TINA REYNOLDS

FOUNDER & CEO

Tina Reynolds is the Founder and CEO of Ovation Academy for the Performing Arts, an award-winning performing arts academy dedicated to building confidence, character, and community through the transformative power of the arts. Under Tina’s leadership, Ovation has grown to serve over 1200 students each year, produce 20 musicals annually, and engage thousands of audience members from across the region. With a team of more than 30 dynamic instructors, directors, and creatives, Ovation has become a thriving hub where artistry, excellence, and joy meet.

Tina’s vision is rooted in a simple belief — that every child deserves access to high-quality arts education. Through Ovation’s programs, students discover their voices, build lifelong skills, and learn to lead with creativity, confidence, and collaboration. Ovation’s mission is to provide exceptional training in the performing arts, to inspire and educate through music, theater, and dance, and to enrich the community through the highest caliber of artistic expression.

In addition to her work with Ovation, Tina is the creator and Artistic Director of BRAVO Performing Arts at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School in Oak Park — a nationally recognized, award-winning program that has earned Outstanding Production Awards at the Junior Theater Festival for over sixteen years. She is also the Artistic Director and Chairman of the Board at Madison Street Theater, which she revitalized in 2019 as a home for Ovation and a welcoming space for community arts programming accessible to all.

A director of nearly 100 productions, Tina has collaborated with Music Theatre International, iTheatrics, and Theatrical Rights Worldwide to pilot more than 25 world-premiere youth adaptations, including Frozen JR, Moana JR, Matilda JR, Fame, Legally Blonde JR, and West Side Story. In 2010, she received the inaugural Freddie G Director’s Award at the International Junior Theater Festival.

Tina holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from California State University, Fullerton. She toured internationally with The Young Americans, performed throughout Chicago, and continues to share her love of performance as a singer, musician, and writer.

Over her three-decade career, Tina has inspired thousands of students — many of whom now perform on Broadway, in film and television, and on stages across the world. Her unwavering passion for education and the arts continues to drive Ovation’s mission to empower young artists and enrich the cultural fabric of the community.

ROLES AT OVATION:

• Artistic Director
• Musical Theater Performance Coach