MEET OUR DIRECTORS
Dianne Kohlmeier has spent the better part of her life creating, writing and producing her own work. She has an extensive background in dance, theatre, comedy, and commercial advertisement. Her experience in costuming, design, choreography, and music encouraged her to follow her dream of developing a children's theatre company. In Europe, California & the Pacific Northwest, Dianne's career included modeling & teaching for The Glorea LaVonne Fashion Schools, John Robert Powers, Patricia Stevens College, Long Beach & The Loretta Young Studios, Los Angeles, CA. As a child, Dianne was a U.S. Figure skating champion and later became an artistic iceskating coach for Valley Ice. She was a frequent performer & choreographer in the early years of Portland Civic Theatre and Washington Park musicals. While training with Jacqueline Schumacher, Pacific Ballet (precursor to OBT) and Alexander Omansky, she became a regular on a television show for children called Candy Cane Circus. She also developed her own live TV show titled, Afternoon with Dianne. Dianne has directed, trained and produced Miss Oregon USA, Miss Oregon Universe and trained numerous Miss Oregon's for Miss America. She's grateful for the opportunity to develop a unique children's theatre and is an original co-founder, creator/writer and Artistic Director for Krayon Kids Musical Theatre Company and The Elite Travel Troupe. She attributes the success of Krayon Kids to the enormous support & unwavering dedication from her co-directors, as well as an outstanding staff of devoted parents.
Vicki Mills-O’ Donnell performed with the New Oregon Singers for 25 years, traveling the world with USO shows. She performed for Veterans hospitals, Shriners, Red Cross, and many other service organizations. In Portland, she has performed in: The Music Man, South Pacific, Bye Bye Birdie, and danced in Broadway road companies, including Chicago, Mame, and Pajama Game. She was lead dancer at Harvey Dicks World Famous Barbary Coast for nine years. Vicki owned the Vicki Mills Studio of Dance for 23 years. She also coached for La Salle High Schools dance team and has consulted and trained dance and drill teams, and parade units. She has been an artistic ice coach on the national level. Vick has judged many local and state pageant programs and dance competitions. In recent years, Vicki has continued to contribute her creativity and endless energy as a director of the Miss Three Rivers, Miss Clackamas, and Miss Portland scholarship programs. These organizations directly partner with the Miss Oregon and Miss America scholarship program. In fact, many of the young ladies you see on stage in this years show, have benefited from participating in these events. They have been recognized and rewarded with scholarship monies based on outstanding contributions to their local communities, and a variety of platform issues. In addition, they have received valuable life skills. Training and mentoring these girls has been one of her most rewarding accomplishments. Currently, Vicki instructs jazz and tap dance classes for children of all ages, at the OC Jackson Campus, in cooperation with Oregon City Community Schools. Vicki is an original co-founder, choreographer, and director for Krayon Kids Musical Theatre Company and The Elite Travel Troupe.
Yvonne Peebles began performance training over thirty years ago. Although her early training was in dance, her vocal talents were soon discovered while performing with a local cabaret ensemble. Her dance and vocal abilities have been utilized in many productions in the Portland area. Yvonne was one of several artists invited to audition the first Krayon Kids Company in 1993. She directs all aspects of vocal solos, group and production performances. Yvonne is indispensable as a Krayon Kids director for everything from costuming and choreography to hanging shelves. She is a Krayon Kids Ambassador, and through her own motivations, discipline and respect for each and every performer, she sets an example as music and vocal director for both the Krayon Kids Musical Theatre Company and The Elite Travel Troupe. She accompanied The Elite Travel Troupe to Kauai, Hawaii, for the second time in August of 2002, and coordinated their performance at the Asia-Pacific Theater Festival in Toyama, Japan, the 9th World Festival of Children's Theater in Lingen, Germany in July of 2006 and Aberdeen, Scotland over the summer of 2011!
Kamala Skipper is a P.E. teacher at David Douglas High School. She is a graduate of the University of Oregon where she competed in Track & Field as a Heptathlete. Kamala grew up as a competitive gymnast and dancer, performing in pageants, Oregon Symphony shows, and local productions. She travel extensively as a solo dancer for the New Oregon Singers. She is a “Vicki Mills” dance product and has been a part of the KK family with Yvonne, Vicki, and Dianne (Mom) for over 20 years. Kamala works in every aspect of the show process, including the Elite Travel Troupe, and has been on board since Krayon Kids inception in 1993. She enjoys spending the time with her daughter Kadyn, who is a member of the fall cast and The Elite Travel Troupe.
Taylor Miller has been a part of the Krayon Kids family for twelve years, performing for six of those years and now acting as a director. He was also fortunate enough to travel throughout Germany, Japan, and Scotland with the Elite Travel Troupe between 2006 and 2011. Taylor continues to pursue his dreams in theater by performing in local theater companies in the Portland-Metro area throughout the year. Taylor currently attends Marylhurst University pursuing a degree in Communications and Advocacy. Krayon Kids taught Taylor how to find his passion and properly grace the stage, and that is what he hopes to instill in the children performing as Krayon Kids now and in the future.
Suzy Setterholm is a teacher at Madison High School. She is involved in every aspect of Krayon kids, from script writing to backstage work. Suzy offers strong dedication to assisting our cast on their acting abilities and working with them to “get into character”. She has been an assistant director since Krayon kids began in 1993 and has helped write both for the original plays and the Elite Travel Troupe. Suzy has a life-long love of theater and believes it makes a real difference in children’s lives. Behind the scenes at EVERY performance, Suzy manages the cast backstage, and keeps the show moving. Suzy is also a professional photographer and has provided Krayon Kids her services for many years. Our families have extensive, professional images of their children in the costuming and characters, an our image archives and our website are filled with her amazing work. Suzy is truly an invaluable resource we could not do without!