Meet the Teaching Team

Youth Production Class Lead Teacher/Director
Anne Bittner
Anne has been involved in theater for 30+ years. Originally traveling with a repertory theater troupe, teaching workshops and performing across the U.S. and abroad, she eventually settled down, had kids, and began homeschooling. She founded Lighthouse Drama in 2008, taught and wrote plays for ages 8 to 18 and directed workshops, camps, community outreaches, and productions until 2020. She most recently acted with JTC in As You Like It (2019), An Inspector Calls (2022), and Hunchback (2022). She loves helping children see their potential, hone their craft and grow in character development. She currently works at HSLDA Compassion as a grant administrator and enjoys developing stories about the families they serve.

Taking the Stage | Adult Class Lead Teacher
Christian Fernandez
Christian has been teaching in Northern Virginia since 2017. He received his B.A. in Literature from Patrick Henry College and his Master of Letters in Shakespeare and Performance from Mary Baldwin University. While in graduate school, he interned and worked with actors, directors, and personnel of the American Shakespeare Center. His directing credits include Henry V, Macbeth, As You Like It, Love's Labor's Lost, and Much Ado About Nothing, among others. He has taught for Lighthouse Drama and led multiple Patrick Henry College Teen Camps: Shakespeare on Stage (2018, 2019), Speech (2020, 2021, 2022), and Theater (2021, 2022). He currently works as the English, Theater, and Debate Teacher at Evergreen Christian School and as an Adjunct Professor of Classical Liberal Arts at PHC.

Taking the Stage Assistant Teacher
Jane White
Jane is a graduate of Patrick Henry College and has been with JTC since its first production in 2019. She worked with PHC's Eden Troupe in A Man for All Seasons (Alice Moore), Macbeth (props master), Little Women (stage manger), The Winter's Tale (director), Anne of Green Gables (director), The Importance of Being Earnest (props master), and The Three Musketeers (Mme. Cocquenard). Her credits with JTC include As You Like It (Jacques), Love's Labor's Lost (Rosaline - twice!), Much Ado About Nothing (Balthazar, assistant director), The Importance of Being Earnest (Gwendolen), Hunchback (co-director), Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (Cornelia Skinner), and The Fezziwig Ball (Mrs. Fezziwig, costume manager). Currently, she is directing JTC's winter 2023 show, The Scarlet Pimpernel. Jane has served as an assistant teacher for JTC's teen classes since 2021.

Youth Acting: Intro to Theater Assistant Teacher
Genna Pratt
Genna started acting at a young age and began teaching as an assistant for classes with Lighthouse Drama in 2015. She continued working with them as a lead teacher and assistant director until their closure in 2020. Genna has been a part of Jupiter Theater Company as an actor since 2019, and as a teacher since 2021. She has always loved working with children — she spent her teenage years babysitting and teaching children’s ministry at her church. She is pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and has worked at Harrison Street Academy since 2018. She is excited to have her love of teaching and love of drama come together once again. She looks forward to meeting the students and watching them discover the world of theater which she herself has come to love.

Youth Acting: Intro to Theater Assistant Teacher
Lewis Bliss
Lewis Bliss is a Northern Virginia-based actor, director, and musician with a passion for creating meaningful art that brings hope and joy to a troubled world. In addition to teaching music lessons, Lewis has directed or co-directed elementary through high schoolers in seven different productions including A Christmas Carol, The Sound of Music, and currently, A Tale of Two Cities. Favorite past roles include Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man, Haman in Esther, Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing, and Matthew Cuthbert in Anne of Green Gables. This winter, he is performing in C.S. Lewis’s The Horse and His Boy at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. He wishes to share with students his love of theatre in a way that inspires them toward a greater sense of their dignity and value in the eyes of God.

Youth Acting: Intro to Theater Lead Teacher
Emily Marr
Emily has been acting on stage for over 16 years. She has several years of theater experience in puppeteering and full-scale shadow puppetry, which taught her various techniques on expressing emotion through silent movement and body language. She has coached younger actors in both official and unofficial capacities in homeschool speech and debate learning environments. She has been an assistant teacher with Classical Conversations and helped coach students on memorization, preparation of material, and physical presence on stage, and has experience in editing and performing classic literature pieces, from Shakespeare to Jane Austen. Emily's credits with Jupiter Theater Company include Love's Labor's Lost, Much Ado About Nothing, Hunchback, and The Fezziwig Ball.

Director of Education
Grace Richardson
Grace has been involved in children’s education for over a decade. She taught piano for ten years, helmed Lighthouse Drama’s classes and productions for the 2017-2018 season, and has assisted with several camps for children and teens. She served as a counselor and camp coordinator for Patrick Henry College’s Teen Leadership camps and actively participated in PHC’s Eden Troupe in various capacities before joining Jupiter Theater Company in 2019. Grace's credits with JTC include As You Like It (Rosalind), She Stoops to Conquer (Constance Neville), Much Ado About Nothing (Beatrice), An Inspector Calls (director), and The Fezziwig Ball (Charwoman). Grace loves sharing her passion for storytelling with thespians of all ages.
Interested in teaching with us?
Contact our Director of Education at education@jupitertheatercompany.com.