Our Team
Full-Time Staff
HILLARY C. DREW
With a BA in Theatre from University of Central Florida, Hillary has a decade of experience working professionally as a teaching artist, director, producer, and youth theatre program director in Colorado and Florida. In these capacities, Hillary took a leadership role in her community as an arts advocate and was instrumental in growing existing programs both artistically and administratively. Her work with community outreach, marketing efforts and grant preparation, was critical to both the organizational impact on the community, but also its ability to be sustainable.
Hillary began her love for theatre at the age of three. Knowing the positive impact it brought into her life, her passions grew into a desire to share this art and her skills with the next generation. Hillary is very excited to begin a new journey at WTP, and becoming a part of the Wellesley Community.
“I believe that the theatre arts further one’s character, understanding, and growth as an individual. My goal as an educator is to inspire students to create, explore, think critically, have an understanding of what’s going on around them and enjoy every minute of it!”
BEN RUSH
For over 25 years, Ben has worked in all aspects of the theatre as a performer, director, designer, technician, carpenter, and youth educator. Ben attended Florida School of the Arts majoring in Acting and pursuing his Associate in Science degree. Later, he formally expanded his knowledge in Technical Direction with a B.F.A. from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
As a performer, Ben grew into such roles as Romeo (Romeo and Juliet), Cervantes / Quixote (Man of La Mancha), Harold Hill (The Music man), James Leeds (Children of a Lesser God - Best Actor, South Eastern Theatre Conference), and the title role in Shakespeare's Macbeth (Best Actor Thespian Award Winner). Ben worked professionally in Orlando as a stunt performer at Universal Studios Orlando as well as an actor with regional houses such as Florida Children's Repertory Theatre, Orlando Rep, and Mad Cow Theatre. As a child of educators, Ben followed his own desire and dream to teach.
Recently his work has been seen on Season 9 of AMERICA'S GOT TALENT, with Jim Henson’s Muppets, and on a new cirque spectacular for the DRAGONE company. Credits include Broadway, Off-Broadway, Regional, and Educational productions.
ALEXA BROOKE LAMBERT
Alexa Brooke Lambert joined the Wellesley Theatre Project team in Summer 2016, and has felt at home here ever since. She earned her BA in English: Theatre Arts Concentration and Psychology: Developmental Disabilities Specialization from The University of Massachusetts, Lowell, where she focused primarily on stage management, production management, and performance, and served as President of The Off-Broadway Players. Recent stage management credits outside of WTP include working with Playwrights’ Platform, Tempest Productions, and Apollinaire Theatre Company. Also outside of WTP, she is the Social Media Manager for Lucozzi Portraits, runs her own Etsy shop, and is a devoted dog mom.
HANNAH SHIHDANIAN
Program Director, Choreographer
& Teaching Artist
hannah@wellesleytheatreproject.org
Hannah Shihdanian started with WTP in the first summer session, and has choreographed or directed over 40 productions. She moved to Texas in 2018, but she's now back living in the Boston area! Hannah is a full time mom to three kids, performs professionally, and runs her own dance and fitness company called HDC. She has performed with the A.R.T., Greater Boston Stage Company, the Umbrella Stage Company, Reagle Music Theater, and others. She was beyond honored to be asked to choreograph for IMPACT this year and feels lucy to create art with the people she loves. www.hannahsdancecommunity.com
Adjunct Faculty
ERIC ANDERSON JR.
Eric Anderson Jr. has worked as Musical Director with WTP on many projects, including In the Heights, Spring Awakening, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and many more! When not at WTP, he teaches voice and piano lessons from his studio in Stoughton, MA and is an adjunct theatre faculty member at Walnut Hill School for the Arts. Eric previously lived in Bloomington, IN, studying at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and taking part in a wide range of theatre productions as producer, director, music-director, and – in one last-minute situation – a follow-spot operator.
JAMES CANNON
Sound Designer
James Cannon, he/him, (Sound Designer) is a freelance audio engineer, sound designer and music producer from Chicago, IL. Recent credits include: The View Upstairs (Speakeasy Stage), The Rape of Lucretia (Boston Lyric Opera), Well, Straight White Men (Hovey Players), The Rocky Horror Show, Passing Strange (Moonbox Productions), The Last Wide Open, The Old Man & The Old Moon (Umbrella Stage Company) and NIGHTTOWN: An Operatic Reimagining of James Joyce’s Ulysses (Lowell House Opera). In his free time, he enjoys Crockpot Cookery and cooking up hip-hop beats as The Culture. His latest instrumental project, Sketches can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, TIDAL, Bandcamp, and any digital music store you can think of. This is James' first time working with Wellesley Theatre Project and he is delighted to have been invited to the team!
KATIE ANNE CLARK
Choreographer &
Teaching Artist
katie@wellesleytheatreproject.org
Katie Anne Clark is a Boston-based actress, director, choreographer, and teaching artist who grew up dancing at Fowler Dance Studio, Jeannette Neill Dance Studio, and the Boston Ballet. Katie has a Bachelor of Arts in Musical Theatre and Dance from Ball State University in Indiana and has been touring the country (and high seas) performing professionally for over fifteen years. Favorite choreography projects include The Addams Family and Mamma Mia (Newton North High School), Mary Poppins (Wheelock Family Theatre), Rocky Relationships (Moonbox Productions), Hansel & Gretel (Peterborough Players), and Bye, Bye Birdie! (New London Barn Playhouse). She has also choreographed for numerous high schools, community theaters, and theatre schools including Greater Boston Stage's Young Company, Reagle Music Theatre Youth Program, The Alexander Children's Theatre School, Step By Step Dance Studio, and Preschool Moves.
LYDIA JANE GRAEFF
Lydia Jane Graeff joined The Wellesley Theatre Project family as a Teaching Artist in the summer of 2017. Outside of WTP, Lydia is a Boston Public School Teacher at Boston Adult Technical Academy and a Resident Teaching Artist for Boston Lyric Opera, specializing in Arts Integration for English Language Development classrooms. Lydia has directed, taught, and performed all over the country and in the Greater Boston Area. She holds an MA in Theatre Education from Emerson College and a BA in Film Production from Elon University.
JESS HARMS
Jess Harms is on a mission to remind us that we all belong by exploring the vulnerabilities of being human on stage. With a Master's in Theatre Education from Emerson College, she is a creative combo of educator, artist, and your personal hype squad. She has directed over 75 shows (so far!) and was awarded the MA state award for Best Director. Her productions have earned the state award for best production seven times and national honors. She empowers educators as a Pre-AP Arts National Faculty member and theatre arts curriculum writer for the CollegeBoard. In 2014, she founded the Massachusetts Thespians Chapter to encourage, advocate, and promote theatre in our schools.
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Erica Lundin
Choreographer
Erica Lundin is so happy to be part of the Wellesley Theatre Project family. Erica is a local actress and choreographer, and has been dancing since she could walk! She started dance when she was 3, and grew up at a competitive dance studio. Erica’s love of theatre began a few years after that, and she has been in (at least) a musical or play a year since then. Erica began choreographing musicals in high school, and continued choreographing dance numbers for her college dance company. Some of Erica’s recent choreographer credits include; Legally Blonde, Pippin (Chelmsford High School), Orlando (Lyric Stage Company), Margo Veil: An Entertainment (Suffolk University). When not choreographing, Erica can be seen on stage performing herself. Some performance credits include; The Nutty Suite (Refine Dance Studio) Head Over Heels, 42nd Street (Umbrella Stage Company), Swan Lake in Blue (Greater Boston Stage Company), A Chorus Line (Arlington Friends of the Drama). Erica can also be found dancing with the Refine Dance Company based in Danvers, MA.
JAMES MURPHY
James Murphy has worked as a Music Director for WTP on Sleeping Beauty Jr. and Beauty and the Beast Jr. He is thrilled to be back with WTP as a voice teacher. James has his Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance from The Boston Conservatory and his Masters of Music Education from Anderson University. James is going to be entering his 9th year teaching at his own voice studio in Burlington. Having taught middle school chorus for 4 years, he left that position to focus full-time on teaching voice, a true passion of his. He has helped students get into colleges like Berklee, Emerson, and The Boston Conservatory Masters of Theatre program. Helping students prep for auditions is one of his favorite aspects of teaching voice but it's also hard to top helping students get comfortable in their voice and let that instrument out. When not teaching voice, James is also active in the local theatre scene as a music director. He has done several shows with the Umbrella Stage Company including 42nd Street, Sideshow, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Avenue Q. James has also won back-to-back DASH awards for Best Music Director for his work on Big Fish and Parade, both at The Umbrella.
NADINE SA
Nadine Sa is thrilled to be joining the Wellesley Theatre Project. By day, Nadine is a call center representative for a laboratory company and by night, she enjoys working with various theater groups in the Greater Boston Metrowest area. Nadine started her theatrical journey on stage in musicals as a child, but learned in high school that her true passion was behind the scenes. In college, she learned how to stage manage when the resident stage manager wanted to appear in that season's play and the rest is history. Favorite shows that she has stage managed include Titanic with Concord Players (EMACT Award for Stage Manager for Musical); I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change and Secret Garden (Also with Concord Players); Little Mermaid (Needham Community Theater); Mountaintop and Who Will Sing for Lena? (Lexington Players). Nadine is overjoyed to be working with the WTP staff and students on The Lightening Thief.
BERNIE BALDASSARO
Choreographer
Bernie Baldassaro is a performer, director, choreographer, and teaching artist fresh off the Broadway National Tour of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a Swing and understudying the roles of Mike Teavee and Augustus Gloop. He is honored to be back with his WTP family after serving as the IMPACT choreographer for the 2020-2021 season and teaching Musical Theatre Dance. A Boston-native, he has taught dance and acting for North Shore Music Theatre, The Young Co. at Greater Boston Stage, Artbarn Community Theatre, Venturing Studios, Refine Dance Studio, and On Your Toes Dance and Theatre Co. He is also currently on faculty at Noel Smith Voice Studio as a dance instructor and audition coach. This past June, he directed and choreographed Aladdin for North Shore Music Theatre and Theatre by the Sea’s Fairytale Touring Company and he will be choreographing Frozen Jr. for NSMT’s Education Department later this summer. You can catch Bernie spreading Christmas cheer across the country on the Broadway National Tour of Elf the Musical this coming holiday season! Proud alum of Ithaca College with a BFA in Musical Theatre.
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CORRINE CALDERBANK
Corrine Calderbank is thrilled to be a part of Wellesley Theatre Project. She earned her B.A. in Communication Studies from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania in May 2020. In college, she was president of the student run theatre club on campus - Actors Creating Theatre - while also being involved with the performing arts at Kutztown Area School District. Most recently, Corrine earned her M.A. in Theatre Education and Applied Theatre from Emerson College in May 2022. During the day, Corrine is a paraprofessional with the Public Schools of Brookline.
JULIA DETER
Director, Choreographer & Teaching Artist
julia@wellesleytheatreproject.org
Julia Deter is a Boston-based director, choreographer, and educator. Julia is thrilled to be working with WTP again after choreographing Bright Star, Matilda, Charlie Brown, and directing/ choreographing Urinetown and Spring Awakening. Other Boston-area direction & choreography credits include The Old Man & the Old Moon (The Umbrella Stage Company), Birdy (A.D., Commonwealth Shakespeare Company), Hedwig & the Angry Inch (The Umbrella Stage Company), See Rock City & Other Destinations (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Avenue Q (Arts After Hours), Peter & the Starcatcher (Footlight Club), Next to Normal (BTD), West Side Story (Turtle Lane), A Chorus Line, Ragtime, The Rocky Horror Show, Singin' in the Rain, and The Producers (all at The Umbrella). In a previous life as a performer, she was seen in the National Touring companies of 42nd Street (Ensemble) and All Shook Up (Dance Captain), and the European Tour of Fiddler on the Roof (Chava), among others. She has worked backstage with the Broadway companies of 42nd Street, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and with the Radio City Rockettes. Julia is an Honours graduate of the Royal Academy of Dance in London, and teaches performing arts throughout the Boston area.
ASH LONG
Costume Designer
Ash Long is very excited to join the Wellesley Theatre Project family! They graduated in 2020 from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a degree in Production Design with a concentration in Costume Design. Previous work includes Big Fish with WTP and Matilda with the Savannah Children’s Theatre. They also participated in Odyssey of the Mind for 12 years. To see more of their work you can visit their website ashscostumes.com.
BEC RAY LOWE
Makeup, Hair & Costume Designer
Bec Ray Lowe is so excited to be a part of the Wellesley Theatre Project family. They’ve been a part of many WTP productions since that first master class, both on and off the stage. They graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a BFA in Dramatic Writing and a minor in Music Composition. Some favorite productions include A Christmas Carol (Spirit of Christmas Present), The Addams Family (Uncle Fester), and Annie Jr. (Miss Hannigan). Outside of WTP, they’ve written numerous plays and are working on their first musical. Bec is thrilled to be able to give back to the community that helped them thrive. They’d like to dedicate their craft to their papa, because even though he could never stay awake during a show, he always loved the theatre.
JENNIE MCGUINNESS
Music Director, Voice Teacher,
Costume & Puppet Designer
jennie@wellesleytheatreproject.org
Jennie McGuinness is a graduate from New York University’s Steinhardt School with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance, with a specialization in Musical Theatre. In the years since graduation she has performed professionally in New York, Regionally and Nationally, including the National tours of Elf, the Musical! and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Recently, she has enjoyed breaking into the local theatre scene performing I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change with the Concord Players and The Old Man and The Old Moon at the Umbrella.
With WTP she has had the amazing opportunity to work with the students as a Music Director (Frozen, James and the Giant Peach), Costumer (Frog and Toad, Mary Poppins, Bright Star), Puppet creator (Cinderella, Disney’s the Little Mermaid, Frozen, Seussical, Through the Looking Glass) and Voice Teacher. She is incredibly grateful for the WTP family and the amazing impact they have on the local community.
HEATHER ROTONDI
Heather Rotondi is ecstatic to join the Wellesley Theatre Project team to Stage Manage PUFFS. A Human Resources employee by day, Heather has found joy going back to her passion of theater volunteering & working with various community theaters. Heather has been involved in productions as a performer, stage manager, producer, director, light-board operator, and more. She holds a Masters of Education Administration: Higher Education Option from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and enjoys the transferable skill set it's given to strengthen her theater skills. Outside of WTP, Heather currently volunteers as Properties Chair for the Colonial Chorus Players of Reading, MA and is Assistant Stage Manager for Concord Player's upcoming production of The 39 Steps.
SEIFALLAH
SALOTTO-CRISTOBAL
Lighting & Projection Designer
SeifAllah Salotto-Cristobal holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Lighting and Projection Design from The University of Missouri-Kansas City and is fortunate to have been designing continuously around the country for over a decade for companies such as The Umbrella Stage (MA) Opera Colorado (CO), The Boston Conservatory at Berklee (MA), Company One (MA), Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts (IN), Unicorn Theatre (MO), Nora Theatre at Central Square (MA), New Freedom Theatre (PA), and Coterie Theatre (MO). Seif is the Assistant Professor of Lighting Design at the University of Southern Maine. Seif would like to thank his amazing wife and daughter for their unwavering support. https://seifallahcristobal.com
DAVID WRIGHT
Music Director & Teaching Artist
david@wellesleytheatreproject.org
David Wright is thrilled to be joining the fantastic community of the Wellesley Theatre Project. David has been appearing on stage and behind stage for over twenty years, trying to balance performing, direction, and teaching in and around Boston. Favorite roles include Ricky Taylor in Bat Boy (EMACT award for best supporting actor in a musical), Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, and Baker in Into the Woods. Recent music direction credits include the regional premiere of Hundred Days, Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Umbrella Center for the Arts), Cabaret (Footlight Club, EMACT nomination for best music direction), and In the Heights (Watertown Children's Theatre). When not buried in a music score, David is a special education team chair with the Newton Public Schools. Thank you to the WTP staff, students, and creatives for making his first production one to remember.
