Meet our Directors
With over 40 years combined professional experience in the performing arts industry, Julia and Shana have become masters of their craft. Since partnering in 2016, we have produced 12 full scale productions, more than 30 summer musical children's theatre camps, several workshops and much more. Our commitment to quality, exceptional musical theatre experiences for those involved and incomparable talent keep our community coming back again and again. Although highly qualified , we never stop improving, and are continuing to expand our offerings at Center Stage based on how we can best serve the Franklin, Williamson County and the surrounding areas.
JULIA NOLAN
Julia Nolan has an extensive background in every aspect of the performing arts industry. Julia is thrilled to be back in Middle Tennessee to share her talents after traveling the world singing, recording and touring with different world renowned acts.
Her talents can be heard on numerous recordings and soundtracks. Julia has toured the world with different artists from Sony records, has performed alongside Lee Greenwood, Earth, Wind, & Fire, performed in shows in Las Vegas, for Disney, on cruise ships and sung for numerous national conventions.
Growing up in South Florida brought opportunity in National commercials with the N.Y. Yankees & Kool- Aid. She attended a performing arts high school in Memphis, Tennessee and on to a conservatory for musical theatre- Wagner College in New York City.
Julia lived in Japan for almost 5 years recording and touring with some of the country’s top acts. After coming back to America, she recorded the Maybelline commercials- “ Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline.”
Her love of directing and writing of revue shows has been seen in many different schools and theatre groups from Idaho, to the coast of Georgia, to middle Tennessee.
Emma Allender
Instructor
Hi, I’m Emma! I am a Theatre-Education major at Lipscomb University. I graduated from Clayton-Bradley Academy where I participated in performing arts. I have been involved with theatre for over 10 years, in classrooms and on the stage. I have a passion for teaching young aspiring theatre performers and I believe that theatre can be a form of self-expression, self-discovery, and pure fun! My favorite musicals are Hamilton, Mean Girls, and Disney’s Newsies!
Jessi Lantz
Instructor
Jessica (Jessi) Lantz has dedicated her life to art at an early age. She started with dance lessons at the age of 4, then performed her first community theatre shows at 8-years-old. From then on, she has performed in many shows up till highschool graduation, enjoying making people laugh from the stage. On the side, she loves to paint and do photography. After she graduated high school, she began to take film acting classes, getting roles in front of the camera to showcase her art in yet another font. Recently, she has taken to writing and directing projects herself, creating as much as her heart desires. Jessi’s goal for this company is to create a safe and loved environment for kids to be able to showcase their art the way they want! She understands how thrilling it is to perform on stage, and she wants to help kids use that passion and fine tune it for their path ahead of them, while also making it as fun as possible. Let that artistic light shine!
Shana has over 20 years of dance, vocal, and theater training, as well as a diverse performance background.
She has performed locally and regionally since the age of 4 for audiences of 20 to 20,000. Her solo vocal and dance performances have earned her a number of regional and national titles as well as lead musical theater roles.
Shana also has an extensive background in the world of pageantry where she placed 1st Runner up to Miss Georgia. Shana now uses her training and experience coaching pageant and talent competition contestants, working as a makeup artist for photoshoots, competitions, and runway shows, as well as image consulting.
