“All The World’s A Stage”- Shakespeare
Backstage Crew
TAMRYN SHAMI | Co-founder / Operations / Customer Relations
Graduating from F.I.T. in 2001 with a BA in fashion management, Tamryn has had the amazing opportunity to work and travel across the globe to design and develop for top fashion retailers. Throughout her career, she participated in retail forums to share her knowledge of fashion and business.
In 2013, Tamryn and her husband welcomed their twins. And in 2018, welcomed a new baby girl. To keep up in the industry, she started teaching at a local university. Tamryn’s teaching experience was rewarding in that she loved to share in her fashion experience and expertise to the next generation. Tamryn’s love for community & passion for creativity still comes through in various ways as she participates in the community and within her children’s school. Tamryn’s desire to foster her own children’s talents is really what inspired her to bring Spotlight Kids NY to the downtown neighborhood.
DANIELLE BURAKOVSKY | Co-Founder / Creative Director
Receiving her MFA in Costume Design from Tulane University. Danielle has worked on various projects in Fashion, TV, Film, and Theater, which included Law & Order SVU, She’s Funny That Way and Vinyl. She also had the amazing opportunity to work as an assistant costume designer for the TV Series, Gotham for which she was nominated for an Emmy in 2015.
Danielle’s love of theater began when she was a young child. Now that she and her husband are raising their two small children in downtown Manhattan, she wanted to give NYC kids like hers a glimpse of how creativity and passion can truly start at any age. She is thrilled to bring Spotlight Kids NY to the community she and her family have grown to love.
Meet Our Staff
LAUREN CAMP | Program Director / Lead Teaching Artist / Dance Artist
SARAH BARTLEY | Talent Director / Teaching Artist / Vocal Artist
Sarah Bartley moved to NYC when she was 18 to pursue her dreams of acting. She graduated from The New School For Drama with a BFA in acting, where she spent 4 years perfecting her craft and engaging her community through art. During her time at The New School, she was a teaching artist at Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education focusing on acting and body positivity. She has been involved in theater since she was young, and has dabbled in directing and writing as well.
Sarah joined Spotlight Kids NY to continue on the path of giving the young children of downtown Manhattan a glimpse of what art and theater are truly all about.
Claire Camp| Lead Teaching Artist and Dance Artist
At a young age Claire began her training as a classical ballet dancer in Marin County, California. She later moved across the country to learn/train in other forms of contemporary and modern dance, graduating with a BFA from SUNY Purchase. With an undying love for theatre driven dance, singing, and acting, Claire inevitably landed in the world of Musical Theatre, TV&Film. She most recently played the role of Judy Turner in A Chorus Line at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Claire has had the privilege of learning/working with such choreographers as Sarah O’ Gleby, Andy Blankenbuehler, Bill T. Jones, Sergio Trujillo, Rob Ashford, and Wayne Cilento. Credits include ,TV: “The Gilded Age” “West World” “Three Women”“Fosse/Verdon”, Broadway: “Frozen”; The Revival op of “Cats”,National Tours: “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”; “Flashdance the Musical”, Other: “In Your Arms” The Old Globe; “American Dance Machine” The JoyceTheatre. Throughout Claire’s professional career she’s also been a teaching artists at numerous schools across the country, and is a current faculty member at Brooklyn Ballet and Metropolitan Ballet. She can’t imagine her life without being introduced to the performing arts at a young age, and is thrilled to be able to share the joy and magic that theatre can bring to the Spotlight Kids community.
QUINN CORCORAN | Music Director
Quinn Corcoran is originally from Pennsylvania, where he grew up performing in theatre from a young age. He moved to New York to pursue his passion of performing and graduated from Pace University in downtown Manhattan with a BA in Acting together under the International Performance Ensemble. His journey has taken him to schools and universities across the country where he has engaged young people with educational theatre. He has even performed in Bangkok, Thailand! His first love, though, was always singing and music! Besides being an instrumentalist and music director, he is also a director, a playwright, and a composer.
Quinn is excited to be joining the Spotlight team to help inspire the creativity and curiosity of children through the magical world of theatre!
JOHN COYNE | Music Director and Acting Coach
John Coyne is a musical theater songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and performer. Off-Broadway: Uncle Romeo Vanya Juliet (Original Music). John arranged and orchestrated two EPs with Ben Crawford (Phantom of the Opera); one features reimagined Golden Age classics, and the other consists of updated holiday favorites. He is currently at work on a musical adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway. John is passionate about passing his love of theater on to the next generation; not only as a worthwhile craft and hobby, but as a sustaining interest that can help children in all areas of their lives.
Prince Anthony Hall | Lead Teaching Artist
Prince Anthony graduated with a BFA in Theater Arts from Marymount Manhattan College in 2018. Since graduating PrinceAnthony has been featured in two Kehinde Wiley paintings, and has expanded his career into TV/Film work. Receiving roles in the Eric Andre Show, and on the new hit show GO GO on Here TV.
While developing his skills as an actor PrinceAnthony Has also been producing and teaching. Both his creative production work and teaching work are fundamental parts of his artistry. Cultivating a new generation of artists is important, and PrinceAnthony continues to use his training to create art and artists that are a true reflection of the world around them
Kira Stone | Assistant and Lead Teaching and Dance Artist
Kira Mahealani Stone (she/her) grew up dancing and doing theater in her hometown Kaneohe, Hawaii. She moved to NYC in 2019 to attend NYU Tisch and graduated cum laude in May 2023 with a BFA in Drama and a minor in Educational Theatre. During her time at NYU, Kira was able to study abroad in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art with the NYU “Shakespeare In Performance” program as well as be a part of several studio productions including a devised technology-heavy piece (pandemic theater woo!) with Tisch Drama Stage. Some regional theater credits include A Chorus Line, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, The Wolves, Disney’s Newsies, and Timon of Athens. This year Kira is focusing on auditions, training, creating new work with her extremely talented peers and, of course, fine tuning her teaching skills. Kira has been a dresser and helper for spotlight in the past but this is her first year teaching full time and she couldn’t be happier. She hopes to be someone that kids can look up to the same way that she looked up to so many of her theater instructors growing up.
Kwame Simpson | Dance Artist
Kwame Simpson is a talented individual who has made a name for himself in the creative arts. A native of Guyana, he moved to New York City from St Maarten in 2009 and has since studied acting at The New School for Drama. To further his knowledge and skills in the performing arts, he has also trained with Brooklyn’s Dance Company Purelements. Aside from his acting talents, Kwame is also a fashion designer and social media influencer. His commitment to inspiring others is evident in how he has been teaching dance for over seven years now, both to adults and children alike. He is truly a well-rounded artist with an admirable passion for his craft.
Margaret Leisenheimer | Guest Teaching Artist
Margaret Leisenheimer received her BA in theatre and minor in education from Binghamton University. While at school, Margaret founded Binghamton University’s theatre outreach initiative, Theatre in the Classroom, and received the Provost’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research. She is now an NYC based actor and teaching artist, specializing in theater for ages 0-13+. Margaret encourages her students to work through their limiting beliefs, make mistakes with great enthusiasm, and have fun!