Julie Novak has been teaching and directing theater in a school and community setting for over 20 years. While teaching at the renowned Valley Christian Conservatory, in San Jose, California, she developed her own theater arts curriculum for students 6-8 grades and a curriculum for students 6-12 grade while teaching and directing at Summit Christian Academy in Austin, Texas. Julie has directed plays, musicals, one acts, musical reviews, competition scenes, concerts and benefit shows too numerous to count! She has been trained in a multitude of acting techniques, such as the Wheeler Recording Method, On Camera Acting, Improvisational Acting, various vocal genres and public speaking. Outside of her teaching career she has worked as an acting coach, speaker, ghostwriter, vocalist and done voice over studio work. Her greatest love is working with young people in the arts and helping them develop confidence and belief in their personal gift set. Julie began CYT Austin In January of 2015 after she felt called to take her passion to speak life and encouragement into young people through the arts, outside the walls of a school and into her community.

STACEY HUSTON Choreographer After graduating from UT with a Business degree, Stacey moved to the L.A. area to pursue her passion for dance and musical theater. She attended The University of California at Irvine and graduated Cum Laude with a degree in Dance, Theater and open-by-audition Choreography program. At UCI and an away-program in NYC, she studied dance, voice and acting under such renowned greats as Susan Stroman, Uta Hagen, Donald McKayle and Harry Garland to name a few. It was while she was in school that Stacey “stumbled” on to a Fred Astaire Ballroom Dance studio and joined their training program. She fell in love with the style and has been involved in partner dancing for over 30 years now. She is certified through the highest levels and competed heavily in International Latin for3 years. Her national competition rankings include many top six placements, and upon completion of her competing career in 1998, she was ranked 7th in the U.S. and 13th in the World. She has continued training in, performing, choreographing and instructing ballroom, partnering, jazz and musical theater for over 30 years. Her vast experience includes feature films, television appearances, commercials, special gala events, and stage productions. Her more recent performance work involved live productions in theaters and hotels in California, New York, Philadelphia, and finally overseas on cruise ships. She has quite literally been around the world and back many times over. Stacey calls Austin home and enjoys teaching, coaching and choreographing locally, as well as being a public school teacher and director in Drama, Dance and Theatre. She has choreographed over 25 musicals for youth in Austin. Working with high schools, colleges, community theater, studios and outreach programs remains a strong passion and inspiration in a continued wonderful and blessed career.