Category: Uncategorized

Sean is a performer, director, and theater educator who holds a BA in Theatre from the College of the Holy Cross.

During the day, he works in an elementary school, but outside of work, theater takes up a lot of his life. He grew up in Rhode Island performing in theaters all across the state, but has now found a home in the theater world here in Portland. Since moving here in the summer of 2023, he has performed at Lyric Music Theater and Portland Players and is the Drama Director at Cheverus High School. Some of his favorite past roles include The Lion in THE WIZARD OF OZ, Warner Huntington III in LEGALLY BLONDE, and Evelyn Oakleigh in ANYTHING GOES.

He is excited to be a part of the STAGES team and to be combining his two loves of theater and education!

Sean joined the STAGES team in 2024 where he has supported STAGES Productions and currently serves as a Co-Director for the Musical Theater Ensemble program!

David is a director, music director, and performer in the Portland area, and he’s excited to jump into his first summer at Stages! He is the Performance Operations Director on the board at Lyric Music Theater in South Portland and has happily worked with many local theaters.

David’s first ever show was “Romeo and Juliet: Together and Alive At Last” in the seventh grade. To his dismay he was cast as Romeo, so for weeks he enjoyed eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to avoid the kissing scenes (Juliet was conveniently allergic). Try as he might, he still fell in love with theater, and the rest is history. Favorite roles include a juvenile delinquent, an ex-convict, a scarecrow (twice), a man with claustrophobia, and a donkey.

When he’s not in the theater you can find David kayaking, working on a puzzle, and spending time with his wife and two dogs.

David joined the STAGES team in 2024 and will be co-directing our Summer Showcase Cabaret!

Ben Shields’ theater journey began with STAGES when he was just four years old. He has since performed in over 40 productions throughout school and community theater, and has recently begun to dip his toes in film.

Ben is currently a Theater Arts and Public Relations double major at Marquette University with hopes of pursuing a career in film acting and comedy. He is very excited to return to STAGES this summer for the first time since 2020!

Ben joined the STAGES Summer Camp staff in 2024, and will be working with our youngest students in the PLAYVENTURE and PET VETS programs, and providing support backstage during our mainstage productions.

Genevieve Breitbach (she/her) is a Portland based theatre artist, performer, and teacher with a BFA in Acting from Millikin University.

From New York to Wisconsin, Illinois to England, Massachusetts to Maine she has taught, performed, directed, and worked with a variety of theatre companies and schools to bring mindfulness and creativity through the theatrical arts for the past 8+ years.

Since moving to Portland in 2020, and discovering the wonderful theatre community here, she has performed regularly with Lyric Music Theater, Portland Players, the Maine Playwrights Festival, PortFringe (’23), and most recently with Out There Theatre Company on The 39 Steps. She is delighted and grateful to be a part of the teaching team at Stages Youth Theater!

Genevieve joined the STAGES team in 2023 as a Teaching Artist in our PLAYVENTURE and PET VETS programs for our youngest students!

NOTE: At STAGES Youth Theater, we work hard every day to fulfill our mission. A big part of this is Meeting Kids Where They’re At. We realized we haven’t really shared much about what this means and how we do it, and we want to change that. It’s super important to us, and we believe in it so much. Through periodic blog posts on this topic, we hope to shed some light on our approach and show just how passionate we are about it.

At STAGES, our programs welcome kids from diverse backgrounds, experience levels, skill sets, ages, literacy levels, and abilities. Many of these young people have found theater to be a competitive and stressful experience in the past. We strive to level the playing field as much as possible because we believe that everyone deserves the chance to benefit from theater education and performance. Our unique casting approach is designed to reflect the promise of our mission, and to meet kids where they’re at.

Six years ago, STAGES quietly discontinued the process of formal auditions. Frankly speaking, there was something about the process that just didn’t feel right. Requiring students to sing alone for a panel of directors amplified the hyper-competitive nature of casting, and created stress and anxiety for nearly all of the students involved. If there were kids in tears on the first day of a STAGES program, our casting process definitely was not aligned with our mission and values. There had to be a better way for us to do it.

Unlike many traditional auditions, STAGES casting is based on the age range and developmental readiness of the cast. The process may have slight variations from production to production and may include getting-to-know-you surveys (for parents and/or students), optional video submissions, group meet-and-greet events, or other low-pressure activities. Roles are thoughtfully assigned to align with students’ readiness, enthusiasm, and developmental needs, with multiple team members collaborating on casting decisions to ensure fairness.

Of the many things we’ve learned at STAGES over the years, young people almost always rise to the occasion or challenge presented to them, happy kids make great theater, and self-discovery looks like different things for different kids. There is nothing like watching the confidence blossom in a first-time lead performer, or witnessing the exuberant versatility of an experienced performer taking on a complex ensemble track of colorful characters! While the process favors personal growth over conventional expectations of talent or skill, the resulting productions are amazing.

Our casting approach is designed with the best interests of all enrolled students in mind. Even so, we know that this process may be unfamiliar for folks new to STAGES. It may even be frustrating or confusing to some. We believe in what we do, and would love to answer any questions or receive constructive feedback at any time.

We are grateful for the trust and cooperation extended to us as we continually review and refine our best practices for casting shows to ensure that valuable performance opportunities are accessible to as many young people as possible.

Robbie is a scientist-turned-artist currently living in Greater Portland with their wife of many years and a small fish.

Robbie worked at STAGES for several seasons in a variety of design and classroom support roles before joining the office team in late 2023. They co-directed the 2024 Acting Ensemble, and currently oversee production operations at STAGES.

Louise Ambler is a theatre maker based in Portland, ME. She frequently works as a lighting designer, but can also be seen performing, directing, devising, and stage managing.

She recently graduated from Vassar College with a degree in Theater and History. Since moving to Portland, she has designed at Mad Horse Theater and Lyric Music Theater.

She is thrilled to be at STAGES, getting to share the joy of creativity with young people!

Louise joined the STAGES team in 2024 as a Teaching Artist in our PLAYVENTURE programs, and as a lighting designer for mainstage productions.

Although Connor was never in a STAGES show, he has been in many-a-show since he was but a mere middle schooler.  He joined for the snacks, but stayed because it turns out it’s actually pretty fun.

Connor has played many roles on stage and backstage, as he tries his best to be able to do anything he’s asked of. He has a knack for playing odd characters, but can also design and put together a pretty mean set.

He’s currently a creative writing and visual arts double major at the University of Maine at Farmington, and writes a lot of scripts that will forever stay in his desk drawer. He used to be the Drama and Music program director at Ketcha Outdoors, and he is so excited to be at STAGES this summer.

Connor joined the STAGES team in 2023 as part of the front of house and box office team, and will be reprising that role, as well as co-directing the PLAYVenture daycamp programs this summer!

Alyssa Rojecki is excited to be part of the Stages crew!

She graduated from The University of Southern Maine with a Bachelors Degree in Theater back in 2015. Recently she has worked with theaters in the area including Schoolhouse Arts Center, Portland Players, Lyric Music Theater, Biddeford City Theater, and Studio Theater at Portland Stage. Additional education includes Fitzmaurice Voice Work and Archetypes workshop with Josh Chenard, NMCA Michael Chekhov Training with Lisa Dalton and Wil Kilroy, Camera Technique with William Steele, Vocal Training with Jackie Grigg and Joseph Hitchcock at Center Stage Vocal, Jazz Vocal Training with Taylor O’Donnell, Musical Theater Dance with Emma Tompkins, Kristin Sutton, and Vanessa Beyland. 

When she’s not busy wearing many hats in her theatrical element, she loves to work on arts and crafts and explore the wilderness with her beagle, Baxter Browne!

Alyssa began working at STAGES in 2024, where she is been part of the PLAYVenture teaching team, and an Acting Ensemble co-director. She is also a Teaching Artist for STAGES in the Schools, presenting workshops and other theater education programs in classrooms around southern Maine!