(Recreational Director for Overnight Summer Camp)

  Kate McElliott  is the competition team director/music director for the Holly Theatre.  April 2006-May 2008, she was the Education and Children's Theatre Director, but in the Fall of 2008, she will begin teaching special education at Wauka Mt Elementary School in Hall County.  

While Education Director at the Holly, Kate taught  the majority of classes at the Holly Theatre, taught all voice lessons at the Holly  (which she will also continue to do), planned the Holly Children's Theatre programming, and musically directed or directed and produced the children's theatre productions.

Prior to 2006, Kate volunteered at the Holly, coordinating the Christmas quartet, Holly cabarets, and helping with music for several productions.  She also taught many of the 3-5 and 5-7 year old classes.

Since Kate began as the Education Director  in 2006, she directed and performed in Goldilocks and the Three Bears on the Square (after re-writing it to become a script for adults to perform for children with audience participation), instructed and/or produced all the 2006 Summer Camps (including co-directing "The Jungle Book Kids"), directed "Winnie-the-Pooh" (written by her playwrighting workshop of youth from the Holly), taught all the Fall 2006 classes and lessons, and produced "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever."

 In 2007, Kate was the music director for the competition team that performed "The Jungle Book Kids" for the National Invitational Junior Theatre Festival (winning third place in the USA... Kate also won a "best music director" award from MTI/Disney), taught all Spring classes, directed "Romeo and Juliet" and "The Life of Shakespeare," taught and/or produced all Summer camps (including musically directing and producing "HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL" and co-directing "Pinocchio"), and Kate performed as Dori in "Schoolhouse Rock Live, Jr.", while also musically directing and producing this show for schoolday performances and the mainstage Fall showings.

In 2008, Kate musically directed and trip directed the competition troupe that WON FIRST PLACE in the National Performing Arts Festival in DisneyWorld in January, produced and asst musically directed "Seussical" (while performing as Mayzie la Bird), and taught all the Spring classes except "Horton Hears a Who." 

Kate has her B.A. Music (Vocal Performance) and is currently working on her Master's Degree in Special Education.  Kate lives in Dahlonega with her husband Don and three kids, Mitchell (8), Fiona (5), and Luke (3). 

Vocal Students- Note additional bio for Kate McElliott--
Kate has taught private voice lessons to youth and adults since 1998.  She studied voice starting at age 13 with Edmond Hurshell of the Metropolitan Opera and Linda Anderson Baer of Columbia Records and The Dallas Opera.  She also was selected at age 16 to attend the vocal intensive program at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY and has cantored professionally for churches and cathedrals since the age of 13. In college, Kate sang opera at The Macaroni Grill. Since her high school and college days, Kate has enjoyed singing country, folk, Celtic, and musical theater styles in bands and for special events and directing various small musical groups and quartets in the area.