While its founders are leaving the area, a longtime State College children’s musical theater program will continue under the direction of a former student.
Leah Mueller and her husband, Jared Yarnall-Schane, are taking the helm of Singing Onstage as founding owners Heidi and Richard Biever and their daughters prepare to move to Kansas this summer.
“It’s just a dream come true,” Mueller said in a press release. “Jared and I are so excited to move back to State College to run Singing Onstage. We are so honored that Heidi and Richard have entrusted us with the program.”
The Bievers founded the South Pugh Street studio in 2003. Richard Biever, who is also and State College borough councilman and will be stepping down from that position in June, is joining the Wichita State University musical theater faculty and Heidi Biever will be a teaching artist in conjunction with Music Theatre Wichita.
Mueller participated in Singing Onstage’s first summer camp production “Dear Edwina,” and went on to perform with the studio through high school. She subsequently appeared in a number of local shows, including lead roles with FUSE Productions, the theater company founded by Richard Biever.
She earned a music education degree with an emphasis on choral/voice from Penn State and a masters in theater studies from University of London’s Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. She has had 10 years of teaching experience ranging from pre-K to six her current college-level classes at Indiana University, where she has been a candidate for a master of fine arts in acting.
Mueller spent six years as State College Area School District’s Delta Program Middle School performing arts teacher, directing the program’s musicals, plays and choral and band concerts.
“Singing Onstage has long provided a creative outlet for the children in our community to perform, gain confidence and build social skills —- all in a nurturing environment,” Delta Middle School teacher David Rockower said. “I can think of no one better suited to lead this program than Leah Mueller. I taught alongside Leah for six years and had the privilege of witnessing her ability to connect with every student in her classes. Each year, she led students to find joy in performance. Leah lifts those around her in a way that makes them feel as though anything is possible. Singing Onstage is in good hands.”
As Mueller finishes her MFA program at Indiana, she will hire teachers for fall and spring classes at Singing Onstage. Yarnall-Schane, a Penn State graduate who is currently director of innovation for the Biomimicry Institute, and their dog, Rio, will live in the home above the Pugh Street studio and Mueller will join them in summer 2023, when she also will begin teaching.
Heidi Biever said it was difficult to leave the studio behind but that Mueller was the answer they were looking for.
“It was really hard to even imagine us leaving,” Biever said. “For Rich and I to say yes to this incredible new opportunity, we had to see that certain things were in place to feel comfortable ending this chapter. Principally, finding the right people to care for and nurture the students and families of Singing Onstage. It felt utterly perfect to have such a highly qualified former Singing Onstage student take over who’s deeply connected to our community, already so beloved as a former teacher at the Delta Middle School, and has the enthusiasm and support of her husband and family.”
Penn State acting student John Michael Rosenblum, who Mueller directed in Delta productions, attested to her skills .
“She brings joy to the room but also a sense of professionalism, setting a good example for her classes, and she teaches you to be collaborative,” he said. “Looking back, I know she helped me maintain a love for theater during a formative period in my life by being patient, understanding, and caring, helping me grow as an actor and a person.”
