MET2 - Key Persons
Alison has a varied background in the performing arts that includes performing, teaching, directing, choreographing, producing, and theatrical administration. For over twenty years, Alison has been working with MET2 and its founder Alex H. Urban as a director, choreographer, and educator. In that time, she has directed and choreographed Peter Pan (National Youth Arts-NYA Award for Outstanding Direction of a Musical and Outstanding Production, nominated for Outstanding Choreography), Big River (NYA Award for Outstanding Direction of a Musical, nominated for Outstanding Choreography), Seussical (NYA Award for Outstanding Direction of a Musical and Outstanding Production, nominated for Outstanding Choreography), Annie (NYA Award for Outstanding Direction of a Musical and Outstanding Production, nominated for Outstanding Choreography), The Little Mermaid, Jr. (nominated for NYA for Outstanding Direction and Production), The Music Man, Jr. (nominated for NYA for Outstanding Direction), The Wizard of Oz, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, High School Musical, Grease, The Sound of Music, Beauty and the Beast, Bye Bye Birdie, A Christmas Carol, and The Secret Garden. Alison also had the exciting opportunity to choreograph or assist on the company's international programs with such shows as West Side Story and Grease in Moscow, Beauty and the Beast in Paris, and Peter Pan in Sydney.
Alison graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre from Boston's Emerson College. In addition to performing and choreographing at the college, she produced such productions as Company, Fame, and Wonderful Town. She is featured in "Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities." After living in New York for a few years, Alison went back to school and received her M.F.A. in Musical Theatre from San Diego State University, one of only two such programs in the country, where she graduated with honors. Her studies at SDSU also took her abroad, where she briefly studied at the Artisten School of Theatre, Opera, and Musical Theatre at Gothenberg University in Sweden.
As a performer, some of Alison's favorite roles have been "Fricka/Erda/Needa" in Das Barbecu at San Diego's Theatre in Old Town, "Mary Flynn" in Merrily We Roll Along, "Celeste" in Sondheim's Saturday Night, "Lisa the Homeless Lady" in A New Brain, "Miss Hannigan" in Annie, "Rizzo" in Grease, "The Old Lady" in Candide, "Mazeppa" in Gypsy, "Cassie" in A Chorus Line, "Young Sophie" in Sophie: The Red Hot Mama at the Kravis Center for Performing Arts in Florida, and the "Narrator" in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in New Zealand.
In addition to performing, Alison was also an assistant agent at a leading New York talent agency. She has choreographed A New Brain, Honk! (KPBS Patté Award winning production), Bat Boy, The Musical, A Man of No Importance, Zombie Prom, and In the Beginning (all for SDSU's M.F.A. Musical Theatre program), in addition to Leading Ladies and No Way to Treat a Lady (North Coast Repertory Theatre), Camp Wattabunchaphun (a children's musical film), and online educational projects for ABC Mouse/Age of Learning. Alison also directed A…My Name Will Always Be Alice (The Coronado Playhouse) and assistant directed Too Old for the Chorus (Theatre in Old Town) and Baby (North Coast Repertory Theatre). Additional choreography credits include productions of The Boys from Syracuse, Little Shop of Horrors, Once on this Island, A Chorus Line, and numerous revues. She was the assistant choreographer for productions of Gypsy and Fame at Emerson College, The Root Beer Bandits at the Falcon Theatre, and Tarnish, a new rock musical that premiered at the New York International Fringe Festival.
For five years Alison was also the Co-Lead Teacher at Emerson College's Musical Theatre Pre-College Summer Studio Program for high school juniors and seniors. There she developed and implemented a new curriculum for the summer intensive that attracted talented and competitive high school students from all over the world. She has also taught acting at Grossmont College and San Diego State University, various musical theatre master classes throughout Southern California (favorites being at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, Chime Charter School, and the Drama Teachers Association of Southern California Festival), musical theatre dance styles at SDSU's M.F.A. program, as well as private coaching and college counseling for those interested in pursuing a career in the performing arts. In recent years, Alison traveled back to Moscow to visit the Slavic-Anglo-American "Marina" School. While there she spent a week teaching a series of theatre workshops to students ranging from 1st to 11th grade. She was also a guest judge and master class teacher at the 10th Annual Shakespeare Festival, where thirty-six schools from all over Russia and Latvia competed.
Alison hopes to continue working on, and eventually publish, her thesis, Musical Theatre Dance Styles: Combining Scholarly and Practical Pedagogy. A proud member of Actors Equity Association, Americans for the Arts, the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, the National Dance Education Organization, the Educational Theatre Association, the American Alliance for Theatre and Education, and Phi Kappa Phi (an international honors society), Alison is also a recipient of the Marion Ross Teaching Fellowship and the Carol Burnett Award for Performing Arts.
Alison is incredibly passionate about arts education and helping young people realize their fullest potential, both onstage and off. She is thrilled and honored to carry on Mr. Urban's legacy as MET2's Artistic Director.
Hannah Bourasa has been with MET2 for over fifteen years. She started performing in kindergarten and grew up in the company as a cast member and student over several years. Once she got to high school, she joined the Student Teaching Volunteer Program. Eventually, she was offered a permanent position as Staff Director. Hannah has won National Youth Arts Awards as Outstanding Featured Actress for her performance as "Zanetta" in The Music Man and Outstanding Supporting Actress as "Miss Hannigan" in Annie.
Along with theatre, Hannah spent many years participating in cheerleading. She started off in Pop Warner, going on to win the 2010 JAMZ nationals with her team, the Marauders. She then proceeded to serve as captain of the freshman cheer squad during high school. Hannah spent the next three years on the varsity cheer squad at Mount Carmel High School, eventually becoming captain during her senior year. After graduation, Hannah went on to join the Palomar College Cheer Team, who placed first at USA Nationals in Anaheim, CA and sixth at the NCA Nationals in Daytona, FL. Hannah hopes to one day become a cheer coach for a school or a professional cheer company, such as JAMZ or NCA.
Hannah loves working under stressful and fast paced circumstances, so she thought the field of paramedicine would be a perfect fit for her. Hannah recently completed the EMT Program at Palomar College. She hopes to secure a job as an EMT and then go on to be a paramedic and firefighter. Hannah is then hoping to have a career as a nurse in the ER or Burn Unit.
Jeremy Robinson is a pianist, guitarist, composer, and music producer in Los Angeles. Jeremy has been playing the piano since the age of six and has traveled the world performing in various groups from orchestras to rock bands. He received his B.A. in music with an emphasis in piano performance from Columbia Union College in Washington, DC and is currently earning the Film Scoring Certificate at UCLA Extension.
As a music director, Jeremy has played for many theatrical productions including My Fair Lady, Grease, All Shook Up, My Way (A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra), Damn Yankees, Shout! The Mod Musical, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Bye Bye Birdie, and Seussical. When not at the theater, he can be found in the studio composing and producing music for various artists and songwriters.
Jeremy is thrilled to be a part of the MET2 team as Musical Director and is eager to share his knowledge and love of music for many shows to come!
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- President
- Producer
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Theatre Consultant
Founder Alex H. Urban sadly passed away in 2007 at the age of 65. Mr. Urban was known throughout California and the nation for his work in the fields of creative drama and theatre for young people. An educator with lifetime teaching credentials in grades K-12 in both California and Illinois, he had over thirty years of classroom teaching experience.
Mr. Urban published extensively in the areas of educational theatre and human relations with Harcourt, Brace, and Jovanovich (HBJ), Encyclopedia Britannica Educational Corporation, and Combined Educational Motivation Systems. Holding Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Illinois in music, psychology, and theatre, he had also completed extensive post-graduate work and was to begin work for his Doctorate at Columbia University in New York. Additionally, he served on the faculties of the University of Illinois, the University of Connecticut, and the California State University system. His educational programs, "The Most Important Person" and "On Stage: Wally, Bertha and You" were adopted for use in schools in many states, including California. Additional publications included "The Creative Drama Kit" and "Self-Expression and Conduct in the Humanities: The Dance/Drama Kit". They reflect his philosophy of directing which strives to make each young person develop greater self-confidence as well as enhance musical, dramatic, and dance skills.
As Artistic Director for the company, Mr. Urban operated children's theatres throughout California, directing and teaching in Napa, Sacramento, Vallejo, Solano, Vacaville, Sonoma, Marin, Contra Costa, Orange County, San Fernando Valley, San Diego, Torrance/South Bay, Lancaster, Valencia, East San Gabriel Valley, San Francisco, as well as New York. Additionally, Mr. Urban directed international programs in Australia, New Zealand, Moscow, Paris, and London. His teaching experience included close to forty years as a teacher, administrator, counselor, and program development specialist, including eleven years as the Chairman of the Fine Arts Department for Justin-Siena High School, a college preparatory in the Napa Valley where he taught Theatre Arts and English.
Mr. Urban held positions in some of the most prestigious schools in the United States and had been honored by the National Parent-Teacher Association's "Who's Who in American Education," as well as Honorary Life Membership to the California Congress of Parents and Teachers. He was also given awards by the Danforth and Fulbright Foundations and the National Council of Teachers of English. His children's theatres have received extensive press attention over the years, as well as official proclamations from the State of California. Mr. Urban's proudest accomplishments however were the wonderful successes of many of his favorite students and alumni of his program, whether it be in the field of performing arts or otherwise. At the time of his death, he was a private consultant, resource teacher, Artistic Director for Auckland, New Zealand's Children's Musical Theatre, and Artistic Director for MET2.
Over 600 students and parents attended his memorial. Thanks to the internet, MET2 and his widow, Kathie Urban, still receive phone calls and emails from students around the world, some from over thirty years ago, saying how instrumental and memorable Mr. Urban was in their education, not only as performing artists, but human beings. There is currently a scholarship set up in his name at Justin-Siena High School, where he once had a street named after him, and with MET2 for graduating seniors who plan on pursuing a career in the performing arts. Shortly after his death, Mr. Urban's lifelong contribution to educating young people in the arts was acknowledged by the Life Through Arts Foundation. Then in 2014, National Youth Arts posthumously awarded him the first honor for Lifetime Contribution to Youth Theatre, along with his wife and business partner Kathie Urban.
Carl Rogers, a psychologist, inspired some of Mr. Urban's theories on children, education, and creative dramatics. One of Rogers' quotes was often found in many of Mr. Urban's journals: "People are just as wonderful as sunsets if you let them be. You don't try to control a sunset. You watch it with awe as it unfolds; and I like myself best when appreciating the unfolding of a life." In one of his earlier publications, Alex H. Urban stated his goal in creative education was to inspire students "to reach out, to dare, to dream, to touch other's lives, to begin the struggle of finding out what is right and what is wrong, where they are going, and what they are becoming." The current staff of MET2 is dedicated to carrying on his philosophy and vision.
Mr. Alex H. Urban, the organization's founder, has designed a program which provides children with high quality creative learning experiences in the theatre arts. These experiences contribute to personal growth and self-confidence, stimulate interest in others, encourage meaningful group relationships, and strengthen skills in listening, speaking, observation, and body coordination. The program builds on children's vast natural abilities by asking them to use their creative energies and imaginations.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director
- Seth Bowling Associate Director
Seth Bowling became the Associate Director of MET2 in 2015. His co-directing credits include MET2's State Repertory Company's productions of West Side Story (National Youth Arts nominated for both Outstanding Production and Direction) and Les Misérables (National Youth Arts nominated for Outstanding Production). Additional associate director credits include productions of Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, Seussical!, The Music Man, The Wizard of Oz, Beauty and the Beast, Big River, Shrek, The Sound of Music, Peter Pan, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
As an actor, Seth played the "Bishop" and "Thenardier" in the national tour of Les Misérables. Seth also traveled to China and Korea where he performed in the show's premiere productions with the original "Jean Valjean," Colm Wilkinson.
He was in the original cast of the Off-Broadway musical Summer, with Tony Award Winner Laura Benanti. Over the years, he has performed with Tony Award winners Sutton Foster, Jason Alexander, and Karen Olivo. Other credits include "Mendel" in Falsettos, "Smudge" in Forever Plaid, and "John" in john and jen. Seth holds a BFA in Musical Theater from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.