The Young Shakespeareans

ALISON KORMAN Artistic Director / Founder
Alison is an entrepreneur and classically trained actor who, after working in Mexico and Senegal, returned to New York City's Metropolitan Opera and 92nd Street Y before founding her own arts management company, Korman+Company. During 25 years procuring and producing $5 million annually in still photography, she simultaneously performed off-Broadway and in various theatrical venues abroad. Living in Los Angeles since 1997, she has served as an Account Director for the Taproot Foundation, performed for hundreds of schoolchildren with the LA Assistance League’s Nine O’Clock Players, and began teaching Shakespeare to Title 1 elementary school children in South Los Angeles in 2009. She conceived the idea for The Young Shakespeareans Program in 2010, officially founded the organization in 2017, and has developed its curriculum in the conviction that unleashing the awareness and potential of Title 1 public school children transforms their lives while serving the broader community. Alison continues to perform in theatre, film and television. She received her degree in Special Education and Foreign Language from Washington University in St. Louis.
of John Adams Middle School
HEIDI RHODES
Heidi writes, acts, directs, and produces in theatre and film, and over the past 30 years, has worn nearly every hat on and back stage. A multi-talented artist, she has also worked, exhibited, and performed as a visual artist, designer, singer-songwriter, and dancer (modern, contact improv, and Argentine tango). Her administrative experience includes running a 50+ person theatre company, helming various companies in the arts, and consulting for many more. In addition to indulging her passion for children through serving with The Young Shakespeareans, Heidi works closely with Ava’s Heart (a non-profit providing resources to organ transplant patients) as a grant and copy writer, book editor, functions/fundraiser producer, and acting as liaison between patients and their healthcare professionals. Heidi holds a BA in Psychology, and a Masters of Interior Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design.