Christopher Zelko, born and bred in Houston, TX holds a degree in musical theatre and psychology from Sam Houston State University with a minor in music. Since 1990, Christopher has been pursuing his career in many art forms including musical theatre, film, television, modeling, dance, and radio. Some of his favorite moments include performing at Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall in New York, performing at BATS Theatre in New Zealand, and singing at the St. Paul's Cathedral in London, England.
Christopher is a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio (AFTRA). Some of his movie and television credits include: Spider-Man 3 (playing opposite of Kirsten Dunst), Dancing In Twilight (with Mimi Rogers and Louise Fletcher), Rebound (with Martin Lawrence), Yours, Mine, and Ours (with Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo), and the television hits: Medium, Judging Amy, J.A.G., and Medical Investigation. After returning to Houston after 3 years from Los Angeles, CA, Christopher was called back to the stage and was last seen in the Broadway blockbuster, “Side Show” as Buddy. Some of his other theatrical credits include: “West Side Story” (Tony), “Forever Plaid” (Jinx), “Brigadoon” (Charlie), “A Chorus Line” (Al), “Little Shop Of Horrors” (Seymour), “Assassins” (Balladeer), “Oklahoma” (Curly), “Fiddler On The Roof” (Motel), “The King And I” (Lun Tha), and “The Secret Garden” (Dr. Neville Craven).
He would like to thank God, his family, and Jennifer
Debs-Tankersley for the opportunity to be a part of The Talent Quest.
A native to Florida Jill Gruby starting training at the age of four and has been dancing ever since.
Jill grew up performing all around the greater Orlando area, taking advantage of all the entertainment opportunities around her. She started working professionally at a young age for places such as Disney, Universal, and fulfilling a dream by winning the $100,000 grand prize with her dance group on Star Search.
She began her full time professional career working for Gaylord Productions in Nashville, TN, and performed many years at Opryland and other venues they offered in great places like Colorado and The Smoky Mountains.
Jill returned to her roots in the Central Florida area dancing and singing in a variety of shows for Disney and Universal. She also has done freelance convention work and industrials as well as touring the states as a back up dancer for a pop dance artist.
Most recently she was assistant choreographer for the 2006 ABC Disney Christmas Special and is actively freelancing around Florida.
Currently Jill has taken on the most important role of her life as a mom.
She is very excited to be a part of The Talent Quest and
looking forward to seeing
lots of great talent!
Pedro Tomás is Cuban born and grew up in the New York City area in West New York, NJ. Pedro attended NYU and Fordham Universities as a Theatre student and took dance classes from various dance studios in NY while attending college there. He left NY to go work at Opryland USA in Nashville as a singer/dancer where he also gigged at the Barn Dinner Theatre, the Nashville Opera and was involved in music videos as a dancer.
In 1983, Pedro landed a backup singer/dancer spot with
Louise Mandrell and worked with her for 22 years. He later became her
Director/Choreographer until her retirement at the end of 2005. Also,
in 1991, he became a cast member of the “New Hee Haw” television
series with producer Sam Lovullo.
Pedro attended Walter State Community College where he got his Associates
Degree in General Studies and where he currently teaches a class in Performance.
He is also Associate Producer for the Hoot N’ Holler Dinner Show
at the WonderWorks attraction in Pigeon Forge and is now a Senior at The
University of TN / Knoxville as a Theatre and Spanish Major.
His CBT debut was in Big River in which he played Judge Thatcher in the
Spring of 2006. In the Fall of the same year he played nine roles in The
Laramie Project including Moises Kaufman, Rob Debree, John Peacock and
others. His last show was the portrayal of Giusseppe Zangara in the musical
Assassins at The Clarence Brown Theatre at the University of TN.
Pedro is also a member of the Phi Kappa Phi and Sigma Delta Pi honor societies.
Jennifer has been in the entertainment industry performing across the country and abroad for over twenty-five years. She has worked in a variety of venues from cruise ships and theme parks to dinner theaters and summer stock. Jennifer was last seen on stage in East Tennessee as a singer, dancer in the Louise Mandrell Show.
She has worked professionally as a singer, a dancer and an actress. She also has taught performing arts at the college level.
Jennifer is happily married with a two-year-old
daughter and another baby girl on the way. Although she is not performing
anymore, she is thrilled to keep her hand in the industry working behind
the scenes.
Some of his Broadway credits include: “Miss Saigon” (starring Lea Salonga), “Beauty And The Beast,” and “CATS.” His National tours include: “Footloose,” Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Seussical,” and “The Wizard Of Oz.” Off the stage and on to the Big Screen, some of Drew's movie credits include: “The Stepford Wives” (starring Nicole Kidman and Glen Close) and “The Producers” (starring Nathan Lane and Uma Therman).
Drew would like to take this opportunity to thank
Jennifer Debs-Tankersley for this amazing opportunity.
After completing school, she returned to Florida where she worked at
Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay and covered all female-performing parts through
out the park.
Jennifer has also worked as a singer/dancer on cruise ships from Regency
and Sea Escape to her favorite, Royal Caribbean.
From Florida Jennifer moved to Tennessee to open the Louise Mandrell Theater where she performed for over 8 years.
Jennifer still resides in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. She is looking forward to being apart of The Talent Quest.
After many years of dancing and singing in industrial and cruise ship productions, Rob hit NYC where he landed roles in the Midwestern premiere of Guys & Dolls (revival), La Cage aux Folles (Albin), and most notably, 4 years with the National and North American Tours of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat starring Deborah Gibson, Patrick Cassidy, the Osmonds, and the Little Mermaid herself, Jodi Benson.
Regional productions include Grease, Godspell, The Rink, Shenandoah, Baby, State Fair, The Robber Bridegroom, and Joseph at The Papermill Playhouse, to name a few. He also had the great privilege to be a featured singer in An Evening with Luci Arnaz along with the New Orleans Big Band Orchestra.
He now resides in Nashville where he continues to perform in various capacities from musicals and workshops, to piano bars and gospel shows. Rob is a proud member of Actor's Equity and encourages anyone with the dream of becoming an artist, to do so with gusto. It is the best life!
Alex Cheney grew up in Newport News, Virginia and holds
a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance from James Madison University.
He began his professional performing career in 1995 at Busch Gardens in
Williamsburg, Virginia, where he performed off and on through 2001.
His professional career has taken him on many adventures.
He has performed in the Smoky Mountains for Opryland Productions and Louise
Mandrell, in "Jubilee!" at Bally's Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas,
and while sailing with Holland America Line.
Alex currently resides in Los Angeles, California where he works as a
Production Manager for Stiletto Entertainment and Holland America Line.
He is very excited to join The Talent Quest team as a judge.