Stephen Emerick is thrilled to be directing Peter and the Starcatcher with The Strawberry Hill Players! Thank you to the cast, production team, and crew who helped make this huge show a success; and Tommy DeSalvo for the support and trust to take on another SHP production. Break legs and burn gels to all! Past productions: Dir. The Toxic Avenger The Musical (2023), Groundhog Day The Musical (2023), Dir. The Lobby (2022). Dir. A Piece of My Heart (2022), Asst. Dir. The Prom (2023) Stamford H.S.

Tommy is in his 15th year as the Drama Club’s director and producer. He has directed The Prom, Curtains, Bad Auditions By Bad Actors, Steel Magnolias, Put On A Happy Face, Our Place, Elephant's Graveyard, The Addams Family, Noises Off, The Wiz, Picnic, All Shook Up, Almost Maine, Legally Blonde, Moon Over Buffalo, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Spelling Bee, Guys & Dolls, Shakespeare in Hollywood, Bye Bye Birdie, Pippin, Grease, Soap Opera, and All in the Timing with the Strawberry Hill Players. Tommy works at the Childcare Learning Centers but has been active in theatre for the last 20 years. He is on the Curtain Call Board and has been involved in many productions there, most recently Beautiful

Laura is excited to be in her Senior year at Stamford High. She has stage managed “The Prom”, “Curtains”, “A Piece of My Heart”, “Senior Scenes” and “Peter and The Starcatcher” at Stamford High School. She also assistant stage managed last year’s SYT production “The Pajama Game”, and was the light operator this year for “The Addams Family”. She’s really excited and happy to be working with such an amazing and talented cast. Overall, she would like to thank Stephen, Ms. Dunn, Tommy, crew, and the entire cast. She’s really proud of everyone. Break legs!!

Annie is an English/IB Theatre teacher at Stamford High and in her second year as advisor of the Strawberry Hill Players. She is also the advisor of SHIP and Book Club. While attending high school, she performed in her drama club's musicals and went on to help build sets for her college's productions. Last year, she had the time of her life assisting with A Piece of My Heart, Senior Scenes, as well as costuming The Prom! She is so excited to be back to begin another season with the club, especially starting off with a Peter Pan play! She would like to thank the cast and crew for their faith, trust, and hard work!

Hayden Katz is a junior at Stamford High School and is ecstatic to be costuming this year’s fall play! Though this is Hayden’s third year with SHP, this is her first time being a costumer!! Some of Hayden’s previous shows include The Prom (Deedee Allen), Something Rotten (Bea Bottom), High School Musical (Sharpay Evans), Senior Scenes (#25), Sound of Music (Maria), and Curtains (Featured Dancer and Bambi U/S). Hayden would like to thank the entire production team, especially Ms.Dunn, for welcoming her with opening arms and allowing her to be a part of creating this amazing show!!! She would also like to thank the cast and crew for being so supportive throughout this entire process and allowing me to grow as a costumer!

Miles DeSantis is a senior at AITE and this is his fourth production at Stamford High School. His previous credits include Curtains, A Piece of my Heart, and The Prom. Miles is the 2023 Stephen Sondheim Award winner for Achievement in Sound Design for his work on The Prom. He was also involved in Stamford All-School-Musical's Something Rotten. Beyond high school theater, Miles has participated in many productions at Curtain Call Stamford as a sound engineer for Groundhog Day, Wizard of Oz, Assassins, and the Summer Youth Theatre production of The Addams Family, and was lead sound designer for the Town Players of New Canaan in their production of The Toxic Avenger. He would like to thank his family and friends for supporting him. 

Molly is a senior at Stamford High and is over the moon to be Assistant Stage Managing for the first time! She has acted as a crew member for Stamford High’s previous productions of The Prom, Curtains, Steel Magnolias, and Senior Scenes XXIV. She would like to thank Laura, Stephen, and Tommy for this lovely opportunity, and the rest of the cast/crew for making this show possible!

Ella is super excited to be choreographing for her first SHP drama. A senior at AITE, Ella has been studying ballet, hip-hop, tap, jazz, lyrical, pointe, and contemporary for 14 years with the New Canaan Dance Academy, where she dances with their competition company. She is also a member of the Tap City Youth Ensemble in lower Manhattan. When she isn’t on stage, Ella is an executive member of MYLC and the VP of Curtain Call’s Youth Board. Thank you to Stephen, Ms. Dunn, and Tommy for giving me this chance to travel a new path!

Matthew is a music director, accompanist, and composer/lyricist based out of NYC. His credits include Fiddler on the Roof, The Addams Family, The Pajama Game, Hairspray, Into the Woods, Bye Bye Birdie, The Wizard of Oz, and High School Musical in the Greenwich/Stamford area, and Romeo and Bernadette off-broadway. He attended Boston College for music and NYU Tisch’s Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program.