About Us

Our mission is to make theater and music relevant for contemporary kids using innovative teaching methods.
Founded by professional teaching artists Lena Moy-Borgen and Elisa Winter, Play On! Studios is an exciting option for parents with creative kids who lead busy lives. Play On! Studios is committed to making exceptional theater and music opportunities accessible to everyone.

Play On! Studios is thrilled to be working with some of the best actor/musician/teaching-artists this city has to offer. In addition to having incredible experience and rapport with their students, all of our instructors continue to perform and take their art in exciting new directions, bringing an essential professional element to all classes and lessons.

Play On! Studios is proud to offer you classes with no hidden fees - we’ll never charge you for tickets for shows, costumes, program ads, snacks, videos or anything else that other programs ask for extra money for. Pay once, and that’s it.

Lena Moy-Borgen
Executive Director

Lena has been teaching drama and music since 1997. She started teaching in California with the Piedmont Children’s Theatre, where she was the Assistant Director until 2005. In that time, she received a BFA in theater from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Lena’s teaching experience is diverse: She has taught programs in clowning at Children’s Fairyland as well as self-defense for young women at Destiny Arts Center, both in Oakland, CA. Here in New York, she was a board member for Arts For All from 2007-2023. She was also a teaching artist for AFA from 2002-2015, where she taught various workshops in music and drama in local public schools. She wrote the curriculum for one of their flagship programs "Literacy Through the Arts" which is taught in multiple schools in NYC. She was the Co-Head of the Musical Theater program at Bank Street Summer camp from 2006-2010, as well as a teaching artist at the John Engeman Theater on Long Island until 2012. As a performer, Lena has appeared all over New York City on children’s performance tours, as well as prominent off-Broadway theaters such as the Signature Theater Company, the Public Theater, and PS122. She is also a cabaret artist who has performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Don't Tell Mama's, the Duplex and more spaces in NYC. She is a 3 time MAC award nominee and 7 time Broadway World Award nominee. See more at lenamoyborgen.com

Elisa Winter
Founding Director

In 2011 Elisa co-founded Play On! Studios, where she was able to build her incredible team of instructors and share her fresh perspective and energy with hundreds of students. In 2017 Play Music NYC was founded to take over all private music and acting lessons, group lessons, and Sing On! Children's Choir. Elisa is excited that, through Play Music NYC, more students will have the opportunity to experience this successful program. Head to Play Music NYC to learn more about it!

Emily Viega
Assistant Director

Emily has been teaching at Play On! Studios since 2014. She has lived in NYC for over 10 years and studied musical theater performance at the Institute for American Musical Theater. She has performed in many shows, such as Urinetown, Hair, and 9 to 5, and has sung at cabaret venues such as Don't Tell Mama's and 53 Above. In 2019 Emily directed a production of "Xanadu Jr." at The Gateway School. She has worked backstage on shows at New World Stages and the Actors Temple, and Assistant Stage Managed the Amas Musical Theater 50th Anniversary Gala in 2019.

Natalie Jones
Teaching Artist

Natalie Jones is a Kennedy Center-recognized theatre artist based in Astoria, Queens. A South Jersey native, Natalie first discovered her love for theatre as a shy five-year-old back in 1996 through the Our Gang Players, a community theatre group in her hometown, and she hasn’t stopped since! Since receiving her BA in Theatre (Performance) from Stockton University in 2013, Natalie has worked with numerous companies throughout New York and New Jersey as an actor, director, teaching artist, Equity stage manager, dialect coach, and more. Her theatre work has also brought her to places like Long Island, Chicago, and Greece (on two separate occasions)! In addition to Play On!, Natalie currently works as a teaching artist with Story Pirates, a nationally-renowned non-profit education/entertainment company; she also spent 6 years working for celebrated New York-based non-profit Broadway Bound Kids. She is very proud to be part of the Play On! Studios family and help share the joy of performing arts with students across NYC! www.nataliejdialects.com

Rebekah Holland
Teaching Artist

Rebekah is a singing teacher, music director, and actor from Raleigh, NC. She holds a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory in Classical Singing with a concentration in Opera. Rebekah loves to work with singers of all ages, helping them find the qualities that make their voices “theirs”. When she isn’t teaching or performing herself, Rebekah loves to cook and go for long walks around the city!

Josephine Rinehart-Jones
Teaching Artist

Jojo Jones is a writer and performer born and raised in New York City. She graduated from Hamilton College in 2020 with degrees in Literature and Theatre. Her work has been presented at The Tank and has been nominated for the Goldberg Prize and the Venturous Fellowship. She is a former Play On! Studios student and is so happy to join the team.

Ethan Smith-Cohen
Teaching Artist

Ethan Smith-Cohen is a music director, conductor, and pianist who started his journey in the Cleveland area and is now based in Brooklyn, NY. Recent shows he’s worked on include A Christmas Carol, R&H’s Cinderella, and Sweeney Todd. Ethan is super excited to work in a space that allows young kids to grow as actors and singers!