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Meet Our Instructors

Sherry Bettersworth

Artistic Director

Sherry bio coming soon

Ashley Kennedy

Vocal Coach/

Music Director

Ashley Kennedy resided in Waco, TX for 27 years where she was very involved in Waco Civic Theater and the musical theater community since 2006. Ashley was a music and theater major at McLennan Community College where she obtained an AA in Music. She also obtained a BS in Management from Grand Canyon University with a focus in classroom management. Ashley studied under Dr. Karen Albrecht (who recently was seen off Broadway in “Mary Poppins”) and Jerry McLaughlin (who worked under Bob Fosse in Broadway’s original “Pippin!”). Just a few of her notable roles on the stage include, Belle in “Beauty and the Beast”, Cinderella in “Into the Woods”, Laurie in “Oklahoma!”, and Fantine in “Les Misérables”. Ashley has taught children for 9 years with a focus in musical theater, as well as how to perform and audition. Ashley also maintains a dance background and has served a Choreographer for Waco Cotton Place Productions since 2009. She was thrilled to jump start her Musical Theater experience here in NB as a performer as “Mrs. Potts” in New Braunfels Performing Arts “Beauty and the Beast” and was last seen Music Directing “CATS."

Garrett Bettersworth

Stage Director/

Choreographer

Garrett Bettersworth was born and raised in New Braunfels Texas.  As a young boy, Garrett loved to tell and act out stories. This hunger to bring fiction to life drove Garrett to the stage, and he begin performing in many plays and musicals in his hometown. At age 12, Garrett secured his first lead role as the Genie in a Jr production of Aladdin.  This love for performing eventually led Garrett to pursue a career in theatre, tv, film, and animation.  Since then, he has dedicated himself to the art of acting.  In 2019, he starred in The Children’s Crusade,  a short film about the struggles of war.  In 2020, he lent his voice to the character of Tim in The Glove, a web comic series.  Most recently he was Dennis in NBPA’s production of Rock of Ages and was featured in Netflix’s english dub of Romantic Killer. As a teacher, Garrett wants to gift the next generation of actors with what he has learned on his own journey so that acting as an art can evolve and become more engaging for future performers and audience members. If you ask Garrett what he loves most about acting, he will tell you that it is the delivery of the story to the audience - what an amazing experience.  In fact, Garrett and his mother, Sherry Bettersworth, with the help of many others, formed a local non-profit theatre company called The New Braunfels Performing Arts Center, which continues to provide the community with quality entertainment. Garrett Graduated from Northeast School of The Arts in 2018 and now holds a BFA in Acting for film and TV From Hussian College Los Angeles.  When he's is not working, Garrett loves to return to his hometown to assist with performances at the NBPA, and pay it forward to the next generation of story tellers.

Wyatt Bettersworth

Voice Teacher, Private Vocal Performance Coach & 

Music Director

Wyatt Has been performing at NBPA since its inception in 2012 and has gone on to perform in shows all around Texas. Most recently he was Davey in NESA’s production of NEWSIES, Pop in NESA’s production of We Will Rock You, as well as Stacey Jax in NBPA’s production of Rock of Ages. A Northeast School Of The Arts 2019 Graduate and having just graduated with a Liberal Arts degree from UT Austin, Wyatt is eagerly excited to help shape the voices of students here at NBPA.

Emma Grubbs

Instructor

Emma Grubbs is a current BFA Acting student with a minor in Social Media Marketing at Oklahoma City University. Her recent credits include The Play That Goes Wrong (Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma), Shakespeare’s Other Women (OCU), Everybody (OCU), Rock of Ages (New Braunfels Performing Arts), The Lightning Thief (NBPA). She is so excited to be back home for the summer!

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Darla Henderson

Vocal Coach

Darla Henderson grew up in Southern California and moved to New Braunfels 4 years ago. She graduated from the Eastman School of Music in 2006 with her Master of Music Degree in Performance and Literature and has received a Bachelor of Music Degree in Performance from the University of Southern California. She has studied voice with renowned teachers such as Victoria Hart, Fred Carama and Marilyn Horne. During her career she has performed in several operas including The Magic Flute, La Rondine, Merry Widow, The Marriage of Figaro and in Stephen Schwartz’s Seance on a Wet Afternoon. Ms. Henderson participated in Opera Santa Barbara’s Young Artist and Studio Artist programs and was a Music Academy of the West fellow in 2009. She has also participated in several musical productions including Bye, bye Birdie, Once Upon a Mattress, Godspell and You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown. During her singing career she has won several awards including the Los Angeles District Metropolitan Opera National Council Finalist, a three time recipient of the Sheila Allen Vocal Scholarship and EM Green Vocal Scholarship from the Young Musicians Foundation. Darla is very excited to be joining the NBPA instructor staff and looks forward to working with New Braunfels Performing Arts!

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