• Director of Education/Company Manager/Vocal Coach

  • Amber Leitsch (she/her)

    amberleitsch@wearethecollectivepgh.com

    MS Shenandoah Conservatory, Performing Arts Leadership and Management

    BFA and BSED Indiana University of Penn, Vocal Performance/Music Education

    Amber Leitsch is a Vocal Instructor, Musical Director, Arts Program Consultant, and Teaching Artist in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Amber graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a BSED Degree in Music Education and a BFA in Vocal Performance. She later earned her Master of Science in Performing Arts Leadership and Management from Shenandoah Conservatory. During her time at IUP, she explored both Opera and Music Theatre through performing and teaching. She performed the roles of Sour Infermiera in the opera Suor Angelica and the understudy of the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro in Italy in 2015, then performed the role of Rosalinda in a 2016 production of Die Fledermaus. In addition, Amber won the 2015 SNATS first place award of Upper Collegiate Music Theatre and second place in the Classical category. She has previously been the Music Director for the IUP Community Music School's Crimson Youth Choir and continues to be the IUP Footlight Players’ Director and Music Director during her summers. Amber is a Pittsburgh native, but spent five years in Chicago, Illinois where she worked at Chicago Public Schools, The Stage School, and was the Founding Vocal Performance and Piano Teacher at Art In Motion – A Creative Arts School, the only arts-driven middle school and high school on the South Side of Chicago. Amber's number one priority while interacting with students is to provide a safe and welcoming environment where her artists can learn how to create as an outlet for their emotions, thoughts, and energy. She has a passion and drive to influence arts education on a grand scale as well as create the opportunity, instill the importance, and advocate for the human right of art for all students.

  • Acting Core Director/Teaching Artist

  • Joe York (he/him)

    joeyorkjr@gmail.com

    MFA NYU, Musical Theatre Playwriting

    Joe York graduated from New York University with an MFA in Musical Theatre Playwriting and Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a BFA in Musical Theatre Performance. He has been seen onstage at various professional theaters across the country, having performed in Les Miserables at White Plains Performing Arts Center, 1776 and The Ladies Man at Cortland Repertory Theater, Little Shop of Horrors and The Birds at The Huron Playhouse, and the premiere of Sweeney Todd: Prog Metal Version at Landless Theatre Company in Washington D.C.  As a writer, Joe has created works performed in New York and Pennsylvania at various theatrical companies, including two New York based equity staged readings of his original musicalsThe Trees (Music and Lyrics by Andrew Siddle, Book and Lyrics by Joe York) and Light Up! (Music and lyrics by Hali Alspach, Book and Lyrics by Joe York). Two of his original musicals Discovering Eden and Black Friday: The Musical were also invited productions for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, Region II fringe festival in 2011 and 2012.

    Keep theater alive and rock the arts! \../(-_-)\../

  • Resident Music Director / Private Vocal Coach

  • Adam Fladd (he/him)

    BA Indiana University of Penn, Voice/Piano

    Adam Fladd is a passionate educator, performer, and music director whose journey in the arts began on the stages of the Erie Playhouse at seven years old. A proud native of Erie, PA, he quickly immersed himself in every facet of music, performing and competing throughout grade school in choir, marching band, jazz ensemble, and percussion, going on to become the pianist for the GM Jazz Ensemble and leading the drumline in the General McLane Marching Band. Adam earned a BA in Music from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, focusing on vocal performance with a minor in piano. While pursuing his degree, he began shaping young musicians as the front ensemble instructor for the General McLane Marching Band—a role that ignited his deep commitment to music education. Since relocating to Pittsburgh in 2015, Adam has had the pleasure of working throughout the region's music scene. His work spans Allegheny, Westmoreland, and Beaver counties, where he has thrived as a teacher, performer, music director, and accompanist.  Beyond the classroom and stage, Adam is also a composer and arranger whose works for voice, marching band, and percussion ensemble have been premiered and celebrated in Erie, Pittsburgh, and Charleston, South Carolina at the Allegro Charter School of Music.

    “The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”

    — Morrie Schwartz

    9:52

  • MT Core Director/Private Acting Coach

  • Katy Chmura (she/they)

    Katy Chmura (she/they) - Katy is incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be directing with The Collective! Originally from the DC area, she has directed several full length plays and musicals Including, most recently, Jacob Marley's A Christmas Carol at Little Lake Theatre Company. Other directed works - Crave by Sarah Kane, Buried Child by Sam Shepard, Some Girl(s) by Neil LaBute, Reefer Madness The Musical, The Rocky Horror Show, 13:The Musical, and Alice's Adventures in "Wonderland." When not working behind the scenes as a director, you can find Katy on stage in various plays and musicals across the Pittsburgh area. She was last seen as Tammy in Jimmy Buffett’s Escape To Margaritaville at Little Lake Theatre Company. Her most notable on stage credits include Julia Sullivan in The Wedding Singer, Beatrice in A View From The Bridge, Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray, Ilse in Spring Awakening, and Daphne in The Very Last Days of The First Colored Circus. Katy holds her Bachelor's in Theater Education from George Mason University and has taught theatre to high schoolers for several years both in public school and private academies. Katy owned and operated Unquiet Theatre Company in Northern Virginia and produced both new and published works for several years. She is a certified Intimacy Director and Coordinator for the stage and is also certified in stage combat. Katy is the Artistic Director of Throughline Theatre Company and is the current Community Director for LA TI DO Pittsburgh. IG: @Katy.Chmura

  • Core Class Teaching Artist/Private Acting Coach

  • Brandon Keller (he/him)

    Brandon Keller is a theatre artist and director from Pittsburgh who is passionate about inspiring the next generation of performers. He has directed productions throughout the Pittsburgh area and worked closely with organizations such as Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. Brandon has guided students of all ages through community productions, summer camps, and workshops, including his work with the Disney Musicals in Schools program. He believes in creating welcoming spaces where young artists can grow their confidence, explore their creativity, and connect through the power of storytelling.

We Believe

There are no right or wrong choices in acting, there is no type, or formula for success - there is YOU; your opinions, your instincts, and your impulses. That is what is so rewarding and challenging about acting and relating to art.

Some of the most fulfilling moments of Michael’s life have been the ability to express himself through text. And on the opposite end, studying acting has made me a better listener and more empathetic human in everyday life.

The reward of acting is not only the product, but the whole process along the way.