stage, directed by Mark Lamos, Babes in Arms at Guthrie Theater, directed by Garland Wright, Kiss me Kate and The Most Happy Fella at The Goodspeed Opera House, Fiorello, Gypsy, My Fair Lady, Jesus Christ Superstar and The Secret Garden at Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, Gypsy, starring Betty Buckley, and Ragtime at the Paper Mill Playhouse and twelve consecutive seasons of musicals at The St. Louis “Muny” Opera.

Liza collaborated with Stephen Flaherty and Frank Galati on their chamber musical Loving, Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein for the About Face Theater in Chicago and choreographed the 30th Anniversary tour of Annie. Liza has choreographed and directed The New York Pops Carnegie Hall Christmas Concert: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2010), Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer (2014), Holiday Follies (2015), and A Charlie Brown Christmas (2012, 2015) and ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (2016).

Her adaptation of A Charlie Brown Christmas has been a yearly holiday tradition at San Francisco Symphony. Liza served three consecutive terms as an elected member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society Executive Board, served a three-year term on the Tony Award Nominating Committee, and was a Tony Voter for nine years.

The [micro] Lab

Sara Farb

Sara is an actor and writer. She wrote the book for the musical Kelly v. Kelly with Britta Johnson (music and lyrics) which premiered at Canadian Stage and Musical Stage Company in 2023; the show is a recipient of the Tom Hendry award and multiple Dora nominations. With Britta, she also co-wrote the Dora-nominated short musical He Is Coming. She wrote the book for the new musical Way Out There with Anton Lipovetsky (music and lyrics) which makes its premiere at YES! Theatre/Theatre Sudbury in spring of 2026. Her play, R-E-B-E-C-C-A, which she wrote and starred in, premiered at Theatre Passe Muraille. She is currently working on a new musical with Aaron Jensen (music and lyrics) about the forgotten female creator of the creature from Creature from the Black Lagoon. As an actor, Sara has performed on Broadway, in seven seasons at the Stratford Festival, and all over Canada. She makes her Shaw Festival debut as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl in the 2026 season.

Bookwriter

Aaron Jensen

AARON JENSEN (he/him) is a Toronto-based composer, writer, and producer. His music has been recorded by dozens of GRAMMY/JUNO award-winning artists, international choirs, and symphony orchestras. Past theatre projects include: DEATH & TAXES: workshopped by Arts Club Theatre (2022) and Sheridan College (2025), finalist for the Tom Hendry Award for Best New Musical (2023), and shortlisted for the 2026 National Music Theater Conference; BUT WHY/BECAUSE: a musical dramedy co-written with Kaitlyn Riordan which has been selected for the 2026 Creators’ Unit at The Capitol Theatre; THE CAT’S MEOW: a musical collaboration with L.A. screenwriter, Steven Peros, based on Peros' 1997 play and 2002 Lionsgate film; THE TRIAL OF BASTIANO DI BOLOGNA: the #1 downloaded episode of NYC theatre podcast, Bite-Sized Broadway (2021); and music, lyric, and dramaturgical contributions to THE BALLAD OF HENRY BOX BROWN, which was recently optioned for Broadway by four-time TONY-winning producers (2023). Jensen acted as musical director, arranger, and band leader for the EMMY-winning TV series, Schitt's Creek. He has contributed to a BAFTA-nominated video game soundtrack, a platinum-selling album, and a New York Times Bestselling book. - www.aaronjensen.ca

Music & Lyrics

Choreographer

Alexandra Herzog

Alexandra Herzog is a critically-acclaimed and highly sought-after director, movement director, and concert director for theatre, film, television and concert. Her theatre and movement direction credits include Dirty Dancing in Concert (four-time North American tour), Rock of Ages and Mary Poppins (Rainbow Stage), Life After (Mirvish), Nine (SLC), Beautiful Scars (Theatre Aquarius), and Lightning Thief (MTYP). On television, Alexandra served as movement director on every episode of Seasons 2 and 3 of Apple TV+’s SEE, starring Jason Momoa. In addition to her work as a director, Alexandra is an in-demand Performer Mindset coach. A certified Life Coach, and the founder of Next Up, Alexandra specializes in helping performers and creatives cultivate confidence, calm, and clarity in their careers. She is the creator of Performer Mindset, a popular coaching program that has empowered hundreds of artists to reach their potential. Her expertise has been featured in multiple publications, most recently on Sirius XM’s The Exhale podcast, where she is recognized as a leading voice in performance coaching.

Full Cast Announcement coming soon…

Shakeil Rollock

Assistant Choreographer

Shakeil Rollock is a Toronto-based performer, choreographer, and actor with credits across theatre, film and TV. His stage work includes Anne of Green Gables: The Musical, Jersey Boys, Gypsy, A Grand Night for Singing, Crazy for You, Fiddler on the Roof, Elf: The Musical and Mary Poppins. He’s also appeared on screen in Sneakerella, Spin (Disney+), Locke & Key and Grand Army (Netflix), and American Gods (Amazon Prime).

Shakeil’s choreography spans new works like Okay, You Can Stop Now and pieces for Theatre Passe Muraille, Outside the March and Theatre Sheridan. He recently served as Associate Choreographer for Frozen: The Musical at Theatre Aquarius. This season he expands his artistic portfolio as a director/choreographer for Musical Stage Company's One Song Glory showcase and as an Apprentice Director with Theatre Aquarius on their production of Murder on the Orient Express.

The Classes