Our staff has the compassion and experience to bring out the best in any child from beginner to seasoned performer.
Guinevere PH Dethlefson loves the theatre and our community. A founding member of The Empty Space, Guinevere was also the School of Arts Director at Spotlight School of Arts before it closed, a production manager, stage manager and actor for the Kern Shakespeare Festival, and is dedicated to using theatre to create social change. Her work with V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women and girls, has raised $58,000 for Alliance Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault and other local non-profits. This mother of three has worked with Meet Your Neighbors, One Book One Bakersfield and is a huge advocate for early childhood education.
David Rock leads our improv program as well as working with our other programs. He has been a fixture on the Bakersfield theatre scene since 1999 with his own sketch comedy troupe. Dave enjoys teaching our students with special needs as well. He teaches fourth grade at Bessie Owens Intermediate.
Cory Rickard Geurtsen loves the theatre! She is a founding member of The Empty Space. She holds a CA State teaching credential from San Jose State and a M.A. in Theatre from Cal State Los Angeles. She teaches fourth grade at Bimat and intro to acting at Bakersfield College.
Kayleigh Peaker is a longtime instructor with Tonicism Productions. She has been serving the community as a 5th grade teacher for the last six years and is currently teaching at Bimat. She previously served on The Empty Space theater’s Board of Directors for nine years. You may have seen her onstage in various productions or seen one of the plays she has directed at The Empty Space. She fully believes in the value of investing in the world’s children, and education and advocacy through art is of the utmost importance.