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. After teaching for years in Sydney with Kids Up Front, Jennifer brought the Kids Up Front drama program to Melbourne. She has been involved in theatre, film and television as a creator, writer, actor, producer and director for over 16 years.
Heather Campbell Drama Teacher

Heather has been a drama tutor since 2008 with a range of companies, teaching young people from Kindergarten to age 26! As a Kids Up Front teacher she loves having the opportunity to investigate the adventures theatre-making can take us on!
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.
Elizabeth 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 is very excited to now be offering 'The Character Kingdom' a new Online workshop.
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.
Olivia McNamara Drama, Dance & Singing Teacher

Olivia McNamara is currently a student at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music studying a Bachelor of Music Education. She also holds a Diploma of Speech and Communication from ASCA. Olivia enjoys sharing her passion of acting, music and movement with her students, and is so thrilled to join the Kids Up Front team in 2021!
Matilda Murphy Drama, Dance & Singing Teacher

Matilda Murphy is a professional singer, songwriter, dancer based in Sydney with over 20 years’ experience in performing arts. Matilda wants to inspire all kids to believe in themselves and help build their confidence through music and dance, encouraging them to explore their individuality and embrace their quirks.
Jo Bloom Drama Teacher

Jo has worked as an actress, director, producer, educator and playwright in Sydney, Melbourne and London. She has created and run dozens of workshops for infants, teens, adults and seniors. She has been an actress in short films, TVCs and voice overs, and she joined the Kids Up Front team in 2021.
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!
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.
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.
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.
Hayley Doran Dance Teacher and Camp Supervisor

Hayley comes to us with many years of experience teaching children dance. Hayley is one of our specialist dance teachers at our Performing Arts Holiday Camps. Hayley is extremely excited to be working at Kids Up Front inspiring others and encouraging her students to believe in their dreams.
Candice Leask Drama Teacher

Candice is a Melbourne based professional actor as well as a primary and secondary school drama tutor. She has a Bachelor degree in Drama from Queensland University of Technology, and furthered her studies in performance at the University of Queensland, Victorian College of Arts, The Rehearsal Room and TAFTA.
Erica Brennan Drama Teacher and Script Writer

Erica has been with Kids Up Front since 2011. Erica is a theatre director writer and performer with a B. Performance from Theatre Nepean (WSU) and a Masters of Applied Theatre Studies from UNE. She has a passion for education in the dramatic arts and is devoted to teaching young people and adults the joys and subsequent skills of theatrical storytelling.
Emma Nico Drama, Singing and Dance Teacher

Nico (Emma Nicolazzo) holds a BA in Music (Music Theatre) from the Australian Institute of Music SYD and a Cert IV performing Arts (Dance) from Brent Street Studios. Nico is currently working on a new show in Sydney whilst running her own Children's Music Entertainment company and teaching weekly classes in Music Theatre, Drama, Piano and Singing.
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.
Isabelle Reynaud Singing and Drama Teacher

Isabelle is one of our talented Melbourne Performing Arts Holiday Camp tutors. With a Bachelor of Musical Theatre and her talents in musicality Isabelle helps the children in Melbourne sing like angels.
Lauren Anne Paul Dance, Singing and Drama Teacher

Lauren Anne Paul has been teaching dance, drama, and singing for over six years. She recently spent two years in the United States, training in the New York Film Academy’s Musical Theatre Conservatory program. Lauren is thrilled to part of the the Kids Up Front team!
Sue Manning Administrator

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