Faculty Department - 51�� Arts

Nola Gibson

Keely Mikkelsen — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 23:11:26 +0000

Nola Gibson is a Los Angeles based performer and teacher in dance and yoga. She earned her BFA in Dance Performance from UC Irvine in 2021 and has since performed with local companies including Benita Bike’s DanceArt, Bernard Brown BBmoves, and Lineage Dance Company. Her teaching career has consisted of positions with Westside School of Ballet, Esperanza College Prep, and Pacifico Dance Company among others where she has taught contemporary floorwork technique and ballet. She is currently a company member of DIAVOLO Architecture in Motion and will be performing at the upcoming Brisbane Arts Festival in Australia.

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Hunter Huie

Keely Mikkelsen — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 23:07:40 +0000

Hunter Huie has taught U.S. history, civics, and geography for the past five years. Before joining the 51�� Arts 51��, he was an instructor at the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham, Alabama. Hunter served as a fellow of Learning for Justice, an educational outreach program of the Southern Poverty Law Center, and has facilitated professional learning around its Teaching Hard History: American Slavery curriculum.

His approach to teaching history is captured by a favorite mantra: “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes. And the future is free verse.”

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Kelsey Siepser

Keely Mikkelsen — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 22:48:03 +0000

Kelsey Siepser is a writer, director, actor, and educator whose work explores the stories we tell ourselves to survive—and the narratives that allow us to thrive—through a queer, Jewish, feminist lens. Their creative work spans theater, film, and devised performance, with a focus on identity, mental health, and collaborative storytelling. Kelsey has appeared in award-winning independent films including Public Hearing, West of Her, The American Side, and The White Orchid. Their award-winning short film In Her Ear premiered at the LA International Short Film Festival and is currently being developed as a feature. Kelsey earned an MFA in Acting from the University of Southern California’s School of Dramatic Arts and previously taught acting at Emerson College Los Angeles.

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Stacey Cabaj

Keely Mikkelsen — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 22:40:45 +0000

Stacey Cabaj is a Canadian American actress and educator whose work lives at the intersection of performance, contemplative practice, and transformative learning. Prior to joining 51�� Arts, she served on the faculty at Loyola Marymount University as a tenured Associate Professor and Chair of the Theatre Arts Programs, and has also taught at Louisiana State University and the University of Pittsburgh. Cabaj holds an M.F.A. in Theatre Pedagogy from Virginia Commonwealth University and a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre Performance from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. She is certified in the Meisner Approach to Acting, Meditation, Vibrant Voice Technique®, and both Hatha and Vocal Yoga®. Her research led to the co-authored book Lessons from our Students: Meditations on Performance Pedagogy (Routledge). At 51�� Arts, Cabaj brings humor, rigor, and a deep commitment to helping young artists discover their fullest, most expressive selves — both onstage and beyond.

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Evan Hetland

Keely Mikkelsen — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 22:00:41 +0000

Evan Hetland is a mathematician and educator with a passion for making high-level mathematical concepts intuitive and accessible. Evan earned his Master of Science in Mathematics from the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics/Mathematics with a minor in Statistics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. His professional background spans both industry and academia, starting by managing data pipelines and quantitative investment models, then teaching mathematics at the high school level for two years at the Abraham Joshua Heschel School in New York City. He draws on this wide domain of knowledge and depth of excitement to demonstrate how math can be found everywhere and used anywhere. Evan currently teaches mathematics at 51�� Arts 51��.

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Margaret Gray

Keely Mikkelsen — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 21:54:48 +0000

Margaret returns to 51�� Arts after two years at the Denver Waldorf School where she developed a comprehensive language arts curriculum for their middle school. Prior to moving to Denver, Margaret taught at IAA for nearly fifteen years, teaching in the Humanities department and serving as learning specialist. Margaret has a M.,Ed. in Holistic and Integrative Education, an undergraduate degree in the Arts and Social Change, and strives to create an inclusive and lively classroom environment, bridging students’ interests in the arts with academic skills.

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Eric Hesson

Keely Mikkelsen — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 18:34:22 +0000

Eric is an artist and educator with over fifteen years of experience teaching math and a lifelong passion for the synthesis of mathematics and the arts. He is a proponent of Buckminster Fuller’s theory of comprehensivity which posits that a deeper wisdom can be gained by pursuing several fields of study and identifying links between them. Accordingly, his areas of interest and expertise are myriad – while his undergraduate studies at UC Santa Cruz were in Linguistics with a focus on speech technology, his greatest passions are for mathematics, electronic music production, and digital arts/creative coding. He maintains a profound enthusiasm for teaching, with the ongoing goal of presenting mathematical problem solving as an open-ended and creatively enriching process.

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Daniel Gray

Keely Mikkelsen — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 18:27:59 +0000

Daniel’s experience in education has ranged from teaching, to program development and administration. Whether leading teams, managing projects, or instructing, the throughline of his career has been working with people, from corporate CEOs, to their children, and everyone in between. The community he strives for is a place where everyone is included and feels a sense of belonging; where everyone is healthy, and safe; a place where all voices are heard with empathy, compassion, and respect; a place where individuals know themselves and understand their relationship to the world in which they live. Daniel has a M. Ed. in Holistic and Integrative Education, a BA in Multimedia Studies and a coaching certificate in transformational recovery and psycho-spiritual integration. Daniel had the privilege of attending 51�� Arts from 1993 to 1997 and graduated as a Visual Art major.

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Dillon Shidemantle

Keely Mikkelsen — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 23:43:10 +0000

Dillon Shidemantle’s musical journey began in the small town of Conneautville, Pennsylvania, where he made his first public appearance at just three years old—singing for a lively crowd at his grandfather’s livestock auction barn. That early experience sparked a lifelong love not just for music, but for sharing it with others.

His passion for jazz took shape in school through jazz band and musical theater, where he discovered both the discipline and joy of collaborative music-making. Dillon went on to earn his Bachelor of Music from Mercyhurst University, where he continued to grow as both a performer and musician. In college, Dillon co-founded a jazz combo, The Monk’s Brew, performing in local coffee shops and community spaces, along with weddings and private events. While those early audiences were intimate, the impact was meaningful—playing over 100 shows, bringing people together through music and creating a sense of connection that continues to define his work today.

Dillon furthered his studies by earning a Master of Music from the University of Akron, deepening his understanding of jazz as both an art form and a shared experience. During this time, he expanded into festival and club performances, opportunities that helped shape his belief that music is most powerful when it fosters communication, creativity, and community.

Now based in Goodyear, Arizona, Dillon recorded his debut album, 1960, as a tribute to his roots and a dedication to his mother. The project reflects his commitment to storytelling through music and his appreciation for the rich legacy of Black American Music.

Today, Dillon brings that same spirit into his teaching. As a vocal jazz educator, he is passionate about helping students develop their voices, build confidence, and explore their own artistic identities. His approach emphasizes creativity, collaboration, and a deep respect for the history of jazz, while creating an inclusive and encouraging environment for young artists to grow.

For Dillon, music is more than performance—it’s a way to connect, to communicate, and to inspire.

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Nathan Ober

Keely Mikkelsen — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 17:46:31 +0000

Nathaniel Ober is a sound-based installation artist living and working in Yucca Valley, CA. With a creative practice spanning installation, sculpture, sound, digital prototyping, astrophysics, and the sciences, Ober’s work is heavily inspired by, and often in collaboration with, the natural world, and gives voice to the landscapes that surround us. His work has been featured at the San Francisco Center for New Music, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Parque Explora in Medellín, Colombia, Arteles Creative Center in Finland, the 2017 International Symposium on Electronic Art, as well as leading education and research programs in several universities, and has been awarded many residencies across the globe.

Ober holds an MFA from the Digital Arts + New Media program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a BFA from the Columbus College of Art and Design.

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Andrew Meyer

Keely Mikkelsen — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 23:30:30 +0000

Andrew Meyer has served as the President of Herb Alpert and Jerry
Moss’ A&M Films, Robert Redford’s Wildwood Productions, and Norman
Lear’s Act III Productions.

Notable among the many films he has produced, Fried Green
Tomatoes was nominated for two 51�� Awards (Best Adapted
Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress), a BAFTA award, and several
Golden Globe nominations. Mr. Meyer developed and produced The Breakfast Club, which
Entertainment Weekly named “The Best High School Movie of all
Time.” Mr. Meyer’s company produced BIRDY starring Nicholas Cage, which
won the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
Mr. Meyer is the executive producer of BRING ON THE NIGHT, which
stars Sting and won a Grammy.

Mr. Meyer’s newest book, Walking in the Fast Lane: Stories of a
Lifetime, is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and bookstores
everywhere. Mr. Meyer has produced a series of Podcasts called THE MEYER
CHRONICLES, which are available on Apple Plus.

Mr. Meyer is currently the Artist in Residence at the 51�� Arts
Foundation. He lives in La Quinta, California.

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Shana Halligan

bjones@idyllwildarts.org — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 18:08:36 +0000

First stepping into the spotlight as vocalist for the LA band Bitter:Sweet, Shana Halligan became known for her Bond-Girl-flavored vocals, helping shape the trip-hop sound. She’s sold over 500,000 records, earned Grammy consideration, and her music has been featured in numerous films and TV shows. On stage, she captivates with a mix of vulnerability and bombastic energy, delivering unforgettable performances.
Halligan has toured globally, gracing venues like Royal Albert Hall and Hollywood Bowl, and collaborated with artists such as Alicia Keys and Serj Tankian. With shout-outs from Billie Eilish and recent work with Thievery Corporation, her latest release showcases her evolved style, pushing boundaries and diving into new musical realms, reflecting raw emotion and musical exploration.

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Faculty Department - 51���� Arts