Meet The Team

FounderS

Dr. and Mrs. J Mack and Rebecca Slaughter

J Mack began learning the art of performing with his family singing group at the age of 3. J Mack’s father sang and played guitar, his two older sisters sang, and his mother was the “manager/sound engineer” despite having significant talent and training in percussion. Rebecca discovered her passion for ballet at six years old through the Gayle Corkery School of Ballet. It was on Fort Worth Country Day campus that Rebecca and J Mack initially met. Under the instruction of Gayle Corkery, Letitia Grey, Li Chou & Carrie Chang, Rebecca felt most herself when wearing pointe shoes and landing a tour jete on a marley floor. J Mack went on to be cast in various plays and musicals at Casa Mañana ranging from The Sound of Music to The Who’s Tommy. At twelve, Rebecca was accepted to her first intensive workshop with the Joffrey Ballet. This was followed by two summers and a winter term with the School of American Ballet in New York where she studied with Suki Schorer, Sheryl Ware, Peter Boyle, and the late Madame Tumskovsky.

At 15, J Mack auditioned for a boy band being put together on the Kidd Kraddick Morning Show. Although it was intended to simply be a radio bit, the group had serious potential and ended up opening for big acts like Bon Jovi, releasing a full length album, and touring with Beyonce’s group Destiny’s Child. Rebecca, at 15 years old, was one of 32 US ballerinas accepted to train with the Paris Opera Ballet in Vail, CO, where she performed La Bayadere at the renown summer festival at the Gerald Ford Amphitheater. J Mack followed the boy band wave to Los Angeles, where be intended to pursue a solo career with his songwriting and guitar playing, but ended up getting cast in multiple Warner Brothers television shows, including a starring role in a sitcom called Like Family that aired a full season. J Mack then went on to enjoy filming a 20th Century Fox major motion picture, Fat Albert, which grossed $48M worldwide. It was around this time that Rebecca joined Mississippi: The Dance Company, while attending Ole Miss University.

After Rebecca’s years of touring and performing with dance companies and J Mack’s serendipitous career in TV/Film, the two independently decided to move back to the Dallas Fort Worth area to pursue careers outside of the fine arts world. Rebecca embodied countless roles for a rapidly growing tech company in Plano, while J Mack took one of the longest academic routes possible. The two reconnected randomly in Dallas and fell deeply in love, attending as many concerts, dance performances, and events as their schedules allowed. They are now living in Fort Worth, where J Mack works as an emergency medicine physician. They have three incredible children and do everything they can to instill in them the love of the arts that have so vibrantly colored their lives.

Artistic Director

Melodee Halbach

Melodee Halbach received her BFA in Acting from Eastern New Mexico University, MFA in Acting/Directing from OU and an MEd in Educational Administration from TCU. Her teaching career began at OU as a Graduate Assistant with Acting and Voice classes, going on to teach at TCC Northwest and Southwest Christian. In 1998 she began her 21-year career at Fort Worth Country Day teaching Acting, Directing and Playwriting. In addition to the 30+ shows she directed at schools, Melodee has directed shows at Main Street Theatre in Mansfield, ONSTAGE in Bedford, Theatre Arlington and stage managed at Circle theatre. Awards include Best Director of five shows at Main Street Theatre ONSTAGE; Drama Teacher of the Year - Bayard Friedman Hero Award Spring 2003; Live Theatre League Teacher Arts Educator of the Year in 2015 and Who’s Who Among American Teachers.

Melodee met siblings Lisa and J Mack Slaughter in 1998 at Fort Worth Country Day. Both students were in her first musical, Brigadoon. Twenty-one years later, Melodee directed Chicago HSV, her last musical before retirement. J Mack and his wife, Rebecca, attended that show opening night, but prior to that evening, J Mack and Rebecca had ideas and conversations about how Fine Arts students could receive some of the same recognition for their achievements as sports participants routinely receive for theirs. On February 22, 2019 the idea of the Slaughter Family Arts Awards was born. Melodee would like to recognize and thank J Mack and Rebecca for including her on this remarkable journey.

Head of Award Selection

Kate Lovelady

Kate Lovelady is native to Fort Worth and graduated with a Musical Theatre BFA from Texas Christian University in 2004. Since that time she has dedicated herself to educating young artists through theatre arts. Kate has directed and taught kids of all ages specializing in creative dramatics and Musical Theatre Performance. She has had the pleasure of working all over the Fort Worth Theatre Community including Casa Manana, Circle Theatre, FireStarter Productions, Kids Who Care and most recently as the Director of Education at Casa Mañana. 

After growing up and building a life in the arts in Fort Worth, Kate is thrilled to be on the forefront of the development of the Slaughter Family Arts Awards.  She is driven to create an atmosphere that celebrates the arts and what they can contribute to the growth of a child.  This program is the perfect opportunity to encourage and honor the young artists in our community that will shape our future.