DEBI KILDE
Co-Founder & Director
Debi Kilde has been delighting Twin Cities audiences with her big voice and onstage antics for over 20
years. She just finished a run of PROTEST! A Revolutionary Rock Opus, where she got to play the iconic
Jane Fonda–but, sadly, did not get to wear a leotard or leg warmers. Her work spans multiple genres
including Musical Theater (History Theatre, Old Log, Plymouth Playhouse, Sidekick, Nautilus, Celtic
Junction, Paul Bunyan Playhouse), Classical (Mixed Precipitation Opera, Skylark Opera, Luminescence,
Lantern Choir and Chamber Orchestra) and Pop/Rock/Country (Buffalo Gal Productions, Sidekick Concert
Series, Queens of Country, MetroNome Brewery). Debi is the Co-founder (with Amanda Weis) of Inspire
Performing Arts MN, where she teaches music and theatre camps, workshops and classes to artists ages
6-93! She is also the Founder and Co-Director of the JCC Adult Show Choir in St. Paul. Debi loves bright
colors, fancy dresses and laughing! She lives with her husband and two hilarious children in St. Paul.
www.debikilde.com.
AMANDA WEIS
Co-Founder & Director
Amanda Weis is Twin Cities-based music director, stage director, teaching artist, performer, and private vocal instructor. Regionally, Ms. Weis has performed, stage directed, or music directed with such companies as Minneapolis Musical Theatre, History Theatre, Lyric Arts, Duluth Playhouse, St. Croix Off Broadway Dinner Theatre, Open Eye Theatre, Journey North Opera, Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company, Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, Children's Performing Arts, Masquers Theatre, Eden Prairie Players, Opera Reading Project, The Seasons Dinner Theatre, Open Window Theatre, The Phipps, Really Spicy Opera, and the Paul Bunyan Playhouse, among other notable houses.
Amanda stage-directed Verdi’s Rigoletto for Really Spicy Opera’s tenth season and assistant directed Mozart’s Don Giovanni in Waimea, Hawaii, for the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival. Ms. Weis music directed High Fidelity for Minneapolis Musical Theatre at the infamous Electric Fetus, earning herself a Broadway World Minneapolis regional nomination for best musical direction and a nomination for Favorite Musical Director with the Twin Cities Blogger's Theatre Awards. Ms. Weis was the vocal director the 2019 national tour of Nick Jr Live, a collaboration between Nickelodeon and VStar Entertainment. Additional Regional Broadway World Minneapolis nominations include Best Director for Tuck Everlasting at The Phipps in Hudson, Wisconsin and Best Musical Direction for Jersey Boys at the Duluth Playhouse.
She has been a teaching artist or vocal coach with Totino Grace Fine Arts Academy, Lundstrom Performing Arts, Young Actors Academy, and at the Guthrie.
Amanda Weis is a member of NATS - National Association of Teachers of Singing and is also a solo and ensemble contest judge and a one-act judge for the Minnesota State High School League.
Ms. Weis' private music studio is located in Lino Lakes, MN, where she resides with her husband Patrick McGivern, two cats (Thors & Sif) and two dogs (Lucilla and Bucky.) Bucky and Amanda are a certified Therapy dog team through Helping and Healing Paws. They frequently visit their local library, Crestview memory care unit in Blaine, and do Hospice Hound volunteering through Ecumen.
www.weisamanda.com
We are dedicated to cultivating a vibrant performing arts community in the Twin Cities. Our mission is to empower the next generation of artists through technical mastery and artistic inspiration, ensuring every student finds their unique voice on the stage.