Where are they now?

While many of our students decide to pursue theater professionally, what we at CCLO are most proud of is the confidence and “life” skills that we instill in our youth. These are the principles that remain with them no matter their pursuits. 

We have been proud to see our students excel on stage and we are equally proud of those who have incorporated their theatrical training in careers such as law, science, medicine, sports, art, film, television and politics just to name a few. The empowering effects of theatre will follow them wherever their dreams may lead.

96% of our alumni attend / have graduated from four-year universities, including Harvard, Yale, MIT, Penn, UCLA, USC, Occidental, Berkeley, Northwestern, Carnegie-Melon and NYU.

90% of our students are active in the theater departments at their schools and many win leading roles at the city’s top performing arts high schools (i.e. at Hamilton High School’s Academy Of Music, Chloe Tucker, who played Millie in THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, and Velma Kelly in CHICAGO, is currently cast as Annie Oakley in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN; also cast as supporting leads in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, are CCLO alumni Jordan Cowan and Jack Littman. Alumnus, Kiera Bloore played Gertrude MacFuzz in SEUSSICAL at Hamilton Academy Of Music, and alumnus Gabby McClinton, who is currently attending the Ann Reinking musical theatre summer program at Florida State University, played Carmen in FAME at LA County High School for the Arts. Alumnus Cody Mackenzie founded a production company with classmates from Hamilton High School and will be attending UC Berkeley this fall to study film.) alumni

Numerous students have competed and won at regional DTASC drama festivals.

• Currently, four CCLO alumni are on Staff: Allison Weintraub, graduate of Northwestern University with a B.S. Theatre; Missy Becker, graduate of Occidental College with a B.A. in Theatre; Rebecca Eissler, a senior at Hamilton High School Academy Of Music; Katie Burton, a student at The Academy of Musical and Dramatic Arts.
  
  
• Cory Fitzgerald started his CCLO career as an actor and then became our Lighting Designer. He graduated from NYU and is a moving light specialist having programmed for many Broadway musicals including Mamma Mia and Hairspray. His most recent success: Lighting Design for Madonna’s 2006 Concert Tour!
  
  
• James Schipper founded and owns Kinetic Lighting in Culver City, CA. James was also responsible for designing and implementing the exterior lights at Disney Hall in Downtown, Los Angeles. 
  
  
• Allison Weintraub is currently an Assistant Director and acting coach with CCLO. Upon graduation from Northwestern University, she signed with the commercial, television and film agency, Cunningham, Escot, Dupine, and will be seen in an upcoming film and television pilot later this year.
  
  
• Katie Burton and Jordan Segal received scholarships to attend the American Music and Dramatic Academy this fall.
  
  
• Jeffrey Todd Christman is living and performing in New York City.
  
  
• Emily Winnie is working for NBC Universal television music department.
  
  
• Melissa Becker works for the Pasadena Playhouse in Development.
  
  
• Lauren Wemischner is interning as a stage manager at the Odyssey Theater.
  
  
• Alissa Newman Dixon works with fashion and costume designers at FIDM.
  
  
• Amanda Payton was admitted into Alvin Ailey’s training program and currently attends Carnegie-Melon University.
  
  
• Alex Greenwald has a successful rock band.
  
  
• Greg Wesley is a graduate of Yale Law School.
  
  
• Adam Blumenfeld works for NBC Universal on The Tonight Show.
  
  
• Johnny Ames has interned with public radio and is currently attending law school at UCLA.
  
  
• Michelle Jacobs is working in television production for E - Entertainment
  
  
• Jennifer Griffes received sponsorship from NASA to do Graduate work at Washington University and currently works at the Smithsonian and drives the space rovers on Mars.
  
  
• Jamie Smith Meier works for the National Weather Service and has been quoted in several southern California newspapers.
  
  
• Natalie Schachner is currently in her second year of Law School at Loyola and is in the top 10% of her class.
  
  
• Liesl Yamaguchi is a Fulbright graduate of Columbia University in New York, speaks four languages fluently and will be traveling to Finland to research and interview women in power.
  
  
• Kirsten Yamaguchi, a talented artist, attends graduate school at in Savannah, GA and aspires to work as an animator for Pixar films.

And the list goes on…