Georgia Stitt (Founder/Musical Director) GEORGIA STITT is a composer, lyricist, musical director, conductor and pianist. She has written several musicals for the theater, including Big Red Sun with playwright John Jiler and The Water with writers Jeff Hylton and Tim Werenko. She is currently developing a musical revue with composer/lyricist David Kirshenbaum.  Georgia’s has written several choral pieces, including A Better Resurrection and The Promise of Light (both published by Walton Music), as well as a setting of a poem by Howard Schwartz, These Two, for string quartet and tenor.  With lyricist Marcy Heisler she wrote and recorded Alphabet City Cycle, a song cycle for soprano and violin. She also has numerous cabaret songs, many of which can be heard on her website www.georgiastitt.com.

Georgia is currently working as the vocal coach on the NBC series “You’re The One That I Want,” a reality show following auditions for the 2007 Broadway revival of Grease.  She was the Production Music Coordinator for the TV movie "Once Upon a Mattress" starring Tracey Ullman and Carol Burnett, and she consulted for director Frank Oz on the feature film "The Stepford Wives."  On Broadway, Georgia’s conducting and playing credits include: Little Shop of Horrors, Avenue Q, Sweet Smell of Success, The Music Man, Titanic, Annie, the national tour of Parade and the upcoming Alan Menken musical Leap Of Faith. She was the associate conductor of the Encores! production of Can-Can starring Patti LuPone and also worked on Do Re Mi, assisting Paul Gemignani.  Off-Broadway: The Thing About Men (Promenade Theater), Stars In Your Eyes (Cherry Lane Theater), After The Fair (York Theater), The Wild Party (The Public Theater), The Prince and the Pauper (Lamb’s Theater) and tick, tick… BOOM! (Jane Street Theater). Regional: Broken Sleep (Williamstown Theater Festival), Avenue X (St. Louis Repertory Theater, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Merrimack Repertory Theater), Anything Goes and They’re Playing Our Song (The Arts Center of Coastal Carolina), Bed and Sofa (The Wilma Theater) and The Baker’s Wife (Goodspeed Musicals). She has also served as musical director and arranger/orchestrator for The Broadway Divas in concerts in New York and Australia.

Georgia received her M.F.A. in Musical Theater Writing from NYU and her B.Mus in Music Theory and Composition from Vanderbilt.  She is a recipient of the ASCAP Harold Arlen Award, the Frederick Loweve Fellowship and the Sue Brewer Award for excellence in music composition.  She lives in New York and Los Angeles with her husband Jason Robert Brown and their daughter, Molly.

Laura Bergquist (Musical Director/THE GYMNYC)  As a regular pianist and participant in casting auditions for Broadway, off-Broadway and regional productions, Laura brings a wealth of practical knowledge and experience to the Gym classes including her “best of audition” song lists.  Laura conducted National and International Tours of THE KING AND I, TITANIC and MISS SAIGON. She is a frequent guest conductor in regional theaters and a clinician in universities and churches. As an ASCAP Awards recipient for composition, her personal catalogue includes more than 60 works in print and several recordings. Laura was the original Musical Director for JANE EYRE as well as a contributing arranger on the Toronto cast recording.  She was the Musical Director for new workshops of WILD GOAT (Mark Hollmann & Jack Helbig), URBAN MYTHS  (John Buchinno), SIDD (Andrew Frank & Doug Silver) and THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT (Mark Hollmann, Greg Kotis & David Petrarcca).  At the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF), Laura was the MD for the award winning production of RIVER’S END (Cheryl Coons & Churck Larkin). Regional work as Musical Director and Conductor at Lyric Theater of Oklahoma, Music Theatre of Wichita, Stage One and Atlanta’s Theatre of the Stars. Laura also performs  with NY Cabaret performer, Steve Ross, maintains a large coaching studio and directs the choir at Redeemer Presbyterian Church. In addition, she works with non-profit organizations, ASTEP (Artists Striving to End Poverty), Vocal Ease and Hope For New York. She is regularly called on as a musical director for concerts, auditions, workshops, industrials and showcases. Upcoming projects include two new shows by Paul Gordon, DADDY LONG LEGS and EMMA, CHILDREN OF EDEN by Stephen Schwartz and MY MAN GODFREY by Mark Hollmann and Rupert Holmes. Laura lives in New York City with her fantastic husband, Joe and is so grateful for her friends, family and colleagues.

Michael Jaeger (Director/THE GYMLA) is currently directing a new improv/reality show called "Stuck," created by and starring two writer/producers from "Arrested Development," which can be found at www.TomAndSamAreStuck.com.  Theater directing credits include Suzan-Lori Parks’ 365 Plays/365 Days at the Black Dahlia Theatre in Los Angeles, Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park for the BFA program at USC, the second national tour of Broadway’s Jekyll & Hyde, New York productions of Shaw’s The Philanderer and Carolanne Marano’s At the Threshold, Los Angeles productions of Yanks 3 Detroit 0 Top of the Seventh and Circle X’s Ovation award-nominated and critically acclaimed world premiere production of Fathers and Sons, regional productions of Betrayal and American Buffalo, and three summers at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Other recent credits include readings of Dan O’Brien’s Moving Picture, Rinne Groff's The Ruby Sunrise and Laura Shamas' Moliere in Love for the new South Bay company Pacific Stages (where he is Artistic Advisor), workshops of O’Brien’s The Dead Deportee and Key West at the Black Dahlia, and staged readings of Ian McCrudden’s Man of the House at the Ars Nova Theater in New York (starring Tony winner Blair Brown) and at the Old Globe in San Diego. Michael has worked on and off-Broadway as an associate director for directors Jack O’Brien, Nicholas Martin, Mark Brokaw, David Warren, and John Tillinger, and is a graduate of Yale University.  He assisted actor-director Campbell Scott on the films Off the Map and Hamlet, and has observed television directors James Burrows, Pam Fryman, Sheldon Epps and others on such shows as "Frasier," "Will & Grace," "Party of Five," and "Yes, Dear," as well as a number of half-hour pilots. Michael also writes screenplays with Josh Shelov (Green Street Hooligans), and was the acting coach for NBC’s reality show "Grease: You’re the One That I Want."

David Gaines (Music Director/ THE GYMNYC) recently completed his fourth summer at the O'Neill Cabaret and Performance Conference as one of the musical directors, where he also served as music director for an evening with Penny Fuller and Tony Roberts.  Recent theater credits include The 1959 Broadway Songbook (59 E. 59) Old Wicked Songs and The Immigrant (both at Westport Country Playhouse), and Picon Pie (Lamb’s Theater).  David's NYC credits include Playwrights Horizons, the Public Theater, the Vineyard, the York and others. He has served as musical director for Elizabeth Swados on several projects (BAM/Next Wave, La Mama, NY Stage & Film) and has worked as an audition pianist/rehearsal pianist on many Broadway and off-Broadway projects.  As musical director/accompanist, David has worked with cabaret artists Andrea Marcovicci, Jeff Harnar, and Klea Blackhurst, among others. His arrangements and orchestrations can be heard on the Jamie deRoy compilation CDs Tis the Season, Family, and The Real Thing.