PRODUCTION STAFF BIOGRAPHIES

DEREK ALFANO (Hair and Wig Design) is thrilled to design again for the 8th time at MPAC. Derek has designed hair for over a hundred musicals and has styled hair/wigs for several regional and national tours including: Hairspray, Beauty and the Beast, Beautiful, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Annie, Bullets Over Broadway, 42nd Street, Dirty Dancing, The Producers, Jersey Boys, Rent, and more. Derek is the recipient of two NJACT Perry Awards for his wig designs of 1776 and The Importance of Being Earnest and Hello Dolly! He has also been a dresser for the concert tours of such stars as Pink, Elton John and Jennifer Lopez at the Prudential Center in Newark. Derek is employed at the Paper Mill Playhouse as the Assistant Hair Supervisor and is a proud IATSE Local 21 member! A special thanks to Eve Newman for her love, support and assistance on this show... “Eve, youʼre the best!”

CHRIS BALL (Lighting Designer/Production Director) Chris is the House Production Director for all events at MPAC. Matilda is Chrisʼ ninth production with the MPAC Performing Arts School, having formerly been the Lighting Designer for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor DreamCoat (2013), Hairspray (2014) and Les Misérables (2015) and Production Director for Mary Poppins (2016), West Side Story (2017), Shrek (2018) and Grease (2019). He is very happy to once again be working with these talented Design & Production teams and cast! Chris was the former House Lighting Designer for MPAC having held that position from 2004-2008 and again from 20132015. He has been the Production Director at MPAC since 2015. Chris wishes to thank his dedicated staff and hardworking crew who make MPAC events as amazing as they are! Chris lives in Manville, NJ with his wife Heather, 14 year old daughter Ainsley and 8 year old son Wesley.

HEATHER BALL (Production Coordinator) Heather Ball’s life is rooted in creativity. Her career began 20 years ago as a scenic artist and since then she has worked in an array of regional theaters, high schools programs, and community venues. As her skills grew so did her passion for educating others. For 7 years, Heather served as an adjunct faculty member for the Department of Theatre and Dance at Montclair State University. She developed a strong commitment to helping students find a pathway to pursue their careers and has continued supporting that cause throughout her professional life. In 2015 she co-founded the Manville Arts Council, an organization committed to improving accessibility to the arts in her community and surrounding areas. She serves as Board President, and oversees the daily operations of the council. She currently works as a freelance Project Manager specializing in theatrical productions, art programs, and creative placemaking events. As a fine artist, Heather enjoys exploring the connection between art, design and everyday life. Her mediums of choice are acrylic paint, graphite, and pen & ink. She holds a BFA from Montclair State University. She lives with her husband, son, and daughter in Manville, NJ where every day begins and ends with a show tune.

DUSTIN BALLARD (Dialect Coach) is an actor, director, writer, and dialect coach who is thrilled to be working with Mayo Performing Arts Center for the first time. As an actor, he has been seen on stage at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Two River Theatre, and Premiere Stages, and was the 2009 National Finalist for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship. He recently directed Peter and the Starcatcher for Middlesex College’s Department of Theatre, and he premiered his original work Bend in the River at the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He is also the co-creator and co-host of the acclaimed outdoors podcast Gaze at the National Parks

BARBARA CANACE (Costume Designer) Barbara has designed for MPAC’s spring musical for several years, and is happy to return this year to work with the wonderfully talented cast (of all ages), crew, musicians (again, of all ages), and production team of Matilda. She designs for Columbia High School's theater program where she received a Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Award for Outstanding Achievement in Costume for their 2018 production of Hairspray and nominations for several shows. She also designs for The Theater Project, (selected credits: Best of Enemies, Crowns, The Groundling, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler, Miss Witherspoon) and Light Opera of New Jersey (Amahl and the Night Visitor). As always, thanks to her family for their support.

JOHN FRANGIONE (Sound Designer) is happy to be working on his 3rd show at MPAC. Previous design credits include; School Of Rock (MPAC), Grease (MPAC). Previous mixing credits include; Dog Man: The Musical (Off-Broadway), My Name's Not Indian Joe (Off-Broadway). Other credits include; A Chorus Line (National Tour, Crew), Legally Blonde: The Musical (China Tour, Crew), How The Grinch Stole Christmas (National Tour, Crew). John is a member of IATSE Local 59.

CASSANDRA HOYT (Stage Manager) I’ve been stage managing since High school, mostly doing children’s theatre. This is my second show here at MPAC and I want to thank everyone who put in their time and effort into make this show as amazing as it was and so much fun to work on!! It has been a pleasure being able to work with this amazing team again and of course the kids!

CATHY ROY (Director/Choreographer) Cathy began working at Mayo Performing Arts Center in 2005. Over the last 18 years she has put her passion for Arts Education into developing high quality education programs accessible to all students. She is especially proud of her efforts in launching The Miracle Project program at MPAC in 2017. This highly regarded program provides theatre and music programs to children and young adults with autism and other special needs. Cathy is a graduate of New York University where she studied musical theatre and arts education. As a performer and director, she has worked at The North Carolina Theater, Sacramento Music Theater, The North Shore Music Theater, The Chautauqua Institution, Theatre By The Sea, Michigan Opera Theater, The Garden State Arts Center, NYU and many more. Cathy has also served as a Teaching Artist at NYU, West Point Academy and Bergen Community College. She is passionate about teaching performers to use their talent to give back and to better their community. Through these efforts, she has helped to provide free entertainment for such organizations as The American Cancer Society, The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, The United Nations, Ellis Island, The Ronald McDonald House and hundreds of other non-profit organizations. She has developed a robust arts education program at Mayo Performing Art Center and oversees the Performing Arts School which provides high caliber classes and performance opportunities to over 700 students a year. In addition, she has developed school residency programs, using the arts to enhance classroom curriculum and community programs for students who many not have access to arts education. She is a member of Actors Equity Association and a proud member of The New Jersey Cultural Access Network Project. Cathy would like to thank her amazing family for always supporting her, Charles, Ellen and the fantastic Matilda production team, and this brilliant cast for every minute of joy bringing this show to life! As always, she dedicates this show to the memory of her Father who inspired her career in music & theatre.

CAROL RUTLEDGE (Assistant Costume Designer)

After working on last year’s production of School of Rock Carol is happy to have the opportunity to work at MPAC again this year with the talented cast, creative team, and production staff of Matilda. She has many years’ experience working with student productions in Maplewood and South Orange (selected credits:

Drowsy Chaperone, Annie, West Side Story, Hairspray) where she has been nominated for Paper Mill’s Rising Star Award for productions at Columbia High School and received an Award for Outstanding Costume Design for their production of Hairspray

CHARLES SANTORO (Music Director/Conductor) is thrilled to be back for his seventh production at MPAC! Charles is an NYC-based music director, conductor, pianist, and arranger. He received his B.M. in Music Education from William Paterson University and currently works as music director for American Idol’s Kimberley Locke. Broadway: MJ the Musical (Rehearsal Pianist), Mrs. Doubtfire the Musical (Music Assistant), School of Rock (Rehearsal Pianist), and Matilda the Musical (Rehearsal Pianist). National Tour: Matilda the Musical Acrobat Tour (Rehearsal Pianist). Off-Broadway: Fiddler on the Roof - In Yiddish (Rehearsal Pianist, Key 1 Sub), Zapata! The Musical (Assistant MD/Vocal Arrangements/ Copyist), Disenchanted! The Musical (Associate Piano Conductor) and Silence! The Musical (Key 2 Sub)

Premiere: Clueless the Musical (Associate MD/Key 2).

Regional: Paper Mill Playhouse (New Voices Concert, Broadway Show Choir, & Children’s Theatre On Tour), MPAC: West Side Story (MD/Conductor), Shrek (MD/ Conductor), Grease (MD/Conductor), School of Rock (MD/Conductor). In addition, he has served as Music Director for dozens of education programs throughout the state of New Jersey and holds a New Jersey Standard Teaching Certification for grades K-12. Charles has arranged and/or accompanied artists such as Laura Benanti, Kerry Butler, Telly Leung, Rob McClure, Will Roland, Alice Ripley, Jennifer Damiano, The Duprees and Chris Ruggiero. Love and gratitude to Cathy and the entire MPAC family as well as his friends and family for all their love and support. @charlessantoro

KATHERINE WAINSCOTT (Production Stage Manager) is returning to MPAC for a fourth production. She is currently working as the Executive Producer at Lounge It Up, an event decor and furniture rental company based in Northern New Jersey. A graduate of Montclair State University, she received a BFA in Theatre Production/Design with a concentration in Stage and Production Management in May of 2018. She has worked on and off Broadway with Manhattan Theatre Club and The New Group. Other credits include Goodspeed Opera House, White Plains Performing Arts Center, Mac-Haydn Theatre, and the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. Love and thanks to Mom, Dad, Will, Tim, and future husband Zack.