Sarah Mackus came to Summer Stage after her first year at Temple University. Since then she has performed in Mainstage shows while working on the staff. Sarah has spent the last eight summers on the marketing team and became the Media Manage...

Jeff Boadwin joined Summer Stage when he was 13 years old. The opportunity to perform onstage was a dream for a blind person. The artistic staff adapted their methods so Jeff could act, sing, and dance in several Children’s Theatre productio...

Bridget Fitzgerald commuted to Summer Stage from Boothwyn. Her Children’s Theatre credits include the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz and the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland. ...

Jim McIlhenney joined Summer Stage in 1978 and found a home as a techie.  He loved working backstage creating scenery and working up in the booth during live shows. He credits his good friend Joe Bader for convincing him to try out for ...

Amanda Snarski joined Summer Stage as an apprentice in 1995 and proudly performed in several "T-shirt shows" (among others) until 2001.  Amanda participated in Mainstage, One Acts, Cabaret, Dance Troupe, and Shooting Stars and worked as...

Hello, everybody. I’m Bob Falkenstein. I’m sorry if you thought you would hear a new episode of Brave and Strong and True. The show has been going strong for two years. This marks the second episode of its third season...

Vince Leonard has a different Summer Stage journey from the rest of us. His genius spans many realms in the world of professional music as an educator, orchestrator, librarian, and arranger. In 1981, he heard Summer Stage was preparing <...

Jason Boyer is a second-generation Summer Stager. His journey begins with Children’s Theatre from 2007 to 2010. His first Main Stage performance was in 2011’s Titanic. In 2014, he became a staff member. This summer, Ja...

Kristen Gibson joined the Summer Stage Apprentice program in 1991. She has fond memories of 1994’s Kids on Broadway, working with the legendary Matt Cloran and Dewy Oriente.  As a child, she struggled with serious...

Patrick Gorman became an official member of Summer Stage in 1980 but remembers hanging around earlier summers with his sister, Chris, and her husband, Dennis Bloh. Pat embraced the technical side of theatre and preferred to work backstage an...

Leslie Monaco is a current Upper Darby Summer Stage member looking forward to participating for four more years. She joined the program as a Rising Star and then an Apprentice. Leslie moved into the Children’s Theatre program when she turned...

Tyler Trafficante joined Summer Stage in 2009 as a Rising Star. He hung around for five summers, performing in the Children’s Theatre program. As an adult, Tyler plays tenor saxophone with the Polish American String Band, of the Philadelphia...

Havertown native Emily Moylan began her Summer Stage journey as an apprentice. She moved her way up through Children’s Theatre and Mainstage productions. As her skills accrued, she held various staff positions. After receiving a degree from ...

Marcie (Turstlick) Bramucci remembers the initial impact Summer Stage had on her life as she experienced a 1987 performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. She joined the program when she was age-eligi...

Gerri Smith Weagraff is “Old Guard” Summer Stage. Her wonderful portrayals of classic musical theatre characters remain treasured in our memories. From 1977 to 1980, Summer Stage was the only place where Gerri performed. It was where she spe...

I interviewed Steve Smith during our recent Christmas break since we are both teachers. He grew up in Highland Park and went to Bonner. Steve joined Summer Stage in 1981 when he turned eleven and thrived in the Children’s Theatre program. He...

Collingdale native Sandi Kinnear’s Summer Stage history began in 1978 when she played clarinet in the pit orchestra for Of Thee I Sing  when she was 13. Her reedsmanship also included playin...

Colleen Corbett got the theatre bug while attending Arch Bishop Prendergast High School.  She joined Summer Stage in 1982 and made quite a debut playing the Wicked Witch in Snow White. Acting became her strength as she practiced her cra...

Deirdre McGettigan joined Summer Stage in 1984 with the cast Annie and Barnum, the following summer, forging her lifelong friendship with her best friend, Ann Pinto. She sacrificed a fe...

Jeff Glasse performed in many Children’s Theatre productions in the eighties, and by the nineties, he was a leading man in Main Stage productions playing Oliver Warbucks in Annie! and the King of Siam in The...

I struggled to write an introduction for my session with Krissy Fraelich and Nick Hunchak. They genuinely do not need to be introduced. They rank high among the Summer Stage power couples. I couldn’t wait to interview them together because b...

Ilana Barzel’s Summer Stage experience began in 2007 and lasted three summers. She appreciates her experience and praises the program for its inclusiveness. I hope you enjoy our conversation, so come along and have some fun. . .

Ed Sweeney's Summer Stage experience began with the second half of the first generation and ran through the middle of the second generation. He had his share of roles in children’s theatre and main stage. Currently, he performs with the Phil...

Mike Hazlett and Chris Lenz credit Of Thee I Sing as their first Summer Stage show in 1978. Mike spent three summers, and Chris stayed around for a while. Both continue to perform to this day.  Because of a hardwa...

Ed Robbins has supported my efforts since the very beginning. He suggested that  Andrew and his mother, Carolyn, appear together for an interview.  I initially interviewed them simultaneously, but, unfortunately, Andrew’s recording...