Creative Arts Theatre Team

Meg Heimstead has worked in theatre as an actress, director, teacher, and arts administrator for over 20 years. She has been the supervisor at Creative Arts Theatre since 2015. Prior to coming to Creative Arts, she served as the director of education and the interim artistic director at American Stage in St. Petersburg, FL. Meg has directed over 25 theatre for young audiences’ productions, including Rapunzel, The Ugly Duckling, and The Little Mermaid for Creative Arts. As a teaching artist, she has specialized in working with at-risk and underserved youth, believing that a quality arts education should be accessible to all. As an actress, Meg was last seen in A Simple Theatre’s production of Good Egg where she earned a Theatre Tampa Bay Award nomination for Best Actress. Prior to that, she performed in freeFall Theatre’s productions of In the Next Room, Miss Julie and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the world premiere production of Congratulations, Joe! at A Simple Theatre, and August: Osage County at American Stage. In 2010 Meg was named the Most Consistently Surprising Actress by Creative Loafing Tampa. Meg holds a BFA in Performance from the University of Evansville in Evansville, IN. She also attended the Professional Actor Training Program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 

Christan McLaurine is a native of Nashville, Tenn., and received his degree in Theatre and Dance from Middle Tennessee State University. He served as the education coordinator at Hattiloo Theatre in Memphis, Tennessee where he oversaw youth theatre programs in schools. He also served as the artistic director for the city of Memphis’ MPLOY summer program, which gave young people the opportunity to work various jobs in theatre by creating/performing multiple shows. As a traveling teaching artist for The Rev (Auburn, New York) and New Stage Theatre (Jackson, Mississippi), he was able to bring performing arts to schools and communities throughout their respective regions. Some of his favorite Creative Arts Theatre productions include Twinkle, Tinkle Little Star, The Case of the Missing Fables, The Magic Fish, and The Buzz. He works as a performer, director, and choreographer for community theaters throughout Tampa.

Justine Nelson is a local from St. Petersburg, and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Some of her favorite performance moments across the US include Into the Woods (ZACH Theatre), Beauty and the Beast (American Stage), The Little Mermaid/ Thicks as Thieves: An Original Musical Melodrama (Pickleville Playhouse), The Secret Garden (Central Florida Vocal Arts), and The World According to Snoopy (Think Tank TYA at Stageworks). She fell in love with teaching private voice to young adults and is so excited to be serving the community she grew up in. At Creative Arts Theatre she hopes to continue to be a mentor for young artists helping them grow into multifaceted, caring, imaginative adults through a curriculum that is nurturing and fun.

Cara Percoco is an actress and theatre artist from Orlando, who has been performing since the age of 10. She is a graduate of The University of Tampa, holding a B.A. in Theatre and a B.A. in Communication & Media Studies. Some of her performance credits in Tampa include Talking With (Twirler) at Stageworks Theatre, Conspiracy of Silence (Brogie) at Powerstories Theatre, and Boeing, Boeing (Gretchen) at The University of Tampa. Cara has also performed as a cast member with The Dinner Detective and worked as an atmospheric performer for ZooTampa’s seasonal events. Beyond the stage, Cara has acted in short films and commercials in Central Florida. She directed Horse Girls with Alpha Psi Omega at The University of Tampa and has experience as both a stage manager and crew member. In addition, she has three years of experience as an acting coach, working with students ages 6 to adult on scene work, monologues, and audition techniques to help them grow as performers.

Ashley Whiting works as a performer, writer, and voice actress on (and off) stage and screen. She made a career in entertainment as an animation and online content producer in Los Angeles, transitioned to musicals, and landed at Creative Arts Theatre (CAT) after bicycle touring around Florida with the Agile Rascal Bicycle Touring Theatre. Since joining CAT, Ashley has performed in 11 shows, designed sound for 9, costumed 6, designed sets for 4, written 2, and directed The Magic Fish in 2024. She earned a BFA in Writing for Film and TV from Emerson College, trained in musical improv at The Magnet Theatre in NYC and created ESL (English as a Second Language) theatrical experiences at English Musicals Korea. Ashley is also the voice of many animated characters in the Cardioville and Star Stuff Stories universes.