Laura Beeman Nugent, helped co-found the Shreveport Little Theater Academy in 2007 and has served as choreographer since its inception. In 2011, Laura began her position as Academy Administrator and director/choreographer for the Academy and in 2014 as Academy Artistic Director. Ms. Beeman has directed numerous shows for SLTA including Pinkalicious, Dora the Explorer!, Legally Blonde, and Cinderella. She began directing for the Shreveport Little Theatre Summer MainStage Musical in 2011 with her Master's Thesis Project Ancient Greek Theatrical Techniques and their Influence in Modern Musicals that culminated in a hit run of Little Shop of Horrors. Since then, Laura has directed and choreographed Shrek the Musical, Chicago, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Memphis the Musical.
Laura holds her Associate of the Arts degree with a concentration in Theatre from Bossier Parish Community College, a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts with a concentration in Theatre from Louisiana Tech University. She also holds her Master of Liberal Arts with 18 graduate hours in Theatre from Louisiana State University in Shreveport.
Laura started her dance training in the Shreveport-Bossier area at the age of three. She continued to study dance well into her young adult years, studying under Frank Vega and Aaron Girlinghouse at Dance Arts Studio in Shreveport, where she was a member of DAS Danzers, the company dance troupe. In addition to her dance training, she has appeared on many stages throughout the North Louisiana area playing some of her favorite characters including, but not limited to Amy in Company, Honey in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Matron in Hairspray, Eunice in A Street Car Named Desire, and various characters in Parallel Lives.
Educationally, Laura teaches Introduction to Dance for the Stage and Intermediate Dance for the Stage for Bossier Parish Community College. She also teaches Theatre and Film Production at a high school in Shreveport. Previously, she served as a Tour Actor and Director for the Missoula Children’s Theatre Company, a touring company specializing in theatre for children. She has also been the company choreographer for Canterbury Summer Theatre, near Chicago, as well as a choreographer for productions at Shreveport Little Theatre, Bossier Parish Community College, and the Performing Arts Center.