STAFF

Nina K. Schuessler,
Producing Artistic Director

Nina Schuessler is an actress, director, producer and teacher. She has been a driving force in Cape Cod Theatre for the past 35 years. Nina has supervised the production of over 150 plays and musicals. She was a founding member of Helikon Theatre Company, and is the current Producing Artistic Director of Harwich Junior Theatre and Harwich Winter Theatre. Under Nina's artistic direction, the Harwich Junior Theatre was awarded the Regional Award for Excellence in Educational Theatre by the New England Theatre Conference and was nominated for the Presidential Coming Up Taller Award. Nina developed the extensive education and outreach program at Harwich Junior Theatre over the past 20 years. Nina works extensively with Wendy Kesselman and has directed Becca, A Tale of Two Cities, and The Executioner's Daughter, which she directed for Circle Rep. She directed a revision of The Juniper Tree, A Tragic Household Tale which won an award at the New England Theatre Conference. She is currently directing The Notebook. Other directing credits include The Normal Heart which starred Julie Harris. Nina directed many world premiers including The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Mary and Andrew Arnault, Sherlock Holmes'Greatest Adventure; A Symhony of Revenge and The Kabinet of Dr. Caligari , and Frankenstein by J Hagenbuckle; RECONSTRUCTION, by Christine Rathbun which was a finalist for the Massachusetts Cultural Council Playwriting Award. Nina has produced the world premiers of Children's Letters to God by Stuart Hample, Douglas Cohen and David Evans, The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster and Sheldon Harnick, The Wild Swans by Stephen Russell and The Further Adventures of Sacajewea by Kevin Rice, and the US Premier of Daughters of Heaven by New Zealand playwright Michelanne Forster. Nina is currently collaborating on a multi media project about Art and Resistance in Berlin before and during WWII with filmmaker Stefan Roloff (die Rote Kapelle; The Red Orchestra) and playwright Anne Nelson (The Guys; Savages).

As an actress Nina performs both classical and contemporary repertoire. She received acclaim for her performance as Frankie in Terrance McNally's Frankie and Johnny in the Clare de Lune at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre where she also originated the role of Denise in Gip Hoppe's Savior of The Universe. She was deemed Best Actress in Cape Cod Times for 2003 for her performance as Martha in Yasmin Reza's The Unexpected Man, which was also produced at The Lark Theatre. She played the role of Kate Keller in Arthur Miller's All My Sons for Cape Rep, directed by Maura Hanlon, which received a Best Performance listing for 2005 in the Cape Cod Times.

Tamara Harper,
Director of Education and Community Outreach

Tamara Harper, Director of Outreach and Education has been with HJT for the past 10 years as a teaching artist, director, and actress. She previously taught at Wheelock Family Theatre and studied at Boston University School for the Arts. Prior to moving to Cape Cod, Tamara was the Associate Artistic Director for the Teen Neighborhood Theatre at the Lyric Stage in Boston. Tamara leads HJT's extensive Outreach Program working with teachers to build programming that meets state curriculum frameworks. She has led workshops in Shakespeare, Greek Mythology, Creative Drama, Poetry, Teen Acting workshops and helped design a Bullying and Teasing Prevention program that uses Creative Drama strategies to explore the dynamics of power and control. As an actress with Harwich Winter Theatre, (the resident adult company at HJT) representative rolls include Celia in As You Like It, Roxanne in Cyrano de Bergerac, Regan in King Lear, Andromeda in The Trojan Women Clytemnestra in Electra, the Stepmother in The Juniper Tree, A Tragic Household Tale, and the title role in Hedda Gabler. For HJT she recently played the Mother in A Christmas Story. She has toured her one woman production Tamsen Donner; A Woman's Journey to over 6000 students across Massachusetts. Her directing credits include The Little Princess, Really Rosie, Pippi Longstocking, Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory and the world premier of Humpty Dumpty ...or Off The Wall. Tamara serves on the Harwich Elementary School Council and Bush/Yale schools of the 21st Century Committee and on the Board of the Harwich Chamber of Commerce.

David C. Wallace,
Technical Director

David C. Wallace (Technical Director) earned a BFA in Acting from Boston University. We welcome David as HJT's new Technical Director. As an actor he has appeared at HJT in Frankenstein, Hans Brinker, Dancing at Lughnasa, and Man of La Mancha; Nineball at the Tremont Theater; and Someone Who'll Watch Over Me and Winter Wheat at Cape Rep. David teaches adult acting for HJT/HWT.

Lisa Canto,
Director and Lead Teacher

Lisa began her studies here under the tutelage of HJT founder Betty Bobp, and has since acted and directed in countless productions at HJT. Recent directorial credits include The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, The Miracle Worker, The Fantasticks, Alexander's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Sleeping Beauty, Once on This Island, James and The Giant Peach, The Little Prince, Rapunzel and The Witch, Cinderella, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Velveteen Rabbit, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and the east coast premier of Childrens' Letters to God. She has created Fight Choreoraphy for Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Frankenstein, The Lark, MacBeth, Sherlock Holmes' Greatest Adventure. Choreography credits include Aladdin, Humpty Dumpty, Follow The Star, The Me Nobody Knows and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Godspell. Lisa is Lead Teacher at HJT who championed HJT to be the first theatre on Cape Cod to provide ASL interpreted performances for the deaf and hard of hearing and has led the way to integrate children with disabilities including deafness in our classes. Lisa initiated ASL classes at HJT for our greater community. Lisa teaches classes in Creative Drama, Comedy Improv, Junior Players, Combat Choreography, Auditioning Workshop and, her own creation, Jester Class at HJT. Recently, Lisa studied with the renowned Director of Theatre of the Oppressed, Augusto Boal. She has adapted his work and helped to develop a program geared toward middle and high school students to address issues of oppression.

Robert Wilder,
Musical Director

Robert Wilder (Director / Musical Director) was trained as a flutist, pianist, and harpsichordist and has performed as a soloist in America and Europe. Robert has been a musical director at the Cleveland Playhouse, off-off Broadway, at several universities, and on-Cape at HJT, APA, Provincetown Rep., and Monomoy Theatre. His directorial credits include Beehive, Pirates of Penzance, Always, Patsy Cline, and H.M. S. Pinafore. Bob is HJT's resident musical director and teaches musical theatre for HJT.

Kathleen Healy,
Teacher and Folk Singer

Kathleen Healy is the Harwich Junior Theatre's resident singer/songwriter and creative movement teacher. She has her Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education and over 15 years experience working with young children. She has delighted Cape Cod Audiences of all ages for the past 6 years with her own brand of family entertainment. Her repertoire includes American folk music, such as "This Land is Your Land" and "I've Been Working on the Railroad," children's classics such as "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Old MacDonald," as well as many of her own original songs for children and adults. In concert, she encourages the audience sing along and move to the music. She offers many opportunities to participate by providing rhythm instruments for accompanying her on the guitar, scarves for dancing, and in smaller groups, props for parachute play. As a movement teacher, she incorporates music, storytelling, and all of her props into a basic introduction to creative drama curriculum.

Terry Norgeot,
Choreographer, Director, and Teacher

Terry Norgeot (Director and Choreographer) has appeared professionally in productions from South America to NYC. Broadway and national tours include Hello Dolly, My Fair Lady, No, No Nanette, Cabaret, Annie Get Your Gun and Anything Goes. Terry was a featured dancer at Lincoln Center and assisted Jacques d'Amboise at The National Dance Institute. She now teaches dance at the APA. Her directing / choreographing credits include Celebrate Broadway, You're A Good Man Charlie Brown, Honk, A Year with Frog & Toad (HJT), Joesph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Peter Pan (APA), and The Notebook (Wheelock Family Theatre). Choreography credits include Gypsy, Oliver, The Me Nobody Knows, Becca, Really Rosie, My Way, Alice in Wonderland, The Little Prince, The Robber Bridegroom, Man of La Mancha (HJT), Urinetown and The Full Monty (Cape Rep) and Lover Liar Lady Whore at the Provincetown Theatre.

Suzette Hutchinson,
Choreographer and Teacher

Suzette Hutchinson holds a BA in dance performance, choreography and education. In addition to teaching and choreographing at HJT, Suzette is an adjunct faculty member at the Cape Cod Community College (teaching Modern Dance), and is on the dance faculty at the Academy of Performing Arts. She is active in Outreach programs at schools throughout Cape Cod. Suzette has choreographed numerous productions on Cape Cod (at HJT, APA, Cape Rep, Chatham Drama Guild and the 4 C's) and her choreography has been performed in RI, Boston and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

Julie Allen Hamilton,
Director, Actor and Teacher

Julie Allen Hamilton is a local director, actor and teacher who grew up in Orleans. She currently lives in Eastham with her sweetie, Jack, their children Ian and Nell Daisy, and their two cats. She began her theatre education at UMass/Amherst, and had worked throughout New England, before returning to the Cape in 1990. Julie has worked extensively up and down the Cape from Cape Cod Community College to the Provincetown Fringe Festival, and is on the faculty for the APA as well as HJT. Julie directed Little Women, The Colony of the Cats, To Kill A Mockingbird, Snow Queen, The Crucibl , Dancing At Lughnasa and will direct the upcoming Stuart Little for HJT and HWT.

Mary Arnault,
Director, Teacher, Resident Playwright

J Hagenbuckle,
Sound Designer, Composer and Resident Playwright

J Hagenbuckle (Sound Design) has designed and composed music for many shows over the years at HJT including The Lark, A Wrinkle In Time, The Wild Swans, The Phantom Tollbooth and his own adaptations of Frankenstein, The Kabinet of Dr Caligari and Sherlock Holmes' Greatest Adventure. He has designed for coporate productions and videos, independent films, on and off Broadway, for regional theaters, W.H.A.T. and many Boston theater companies including 8 years with Commonwealth Shakespeare Co. In 1999 he received an Elliot Norton Award and an NEA/TCG Design Grant in 2001. J mentors the Sound Design Internship for HJT/HWT

Robin McLaughlin,
Resident Costume Designer

Robin McLaughlin (Costume Design) is the resident Costume Designer for HJT and has served in that cherished role since 1997. Before coming to the Cape, she lived in Los Angeles and was a costume designer for movies and television. Locally, she has designed costumes for Cape Cod Opera, Wheelock Family Theatre, Cape Cod Community College, Cape Cod Repertory Theatre, and WHAT.

Jennifer Salvucci,
Teacher, Production Stage Manager

Jennifer has been an actress and children's acting coach in the Los Angeles area for six years. She has collaborated on many original children's musicals and has served as director, vocal coach, stage manager and choreographer for several Los Angeles-based theatre companies, as well as teaching her own curriculums in the private school system. Since returning to Boston, Jennifer has had the good fortune of working with some of Boston's most renowned children's theatres and casting companies, including Watertown Children's Theatre, Arlington Children's Theatre and Boston Casting. In addition to her teaching credentials, Jennifer has an extensive performance background, with her most recent film projects screening at the Cannes and South by Southwest Film Festivals. A huge advocate of education initiatives, Jennifer has been touring Massachusetts with "Consent," an educational collaborative from the Orpheum Theatre and the Norfolk District Attorney's Office, as well as teaching theatre outreach programs in the immediate Boston area.

Louise Hopper,
Box Office Manager

Charles Baldwin,
Scenic Designer

Albert T. Viola,
Resident Playwright

Wendy Kesselman,
Resident Playwright

Loraine Lewis,
Stage Manager

Keelia O'Donnell,
Teacher

Casey Clark,
Teacher

Zachary Soule Philbrook,
Teacher