Meet our teaching artists
Molly Kempfer
Molly Kempfer is a local actor, educator, and director who delights in passing on her passion for theatre to the next generation.he has worked with companies such as Forward Theatre Company, Children's Theatre of Madison, and Acacia Theatre. She is also an associate artist with Forte Theatre Company and is thrilled to be joining their education team.
Riley Luettgen
Riley is an actor, pianist, and private music teacher in the Milwaukee area. Some of her favorite roles include Ariel (THE LITTLE MERMAID), Val (A CHORUS LINE), and Gertrude McFuzz (SEUSSICAL). She is thrilled with the opportunity to share her love of music and theatre! When not performing or teaching, you can find Riley cuddling with her cats (Newton and Curie) or crocheting.
Hope Riesterer
Hope Riesterer trained with Milwaukee Ballet and First Stage’s Young Company before earning her BFA in Musical Theatre and Dance minor from UW-Milwaukee. She’s performed professionally and choreographed for theatre, competitive dance, and schools. After years of teaching and gigging, she’s thrilled to call Forte Theatre School her artistic home.
Vanessa Schroeder -Weber
Celebrated for her “beautiful, versatile voice” and “dominating stage prowess”, Vanessa is an
accomplished music theatre performer and music director. Her ability to sing in styles ranging from popular music to musical theatre standards to classical repertoire make her a force to be reckoned with. She holds a BA from Carthage College in Music Theatre (2009) and a MM in Vocal Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2018).
Education Director, Brenda Dodge
Brenda Dodge is a children’s theatre director, producer and teaching artist. For over 20 years, she has worked with public and private schools, community centers, youth theaters, summer camp programs and park districts to create quality theatre education programs for students of all ages. Brenda is also a professional actress who has worked in theatre, commercials and television throughout the Midwest and Southern California. In addition to co-founding Forte Theatre Company, Brenda founded Character Kids, a children’s theater company that provides after school theater classes to elementary schools and advocates for arts in education. In 2023, she published a book of the same name that provides creative drama game ideas that build social and emotional skills in their students. Brenda has a degree in Theatre, with a minor in mass communication, from Illinois State University. She resides in Franklin, WI with her husband and two children.