Ourmission
At Upward Motion Theater Company, our mission is to empower young adult artists through accessible theater education and performance opportunities. We aim to reduce barriers for young adults hoping to further their development in the arts.
By entertaining and enriching our community through engaging performances and events, we strive to support young directors, actors, and artists as they grow and thrive in their creative journeys.
We believe that theater is not a mirror held up to life, but a hammer with which to shape it. Every seat in our house is front row to the human experience — raw, unfiltered, and profoundly alive. This is where stories rise.
Meettheteam
Annie Westcott
Owner & Creative DirectorAnnie Westcott is a Hillsborough County native with 15+ years of local theater experience. You may know her from performing in roles such as "Dorothy" in Wizard of Oz, "Daisy" in Side Show, and "Erma" in Anything Goes. Upward Motion is a passion project for Annie. She has always wanted to emphasize and promote young adults in local theater, highlighting that theater does not have to be something exclusively for people with decades of experience — theater is art for everyone.
Sam Estes
Music DirectorA Tampa Bay native, Sam grew up immersed in the world of music and theater and found his home in the arts. As a performer, Sam has appeared in a number of diverse settings — most notably in Mozart’s The Impresario and Heathers: The Musical. With a vibrant background in musical direction at Patel Conservatory at The Straz Center Tampa, Plant City Entertainment, The Village Players, and Central Park Performing Arts Center in Largo, Sam finds no greater joy than in the love of music. Sam is a high school music teacher in Pinellas County, where he instills the love of the performing arts in his students every day. He is a regular performer in the state of Florida for community choirs and philanthropic groups, and has also taught privately, helping students prepare for auditions and other vocal performances.
2025–26 Season
A season of reckoning, resilience, and revelation.
From Tennessee Williams to Suzan-Lori Parks — five extraordinary works that speak to who we are and who we might become.
Subscribe to SeasonThe Glass Menagerie
A memory play of exquisite fragility. Williams' masterwork of longing, illusion, and the ache of what might have been — reimagined for a new generation.
Constellations
In an infinite multiverse of possibility, two people find each other again and again. A breathtaking exploration of free will, quantum physics, and love.
Topdog/Underdog
Two brothers, Lincoln and Booth, hustle through life in a seedy rooming house. Pulitzer Prize-winning, visceral, and darkly comic.
An Octoroon
A radical deconstruction of race and representation in American theater. Incendiary, theatrical, and wildly inventive.
The Crucible
Miller's searing allegory of mass hysteria and moral courage. In an age of manufactured fear, the truth becomes the most dangerous act of all.
From the Stage
The Tempest
2024Hamlet
2024A Doll's House
2023Waiting for Godot
2023Our Town
2023Macbeth
2022Death of a Salesman
2022A Streetcar Named Desire
2022Our Company
Jordan Ellis
Artistic Director
Visionary leader with two decades of bold, provocative stage work.
Ava Chen
Managing Director
Strategic mind behind the company's growth and community impact.
Marcus Webb
Director of Production
Master craftsman who transforms space into immersive worlds.
Simone Laurent
Resident Playwright
Award-winning voice exploring identity, memory, and belonging.
David Okafor
Casting Director
Champion of diverse talent and unexpected, inspired ensembles.
Reina Torres
Head of Design
Sets, lights, and costumes that breathe with each performance.
“Upward Motion doesn't just stage plays — they ignite them.”
— The Stage Review
“Theater at its most alive, most dangerous, most necessary.”
— Arts & Culture Weekly