Artistic Directors
Terra and Shane Hannon (Artistic Directors) created the Oconee Youth School of Performance in 1998 as a place where students could experience the joys and benefits of the performing arts – from singing and acting to dancing – in a creative and positive environment. Besides serving as directors and teachers at OYSP, the couple founded and serve as artistic directors of Oconee Youth Playhouse, a non-profit organization that presents 2-3 main-stage musical theater productions each year featuring casts of young local performers. Over the past 15+ years, Terra and Shane have directed more than 50 shows at OYP.
Terra and Shane have extensive performing backgrounds starting at an early age. Terra trained at the Davidson Fine Arts School in Augusta and grew up dancing and acting with various local groups, including the Augusta Players. She graduated from the University of Georgia in 1997 with a degree in drama and subsequently earned dance certifications through Dance Educators of America. Terra has been a featured dancer with the Jekyll Island Musical Theater Festival and spent a year touring the U.S. with the Missoula (Montana) Children’s Theatre as a performer and director. She has choreographed for the Highlands Playhouse in North Carolina and has earned Best Choreographer awards at both regional and national Access Broadway competitions. In 2014, Terra’s jazz piece “Storm” was named the highest scoring number (out of over 600 acts) at the Bravo! Regionals at the Classic Center in Athens, GA.
Shane began his theatrical career at age 10, playing the title role in a local production of “Oliver!” While earning a journalism degree from UGA, he was a member of UGA’s Ballroom Performance Company and had lead roles in numerous community theater shows, including the Town & Gown production of “She Loves Me,” where he met Terra, a fellow cast member. Shane has performed professionally with the Jekyll Island Musical Theater Festival and Highlands Playhouse. He now prefers directing Oconee Youth Playhouse shows with Terra, but made a few OYP stage appearances – playing the Wolf/Cinderella’s Prince in Into the Woods and Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof.
Both Terra and Shane still teach on a regular basis. Terra teaches and choreographs for the OYSP dance company as well as teaching some non-company dance classes. Shane teaches musical theater to all ages, including Pre-K/K students and coaches many of the company kids on their vocal solos and monologues. Terra and Shane live in Bogart and have three boys: Jack, Evan and Chase.
Staff bios - note this section still under construction
Meredith Slayden Dillard has taught dance for over 21 years, beginning at Victoria Bolen’s Dance Station West, in Knoxville, Tennessee then moving to Franklin, TN where she was the head of the Ballet Department at Ann Carroll School of Dance and now her new home at Oconee Youth School of Performance. Meredith’s training is extensive in the ballet, jazz, modern and musical theater genres. Meredith performed with the Knoxville City Ballet, in association with the Cincinnati, Ohio Ballet, for 3 years.
Meredith’s choreography has won many different types of awards over the past years. Her first award was in 2001 for a Choreography and 1st Place Overall award at the competition Showstoppers and most recently (2017), her Senior Ballet piece "Lost" was awarded the Entertainment Award at the Bravo Dance Competition in Athens. She has also received other awards at Access Broadway and Bravo while teaching and choreographing at OYSP. Meredith teaches non company and company classes at OYSP and has recently starting helping with stage managing for the OYP shows. Meredith is married to Matt and they have two kids: Taylor and Slayden.
Sayward Johnson grew up dancing in Macon, Ga where she received her dance training at The Madison Studio and at Dance Arts Studio, where she was one of the founding members of the Middle Ga Youth Ballet. She spent summers at the Russian Ballet and The American Academy of Ballet in New York, where she won the highest achievement award. Sayward went to Georgia College in Milledgeville and began teaching ballet in 2001 at Studio One. She started her time as a teacher at Oconee Youth School of Performance in 2016. At OYSP, Sayward teaches ballet and pointe. She currently lives in Oconee County with her husband and two children.
Madison Morton
Rachel Townes has been music director for the OYSP musical theater company for over 10 years. She plays in the pit and is the music director for all of the musicals at OYSP's sister organization, Oconee Youth Playhouse. With OYP, Rachel has been the music director for over 40 main stage shows including most recently A Christmas Story and Hairspray. Rachel began her career with a small professional company that toured the Southeast with dinner theater shows. After she moved to Athens to study at UGA, she became the musical director for the Department of Drama, and a freelance musician for the School of Music. She has worked for Theater on the Square in Marietta, Gainesville Theater Alliance, and Highlands Theater in North Carolina. In addition to working with the OYSP musical theater company on all their group competition numbers, Rachel also teaches private voice and piano at the studio.
Margot Hitchcock is a Watkinsville-native who graduated from the University of Georgia in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education. Growing up, she competed as a member of the OYSP dance & musical theatre companies and has participated in nearly 20 OYP shows since middle school. Margot has served as a guest choreographer throughout the Athens/Oconee community for almost a decade, and also works as a fitness professional at Above Barre, Tilt Cycling, and Athens Health & Fitness. She has had the privilege of teaching numerous classes at OYSP since 2008, and she is excited to return in the fall to teach Production, Voice, and Conditioning.
Lucy Haskill is an Athens native and a graduate of the University of Georgia with a Bachelors in Communications and a minor in Theater. After graduating, she moved to California to continue her theater studies at the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts which boasts alumni the likes of Robert Redford, Grace Kelly, Danny Devito and Jessica Chastain. She graduated at the top of her class and was offered a spot in the elite Academy Company. Lucy has worked in the film and television industry for the past five years on both sides of the camera. She was a Casting Associate for Television Development for three years in Los Angeles before moving back to Athens to pursue the booming film industry in Atlanta. She has worked on several projects since moving back to Athens including the upcoming film The Leisure Seeker starring Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland and her recent stint as Nadine McCluskey on CMT's mini-series Sun Records. Lucy is an active member of the Athens theater community and currently teaches Production and Acting at the Oconee Youth School of Performance.
Megan Hodgson is a junior at the University of Georgia and has been involved with OYP/OYSP for the past 15 years. She took her first musical theater and dance classes at OYSP at the age of 4. Megan did her first OYP show at age 6 and after that did over 20 more shows with OYP. Some of her favorite roles were Ursula in Little Mermaid, Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka and Lucy Van Pelt in Snoopy. She was participated in both OYSP's musical theater and dance company and competed in 11 Access Broadway competitions and won the triple-threat award Jr. Ms. Access Broadway in 2011. During her sophomore year in high school, Megan began assisting with musical theater classes and now teaches musical theater and hip hop to a variety of ages. Megan is currently involved in a dance crew, Prelude Dance Ensemble at UGA where she dances and choreographs in a variety of dance styles. She also serves as a worship leader at her church, Living Hope Church. Megan is an aspiring middle school teacher majoring in the field of education and hopes to make the difference in the lives of adolescent children. She credits her time at OYSP to her career path because of her love and her passion for teaching the students at the studio.
Ainsley Moses grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. She was a competition dancer for 13 years at Renee Johnsons’ Dance Studio, under the direction of Gretchen Stanton. Ainsley has trained intensely in ballet, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, ballroom, and hip hop, and she was fortunate enough to work with many notable choreographers, such as Courtney Barclay, Sonya Tayeh, Jenn Freeman, and more. Ainsley holds several national titles, and she has developed a passion for choreographing. Over the past few years, Ainsley has choreographed multiple routines for her high school dance team, Lafayette Escadrille, that they will compete at UDA Nationals. Currently, Ainsley is a sophomore studying Business Management at the University of Georgia. She is also a Pure Barre instructor and looks forward to working with the dancers at OYSP!
Autumn Fullington has been in the “dance world” for 26 years! I grew up a part of a competition dance team and gymnastics team in SC, and when my family relocated to Oconee County, I continued in dance training and competitive dance teams in the Athens area. I had the privilege of being a part of the OYP family while I was in highschool as a team member of their competition dance team. I participated in North Oconee’s first dance team back in their early days of building a new school and dance program, and then I went on to college where I became the Team Captain of the Georgia Southern Competition Dance Team. While at Georgia Southern, I continued my dance training on a collegiate level, but also began my teaching career at a local studio in recreational and competitive settings while also acquiring my Bachelors in Exercise Science. After college, I relocated back to the Athens area where I continued teaching dance in recreational and competitive classes in jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop, contemporary, and acro/tumbling for ages 3 - 18. Recently, I have been able to teach Preschool Ballet at a local mother’s morning out preschool as an afterschool program. I have had the joy of teaching dance for 13 years, and I look forward to many more! When I am not at the studio, I am enjoying the craziness of raising three children (8,5,& 1), teaching Elementary PE, and acquiring my Masters in Teaching. I am excited to rejoin the OYSP family and to share my passion for dance with your dancers!
Elena Franke is a life-long dancer who grew up dancing at Rhythm Dance Center in Marietta, GA. She is currently a third year Management Information Systems major and sociology minor at the University of Georgia. Elena danced in Rhythm's company for over 10 years and has been intensively trained in Hip Hop, Jazz, Tap, Ballet and Contemporary. She has been assisting classes in middle school and high school and started teaching in high school, while also attenidng numerous conventions and competitions, learning from the best in the industry. Elena currently choreographs for OYSP company and teaches weekly Hip Hop, Tap and Contemporary classes at the studio.
Jordan Richey Powers helps direct and choreograph shows at Oconee Youth Playhouse as well as the summer musical theater camp at OYSP. She grew up as a long-time member of both OYSP's dance and musical theater company. Jordan also performed in many shows at Oconee Youth Playhouse, including Ariel in The Little Mermaid and also the title role in Elton John's musical Aida. Since high school, she has done several shows with Town & Gown Players as well as productions at UGA including Inga in Young Frankenstein in 2019. Jordan graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education in Special Education & a Music Minor in Voice. She currently works full-time as the chorus teacher at Malcolm Bridge Middle School.
Kaylor Jones is a graduate of Prince Avenue Christian School and is currently a sophomore at the Universitry of Georgia majoring in theatre (musical theatre certificate) and entertainment and media studies this fall. While at PACS, Kaylor developed a deep love for the theatre and cherished roles on the school stage as Polly Baker in Crazy for You, Chava in Fiddler in the Roof, and Babette in Beauty and the Beast. Kaylor was twice selected as a finalist for Best Choreography in the annual Georgia High School Musical Theatre Awards (Shuler Awards) along with a nomination for Best Show with her classmates. Kaylor won the GHSA state literary 1st place award for Humorous Interpretation in 2023. Kaylor performed this summer in the ensemble in The Prom under the direction of Broadway Director Eric Sciato at Orbits Arts in Atlanta. Kaylor was also on the OYP stage in 2019 as Cha Cha in Grease and she is excited to teach musical theater at OYSP! IG@kaylorljones
Avery Britt is a freshman at the University of Georgia pursuing a double major in Music Composition and Vocal Performance. She is thrilled to work with OYSP again after performing and competing in their Musical Theater Company. Avery has previously taught msuic and musical theater through City Springs Theater Conversatory, Momentum Arts, Gwinnett Online Campus, Blue Ridge Community Theater, and more. Along with teaching, Avery loves to perfom. Past credits include Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins Jr., Elsa in Frozen Jr. and Josephine in the musical Empire -- an original musical Avery wrote which was performed in the summer of 2024. She is so honored and excited to be a part of the OYSP team!
Hannah Smith is a junior at the University of Georgia studying Risk Management. Hannah is an Oconee County native, where she grew up dancing at Oconee Youth School of Performance. She was also a member of the North Oconee High School Dance Team and was named captain her senior year. She has been teaching at OYSP since her senior year in high school and is very excited to be back.
Kaylee Marchitto is a life-long dancer who grew up dancing in Marietta, GA. Kaylee is currently in law school at Georgia State University but still does some guest choreography at OYSP. She started dancing at Rhythm Dance Center at the age of 3 and danced in their performing company for over ten years. She was trained intensely in jazz, tap, contemporary, hip-hop, ballet, lyrical, and musical theatre. She has been teaching and assisting classes for three years in hip-hop, contemporary, and tap. Kaylee started her time at Oconee Youth School of Performance in 2017. In the 2018-2019 competition season, Kaylee won Best Choreography for her contemporary pieces "The Chain" and "Brother" at the Bravo! regionals in Athens, Ga. Her contemporary piece, "Youth" won top point honors at the Applause regionals in Spartanburg, SC.
STAFF
Terra and Shane Hannon (Artistic Directors) created the Oconee Youth School of Performance in 1998 as a place where students could experience the joys and benefits of the performing arts – from singing and acting to dancing – in a creative and positive environment. Besides serving as directors and teachers at OYSP, the couple founded and serve as artistic directors of Oconee Youth Playhouse, a non-profit organization that presents 2-3 main-stage musical theater productions each year featuring casts of young local performers. Over the past 20+ years, Terra and Shane have directed more than 60 shows at OYP.
Terra and Shane have extensive performing backgrounds starting at an early age. Terra trained at the Davidson Fine Arts School in Augusta and grew up dancing and acting with various local groups, including the Augusta Players. She graduated from the University of Georgia in 1997 with a degree in drama and subsequently earned dance certifications through Dance Educators of America. Terra has been a featured dancer with the Jekyll Island Musical Theater Festival and spent a year touring the U.S. with the Missoula (Montana) Children’s Theatre as a performer and director. She has choreographed for the Highlands Playhouse in North Carolina and has earned Best Choreographer awards at both regional and national Access Broadway competitions. In 2014, Terra’s jazz piece “Storm” was named the highest scoring number (out of over 600 acts) at the Bravo! Regionals at the Classic Center in Athens, GA.
Shane began his theatrical career at age 10, playing the title role in a local production of “Oliver!” While earning a journalism degree from UGA, he was a member of UGA’s Ballroom Performance Company and had lead roles in numerous community theater shows, including the Town & Gown production of “She Loves Me,” where he met Terra, a fellow cast member. Shane has performed professionally with the Jekyll Island Musical Theater Festival and Highlands Playhouse. He now prefers directing Oconee Youth Playhouse shows with Terra, but made a few OYP stage appearances – playing the Wolf/Cinderella’s Prince in Into the Woods and Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof.
OUR AMAZING OYSP STAFF :) (bios are listed below)
Both Terra and Shane still teach on a regular basis. Terra teaches and choreographs for the OYSP dance company as well as teaching some non-company dance classes. Shane teaches musical theater to all ages, including Pre-K/K students and coaches many of the company kids on their vocal solos and monologues. Terra and Shane live in Bogart and have three boys: Jack, Evan and Chase.
Artistic Directors
 Ainsley MosesJazz |  Elena FrankeHip Hop, Tap, Lyrical, Contemporary, Jazz, Lyrical |  Sayward JohnsonBallet, Pointe |
|---|---|---|
 Jordan Richey PowersMusical Theater/Voice |  Meredith DillardBallet, Jazz, Tap |  Caroline BellMusical Theater/Drama |
 Autumn MosesAcro, Jazz, Tap |  Rebecca BarnettTap, Jazz, Ballet |  Hannah SmithMusical Theater/Jazz/Tap |
 Rachel TownesPiano/Voice/Music Director |  Kaylor JonesJazz/Hip Hop/Musical Theater/Tap |  Avery BrittMusical Theater/Voice |
Meredith Slayden Dillard has taught dance for over 21 years, beginning at Victoria Bolen’s Dance Station West, in Knoxville, Tennessee then moving to Franklin, TN where she was the head of the Ballet Department at Ann Carroll School of Dance and now her new home at Oconee Youth School of Performance. Meredith’s training is extensive in the ballet, jazz, modern and musical theater genres. Meredith performed with the Knoxville City Ballet, in association with the Cincinnati, Ohio Ballet, for 3 years.
Meredith’s choreography has won many different types of awards over the past years. Her first award was in 2001 for a Choreography and 1st Place Overall award at the competition Showstoppers and most recently (2017), her Senior Ballet piece "Lost" was awarded the Entertainment Award at the Bravo Dance Competition in Athens. She has also received other awards at Access Broadway and Bravo while teaching and choreographing at OYSP. Meredith teaches non company and company classes at OYSP and has recently starting helping with stage managing for the OYP shows. Meredith is married to Matt and they have two kids: Taylor and Slayden.
Sayward Johnson grew up dancing in Macon, Ga where she received her dance training at The Madison Studio and at Dance Arts Studio, where she was one of the founding members of the Middle Ga Youth Ballet. She spent summers at the Russian Ballet and The American Academy of Ballet in New York, where she won the highest achievement award. Sayward went to Georgia College in Milledgeville and began teaching ballet in 2001 at Studio One. She started her time as a teacher at Oconee Youth School of Performance in 2016. At OYSP, Sayward teaches ballet and pointe. She currently lives in Oconee County with her husband and two children.
Hillary Sanders is a life-long dancer and grew up dancing in Columbus, GA. She joined the OYSP teaching staff in 2005 while attending the University of Georgia where she performed with the Tap Dawgs. Hillary has taught many different genres of dance and choreographed numerous award-winning dances for OYSP. At the most recent Bravo Regionals at the Classic Center in Athens, Hillary's tap piece "We're in the Money" won first place overall of all Junior Line Dances. Hillary is also an 8th grade teacher at Malcom Bridge Middle School and the Varsity cheerleading and gymnastics coach at North Oconee High School. In 2016, Hillary used her tumbling and cheerleading training to assist in the choreography for Oconee Youth Playhouse's summer musical, Bring It On.
Rachel Townes has been music director for the OYSP musical theater company for over 10 years. She plays in the pit and is the music director for all of the musicals at OYSP's sister organization, Oconee Youth Playhouse. With OYP, Rachel has been the music director for over 40 main stage shows including most recently A Christmas Story and Hairspray. Rachel began her career with a small professional company that toured the Southeast with dinner theater shows. After she moved to Athens to study at UGA, she became the musical director for the Department of Drama, and a freelance musician for the School of Music. She has worked for Theater on the Square in Marietta, Gainesville Theater Alliance, and Highlands Theater in North Carolina. In addition to working with the OYSP musical theater company on all their group competition numbers, Rachel also teaches private voice and piano at the studio.
Rebecca Barnett Rebecca Barnett is a junior in college at the University of Georgia studying finance. Rebecca started dancing at Rhythm Dance Center at the age of 2 and was in their performing company for over 13 years. She is trained in jazz, tap, ballet, hip-hop, contemporary, and musical theatre. She has been teaching and assisting dance classes for the last 2 years at Rhythm and is now in her third year teaching at OYSP,
Oconee Youth School of Performance
