Meet Our Staff

CURRENT STAFF MEMBERS

Courtney Boches ( Main Stage & Workshop Director/Instructor/ Costumer)
Courtney has a Masters in Theatre from Villanova University and a Bachelor of Science in Television-Radio and Screenwriting from Ithaca College and works as a freelance director, teaching artist, and costume designer. She has been directing for Firebird's summer workshop program since its inception in 2013 and loves working with the talented young actors each year. She has directed over 25 musicals and plays with student age casts. As a costume designer she has worked with Firebird, Simpatico Theatre Project, Azuka Theatre, Act II Playhouse, Villanova Theatre, and many college and high school programs. She has designed for the New York Musical Festival and had a fabulous internship with Tony-winner William Ivey Long in NYC. Favorite roles onstage include Annie Oakley (Annie Get Your Gun), Karen Wright (The Children's Hour), Mazeppa (Gypsy), Ethel Toffelmier (The Music Man), and Amelia Vane (Dorian Gray, Off-Broadway, New York Musical Festival). Courtney is the costume shop manager at Wolf Performing Arts Center and an adjunct faculty member and wardrobe supervisor at Arcadia University. www.courtneyboches.com

Brandon Carcella - Workshop Instructor
Brandon is currently in the process of attaining his Undergraduate degree in Theatre- Design/technology, with a focus in technical direction from DeSales University. He was Firebird’s master carpenter for the 2016 summer season, and the technical director for the 2017 season. In 2018, he was a staff carpenter for Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. He has also worked as a professional cabinet and countertop fabricator at MacLaren Kitchen and Bath in West Chester PA. In addition to carpentry and technical direction, Brandon has designed Firebird’s productions of Lion King JR, and various other productions in the 2017 summer season. He scenic designed the independent project The Beautiful We in 2018. At DeSales, he has been the Assistant Technical Director for 8 shows. He technical directed Dames at Sea in Fall of 2018 and in the future will do Working in the Fall of 2019. For examples of his work check out: https://brandoncarcella.wixsite.com/portfolio

Caitlyn Colgan (Main Stage & Workshop - Instructor / Choreographer / Assistant Director)
Caitlyn graduated from York College of Pennsylvania in 2017 with a degree in Public Relations, and a double minor in Speech Communication and Musical Theater. Caitlyn has been part of the mainstage productions in many different ways, including assistant director, assistant choreographer and also as an actor. Also at Firebird, Caitlyn has choreographed many of the junior workshops including Lion King Jr., Guys & Dolls Jr., and Xanadu Jr. Recently Caitlyn made her NYC debut as a choreographer in the New York Musical Festival for the new show Dorian Gray The Musical. Acting credits include The Drowsy Chaperone (Kitty), Hairspray (Amber) and Tape (Amy).

Kate Coll (Main Stage & Workshop - Choreographer/Director/ Instructor )
Kate’s previous choreography credits include "Hello, Dolly!", "Hairspray", “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” “Gypsy,” and “The King and I.” She has also acted in a variety of community theater productions include playing the role of Tessie Tura in “Gypsy,” Laurey in “Oklahoma,” and Anna in “The King and I.”

Mark Edwards (Main Stage - Pit Orchestra Director)
Mark has retired from service with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He has had an exceptional twenty-one year career as an Institutional Music Teacher at the State Correctional Institution at Graterford where he has provided comprehensive programming and activities for the residents who wish to improve themselves through the musical experience. He received his Bachelor of Science in Music Education degree from West Chester University. He has held the position of artistic director and conductor of the Audubon Symphony Orchestra from 1997 through 2009. Although “retired”, he continues to teach, write and arrange music, conduct and also performs locally jazz and pop piano, drums, guitar and vocal, and as a disc jockey and sound engineer. Messiah 2.0 is his contemporary setting of the traditional work and it premiered in 2012.

Theater experience: (directing) 110 In The Shade, Two By Two, Godspell, and The Fantastiks. (conductor) Into The Woods, Grease, Little Shop of Horrors, Hello! Dolly, Bye Bye Birdie, Annie, Hairspray, Fame, Urinetown and Beauty and the Beast. (pit musician) Cabaret, 110 In The Shade, West Side Story, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, South Pacific, 1776, Anything Goes, and Legally Blonde. Mark conducted and was Musical Director for our Hello! Dolly Main Stage Show last year and this year he is Pit Conductor of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, our 2018 Main Stage Musical.

Mary Fitzgerald (Workshop Director/Instructor)
Mary has a BA in Theatre Management, with a specialty in Children's Theater, from Fordham University. No stranger to the stage, Mary has worked on all aspects of putting on a production, including her favorite role as director. She has directed various ages at numerous local theaters for more than a dozen years. Her past directing credits include The Sound of Music, Bye Bye Birdie, and Footloose to name a few. When not working on a show, Mary loves spending time with her husband and two daughters, who are her biggest fans.

Abby Gould (Workshop Instructor)
Abby graduated from Elizabethtown College in 2017 with a degree in Early Childhood and Special Education and a minor in Theater Performance. She has been involved with Firebird as an actor, workshop assistant, stage crew/ASM, teacher, and director. Favorite acting credits include Juliet (Romeo and Juliet), Pinnochio (Shrek the Musical), Lorraine (All Shook Up), and Connie Miller (1940s Radio Hour). She is currently a preschool teacher at Stepping Stone Education Center in Phoenixville.

Janet Hnatin Hoehl (President, Founder, Executive Producer, Director, Workshop Instructor)
Janet fell in love with acting and singing on stage when she was nine years old, and has been involved in the local community theatre scene ever since. Her directing credits include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, Magic Tree House: Pirates Past Noon and ‘Twas the Week After Christmas at Firebird Theatre, and Theseus and the Minotaur and The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet at Forge Theatre. Her favorite acting roles have been in Hello, Dolly!, Guys and Dolls, Fiddler on the Roof, Pajama Game, The Music Man, Grease, and The Women.

Janet has served on the Board of Directors at Firebird Theatre, Forge Theatre, The Phoenixville Jaycees, the MOMS Club of Phoenixville, and Eagleville Elementary Home and School Association. Over the years she has worn many hats, as an actress, director, producer, lighting and costume designer, General Productions Chair, Hospitality Chair and even working on set painting and on the stage crew. But by far her favorite role has been as the President and Founder of Firebird Theatre, where her greatest joy is cultivating the love of live theater in the next generation of artists and dreamers. She has enjoyed producing every Firebird production since its beginning.

Janet has her BS in Marketing/Business Administration from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where she was a member of the University Chorus and Chorale, and Delta Gamma Fraternity. She is a proud graduate of Phoenixville Area High School, and has very fond memories of the famous Bill Kelly Spring Show. She lives in Collegeville with her husband John and their four children, who have been her biggest inspiration, and her hardest working crew.

Brian Horoho (Main Stage & Workshop - Musical Director)
Brian is the Choir Director at Upper Merion High School. He has been a Vocal Director for more than twenty musical productions. He has experience working with vocalists ranging from those who are in elementary school to retirement age. Brian is also the Choir Director at Shannondell. Brian has been part of our summer programming since 2014.

Michelle Horoho (Main Stage & Workshop - Director/Instructor)
Michelle currently teaches music at Good Samaritan Day school in Paoli. She has spent most of her life participating in theatre and music in some capacity. She spent many years performing in local community theatres, and is actively involved in her church's music program. All of her four children are actively involved in Firebird Theatre productions. She has been a part of our Summer and Holiday Revue programs since 2015. Michelle is thrilled to share her love of theatre with the young performers!

PAST STAFF MEMBERS

Victoria Rose Bonito (Workshop - Director/Instructor)
Victoria is an actress, teaching artist, and director in the greater Philadelphia area. Teaching credits include the Montgomery Theatre, Theatre Horizon, and The Little Theatre. City and regional performance credits include the Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre, City Theatre Company, REV Theatre Company, Scranton Shakespeare Festival, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Philadelphia Fringe Festival, and Theatre of the Seventh Sister. Victoria has her BA in Theatre, English, and Secondary Education from DeSales University and her MA in Theatre from Villanova University, where she was a costume assistant with Firebird's own Courtney Boches.

Craig Corrao (Main Stage & Workshop - Director/Instructor)
Craig is a reading specialist at the Arcola Intermediate School where he has also directed the spring musical for the past several years. Over the last thirty years he has acted, produced, and directed at a variety of community theaters including Forge Theatre, Playcrafters, and DCP. Craig is also an aspiring guitarist who plans on forming a blues/country/rock band in the not too distant future.

Justin Damm (Main Stage - Director/Instructor)
Justin is a graduate of Villanova's Masters of Theatre program and is excited to return to the directing chair, most recently serving as director for Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, Little Shop of Horrors and Thoroughly Modern Millie at Owen J Roberts High School. Justin is also a Physics Teacher for Upper Merion Area High School and continues to direct and perform throughout the area. Favorite directorial shows include Urinetown and Into the Woods for Villanova Student Musical Theatre and various work for the The Action Section. Favorite acting roles include Frank in Catch Me if You Can, Gabe in Next to Normal, Melchior in Spring Awakening, Bobby Strong in Urinetown, Rueben in The Devon Theatre's Joseph...Dreamcoat (Barrymore Nom), Rademes in Aida, Jimmy in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Johnny in Tick Tick....Boom, Daniel in Theater Horizon's Once on this Island, Finicky Fox in the national tour of Pinocchio, and Bruhs in Tom Wilson Weinberg's original musical Sixty Years with Bruhs and Gean. Justin is thrilled to have this opportunity to direct Disney's Beauty and the Beast this summer.

Christen Mandracchia (Workshop - Lighting Designer)
Christen received her Masters in Theatre from Villanova University where she served as a Scenic Assistant, acted, directed, and wrote many a scholarly piece. She is currently a professor of theatre at Penn State Abington and Delaware County Community College as well as the Production Manager and Technical Director of Harriton High School's theatre program. She has worked as a professional lighting designer in the city of Philadelphia and surrounding theatres and schools for six years and was the lighting designer for the multimedia dance concert ALT/MODE as part of Central Park's Summerstage series in NYC last summer. In 2011 she was the lighting designer for TLC's Buddy the "Cake Boss" on his PA stop in his national tour. Her design work can be seen on her website https://www.behance.net/chmandracchia She recently directed the musical Gypsy with King of Prussia Players and Venus in Fur at The Centre Theatre in Norristown. She also is the Company Manager for the Philadelphia Women's Theatre Festival and is looking forward to this summer's lineup.

Seth Martin (Main Stage & Workshop - Director/Instructor)
Seth is no stranger to Firebird Theatre having been the music director for Elf Jr. in 2015 and co-teaching the Triple Threat Workshop in 2016. He is a graduate of Villanova University with a Master of Arts in Theatre. Before moving to Philadelphia, Seth directed youth of all ages in musicals in the Central Pennsylvania region and was honored with four Hershey Theatre Apollo Award nominations and one win. Seth currently serves as the Creative Arts Pastor at HighPointe Church in Philadelphia and is also a freelance acting coach, director, designer, and performer.

Deana Wisniewski (Workshop - Instructor)
Deana is a graduate of Seton Hill University with a B.A. in Theatre. After graduating from college she worked professionally as an actress in theater, TV, commercials, film and radio. Deana turned her love of acting into a passion for teaching. She owned and operated her own Drama School for many years and came to teach for Firebird in 2011. She has been involved with the local theater scene either on stage or behind the scenes for over 25 years. What makes Deana the most proud is that so many of her young students are now grown up and pursuing an acting career of their own. She expects to one day in the future be mentioned in someone’s Oscar speech! Deana lives in Oaks with three children. When she isn’t spending time with her family or at the theater, you can find her putting her past experience as a dance instructor to use teaching Zumba classes.