Ms. Maxey holds a BA in Theatre Arts and is a theatrical director, acting coach, composer, singer, dancer, and choreographer. She has directed youth drama classes and is founder of Back River Drama in Duxbury, MA. Heather has coached numerous young performers in acting, singing, and dancing techniques. She has overseen the production and direction of five summer musicals in Duxbury including High School Musical, Oklahoma, Sound of Music, Shrek, and The Lion King. Ms. Maxey portrayed Olivia in Twelfth Night, and Flo in Come and Go. In 1988 she won the Kirk Douglas Best Actress Award at St. Lawrence University. This past summer Heather produced an original musical Sounds Like Essex as well as the 2nd annual ETC’s Talent Show. She plans to write and direct next summer production “Sounds Like…II”

Ms. Burke is a senior executive with over 25 years of experience in the computer software industry. She is a graduate of Southeastern Oklahoma State University, where she earned a MBA and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Communications. In her early career, she was Publicity Director of the Oklahoma Shakespeare Festival, an annual event that attracts thousands of people and features a variety of Shakespeare plays, as well as workshops and educational programs. They are currently renovating the former Cabins on the Lake into the newly established Lady on the Lake in downtown Essex. They want to welcome people to Essex with a beautiful environment where they can enjoy all that the community has to offer. Christine is passionate advocate for animals and education. She is also a strong supporter of diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Ms. Poppino is a summer resident in Essex, NY. During the winter she resides in Schenectady, NY, where she serves on the Board of Trustees for the First United Methodist Church and is President of the Thursday Musical Club. She has directed/designed several plays and two musicals for Essex Theatre Company, the most recent the play Almost, Maine by John Cariani in 2022 and Be Here Now by Deborah Zoe Laufer in 2023. She has served on the Board of Trustees of ETC in one capacity or another many times since 1993 when the Company was formed. She holds a BA in English from Oberlin College and an MA in Teaching from SUNY Albany and has completed post-graduate studies in theater at SUNY Albany.

Mr. Stephan is a professional engineer and licensed attorney in the state of New York. Prior to retirement, he worked for 44 years in public works construction, where he served as a Project Manager on multiple multi-billion dollar projects from Boston to New York City. For the last 30 years, he worked for a consulting firm, where as an Executive Director, he founded and managed office on both the east and west coasts. Bruce has served on the Vestry of St. John’s Church, as well as the Champlain Valley Film Society and Old Adirondack furniture company boards. He has performed in two ETC productions and several Essex Initiatives productions.

Aside from serving on the board of ETC, Ms. Lawrence also serves as a Vestry member of St. John’s Episcopal Church as well as a board member of the Champlain Valley Chapter of Sweet Adelines in Plattsburgh. She made her acting debut with ETC in 2003 in the play Private Lives and has acted in several ETC productions since then, including The Prisoner of Second Avenue, My Favorite Year, Three Oranges, The Sunshine Boys and most recently The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds. Ms. Lawrence also directed a staged reading of Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol with Jackie Wardell for local churches. She has sung in several church choirs and now sings with the Champlain Valley Chorus (Sweet Adelines) and the Cumberland Bay Chorus (Mixed Barbershop).

Mr. Wardell lives in Essex, NY, and is a retired computer consultant. He has been lighting/sound designer for many ETC productions and attends St. John’s Church in Essex.

In 1903, Ms. Allen’s grandmother came to Essex and every generation since then has summered in Essex. Recently widowed, she and her husband made Essex an important part of their lives for almost 45 years. Until recently, she was a board member of CFES-Brilliant Pathways in Essex. Currently, she is a Trustee at the Adirondack Foundation. Ms. Allen received a Masters of Social Work from Boston University and a BA from Wells College. She worked for many years in private practice and as a School Counselor at a private day school in Weston, MA. She has served on many non-profit boards in the Boston area. For the past decade plus, she has been a Gallery Instructor at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Mr. Clark is an actor, singer and musician. From making home movies as a kid, singing and playing guitar in a punk band in high school, he has always enjoyed being on stage and working behind the scenes. Alex lives in Plattsburgh and works from home for a non-profit dedicated to reducing the early death and disease attributable to smoking by ensuring that people have access to legal, safer alternatives to cigarettes. For the past year, he has been practicing sculpture and collage.

Mr. Coleman was the Artistic Director at ETC at its inception. He taught drama and directed plays at the Spence School in NYC for many years. Currently, he enjoys playing his ukelele and singing at various open mic sessions. Mr. Coleman is interested in the area of educational outreach in theatre and increasing opportunities for community involvement in local theatre activities. He offers possibilities for developing projects that would strengthen rehearsals and onstage performances, increasing skills of amateur talent, and creating variety in onstage performances.

Mr. Feehely is a playwright, actor, teacher, director, singer, songwriter and guitarist. As a playwright, he has written Outside Paradise, The Trojan Women (adaptation), Ordinary Heroes, Working with Glass, and The Payout. He is founders of the Actors Bridge Actor Training Program. Mr. Feehely has directed and acted in several stage plays for the Tennessee Repertory Theatre, the Actors Bridge Theatre, the O’Neill Theatre, the Belmont Theatre, and Belmont University. He was the Head of Acting/Directing and a tenured professor at Belmont University and has held private classes on the Meisner Technique. Mr. Feehely has been an acting coach for several feature films and played roles such as in The Dead Center, Blood Rogues, Mirror Rim, and Moscow Station. He has also played principal characters in commercial ads for businesses including Ohio Health, Adamo, Zander Insurance, Whiteheart, Pilot/Flying J, Hillard Lyons and the US Army. Mr. Feehely released his music album Money and Love in August 2017. He has also appeared in Reba McEntire and Home Free music videos. Additional interests include racquet sports, horseback riding, boxing, golf and outdoor grilling.

Ms. Firestone was raised in Sonoma County, CA, and raised her four children in Oakland and Berkley, CA. Although Leigh was raised in CA, both her parents were born in Brooklyn, NY, and raised in Long Island, NY. She moved to Essex, NY, during the COVID outbreak and purchased the old Essex firehouse, which she has turned into the Barn Door Tavern. Ms. Firestone is a patent attorney by profession, and she assisted in this year’s ETC summer activities.

Ms. Harris lives in Santa Barbara, CA and Hickory Hill in Essex during the summer. Having always been interested in theater, she reignited her role as Assistant Director and Stage Manager for Almost, Maine in 2022 and Be Here Now in 2023. The Hickory Hill home and land has been in Ms. Harris’s family for generations, with her father being the youngest of Henry Howard Ross’s eight children. Residing at Hickory Hill is like living in history, keeping the feeling of the 1820’s alive, which is the decade of its construction.

Ms. Holzhauer is a Speech Language Pathologist with a MS in Communication Disorders, a BA in English and is a NYS Certified Teacher, N-6. She is a permanent resident of Westport and has appeared in many ETC productions, beginning with Private Lives in 2003 to her most recent production as Bari in Be Here Now. She has always loved theater, becoming President of the MSV Players while in college to performing in Off-Broadway productions with the Village Light Orchestra. Presently she runs a small farm with her husband who also trains Newfoundland Dogs to Water Rescue, Draft and competes in several trials throughout the year. She also edits and promotes her husband’s books which most recently, Gunner’s Island, was released by Austin Macauley Publishers, London in 2023.

Ms. Krenze is a musical director, singer and songwriter. She was born and raised on the plains of North Dakota. While earning a degree in marketing from the University of North Dakota, Celeste was writing songs and working toward a music career that would spend 25 years. With the release of 11 albums, Celeste established herself as a staple of the Americana music scene. Her first CD garnered national attention with her debut album, “The Edge of the Storm”. She is also garnered national attention with her second release, “Slow Burning Flame” produced by Bluegrass legend Tim O'Brien. The album reached #11 on music trade magazine GAVIN’s Americana Chart and remain on the chart for 11 weeks in the top 20.

Ms. Legget is a choregrapher who hails from the state of Vermont. She moved to Essex in 2016 and has worked since then at the Essex Inn managing its day-to-day operations. With a background in dance, Ms. Legget’s expertise is integral to the success of ETC productions. When not on stage, Ms. Legget can be found enjoying the peace and quiet of Essex, meditating and yoga in the morning and walking her own dogs in the afternoon.

Mr. Murphy performed a non-speaking, background role as a tree in his kindergarten school play. He then took a thirty-five year hiatus from acting, until last summer, when Andrew appeared in Essex Theatre Company's production of Almost Maine. Andrew is proud to be back on the ETC stage for Be Here Now. Acting is a challenging, time consuming and rewarding endeavor. When he's not frantically trying to memorize his lines, Andrew enjoys playing open mic at the VFW Hall in Keeseville on Tuesday evenings, and enjoying the natural amenities of the Adirondacks and the Champlain Valley.

Mr. Whicker is an actor and singer and has been heard throughout North America and Europe as a dramatic tenor, and (in his younger years) as a baritone. Musical theater roles include: Miles Gloriosus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Billy Bigelow in Carousel, and Curly in Oklahoma!. Rex currently produces and appears on the NY Sports Incomplete podcast. He is the host and producer of “Uncorked with Rex Whicker”. Mr. Whicker is married and has pet cats, and enjoys playing the tuba.