MEET OUR STAFF OF DEDICATED, CARING PROFESSIONALS

Lizel Sandoval, Academy Program Director

Lizel brings with her extensive performing arts knowledge and experience to her position with the Academy. She began dancing at the age of six through the City of San Antonio Parks and Recreation and went on to receive a BFA in Theatre Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. Lizel has taught, directed, and choreographed countless youth theatre productions and classes at The Magik Theatre, Stone Oak Youth Theatre, and the Woodlawn Academy for Performing Arts. Her Woodlawn Academy credits include Alice in Wonderland Jr., Disney’s Mary Poppins Jr., Godspell Jr. and The Little Mermaid Jr. Other favorite youth productions include Seussical Jr., Into the Woods Jr., The Diary of Anne Frank, and The Servant of Two Masters. She has also choreographed at local high schools; one of which was nominated for Best Musical at the 2019 Las Casas Joci Awards. In addition to her work in youth theatre, she’s been an active member of the San Antonio theatre community for most of her adult life, both as a performer and choreographer. 

Alex Valverde, Academy Administrator

Alex has been with us in various roles for eight years; and has been involved in the management of creatives and their projects for the better part of 10 years. Beginning with an interest in filmmaking, Alex quickly found his home and career in the artistic processes of others, specifically in administrative or directorial capacities. In 2014, Alex discovered the Woodlawn Theatre, and his love for performing arts. Since then, and still, he offers his unique managerial expertise as a freelancer, a small business owner, and as a regular Stage Manager at the Woodlawn Theatre.

Dr. Sami Serrano Bassig, Outreach Specialist and Instructor

Sami is a regular performer of Musical Theatre and Opera in the San Antonio area. Some of her recent credits include: A Chorus Line (Tricia/Swing), The Little Mermaid (Atina), The Music Man (Marian Paroo) and A Christmas Carol the Musical (Emily). In 2019 she attended Actor Therapy’s Summer Intensive in New York where she received training from Lindsay Mendez, Ryan Scott Oliver, Sierra Boggess, Katie Rose Clarke, and other Broadway performers and prominent casting directors. She recently Music Directed A Chorus Line: Teen Edition and Footloose: Teen Edition. She received her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from The University of Texas at San Antonio, Masters of Music degree in Vocal Performance at The University of Texas at Austin and her Doctorate in Musical Arts at The University of Texas at Austin in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy. She is currently an Adjunct Music Professor at Northwest Vista College.

Nora Martinez, Vocal Music & Premier Music Director

Nora graduated from Dallas Baptist University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal performance. For the past 5 years, she has music directed and taught music at the Woodlawn Academy. She has also music directed at the JCC and directed/music directed at Mount Sacred Heart. Some of her most recent Woodlawn music direction credits are: Cinderella G2K, Matilda Jr., and the Little Mermaid Jr. Nora also owns her own voice studio and enjoys watching her students excel in performance, technique, and confidence!

Paige Carpenter, Acting

Paige is thrilled to officially join the Woodlawn Academy staff. She began dancing at the age of three and studied at En Avant School of Dance in her hometown, Bethlehem, PA. She then began adding acting credits in middle school, continuing to perform until she graduated and joined the US Army. Military life brought her to Texas and eventually to San Antonio where her love of performing arts was rekindled. She earned her Associate Degree in Theater and Dance from Northwest Vista College and will graduate this December with a Bachelor of English with concentrations in both Dramatic Literature and Education as well as minors in both Theatre and Psychology from the University of the Incarnate Word. She has worked as a performer, costumer, crew member, camp instructor and more throughout San Antonio, including at the Woodlawn, where she has been working both on and off stage since 2019. Some of her Woodlawn performance credits include: Beauty and the Beast, The Music Man, and Hairspray. She began volunteering with the Academy shortly after the pandemic, some credits include: School of Rock, Matilda, and A Chorus Line:Teen. She is proud and excited to use her extensive training and experience in performing arts as an instructor.

Taylor James, Acting

Taylor James is ecstatic to join the team at Woodlawn, teaching Acting to all ages and levels. She studied Musical Theater at Oklahoma City University, home to many Broadway vets. She’s recently moved back to San Antonio from New York City where she performed in numerous cabarets off Broadway in the over 5 years she was there. Not only does she teach acting but private vocal coaching, as well.

Kelly Petlin, Outreach

Kelly is so happy to be back in her home town of San Antonio and rediscovering her theater community. Kelly lived in New York City for 11 years and Los Angeles for 4 years, pursuing and working in the field of the arts, performing in musicals around the country, filming commercials, and teaching Musical Theatre classes to kids. She is still auditioning, singing with a wedding band “Oh So Good!”, and is so thankful to the Woodlawn for letting her represent them in this fabulous outreach program.

Carrey Farrow IV, Outreach, Acting and Improv

Cary Farrow IV is a professional actor and teacher who has worked in the industry for over a decade. His work has taken him to perform shows and teach intensive acting and improv workshops in various cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Vancouver, CA. His training is extensive and includes courses at Upright Citizens Brigade LA, the Hideout Theatre, and The Academy at Fadó Films, and workshops with Susan Messing, Jill Bernard, and T.J. Mannix.