Who are these people???
Meet the creative, talented, experienced, and always witty team of programmatic Directors who work with our Artistic Director, Betsy Wolf Regn, to create and design all of Wolf PAC’s Performances, Theatre Classes, Private Lessons, Workshops, Summer Theatre Camp, and Artist in Residence Programs!
JANINE MEROLLA
Associate Artistic Director
Over the course of my time here at Wolf PAC, I have had a myriad of jobs, from being a freelance teaching artist, to managing classes and special projects and now, overseeing our performance seasons. I love watching how our kids grow in confidence and collaborate while working on a production. I call it putting the peas behind the mashed potatoes… Ya know, when you’re feeding a baby and you put the healthy peas behind the mashed potatoes so that the kids see the yummy, shiny thing and then, unknowingly, eat the good stuff too. When looking at our performances, we use these wonderful shows, the fun songs and dances, and all the shiny spotlight stuff to get these kids involved and then teach them the good, good benefits of being a performer and cast member: teamwork, ensemble-building, collaboration, thinking on the fly, flexibility, kindness, trusting each other and most importantly, themselves.
I spend my summers preparing for the year ahead, choosing shows for the season and curating information packets so families are ready to rock when signing up for any production! I hire our amazing staff and help them through the rehearsal process, as well as talk to families at any point about their children’s experience in our programs. I create audition materials, observe our directing teams as an outside eye, and support the cast throughout tech, dress rehearsals and performances.
For my own creative outlet, I also direct when I can—which is a great way for me to stay involved in our programming and see where we can always be improving. I also write the 1st and 2nd grade musicals; I adapt them from children’s books so that the stories are familiar to our youngest actors!
It is a joy to do this job—if young me was told to create my ideal job when I was first introduced to theatre, this would be it; I know how lucky I am and I couldn’t be more grateful to be a part of this community!
LAURA BARRON
Programs Director
As I enter my 9th year with Wolf PAC, I'm even more excited and grateful to be part of this amazing program than when I started as an electives counselor. Over the years, I’ve transitioned from teaching those summer electives to taking on a variety of different positions, and now my focus is on our class programming and managing private lessons as Programs Director. I’m thankful for the daily opportunities to collaborate with our talented teaching artists to build exciting lesson plans, pair students with the perfect lesson teacher, or work with my own private lesson students to hone their skills. These moments of creativity and teamwork are truly special to me.
I’ve had the privilege of inheriting Theatre Classes and Private Lessons programs from colleagues who gave me a strong foundation, allowing me to build and expand upon both. This summer, I worked closely with Betsy Wolf Regn, our Artistic Director, to plan a full year of classes, with themes that progress from exploration and play to performance! One of my favorite parts of this role is developing the curriculum for each class and finding new ways to enhance our offerings, like our Class Showcases, which will be returning for winter and spring classes this year, and implementing new goals for our lesson students.
At Wolf PAC, we’re always growing and learning, and I’m committed to continually creating fun and exciting programs for our students.
WILL CONNELL
Camp & Special Projects Director
As Camp and Special Projects Director, I have the opportunity to be involved in so many different experiences at once. Designing unique workshop programming, coordinating our birthday parties and other events, and of course overseeing the ins and outs (and ups and downs and lefts and rights) of our robust summer camp! While camp may just be ten weeks out of the year, the planning is a full year-round extravaganza. Over the course of the year, I select thrilling productions for our PAC campers, cook up creative programming for our Summer Studio, and even write all ten CUBS scripts myself! As we get closer to the start of the summer, I secure incredible professional teaching artists to fill our weekly staff of 24, mixing and matching folks to create exciting directing teams to challenge our campers. Building daily schedules for over 160 campers in three different programs each week is no easy feat, but we manage to get everyone where they need to be and with enough time and opportunity to feel set up for success. Once camp kicks off, there's so much communicating with our families and staff; that ends up being a major part of the day! And then two weeks later...we do it all over again! While there is so much hustle and bustle to the camp planning and running, it's a joy to do it with such a special community of campers, artists, teachers, and families. Particularly when you have the support of the world's greatest Assistant Camp Director in the one and only Mallory Rieger.
Throughout the year, I also create a wide variety of workshops! Our professional Teaching Artists work in unique disciplines like puppetry, gaming, and more to bring even more fun into our theatre curriculum. Special events like Movie Nights and Spring Break camps give our Wolf PAC community members a chance to still participate in our programming when busy schedules keep families from a full show or class commitment for the season.
Like all of us at Wolf PAC, I get to wear so many hats across camp, workshops, special projects, and more. It's so cool getting to whip up so many different adventures for our community. So I hope to see you all singing and dancing your way through the halls--winter, spring, summer, or fall!
AMY BROWER
Artist in Residence Director
I have been a Teaching Artist at Wolf PAC since 2008, and have taught almost every program from performances to classes to AiRs, piloting many of the programs that exist today. Having experienced the scope of all that Wolf PAC has to offer, I am excited to continue developing unique programming for performers outside of our walls, extending the Wolf PAC community into our surrounding areas. At Wolf PAC, we specialize in theatre education, which goes beyond the final performance on stage. We value process over product, meaning that our goal is to teach best practices in stagecraft, build a theatrical ensemble, confidence, and sense of belonging for each performer, and develop an appreciation for the performing arts. I enjoy working with each representative to help build the best programming for their community, whether it’s enhancing their current performance experience, creating theatrical enrichment for preschool students, or developing a new after school club.
While we offer packages for each of our programming options, they serve as a starting point for me to find the most appropriate material, schedule, and budget, curating the program to suit the needs of your community. One of my favorite parts of my job is to match the community with one of our stellar Wolf PAC Teaching Artists, who will then help continue the development of the project under my guidance. My goal is for Wolf PAC to be a resource in theatre education for our area. I want to help support your school curriculum, meet your performance goals, and strengthen your team. Let Wolf PAC bring out the best in your community!
