ARTISTIC DIRECTOR / MUSIC DIRECTOR

Steven Altinel is the founder and artistic director of the Long Island Musical Theatre Festival.  He has worked as a music director, pianist and vocal coach on many regional, community, and high school productions throughout Long Island and NYC. He is the choral director of Walt Whitman High School in South Huntington, N.Y. where he hosts an annual choral festival with guest composers and conductors. Steven has conducted his choirs in numerous festivals and prestigious concert venues including Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall and Alice Tully Hall of Lincoln Center. Steven also serves as the resident music director for the summer theater programs at Westminster Conservatory in Princeton, N.J. and was twice accepted to attend the prestigious Music Direction Intensive at Goodspeed Musicals in East Haddam, C.T. His favorite performance credits include the touring company of A Royal Christmas starring Andrea Bocelli and the New York Philharmonic’s production of Candide under the direction of Lonny Price (PBS). Steven currently sings with the eVoco voice collective (www.eVoco.vc) and is a proud graduate of Westminster Choir College, B.M., and Queens College, M.S..

STAGE DIRECTOR

Stage Directing credits include Grand Hotel (Theatre at St. Clements, Blue Hill Troupe); Grand Hotel (Pennsylvania Centre Stage); The Drowsy Chaperone (Penn State); The Medium (Penn State); Mirette (The Princeton Festival); Hello Again (Manhattan Theatre Source); Starting Here, Starting Now (Producers Club); Closer Than Ever (Producer’s Club); White Girls (The Duplex, Roses Turn, and The Reprise Room); original plays for Writopia Lab NYC, and over twenty productions on the campuses of Westminster Choir College, Princeton University, and Rider University. Assistant Director to three TONY-nominated Broadway directors: Relatively Speaking (John Turturro, Broadway); Aladdin (Casey Nicholaw, 5th Avenue Theatre); Around The World In Eighty Days (Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Pittsburgh Public); The World Goes Round (Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Pittsburgh Public); Born For Broadway (Marcia Milgrom Dodge, New World Stages); The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Susan H. Schulman, Pennsylvania Centre Stage); and Mirita (Sarah Cameron Sunde, Cherry Lane Theatre). Nathan has been both Music Director and Assistant Director of the Theatreworks/USA National Tour of Seussical since 2009. Mr. Brewer is President and Artistic Director of Recreational Arts, Inc., a Performing Arts Organization (www.rexarts.org), and Director of Musical Theatre programs for The Westminster Conservatory in Princeton, NJ. B.A., Westminster Choir College (Voice), M.F.A., The Pennsylvania State University (Directing). www.nathanbrewer.net

CHOREOGRAPHER

Megan Gerlach is an Actor/Choreographer living and working in NYC. Choreography credits include The Addams Family, Shrek, Spamalot (Black Hills Playhouse), and has worked with Nathan Brewer and Marcia Milgrom Dodge both performing in and as associate Choreographer for Seussical (Theatreworks USA) since 2007. Favorite roles include Judy in A Chorus Line (Bass Hall) and Bonnie in Anything Goes (Chanhassen Dinner Theatres). Megan graduated with degrees in Dance and Theatre from the University of Minnesota/Twin Cities and is a graduate of the UCB improv program.

MIDDLE SCHOOL INTENSIVE - DIRECTOR

Maria is a recent graduate of Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre Performance and minor in Musical Theatre.  She has spent the last four years concentrating on Theatre Arts in every form, both on stage and behind the scenes.  She has always had a passion for Musical Theatre, performing and then interning at the Long Island Musical Theatre Festival, in an effort to experience true professionalism before graduating college and starting in the performance business.  

MIDDLE SCHOOL INTENSIVE - MUSIC DIRECTOR

Craig is a pianist and vocal/piano instructor in and around the Long Island area.  He holds a specialist certificate in Jazz Composition and Arranging from the Berklee College of Music and a BM in Piano from Westminster Choir College.  During the school year, he works at Hofstra University as an accompanist in the musical theater and dance departments.  He also accompanies for many school choirs, All County, and NYSSMA festivals. In addition, Craig spends his time nurturing a growing studio of his own private piano and voice students, and is the Music Director for the Congregational Church of Patchogue, where he directs the choir and plays piano and organ for church services.   Craig has been the musical director and keyboard player for many professional and regional theatrical productions.  Favorite performance credits include shows such as Grey Gardens, and a tour of Italy with the St. John's University Choir.

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Sharon Lawton was President of the Board for Girl Scouts of the USA (Rolling Hills Council), in addition to serving as troop leader, cookie manager, and board member. For twelve years, she has managed the children and youth choirs at Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church, where she first collaborated with Nathan Brewer in 1999. Since that time, Sharon has organized dozens of summer camps and productions, through which hundreds of lives have been changed. Sharon received a BA in Mathematics and an MS in Library Science. She met her husband Rich while training computer programmers at AT&T, and their two daughters have grown up through Nathan’s summer programs!

GENERAL MANAGER

Phil Guiliano is the Director of Production for Live Nation Latin America, based in New York City. Live Nation is the leading live entertainment company in the world.  Phil comes from modest beginnings.   Phil started in 1974 driving the mobile kitchen truck for the Grateful Dead and now produces the largest touring shows in the world. Phil has worked with the top international acts, including Sir Paul McCartney, Madonna, U2, Rolling Stones, Metallica, Lady Gaga, and many, many more.  Also included on in his show history, are events with the NFL, MLB, NBA and various Broadway endeavors, all of these produced outside the US. Phil has been affiliated with over 10,000 shows. For the last 25 years, Phil has been working exclusively in Latin America.  He is responsible for all operational aspects of the production from Staging to Sound and Lights to logistics, as well needing to be creative on how to make local production elements in Latin American countries compatible with the international production.   Another fulfilling aspect of his job is to teach the local production personnel how to produce an event.   There are many people in Latin America who owe their livelihood to Uncle Phil. Turning a Football stadium into a live concert venue is what I do!

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT

For the past eight years Vanessa has taught music within the public school system.  Her most recent placement in Queens resulted in implementing a brand new PreK-5 music curriculum where Vanessa maintains and directs a chorus, drum ensemble, and rock band in addition to a full schedule of general music classes. Not one to stay in one place, she also has experience teaching music abroad in Kasoa, Ghana through International Volunteer Headquarters.  In her spare time, she sings as a soprano in the Long Island based eVoco Voice Collective, and this summer has been selected as a recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Vanessa holds a B.S. in Music Education from Hofstra University as well as a M.S. in Music Education from Queens College.