By Nathanael Fisher
Emerald Coast Theatre Company (ECTC) is gearing up for another season of exceptional educational theatre programming with its Fall 2026 Youth and Adult Education Classes, running Aug. 8 through Nov. 22. This semester’s lineup spans nearly every age and interest, from five-year-olds taking their first bow in Mini Players to seasoned performers refining their craft in Teen Company and adults finding (or rediscovering) their love of the stage in Senior Drama Club. With classes at ECTC’s Grand Boulevard campus, its second space on Grand Boulevard (formerly Orvis), the Florida Chautauqua Theatre in DeFuniak Springs, and the Riverwalk Community Clubhouse in Freeport, ECTC continues to expand its reach across the Emerald Coast. Payment plans and scholarships are available for families who need them, and registration is open!
This fall also marks an exciting chapter for ECTC’s education program, with two new directors stepping into leadership roles: Adam Day Howard, MFA, as education director and Mallory McGill as education and outreach coordinator. Together, they bring decades of combined experience in professional theatre, music direction and arts education to a program that already reaches hundreds of students each year.
Mallory McGill was raised in Destin and is thrilled to give back to her hometown community as she shares the transformative power of theatre with the next generation. Before joining ECTC, McGill taught theatre at Destin High School, where her students consistently earned Superior ratings and Critics’ Choice Awards at the Florida District and State Thespian Festivals, and where she was honored with the school’s prestigious Golden Shark Teacher Award for her dedication to students and the broader school community.
McGill’s résumé extends well beyond the Panhandle. She spent more than 15 years teaching and actor coaching in Los Angeles at Lesly Kahn & Co, one of the nation’s premier acting studios. She trained hundreds of actors ranging in age from 6 to 65, and many of her students have gone on to appear on HBO, ABC, NBC, Disney, Nickelodeon and in national Broadway tours. As a working actress, director, filmmaker and writer, her own credits include The Lincoln Lawyer, Stupid Questions, The Suite Life: On Deck, 90210, General Hospital, and stage productions of The Importance of Being Earnest, Biloxi Blues and Misalliance. She later discovered a passion for writing original stories, and her most recent screenplay was recognized by the Austin Film Festival and Reboot Studios. McGill holds a Bachelor of Science from Vanderbilt University, where she studied Acting/Directing, Communication Studies and Human & Organizational Development. She believes the best rehearsal rooms are built on curiosity, kindness, collaboration and the courage to take creative risks, a philosophy that shapes everything from ECTC’s youngest Mini Players classes to its competitive troupes.
Adam Day Howard steps into the role of education director following a distinguished career in higher education and professional musical theatre. Most recently, he served as Lecturer of Musical Theatre at Youngstown State University’s Dana School of Music and University Theatre, where he taught vocal pedagogy, acting for musical theatre, music direction and playwriting, and directed all mainstage musicals. He also directed the university’s Voices of YSU University Chorus from 2022 to 2024 and created YSU’s minor in Musical Theatre Music Direction in 2024. Before Youngstown State, Howard held faculty positions at Texas Tech University, Centre College, the Institute of the Arts Barcelona and Kent State University, teaching musical theatre performance, vocal studio, acting and the history and literature of musical theatre.
Howard’s creative work spans regional theatre, Off-Broadway and international festivals. He produced and music directed Here There Be Dragons at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2024, having previously music directed its Off-Broadway run at Players Theatre in Manhattan in 2022. As a composer and writer, he created several original Texas pantomimes for Stages Repertory Theatre in Houston, including “Hansel and Gretel -or- Out of the Woods and Into the Fire.” His original music for Tennessee Williams’ Kirche, Kuche, Kinder was reviewed in The New York Times. Howard holds a Doctor of Education from Ohio University (expected 2026), a Master of Performance with Honors from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and a BA in Theatre Studies from Kent State University. He is the only American certified in the Vocal Process Methodology developed by Gillyanne Kayes, and he holds memberships in Actors Equity Association (UK), the National Alliance for Musical Theatre and the Dramatists Guild.
The ECTC Education fall lineup begins with Mini Players for kindergarten through first grade, where students explore songs, dance and basic theatrical vocabulary through a Trolls-themed class, culminating in a showcase on Nov. 4. Young dancers can also join First Steps Ballet/Tap, taught by Emily Bainbridge, or the Ballet/Jazz Combo, taught by Chelsea Rager. Little Players (grades 2-3) step up to a full production class experience with Trolls JR, while Big Players in grades 4-5 take on more complex choreography in their own Trolls JR production with technique class options like Group Vocal Techniques and Broadway Dance Styles.
Teens have no shortage of options this fall, from Legally Blonde JR for grades 6-12, complete with an Aug. 7 audition workshop and November performances, to specialized Masterclasses in Acting for Musical Theatre, Playwriting and Acting and Improv, all taught by Howard and McGill. Dancers can pursue Broadway Dance Styles or the monthly Leaps, Turns & Tricks Skills Lab, and competitive performers have two tracks: the JTF Performance Troupe (grades 2-12), which travels to the Junior Theatre Festival in Atlanta in January, and the Junior Thespian Competition Troupe (grades 6-8), which competes regionally in October and at the state level in February. Students in grades 9-12 can also join Teen Company Fall, a semester-long training program that culminates in a One Act performance at the Florida Theatre Conference in November and includes mentorship toward collegiate auditions, scholarship opportunities and portfolio building.
ECTC’s reach extends beyond its home campus through satellite classes at the Florida Chautauqua Theatre in DeFuniak Springs and the Riverwalk Community Clubhouse in Freeport, where K-12 students can participate in Trolls JR. The Homeschool program offers Voice and Movement, Acting and Improv, and a hands-on Sewing and Costume Design course for students ages 9 to 18, while adults can join Beginner/Intermediate Tap, Intermediate/Advanced Tap or the Senior Drama Club for performers 55 and up.
Registration details, scholarships and payment plans are available through ECTC’s website, and families with questions about specific classes are encouraged to reach out to education@emeraldcoasttheatre.org or call 850-684-0323. See you at the theatre!
