Robert Clater
Production resume includes:
Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SSDC)
Multiple Ovation Awards and Nominations including Best Director, Best Choreographer, Best Production
Garland Award Winner for Best Director
Robbie Award Winner for Best Director
Performance resume includes:
Zony Award Winner – Best Musical
Tony Award Nominee – Best Revival (Dreamgirls)
Emmy Nominations – Best Variety Program (At Night with Bob Braun, Evening Magazine)
Mr. Clater has performed on Broadway, in Pre-Broadway companies, National Tours, Civic Light Operas. He has also starred or appeared in feature films, and many television programs including The Young and the Restless, Port Charles and General Hospital. He created the role of Robbie in the USA network’s pilot production of Pumpkin Creek Explorers’ Club, and was the co-host for Get Movin’, the first fitness and exercise show geared for teens. Along with Lesia Kaye, Mr. Clater was also the Co-Host for the hit TV game show The Baccarat Game, which became the number one program of it’s kind in the international market. For five years, he toured nationally with Mitzi Gaynor, and also had his own night club act in Paris, France and Las Vegas.
Lesia Kaye
Production resume includes:
Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SSDC)
Multiple Ovation Awards and Nominations including, Best Choreographer, Best Production
Garland Award Nominee for Best Choreographer
Performance resume includes:
Zony Award Winner – Best Musical
Ms. Kaye has enjoyed critical acclaim choreographing productions including A Chorus Line and Dames at Sea and Ragtime where she was nominated as Best Choreographer. She served as Assistant Director and Choreographer for Dreamgirls at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, The Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera starring American Idol’s Frenchy Davis, and the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta starring Jennifer Holiday.
Ms. Kaye is also an accomplished actress, singer and dancer. She starred in the Arizona Theatre Company’s production of The All Night Strut in which she also served as dance captain. Her performance and additional restaging not only contributed to smashing a 25 year-old box office record, but also led to two regional awards. She has been seen in They’re Playing Our Song, Hello Dolly and with members of the original cast of 42nd St.
She has been seen on General Hospital, and with Robert Clater as Co-Host of The Baccarat Game, the Hit TV game show which became the number one program of it’s kind in the international market.
Ms. Kaye is also a Kindermusik certified Master Instructor, whose classes made her the most popular and sought after instructor in Los Angeles.
Locally, she served as the Choreographer for The Producers and the Kaye Award Winning, Chicago, at the Hickory Community Theatre.
Jeff Hartman - Voice, Guitar, Drama, Idolmakers.
Jeff Hartman is an award-winning actor
and musical director and a graduate of ASU. Hartman brings to each
performance 20 years of on- and offstage experience including his 1998
on-screen appearance as a patient in UA’s production of Carrie II and as North
Carolina Theater Conference’s 1998 Outstanding Supporting Performer for his
stage work in The Complete Works of WLLM SHKSPR [abridged] and NCTC’s
2006 Best Actor for his stage work in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now
Change. To date, Hartman has most notably appeared with Natalie, Steely
Dan, Michael McDonald, The Allman Bros. Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd,
Arrested Development, Jupiter Coyote, Acoustic Syndicate, The Recipe, Wil
Seabrook, Will Hoge, Cowboy Mouth, Georgia Satellites and Molly Hatchet.
Melissa French - Ballet Master 
Melissa has taught master classes, set
classical ballets and choreographed in Southern California and Tennessee. She
has taught and auditioned students in numerous summer schools including Ballet
Pacifica. She comes to North Carolina with over 20 years of experience as a
professional dancer, choreographer and instructor in some of the most
prestigious schools, including The Colburn School in Los Angeles, CA. She most
recently has been working at The University of California, Irvine as a
professional lecturer in Ballet, teaching classes, evaluating and grading
students as well as setting and creating many original works of choreography.
Many of Melissa’s students have been accepted to American Ballet Theatre, San
Francisco Ballet, The Kirov Ballet, School of American Ballet and The Pennsylvania
Ballet School summer programs and have moved on to professional careers in
ballet, modern and contemporary dance companies. Her wish is to create a
professional classical ballet program here in Hickory with Clater Kaye and to train students for
professional careers in dance and theatre.
Michael French - Ballet Master, Music Producer, Sound Engineering 
Michael began his life in the theater at the age of five when he began to study tap with his mother, Judy French. Over the years, his training expanded to all types of dance, vocal training and acting classes. He took part in his first musical, "Oklahoma", at the age of 6. Michael continued working in musical theater, taking leading roles in most of the great classic musicals culminating with the role of Mark in "A Chorus Line" with the San Jose Civic Light Opera at the age of 16. During this time, Michael received his SAG card and acted in commercials for Chevrolet, General Electric, and Knotts toys as well as numerous movies (like "American Graffiti 2") and television shows.
At 13, Michael started his classical ballet training. At 15, he joined the San Francisco Ballet School on scholarship which began his ballet career. Michael spent summers with the Joffrey workshop, Swedish Royal Ballet School, and with Konstantin Damianov in Anzio, Italy. At 17, he moved to Budapest, Hungary to finish his training at The Hungarian State Ballet School on scholarship. After an apprenticeship in Budapest, his professional career ensued with jobs at the Finnish National Ballet, Los Angeles Classical Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, and Cincinnati Ballet. Over the years, Michael danced many of the great principal roles, including The Cavalier in "The Nutcracker", Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet", Hilarion in "Giselle", and The Lover in "Lilac Garden". He danced works by many great choreographers including Balanchine, Robbins, David Alan, Lynn Taylor Corbett, Anthony Tudor, and many more.
After retiring due to an injury, Michael attended The Recording Workshop in Hollywood, California where he was trained as a recording engineer. An internship followed at The Studio at the Sunset Marquis where he worked with such names as Ozzy Osbourne, Jeff Beck, John Oates, Lenny Kravitz, Jed Lieber, and films for Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema. Michael worked his way up to first engineer and proceeded to open his own company, Down to Hear Music. Over the following years he produced, wrote, and engineered for dozens of artists Including Ron Dante, Kyle Vincent , And Jesse Damon.
Vickie Claytor - Office Manager
Associate Producers: Become a Theatreworks Associate Producer. Associate Producers have the opportunity to work closely with Robert Clater and Lesia Kaye, learning invaluable information of the entertainment industry from the inside. Associate Producers assist with classes, and have administrative and production responsibilities. They also get to attend our special guest celebrity seminars free of charge. Ask us for more information.
Theatreworks Interns: Our interns assist in the basic operations of Clater Kaye Theatreworks in exchange for a small reduction in class tuition. Ask us for more information.
 Rudi Huston, Phillip Gilmore, Tony Franklin, Robert Clater
in Dreamgirls
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Awards
Emmys
Tonys
Ovation Awards
Garland Awards
Dreamgirls
19 Nominations, 11 Awards
2 for Best Production
Ragtime
Multiple Nominations
Best Director
Best Production
Best Choreographer
Worked for or Collaborated with
Mitizi Gaynor, Michael Bennett, Jeff Calhoun, Tommy Tune, Maurice Hines, Gloria Estefan, Diana Ross, Placido Domingo, Donna McKechnie, Harold Perrineau, Angelina Jolie, Catherine Zeta Jones, Eric Idol and others.
Lesia Kaye receiving award
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