CHOREOGRAPHY: Melanie Barber

Melanie is a DC-area dance instructor and choreographer. She was trained in ballet, jazz, tap, modern, and hip-hop, from childhood through college. For the past 15 years, she has worked with educational and community theatre groups in the area. Currently, Melanie teaches and choreographs at HST Cultural Arts, Inc. She also has the privilege of coaching the Varsity dance team and choreographs the musical productions at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School.

DIRECTING: TJ Lukacsina 

TJ has been working with community theatre in the DMV area since 2014. He is currently the Artistic Director for Silhouette Stages and sits as the Chair for the Washington Area Theatre Community Honors (W.A.T.C.H.) organization. Directing: Hairspray – Rockville Musical Theatre; Cinderella, Big Fish, Legally Blonde – Silhouette Stages; Into the Woods, Thoroughly Modern Millie – Heritage Players; Sweeney Todd, High School Musical, White Christmas – Laurel Mill Playhouse. Lighting Design: Jekyll & Hyde: An Immersive Experience, Striking 12, Always Patsy Cline, Murder Ballad – Free Range Humans; Cabaret – Silhouette Stages. Music Direction: 14 shows with Hammond High School.

ACTING: Megan Bunn

Megan is a multi-hyphenate theatre artist in the DC area. She is the Associate Artistic Director & Casting Director at Monumental Theatre Company, where she has directed several productions including: Songs for a New World, Be More Chill, and Dress Up Day. Other directing credits include: 25th Annual…Spelling Bee, Urinetown, A Little Night Music, The Count of Monte Cristo. Megan also works as a production manager, house manager, teaching artist, and performer. She holds a BM in Musical Theatre from Catholic University, and is excited to join The Free Theatre team this summer.

MUSICAL THEATRE BASICS Workshop: Jimmy Mavrikes

Jimmy is the Co-Artistic Director of Monumental Theatre Company. For MTC, Jimmy has directed Head Over Heels, and Five Lesbians Eating a Quiche, known for having “the best gross-out laughs of the season” according to The Washington Post. He’s also directed many other cabarets, including our annual fundraiser Flip Flop, and  the Pre-Marital Cabaret featuring Caroline Bowman and Austin Colby. Jimmy can also be seen acting on the stages of other DC theaters. He is a three time Helen Hayes nominee for Best Leading Actor in a Musical, with one Best Leading Actor win for his role of Will in Girlfriend at Signature Theatre. Other credits include Rent, Assassins, and Cabaret at Signature Theatre, The Wild Party at Constellation Theatre Company, Bat Boy at 1st Stage, Fiddler on the Roof and Oliver at Arena Stage, My Fair Lady at Olney Theatre, as well as many TYA productions at Imagination Stage and Adventure Theatre. He holds a bachelor of music degree in Musical Theatre from Catholic University.

LIGHTING DESIGN: Hailey LaRoe

Hailey is a Lighting and Projection Designer, who has been working in the DC area since 2018, and has worked with The Free Theatre since December 2018. She grew up in Bethesda Maryland and returned to the area after attending Ohio Wesleyan university studying History and Theatre. Theatre has been a central part of Hailey’s life ever since she started doing tech work in middle school. She believes that student leadership and technical/ design knowledge is so important for any young artist and she is so thrill to have the opportunity with The Free Theatre to pass down some theatre know-how. You can find some of her recent work at Haileylaroedesigns.com

MUSIC DIRECTING: Marci Shegogue

Marci has served as music director for hundreds of professional, community and educational program productions in the D.C. area over the past 40 years. In addition to working with The Free Theater (Fame, Mamma Mia, In the Heights, Pippin, Chicago), she is the resident Music Director for Free Range Humans, a professional immersive theater company, and serves on the Board for Free Range Kids (both based in Frederick, MD). Marci has worked extensively with educational musical theater in the DMV, including Montgomery County Public Schools drama programs. Favorite productions include Jekyll and Hyde (immersive), Murder Ballad, Always Patsy Cline, Striking 12, 35mm (Free Range Humans), Double Trouble (Imagination Stage), Infinite Future: A Celebration of Leonard Bernstein (Monumental Theater), Newsies (Quince Orchard HS Theater), Aida and In the Heights (Northwest High School), Spamalot and Forever Plaid (Rockville Musical Theater). She is a University of Maryland theater and music department alumnus and has trained professionally with DC and NYC artists. Marci is also a collaborative accompanist, mentor, audition coach and freelance musician.

COSTUME DESIGN: Kristina Martin

Kristina is excited to be working with The Free Theatre this summer!  She has a Theatre degree from The College of William and Mary, where she worked as the Wardrobe Supervisor. Her DMV Costume Designer and Wardrobe Supervisor credits include: Virginia Shakespeare Festival, NextStop Theatre Company, Infinity Theatre Company, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Silver Spring Stage, Studio Theatre, Theatre Prometheus, bel Cantanti Opera Company, Urban Arias, Keegan Theatre, Washington National Opera, Brave Spirits Theatre, Land and Hungry Theatre Company, 4615 Theatre, Catholic University, Towson University, and Forum Theatre Company.  As the Resident Designer and Shop Manager of Transcendence Theatre Company in Sonoma, CA, Kristina won awards for 2019 Best Costume Design from Broadway World Bay Area, as well as Costume Designer of the Decade. Recent local work includes multiple productions with Imagination Stage and Montgomery College

SCENIC DESIGN WORKSHOP: Megan Holden

Megan is a scenic designer, scenic painter, and theatre artist. She graduated from James Madison University in 2017 and has been freelancing in the DMV area since 2019. Her first production scenic designing with the Free Theatre was Fame in 2019, and she never left!

AUDITION WORKSHOP – August 21st!:

Rikki Howie Lacewell and Marci Shegogue

Rikki Howie Lacewell is a WATCH nominated choreographer, director and performer based in the Washington DC area. She has worked extensively in the Professional and Community Theater community over the past 20 plus years.

Marci Shegogue See above.