STAFF
MEET OUR STAFF
Director
Dana Hendry, New Star Children’s Theatre, Director/Playwright/Songwriter – Dana is the “Creator” of New Star Children’s Theatre, having written a children’s musical at the age of 15, and then with the support of her small town community directed a cast of children in her original musical to much acclaim! She found that she loved working with kids, and directing them in musicals and continued writing plays, songs and directing New Star from 1978 till now! She has directed and taught hundreds of children over the last 46 years and is proud to say that many of her alumni have gone on to perform in Broadway tours, in Cirque Du Soleil, in Nashville, toured with Sarah McLaughlin,
as reporters on the TV news, as producers of TV shows, as teachers, lawyers, social workers and so much more! Dana loves to watch every child find their confidence and personal growth as they continue to do multiple shows with New Star. She is proud of the fact that New Star is viewed by its participants as a family, and the family welcomes every new member into the group with warmth and friendliness! The kids make friends with other kids of all ages, go to movies together, have sleepovers, and their friendships last forever. Many New Star alumni that are now adults still maintain close friendships with their New Star cast mates of the past. Not only that, but New Star reunions have happened over the years in Canada, and California and have been attended by New Star families young and old.
Dana is one of the playwrights for New Star, and has co-written several musicals including the Elly Nominated “The Girl I Seem to Be”, for best original script. She also co-writes the songs for all of the New Star original musicals. Dana has written hundreds of songs over the years. She plays the guitar and piano and enjoys singing and arranging harmonies.
She directed a talented performance troupe called Supernova comprised of a group of young people ages 7-16. Something that is very important to Dana is to give back to the community, and she brought this philosophy to Supernova, having them perform at shelters for the homeless, retirement homes, for disadvantaged youths, and spent six months mentoring a group of young people who would not normally have the chance to participate in a group like Supernova.
She also spent three months in the summer of 2012 working with a group of senior citizens and preparing them to perform in a show with Supernova.
Dana has two children, Kayla and Josh and is married to Robert B. Hendry III, her partner, producer for New Star, co-playwright and co-song writer!
Vocal Director / Choreographer
Kayla Guzman is the current Vocal Director for New Star. A graduate of AMDA: College & Conservatory of Performing Arts in Los Angeles, Kayla has over 25 years experience in Musical theater. Kayla has been working as a vocal director, choreographer, and director since the age of 13 and has worked with multiple companies around Sacramento and Los Angeles. Kayla has also performed in hundreds of productions throughout the years, with some of her favorite roles being The Witch in Into the Woods, Peter Pan in Peter Pan and Mary Warren in The Crucible. Kayla has also written the music/lyrics for numerous New Star productions. Kayla resides in Citrus Heights with her husband and 4 year old son.
Producer / Technical Director / Playwright
Bob Hendry has enjoyed working with kids for the past several decades. Initially Bob started out as a youth football coach where he enjoyed much success with a number of championships to his credit. Bob was beloved by his players as he took the time to get to know his players and used that knowledge to put them in a position to succeed. He also enjoyed writing a weekly team newsletter that featured stories from the game. The newsletter tracked the players stats, and league standings, showcased players and even featured inspirational and humorous quotes. The weekly newsletter was always a hit with the players and staff.
After getting married to Dana, Bob transitioned from the football field to the theatre. He took his writing ability and applied it writing scripts and song lyrics. Together Bob and Dana form a proficient song and script writing team. New Star prides itself on its production of original scripts and music for many of its shows.
It was through a lot of trial and error and online research Bob learned to operate the lights and sound equipment for the shows. Over the years using the experience he has gained; Bob uses this knowledge to continually look for ways to improve the production quality of our shows and improve the quality of equipment used by New Star in its productions. He is always striving to put the kids in a better “light”.
