About Met2 ~
Founder Alex H. Urban sadly passed away in 2007 at the age of 65. Mr. Urban was known throughout California and the nation for his work in the fields of creative drama and theatre for young people. An educator with lifetime teaching credentials in grades K-12 in both California and Illinois, he had over thirty years of classroom teaching experience.
As Artistic Director for the company, Mr. Urban operated his children's theatres and flew throughout California to direct and teach in Napa, Sacramento, Vallejo, Solano, Vacaville, Sonoma, Marin, Contra Costa, Orange County, San Fernando Valley, San Diego...
As the protégé of educator Alex H. Urban, Alison Bretches has a varied background in the performing arts that includes performing, teaching, directing, choreographing, producing, and theatrical administration. For over eighteen years, Alison has been working with MET2 and Alex H. Urban as a director, choreographer, and educator. In that time, she has directed and choreographed Big River (2008 National Youth Theatre Award for Best Director of a Musical), Beauty and the Beast, The Wizard of Oz, Bye Bye Birdie, A Christmas Carol and Peter Pan, as well as choreographed such shows as Annie, The Music Man, The Sound of Music, The Wiz and many others. Alison has also choreographed or assisted on the company’s international programs with such shows as West Side Story and Grease in Moscow, Beauty and the Beast in Paris, and Peter Pan in Sydney.
Alison graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre from Boston’s Emerson College. In addition to performing and choreographing at the college, she produced such productions as Company, Fame, and Wonderful Town. She is featured in Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities. Alison received her M.F.A. in Musical Theatre from San Diego State University, one of only three such programs in the country. Her studies at SDSU also took her abroad, where she briefly studied at the Artisten School of Theatre, Opera, and Musical Theatre at Gothenberg University in Sweden.
