Meet the Team

Karin Clifford Director

Karin is the founder and Director of Kids Up Front Drama Academy and her passion is helping children gain confidence through having lots of fun! She loves watching children grow and develop and leading the creative and dynamic team of drama, vocal and dance teachers who teach for Kids Up Front.
Jennifer Monk Melbourne Director, Drama Teacher and Camp Supervisor

Jennifer leads our Melbourne drama classes and Performing Arts Holiday Camps. She has been involved in theatre, film and television as a creator, writer, actor, producer and director for around 20 years.
Avalon Evans Dance Teacher, Camp Supervisor and Script Writer

Avalon has been working with Kids Up Front since 2010 and was one of our first dance teachers at our Performing Arts Holiday Camps. She is a very talented dancer and choreographer and one of our most popular teachers!
Liz Burke Drama and Film-Making Teacher

Liz Burke hails from Colorado and now calls Australia home. She joined the Kids Up Front team in 2019 and is one of our most popular teachers.
Simon Lee Drama Teacher

Simon has several years’ experience as a children’s entertainer and Drama teacher and has been part of the Kids Up Front team since 2018 teaching the after school Drama Classes, School Holiday Camps and online workshops.
Mikayla Bargh Drama Teacher

Mikayla is a passionate actor/performer from Western Australia, now based in Sydney. She graduated from studying at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) in 2019 and is currently apart of the Sydney Actors 2021 Ensemble with the HubStudio. Mikayla is very excited to apart of the Kids Up Front team.
Daniel Montgomery Drama Teacher

Daniel Montgomery is a motivated teacher who is currently in completing his Masters of Primary teaching. He completed his Bachelor of Dramatic Art at Excelsia college and has a wide range of experiences with stage and screen alike. With a fire to teach the skills of confidence and courage to children, Daniel wants to bring out the best in his students.
Riley Gill Drama, Dance & Singing Teacher and Camp Supervisor

Riley has been a performing arts teacher for many years teaching dance, singing, and acting across Sydney, Canberra and the South Coast. She absolutely loves working with kids, helping them to grow their abilities in a positive and fun environment, and watching them take their passion for the performing arts out into the world!
Zoé Clifford-Sellam Drama Teacher

Zoé works as a drama teacher for Kids Up Front, both in the After School Program and also at Holiday Camps. She started as a student at Kids Up Front when she was young, and has grown into a valued member of the Kids Up Front team!
Taylor Troeth Drama, Dance and Singing Teacher

Taylor is a passionate teacher of the performing arts in all 3 disciplines of drama, dance and singing. Hailing from Melbourne, Taylor has taught the performing arts from as young as 16 in both Melbourne and Sydney at a variety of the best performing arts schools.
Kahlia Greksa Dance & Drama Teacher, and Camp Supervisor

Kahlia started dancing at the age of three and began her professional career at sixteen. Kahlia has always had a passion for teaching with over ten years of experience, specialising in all dance styles! She has been working for Kids Up Front since 2016.
Naomi Belet Drama, Dance & Singing Teacher

Naomi is an actor, singer, songwriter and director. Naomi started started working with Kids Up Front in 2021, primarily as a Drama Teacher, and also regularly works at our Performing Arts Holiday Camps.
Bryce Bofinger Drama & Singing Teacher

Bryce is a Brisbane-born playwright, director, choreographer and performer. He has been working with Kids Up Front since the start of 2022, as a weekly Drama Teacher, and has also taught singing and drama at our School Holiday Performing Arts Camps.
Zakk Allan Camp Supervisor and Dance Teacher

“Zakk of all trades” - With over 10 years’ experience working in a variety of creative fields, Zakk has developed a diverse set of skills which bring concepts to life with innovation and unforgettable style. Zakk has been working with Kids Up Front as a dance teacher since April 2021.
Amy Tustian Drama Teacher

Amy has been working as a professional actor in screen and stage since childhood and started working with Kids Up Front in 2022 teaching Drama in our School Holiday Camps. She is thrilled to be part of the team and is looking forward to sharing her experience!
Declan Montgomery Drama Teacher

Declan has an undying passion for acting and improvisation and is very excited to ignite the same passion and love for the craft within the children at Kids Up Front! He has completed a Bachelor of Dramatic Arts Majoring in Performance and starred in various productions on stage and screen.
Xanthe Wills Drama, Dance and Singing Teacher

Xanthe Wills is a Sydney based performer with a love for singing, dancing and acting. She holds a Bachelor of Music, majoring in Music Theatre from The Australian Institute of Music and has studied screen acting at Screenwise Film and Television School.
Alex King Drama, Dance and Singing Teacher

Alex has been dancing since she was 6 years old. A natural athlete with amazing rhythm and creative ability, Alex also taught from the young age of 14, regularly teaching students who were older than herself. Teaching and choreographing has become a major part of Alex’s life and career.
Gavin Brown Singing Teacher

Gavin has been teaching singing at Kids Up Front since graduating with his BMus from the Sydney Conservatorium in 2015. He is currently completing a Masters of Music Studies in Opera Performance as the recipient of the Donald Lionel Edgerton, the Bud Brown Memorial and the George and Margaret Henderson Scholarships.
Heather Bloom Drama & Singing Teacher

Heather Bloom is a Melbourne based singer and actor who has been working within the entertainment industry for the last decade as both a performer and behind the scenes. She has trained at the Victorian College of the Arts in Musical Theatre as well as at the Howard Fine Acting Studio. Heather has many years’ experience on both stage and screen.
Demi McFarlane Drama, Dance and Singing Teacher

Demi has been training in singing, dancing and drama since a very young age! Demi first began teaching in 2015 and has loved sharing the joy of the performing arts with her students ever since. She enjoys seeing students’ creativity and watching them develop and thrive in her classes. She is thrilled to be a part of the team at Kids Up Front!
Niamh Keeley Drama Teacher

Niamh first joined Kids Up Front in 2013 as a student and fell further in love with performing! Niamh is currently studying for a double degree in Psychology and Commerce at Macquarie University and loves teaching at Kids Up Front during her university holidays.
Andrew Tomazos Drama Teacher

Andrew is a Melbourne based actor, filmmaker, and writer. Andrew has worked in improv and children's entertainment. Andrew has started with Kids Up Front in 2022 as a Drama Teacher at our Performing Arts Holiday Camps.
Heidi Mclean Dance Teacher

Heidi started with Kids Up Front in 2019 and has loved being on board! With 20 years of dance experience under her belt, she loves teaching her students between the ages of 5 and 18 her passion and knowledge of dance. She’s been a dance teacher for several years and has loved every moment of it. It is an extremely rewarding position!
Amy Chamberlain Dance Teacher

Amy has trained in all forms of dance for over 10 years. She has always had a passion for teaching and for creating choreography. Amy has been teaching at studios all around Sydney more than 9 years and teachers styles in Musical Theatre, Jazz, Contemporary and Hip-Hop to all ages.
Rebekah Dove Drama Teacher

Rebekah began acting at the young age of 7 years old. She performed in theatre shows locally in the Wollondilly throughout her childhood and continued to take lessons while she was in school. Rebekah has studied in Australia and London and has a Bachelor of Performance (Stage and Screen).
Megan Field Dance Teacher and Camp Supervisor

Megan has awed crowds across the globe with her ability to perform. With more than 25 years of professional training in all styles of dance, Megan has achieved high standards in many aspects of the entertainment industry. Megan loves that she can share her experience and knowledge with the Kids Up Front Kids.
Holly Moore Drama, Dance & Singing Teacher

Holly Moore is a contemporary singer songwriter, actor, musical theatre director, dancer and performing arts tutor. With a passion to teach, Holly has a holistic approach that focuses on the individual to help them find their true voice, providing students with a strong sense of performance techniques and inner confidence.
Sue Manning Administrator

Sue is Kids Up Front’s Office Administrator, based in our Head Office in Sydney.