Sonia lee garber
Drama and Art Instructor
Sonia Lee Garber has many years of experience working with children ages 5-17.
She has been with Antonia Arts for 5+ years providing fun and educational programs for children and teens.
Garber has an A.A.S. from Westchester Community College in Visual and Performing Arts, and a B.S. in Communications with a Minor in Theater and Performance from SUNY Purchase, NY.
Some of the drama classes she has taught for Antonia Arts include Shakespeare for Kids and The Stanislavski Acting Method for Kids. Garber also enjoys doing Improvisation, and Drama Games and Activities with children and teens.
Garber's drama classes culminate in performances by the students for family and friends, so that the students can feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. Garber writes plays and also uses written works and children's books, both original and/or adapted for the stage.
Garber's art classes seek to teach children and teens the five basic elements ofd art: color, line, shape, form, and texture in a fun and loose yet structured way. The art classes end with an art exhibit, sometimes in conjunction with theatrical performances.
ELISE MAURINE MILNER
Acting/Creative Writing/Workshop instructor
ELISE MAURINE MILNER, CEO/Founder of Hanging Cow Productions is first a writer, then a producer and a director, occasionally an actress, always a comedienne, and also a teacher and an artistic entrepreneur. She began her humble creative endeavors in small town, rural, Virginia City, Nevada with a population of just 600 people. After conquering small town community theater production in high school and college, Elise went on to study writing, acting, theatre/TV production, and broadcasting for 3 years in San Francisco and for 5 years in Los Angeles. She has worked diligently and ambitiously in every aspect of the entertainment industry from performing on stage and on television and film, to being a disc jockey and news producer for KGLE/KPTL Radio (West Coast) and helped launch and develop a television pilot for Universal Studios, Hollywood. When she came to New York City in 1999 she started her own production company ("Hanging Cow Productions") and began writing and producing her own work full time. Elise is completely self-made and started her company with 22 cents in the bank, and with no investors or trust funds, she personally raises the funds for each and every one of her productions she produces. She is self-taught in graphic and web design and many other theatrical business skills so she could live her dream on a minimal budget! Her first full scale, Off Off Broadway, holiday parody production, was produced in 2002. After her first taste of production success, she then continued prolifically writing/producing/directing firstly, audience interactive, regional dinner theater shows. You may have heard of or seen the shows, “Who Killed Mama Souprano?” “Greased Lightning a 25 Year Comedy High School Reunion,” “My Big Fat Geek Wedding,” and “The Agagamy Award Show” performing around the NY/tri state area through 2010.
In 2014, Elise began writing/producing more traditionally staged work for Off Broadway. Her exciting and successfully all produced repertoire of plays include “The Sixth Session,” “The Answers to Apathy,” “Angels Among Us,” “All Because of Infidelity,” “An Awkward Inheritance,” "Ascension Underground," “The Accidental Awakening,” and “12 Steps the Musical!” Elise has received critical acclaim from Tony award winning Broadway producer Hugh Hayes who called Elise “the real deal” and compared her to esteemed playwright Beth Henley (Crimes of the Heart.) Elise is also the founder of the Back Door to Broadway Bootcamp Production workshop series.
From rags to ramen and to one day riches, Elise is a true inspiration and community business leader whose passion and drive is unmatched by most, yet she is humbled and so grateful for every step and every person she has encountered along the way to help make her art a success.
Why the affection for livestock? Elise has also been an accomplished, 4-H leader and professional horsewoman since the age of 14, having ridden, trained, & shown horses for over 20 years in English & Western riding, jumping, and equitation. In her spare time she enjoys her amazing long time husband Chris Berlino, travel abroad, spirituality, and collecting 80’s memorabilia. She is currently an ice dancer in training, still horseback rides, and currently owns a horse named One Tall Sully she keeps in the Hudson Valley.
