THE STAFF
Here at MTT, we are a creative community that is inclusive of everyone!
Our mission is to create a safe and fun environment for our students to explore their creativity and imagination. We meet students where they are, and then help them build skills and gain confidence in themselves. This transformation extends beyond the classroom and stage and continues to give them skills and confidence in the arena of life for years to come.
Catherine Colby
Founder and Teacher
Graduated San Diego State University with a BA in Music, Dance, Theatre. She has taught classes in music, theater, musical theatre, improv, vocal production, preschool and creative movement to kids ages 3 to 18. She sang in choirs from elementary school through college and has been in numerous shows. She began teaching in Solana Beach as "Rising Stars Studio." She was hired as the music teacher for Park Dale Lane Elementary School and was then hired as the theatre teacher at Encinitas Country Day School. She left the school system when her kids were toddlers and created "Mini Theatre Troupe." (Later changing the name to Music & Theatre Troupe.) She has directed hundreds of musicals & plays from mini preschool shows performing in a corner of the preschool classroom to big Broadway musicals performed on the big stage with lights, sound, backdrops, set changes, rotating stages, costumes, props, and live music. With years of teaching experience, she knows how to teach while keeping it fun and how to set her students up for success. It’s her mission of meeting kids where they are and keeping it meaningful and fun (& onstage) that sets the climate for MTT.
Julie Greathouse-Suazo
Casting Director
Julie started her musical theatre career in the Cleveland theatrical community as a child performer in the sixties and has been working steadily since. A lifelong musician and veteran performer of numerous local productions, regional theatre, and national touring, she also works independently as a musical director, vocal director, theatrical script doctor, casting consultant, private audition and vocal coach, and as a music curriculum consultant. Julie has also worked in San Diego and La Jolla school districts teaching general music, recorders, K-3 percussion band, musical theatre, and theatre arts since 1987. She has been working with several local school districts, providing site-embedded staff development for general music to classroom teachers in the primary grades.
Brittany May
Choreographer & Dance Teacher
Brittany grew up dancing in Encinitas under the Direction of Leslie Craig. She received her BA in dance from CA State University, Fullerton. She has attended summer intensives at State Street Ballet, Santa Barbara, and taken summer classes from Larry Rosenburg. She began her modern training under the direction of Gladys Kares. She has trained in Limon, Horton, and Graham from instructors Debra Noble, Alvin Rangel, and Lisa D Long and kept her ballet training with Muriel Joyce. She graduated with Magma Cum Laude from the University Honors Program.
Julia Giolzetti
Guest Teacher
Julia Giolzetti was lucky enough to begin her theatre journey in the classroom at age 8. She holds a BFA in Theatre from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. For 2 years and almost 400 shows she performed Off-Broadway with the New York Times Critic’s Pick Drunk Shakespeare. Other New York theatre credits include over 15 Shakespeare plays, originating roles in 3 world premieres, and ad campaigns for Bank of America. She taught youth theatre workshops in NYC for many years and also worked as a one-on-one monologue coach. In addition, she led classes as supplements to performances with the all-female ensemble the Tempest Ladies in Istanbul, Turkey. Here in San Diego, she has taught at San Diego Junior Theatre, North Coast Rep, in many county classrooms with Playwrights Project, and toured multiple Shakespeare productions in local schools. During the lockdowns of 2020, Julia created Sofa Shakespeare, a global project where anyone can perform 1 minute of a Shakespeare play from home.
Matthew Rechen
Acting Teacher
Matthew Rechen joins us from Louisiana. When he isn’t onstage in a show, he is at JPC University working on his bachelor's in acting. His passion is to help make scenes come alive by helping students understand objectives, subtext, and tactics. We are excited to have him as a guest teacher this semester!
Charlie Ashcraft
Acting Assistant Teacher
Charlie Ashcraft is the newest addition to our improv teaching team. He is in Varsity Improv at RB High and currently performs in improv shows. He knows tons of improv games and loves passing his knowledge of improv onto his advanced actors at MTT.
Analina Hensey
Acting Teacher
Howdy! My name is Analina! I first started theatre as an elementary school student, acted in Mini Theater shows in middle school, and went on to do high school & college productions. I was captain of my college improv and sketch comedy teams, leading meetings and producing shows. Fostering creativity is immensely important to me, and I’m excited to see what we can do together!
Ella Crane
Ella Crane is a 4th year music education major at San Diego State University. She has been performing for the last 18 years, and has been involved in musical theatre for 5 years. She has choreographed a number of musicals, including “The Lion King Jr.” , “Schoolhouse Rock Jr.” , and “Seussical the Musical”. She has played roles such as The Sour Kangaroo in “Seussical the Musical”, Ursula in “The Little Mermaid”, and Peppermint Patty in “You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown”. She serves as the President of the SDSU choirs, and is also the music director and assistant choreographer for SoundWave, SDSU’s premier co-ed competitive A Capella ensemble, who placed 3rd in the Southwest Regional ICCA Quarterfinals in February of this year.
Donna
The woman behind the curtain!
Meet Donna—the organized, analytical force that helps in keeping MTT running smoothly! While creativity takes center stage, Donna works to ensures everything behind the curtain is in order. Need costume details? Forgot your parent portal password? Have a question about your account, looking for choreography videos or a script copy? Donna has you covered—fast and efficiently! And if she doesn’t know the answer to your question, she’ll find it.
With decades of experience in dance and theatre—including owning and managing her own studio—Donna brings a deep well of knowledge to the team. She’s a talented photographer, website designer, and graphic designer. Using Adobe Software, AI, along with her expertise in photo enhancements and photo manipulation, she crafts original designs for MTT, from website content, flyers, posters, newsletters, to the digital stage backdrops that enhance the director’s vision and bring additional life to the performance.