DASH Consultants
The DASH Consultant Team are experienced theater veterans, many of whom have extensive theatrical training and or professional experience. Generally, they are active members of current EMACT member groups who continue to contribute their many talents to the local theater scene.
Consultants are eligible to receive nominations and awards in a season for which they have submitted ballots. However, they are forbidden from balloting on shows for which they had any direct involvement, and every effort is made to avoid having them consult on productions involving companies or individuals with whom they have a significant connection and history.
What does it take to be a DASH consultant?
If you are interested in becoming a DASH Consultant, please submit a theatrical resume to the DASH Director(s) at: dash@emact.org
Consultants are eligible to receive nominations and awards in a season for which they have submitted ballots. However, they are forbidden from balloting on shows for which they had any direct involvement, and every effort is made to avoid having them consult on productions involving companies or individuals with whom they have a significant connection and history.
What does it take to be a DASH consultant?
- The DASH Consultant position is exciting, rewarding, educational, and challenging. Consultants need to be experienced and knowledgeable in multiple facets of theater, both artistic and technical; able to express themselves well and concisely in writing; able to be both tactful and constructive when offering criticism and suggestions; and able to critique productions with an open mind. We encourage our consultants to acknowledge weak areas and to work to strengthen them through collaboration, education, and experience.
- DASH consultants must pass an initial screening, then qualified candidates go through a training process which includes attending several productions with the DASH Director, discussing them, and completing the ballot scoring process. All consultants attend a “test show” early in the season to calibrate scoring.
- DASH consultants are required to consult on a minimum of 10-12 productions over the course of the season. We hold several feedback meetings over the course of the season to discuss issues and ways to improve the DASH program, and may occasionally host adjudication workshops or other training sessions.
- Consultants receive a complimentary pair of tickets, mileage reimbursement, and a small stipend for each show they consult on, as well as one complimentary ticket to the annual DASH Gala.
If you are interested in becoming a DASH Consultant, please submit a theatrical resume to the DASH Director(s) at: dash@emact.org
2022-2023 DASH Consultants
Lis Adams holds B.A. in Theatre Arts from Brandeis University and studied under Herbert Berghof and Carol Hall at HB Studio in New York City. As a teen she learned acting and stagecraft from the professional company and crew at the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and has since been both onstage and backstage in three countries, performing and designing for community and professional theater, while serving on theater boards and committees in various capacities. She is a member of the Actors-in-Residence (AiR) program for Playwrights’ Platform at Lasell College and Boston Playwrights’ Theatre and has performed and directed for their annual Festival of Plays. She has taught acting and Shakespeare classes at Concord Youth Theatre and for after-school programs. Lis is a current board member for Phi Beta Kappa Boston and serves as Director of Education at Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House in Concord.
Sandy Armstrong has been involved with theater for more than fifty years. She still performs, produces, directs, does makeup and hair, costumes (not sewing), program design, and can find her way around a set build. In her early years living in Chelmsford, she co-chaired the summer playground program, which included some theater exercises along with recreational sports. As a teacher in Chelmsford, she chaired the Drama Club in the Junior High School. She was a former Board member and Director for Patchwork Children’s Theater (Chelmsford); Past President and Executive Producer of the Paint and Powder Club of Greater Lowell ( 25 years raising money for local children’s charities); Founding Board member of Merrimack Repertory Theater; Past President and Executive Producer of Theatre III, West Acton; BOD EMACT (2004 – 2006); Director of Concord Players Traveling Troupe (senior actors performing staged readings for CoAs and assisted living facilities); DASH Consultant for EMACT.
Lance Arnold became involved in theater over 40 years ago in middle school and it has been a large part of his life ever since. He minored in theater arts at Western Illinois University. Lance has acted, directed, produced, stage managed, designed sets, built props, and been part of many stage crews. He was also an adjudicator for Massachusetts Thespian Society’s state Theater Festival. Lance was a founder and Artistic Director of Spotlight Playhouse. He has directed for Marblehead Little Theater, Spotlight Playhouse, Voices of Hope, and Actor Singers. Some of his favorite shows to direct have been Into The Woods, Company, Noises Off, Secret Garden and The Drowsy Chaperone, for which he earned a NH Theater Alliance nomination for Best Director in 2017.
J. Mark Baumhardt has been active in Boston Area Community Theater since 1994. He is a native of Highland Park, Illinois, where he was active in the Highland Park High School Marching Band, Wind Ensemble, and Orchestra, playing the trumpet. In addition, he was active in the theater program as a performer in numerous plays and musicals. He studied Broadcast Journalism at Boston University where he was also a member of several performance groups in the BU Music Organizations program. Mark has directed, acted, produced, designed sound, built and painted sets, worked crew, and worked front-of-house for numerous theaters in our community. He was named best director at the 2006 EMACT Drama Festival for the Quannapowitt Player’s festival-winning production Five Women Wearing the Same Dress. In 2014, he won the DASH Best Director award for QP’s Best Production-winning play Becky’s New Car. Mark has received additional nominations for directing, acting, and sound design at both the EMACT Drama Festival and as part of the DASH program. He also won best sound design at the 2015 New England Regional Theater Festival for Hovey Player’s production of Rabbit Hole.
Caitlin Beckman graduated from Wagner College with a BA in theater performance. After graduating, Caitlin was a Youth Entertainment Cast Member at Walt Disney World Resort (2013-2016), directed elementary through high school educational theater, and performed with the American Repertory Theater and community theaters in the Boston area. Previous roles include: Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls; Molly in The Smell of the Kill (DASH Award: Ensemble Performance 2019); Lily St. Regis in Annie; Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof. Caitlin is a theater teacher at KIPP Academy Lynn, where she directs and choreographs the annual school musical, is a dance teacher at Enchanted Dance Academy, a youth theater program instructor at Five Star Theater Program, an independent youth theater master class instructor, and performs locally as a music duo “Cait + Pat” with her brother.
Kara Chu Nelson - Kara Chu Nelson has been a theatre lover for as long as she can remember. After a strong upbringing as an audience member and “home performer”, Kara finally got involved with theatre in college, where she performed as well as served as Social Events Coordinator, Documentarian, and Producer with a student-run organization at Syracuse University. She then jumped with two feet into the Massachusetts theatre scene, performing in both community and professional productions and making wonderful friends in the process. Kara has worked at North Shore Music Theatre, Seacoast Rep, The Umbrella, Theatre at the Mount, Footlight Club, Longwood Players, MMAS, and Marblehead Little Theatre, among others. Favorite past roles include Éponine in Les Mis, "Somewhere" Girl in West Side Story, Hope Cladwell in Urinetown, and Natalie in Next to Normal. Kara holds a B.A. in Music History and Cultures, and is an American Sign Language student, a former Performing Arts teacher, and a state champion gymnast.
Celia Couture is an award-winning director with an MFA from Emerson College. Celia has represented EMACT directing three productions at the National AACT Festival, including Burlington Players’ production of Radium Girls, which won the National Festival for Best Production. She has directed multiple shows which have earned DASH nominations and awards for Best Production, as well as the NETC Moss Hart Award and an IRNE award. She has directed for Vokes Players, Concord Players, Gloucester Stage Company, Wellesley Players, and many other local theatre groups. Celia was a founder and artistic director of the Woburn Repertory Theatre and serves at the Vice President of the Wellesley Players. Celia is currently the Past President of EMACT and has also served as the Vice President of Festivals, successfully running both the State and Regional Festival.
Francine Davis (she/her/hers) is a Boston-based actor/director who has been involved in
theater for much of her life. She earned her B.A. from Williams College and then studied for
two years at Cambridge University, England, as the recipient of a Herchel Smith Fellowship.
While in England, Francine saw three-quarters of Shakespeare's plays, a number of them
more than once, and developed a fondness for them. She has since directed productions of
his works for Boston-area community theaters, colleges, and high schools, and has acted in
nearly a dozen of his plays, including three productions of Twelfth Night. Francine's other
acting and directing work has been for Vokes, TCAN, Playwrights' Platform, King Richard's
Faire, Yorick Ensemble, and Jakespeare, among others. She is a teacher member of the
Folger Shakespeare Library.
theater for much of her life. She earned her B.A. from Williams College and then studied for
two years at Cambridge University, England, as the recipient of a Herchel Smith Fellowship.
While in England, Francine saw three-quarters of Shakespeare's plays, a number of them
more than once, and developed a fondness for them. She has since directed productions of
his works for Boston-area community theaters, colleges, and high schools, and has acted in
nearly a dozen of his plays, including three productions of Twelfth Night. Francine's other
acting and directing work has been for Vokes, TCAN, Playwrights' Platform, King Richard's
Faire, Yorick Ensemble, and Jakespeare, among others. She is a teacher member of the
Folger Shakespeare Library.
Matt Garlin's acting credits include Quannapowitt Players: Suburban Holidays 3, 4, 5 & 6 and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Theatre to Go: Arsenic and Old Lace and Twelfth Night, New England School of Performing Arts: The Breakfast Club and The Bard Brigade: The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice, and Macbeth, Revolutionary Theatre: Shakespeare Academy, Still Small theatre’s repertory company for How I Met Our Father and The Diary of Perpetua. His directing credits include Enchanted April for Theatre to Go Inc., Almost Maine and It’s a Wonderful Life for Theater Company of Saugus, Godspell for Sherwood Entertainment, Side by Side by Sondheim for Colonial Chorus Players, Twelfth Night for The Bard Brigade, and a short film Project Invisible. His playwright credits include: Online Dating and Curtain Call at Acting Out Company in Lawrence and North Shore Players in Danvers, How Do You Know at River’s Edge Arts Alliance, Just Get Over It at Quarantine Players, Woods at Theater@First, and A Christmas Gift & A Christmas Carol: A Radio Play (adaptation) at Theater Company of Saugus, Love in the Snow: Stories for Christmas at Walpole Footlighters, Redemption: A Don Quixote Story at Orinda Starlight Village Players. His composer credits include: Almost Maine for Theater Company of Saugus, Macbeth, and Much Ado About Nothing for The Bard Brigade, Enchanted April for Theatre to Go. He currently hosts his own podcast, Everything You Never Needed to Know about Movies, Music, and Theater, and is the creator, writer and plays “Jim Henry” in The Movie Critics: A Webseries. You can find both on Anchor, Spotify, and every place else you get your podcasts.
Cara Guappone is a lifelong resident of Eastern Massachusetts and has participated in grade school, university, regional, and community theater here for the last 20 years. Cara trained at Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center and the British American Drama Academy and holds a B.S. in Theater (yes, you read that correctly, a Bachelor of Science) from Tufts University, where she double majored in Theater and Human Factors Engineering. Cara has worked at The Umbrella Stage Company, The Footlight Club, Arlington Friends of the Drama, Weston Friendly Society, Longwood Players, and Arts After Hours, among others. Cara is an actor and a designer, specializing in both Scenic Design as well as Hair, Makeup, and Wig Design. Favorite past roles include Emily Webb in Our Town, Heather McNamara in Heathers The Musical, Little Sally in Urinetown, Suzanne in Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Amy in Company, and Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby. By day, Cara is a Graphic Designer and User Experience designer in Boston.
Jason Hair-Wynn (He/Him/His) is a 12-time award-winning Actor, Choreographer and Director who has training in Intimacy Direction, choreography, and coordination. He has worked in professional, regional, and community theater. He has worked on syndicated commercials such as: Campbell's Soup, The Food Network, Eloqua, Ipod Nano, Hasbro, Inc., Boston Duck Tours, and Public Health Service announcements both as an actor and voice-over artist and had also been a reenactment actor on The Montel Williams Show. Jason has worked part of The Massachusetts Governor's Taskforce on Hate Crimes and the GLSEN Project speaker's bureau traveling the country running workshops, trainings, and public speaking on Diversity and Inclusion, Suicide Prevention, and School Violence and has been featured on numerous national televised diversity forums including MTV's Fight for your Rights; Hate in the Hallways. Jason was the program director for one of the first pilot programs for HIV prevention and education through the Department of Public Health. Jason was a first-year judge for the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild prior to Covid and dedicates his time to work that empowers, theatre that educates, and theatre that provides dialogue to begin the process of change.
Robert Hallisey has been active in theater for more than 35 years in Eastern Massachusetts having worked with community, semi-professional, and philanthropic performance groups. He is the current President of The Burlington Players, past President of EMACT and The Winchester Players, served on the board of directors for the Nextdoor Theater and is an original member and served on the board for Voices of Hope, a group that raises awareness and funds for cancer research. Robert has been involved in almost all aspects of theater, focused primarily on acting, directing, producing, and stage managing. He has performed and worked on productions in multiple states including Maine, New York, Virginia, Washington DC, and of course Massachusetts. Robert has performed with eight different theater groups in MA in plays and musicals and received 2 DASH nominations for acting. As a performer Robert has sung at venues including Symphony Hall, the Hatch Shell, North Shore Music Theatre, Gillette Stadium, Jordan Hall, and the Americal Civic Center in Wakefield. He has performed with Voices of Hope, twice appeared as a soloist with the Middlesex Concert Band, and in 9 Winton Club Cabaret’s that are an annual benefit for the Winchester Hospital. Robert has a B.A. in Drama with departmental honors from Vassar College and later earned a Radio and Television Broadcasting Certificate from The Northeast Broadcasting School in Boston. He was a radio news reporter/anchor in Lowell in the early 1990’s and had done recording for some early voice recognition software. He has worked on various EMACT Consultant Programs for more than 20 years from the EARPs to the DASH and DASH Plus and he also served as a Gala co-host many years ago.
Heather Hamilton has spent more than a decade as a participant in numerous high school festival, college, and community theatre productions and cultivated her skills as a theatre artist through her experiences in acting, stage managing, and producing. She was able to fully embrace the stage as both an actress and a stage manager during her time as a member and board member of the Off-Broadway Players at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. She continued pursuing this passion and made her community theatre acting debut with EMACT group The Colonial Chorus Players and has remained an active member of the group stage managing and producing multiple productions while serving on their Board of Directors ever since. Additionally, she was a founding member and Interim Director of the Scared Scriptless improv troupe based out of Lowell, MA and continues to apply the principles of, “Yes, and—” to her daily life. She has also worked with EMACT groups including The Footlight Club and The Misfit Artist Company.
Faye Harrington has been active in theater since high school. She has a BA in English from the University of Minnesota, with a minor in Drama. She spent most of her time in the Drama department working in every aspect of stage production. Faye was a founding member of the TCAN Players in Natick. In addition to producing, directing, designing and acting in many of the TCAN Players’ shows, she has also worked with other local companies such as the Hovey Players, Medway Players and Sudbury Savoyards.
Susan Harrington holds a B.S. in Education, with a minor in Art and an Area of Focus in The Hospitalized Child from Wheelock College, MA in Business Organizational and Communication from Emerson College, an MEd. in Special Education Technology from Emmanuel College, and an MS in Instructional Media from Fitchburg State College. She has served on the EMACT board in a few capacities since 2007. She began as Recording Secretary, moved on to Membership Director and will conclude her tenure as Education Director. In addition, Susan has served on the board of The Footlight Club in Jamaica Plain and Arlington Friends of the Drama. Susan has served as production manager or co-production manager to productions with The Footlight Club, Arlington Friends of the Drama, Belmont Dramatic Club, Winchester Players, The Hovey Players, The Theatre Company of Saugus, and The Lexington Players. Susan also serves as the Massachusetts state contact for Region I to the American Association of Community Theatre.
Maria Hendricks is a multi-lingual, multi-racial, multi-ethnic, and multi-talented artist/activist! Her passion is performance that fuses arts & activism, thus creating a vehicle for education and change. Whether this polyglot is: interpreting in the courts or on an asylum case, serving as an oral historian in Boston Public Schools, working as theatrical cultural consultant or acting and singing on stages throughout New England and down the East Coast - she is ALWAYS putting all her passion & fervor into her work in that moment! For Maria Accountability, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion are simply a way of life being a BIPOC individual; as such, serving on the DASH consultant team is just another avenue to do the much-needed work in our industry. “The work of EDI/DEI is daunting and overwhelming but, if each of us - within our own microcosm, steadfastly holds ourselves & others accountable and does the ongoing work of educating ourselves and sharing information in earnest - the power of ONE is immeasurable.” For over 25 years, Maria has been performing on community & regional stages, having earned one or two EMACT nods and several NH Theatre Award nominations along the way; in both professional and community categories including a Top 3 NHTA award for Best Supporting Actress (Professional category) as well as a NHACT award for Best Actress. Maria is an Equity Membership Candidate and has performed off Broadway with the Negro Ensemble Co., and thus far graced stages as far south as Virginia Repertory Theatre and as far North as Vermont Stage.
Sheila Kelleher has been involved in community theatre for 20 years, performing and directing for many theatre groups on the South Shore including Bay Players, Curtain Call Theatre, Nemasket River Productions, MMAS, Hull Performing Arts, Hat Trick Theatre and Plymouth Community Theatre, where she served as President until 2019. She has studied acting with Perishable Theatre, Providence, RI, Whitebridge Studios in NH with Academy Award winner Ernest Thompson, and workshopped in Musical Theatre at RADA in London. She holds a master’s degree from Emerson College in Theatre Education where she developed an Acting Workshop for Senior Citizens. She formerly taught Adult Acting at The Company Theatre in Norwell. Shelia joined EMACT as a DASH consultant in 2017. She wrote an award winning 10 minute play in 2013 which she expanded to an hour long one act in 2014. She added her own original music to expand it into a full musical which was successfully produced on stage in 2019.
Nick Miller has been involved in making theater ever since his stage debut in a gripping middle school adaptation of The Monsters are Due on Maple Street. After receiving his B.A. in Theater from Muhlenberg College and winding his way through various theater scenes in and around Boston and beyond, he is delighted to have landed in the Eastern Massachusetts theater community. Some of his favorite credits involving past and present EMACT member groups include To Kill a Mockingbird and The Joy Luck Club with The Umbrella, Arcadia with The Concord Players and Silent Sky with QP. Nick also proudly serves on the board of The Concord Players.
Carla Perrotta is a theater and film enthusiast and has been actively involved in community theater productions for over a decade. Carla grew up in the Midwest and participated in and performed in many community theater productions in Michigan with both the Ridgedale Players in Troy and Stagecrafters in Royal Oak. Since 2016 she has been actively involved with a variety of community theaters in Eastern Massachusetts. She has performed in several productions with the Footlight Club, the Weston Friendly Society of the Performing Arts, Theater III in Acton, Skylight Theater Collective, Enter Stage Left in Hopkinton, Ghost Light Players in Marlborough and the Belmont Dramatic Club. She has served on the board of Ridgedale Players and is currently on the board of directors for both the Belmont Dramatic Club and the Colonial Chorus Players in Reading. Favorite roles include Curley’s Wife in Of Mice and Men, Gabriella in Boeing Boeing, Joyce/Pope Joan in Top Girls, Enid Bradshaw in The Stranger, Lady Catherine in Pride and Prejudice, and Female Greek Chorus in How I Learned to Drive, which won the BroadwayWorld Detroit award for Best Play in 2016. Carla is also an active member of Film Independent having served as an Arts Circle sponsor and member since 2011. Carla is active in the local filmmaking community and has been in several short films, including Resolution which she wrote, directed, produced and performed in, and which earned a number of awards (including Best Director) from several IMDB-qualifying international film festivals.
Donna Serio's lifelong passion for theater, music and dance has led her to dedicate herself to achievement as a performing artist, an educational leader, and statewide advocate for the performing arts. Early training at Juilliard, a degree in Music Education and a Masters in Performing Arts Administration have enabled her to combine dual career commitments of performance and education. Teaching responsibilities included music, musical theater, drama and dance and directing extracurricular musical theater programs, award winning show choirs and adjudicating for county and state musical and theatrical ensembles. As Director of Fine and Performing Arts in New Jersey public schools, Donna supervised a faculty of 56 theater, dance, music, art and television production teachers in nine schools honored with the designation of “Model Schools for Excellence” in Arts Education by the New Jersey State “Arts in Education Partnership.” Donna has worked both professionally and in community theater as Producer, Director, Choreographer, Musical Arranger, Composer and Actor. She has served as President of the New Jersey Music Administrators Association and is Founder and Director of New Jersey based “Studio 7” and “Five Grand Musical Theater Repertory Ensemble.” For many years, Donna has been on the Board of the New Jersey Association of Community Theaters with a focus on training reviewers for the 150+ member theater companies throughout the state. In moving back to Massachusetts, Donna is thrilled to be taking on her newest role contributing to EMACT’s DASH program.
Stacy Sherman is a lifelong Massachusetts resident who started performing at a young age and still occasionally performs as an adult. She received a B.A. in Performing Arts Management from The Hartt School of Music with Honors, specializing in Theatre Administration. She was a founding board member of Moonstruck Theater Company in 2006 as a college student and continued involvement for over ten years in various capacities including directing, costuming, designing and more. Through the years, she has assisted with hair and makeup design, stage management and lighting design at places like The Footlight Club, Mass Arts Center (MMAS) and Theatre at the Mount. Onstage, Stacy’s favorite roles include Lulu in Cabaret, Kitty in The Drowsy Chaperone, Chiffon in Little Shop of Horrors and Bonnie in Anything Goes. By day, Stacy is a manager of People & Culture, specializing in employee analytics and organizational design.
Carol Allard Vancil was first seen on stages back in the mid 1960's as she was 'bit by the theatre bug' at an early age! Carol performed in the traveling "UP With People" cast in Europe and USA. She then studied theatre and voice extensively in NYC, Boston and Chicago with such coaches as Tom Todoroff, Jared Kirby, Janice Orlandi and Belinda Mello. She holds a degree in Business Administration and continues to study the art of theatre while attending various theatre intensives and seminars. Carol has performed in such roles as Katherine in Mothers and Sons, Suzy Hendricks in Wait Until Dark, Anna in Country House, Jeanne in Good People, Maggie in Big Maggie, Ruthe in Collected Stories, Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and a variety of musical theatre productions. Memorable theatre Carol has directed include, The Heidi Chronicles, Death Trap, Don't Dress for Dinner, Moon Over Buffalo, The Foreigner, Charlotte's Web, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Anything Goes and Heroes. Carol is also an adjudicator for the Massachusetts Drama Festivals as well as Directing the teenage drama camp at Worcester University. A certified Yoga and Wellness Instructor and a lover of Golden Doodles and Humanity!