JULIE BORSOTTIJulie Borsotti is a graduate from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies and Communication. She has been acting, singing and dancing for many years now, and has a passion for Musical Theater and Choreography. Recent credits include ECT's Guys and Dolls (Adelaide) and LTM's Legally Blonde (Brooke Whyndam). She has choreographed two professional ICCA a cappella competition sets, Musical Theatre dance intensives, a middle school drama production, and various camp showcase musical theater and hip hop numbers. She works at the Hartford Stage Box Office as well as runs various after-school and dance programs through the Glastonbury Parks and Recreation department. She is also a Theatre and Dance instructor at the Glastonbury Music and Arts camp. As a Teaching Artist, she hopes to be able to continue to inspire her students to continue to love and pursue the arts just as much as she does!
TARYN BALCHUNASTaryn Balchunas is an old soul with a youthful spirit who believes in creating safe spaces like the theater for individuals to be their full selves. Born for the stage but conditioned to conform to societal norms, a former ensemble member yet capable of a leading role, Taryn is returning to her theater kid roots as a teaching artist. A West Hartford native, Taryn fell in love with the stage through dance classes at Alyce Carella Dance Centre and Lisa Matias Dance Centre, through participating in elite singing groups in middle school and high school, and through participating in West Hartford Summer Arts Festival. Under the direction of Sean Harris, Taryn is an alum of the Hall High drama department where she took on a number of roles including costume assistant, props assistant, assistant stage manager, assistant to the director, and ensemble member. Taryn holds a B.F.A. in Writing, Literature & Publishing from Emerson College and volunteered and worked at Playhouse on Park in various roles when she returned to West Hartford in 2013. From post-grad onward, she has braved many stages in sharing her original songs or singing emo karaoke, the largest of which was at College Street Music Hall when she won a contest to sing onstage with Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness in 2023. In adulthood, she has discovered the importance of inner child work and letting go of trauma through various modalities, one of which is the live arts! Taryn now works in special education and is thrilled to be back at Playhouse on Park, hoping to inspire others to use the stage as freedom of expression.
GRACE CLARKGrace Clark is a theatrical actor, director and teaching artist. She became enamored with the theatre and began acting at an early age. Grace has worked as teaching artist for Hartford Stage for its education school program. She has also worked as a substitute teacher in various elementary and middle schools, including with neuro-divergent students. Grace's acting credits include lead and principle roles in plays including: Barbecue (Robert O'hara), Detroit 67 (Dominique Morisseau), A Raisin in the Sun (Lorraine Hansberry), For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf (Ntozake Shane), Good People (David Lindsay-Abaire), The Women (Claire Boothe Luce) and independent stage play and dance productions (Original Entertainment). Her stage directorial credits include American Son (Christopher Demos-Brown) and Eclipsed (Danai Gurira). Grace is also a broadcast and print journalist, and marketing communications professional with more than three decades of experience in news media, performing arts, education and non-profit arenas. She has worked in education and marketing at Hartford Stage and in marketing communications for The Hartt School at the University of Hartford. Grace has also worked as a television and radio talk show host, TV news producer at Fox 61 and newspaper reporter for Hartford Courant. She has a Bachelors degree in Mass Communications and Journalism from Central Connecticut State University. Additionally, Grace has been an autism advocate for more than two decades. She is founder of an arts and recreation program for youth and young adults on the spectrum; has served on various Boards of Directors of autism organizations; currently writes a newspaper online column about life on the autism journey, and is a supporter of opportunities for the immersion of theatre arts and neurodivergent individuals. She is excited to share her experience, grow in her craft and work with youth, adults and families of Playhouse Theatre Academy.
KEVIN CRONINKevin Cronin (née Barlowski) is a multidisciplinary creative artist and change agent committed to empowering individuals of all ages and abilities through education and the arts. Currently, as Director of Education and Outreach at Playhouse on Park, Kevin is enthusiastic about inspiring thinkers, dreamers, and doers with essential, transferable, 21st-century skills. A theatre educator with over 15 years of experience, he has taught with esteemed organizations such as Hartt School of Music, Hartford Performs, Bay Path University, The Miracle League, the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, Unified Theatre, and West Hartford Public Schools. As a director, music director, and actor, he has long focused on crafting and performing in productions that resonate with younger audiences, adhering to the belief that if they can see it, they can be it. His educational background is rich and varied, including an M.S. in Education Administration from Bay Path University, an M.A. in Shakespeare and Education from the University of Birmingham, a certificate in Musical Theatre Performance from Circle in the Square Theatre School, and a B.A. in Theatre Education and Directing from Emerson College. Kevin is a staunch advocate for creating brave and inclusive spaces, decolonizing curriculum, and promoting lifelong learning. He is committed to fostering a vibrant educational landscape where every learner feels empowered to explore their passions and realize their full potential. He looks forward to welcoming you into his “collaboratory” soon!
SHANNEN HOFHEIMERShannen Hofheimer is thrilled to be on the educational staff of Playhouse Theatre Academy! She graduated from The Hartt School of Music with a B.M. in Vocal Performance, and served as the Director of Theatre at The Ethel Walker School in Simsbury for 8 years until she departed to make her Off-Broadway debut this past summer in Winesday: The Wine Tasting Musical at The Jerry Orbach Theatre. She has toured nationally, performing stage adaptations of classic literary works for school groups with Chamber Theatre Productions, and also starred alongside Marie Osmond in The Sound of Music, which toured with NETworks productions in Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, and Korea. Shannen has performed at The Milton Theatre in Anything Goes, as well as with Playhouse on Park in their production of A Charles Dickens Christmas. She has also had the privilege of teaching various summer theatre classes with PTA for the past two years. Additionally, Shannen teaches private voice and acting lessons to students of all ages. Students have received callbacks for Goodspeed Opera House, performed in mainstage productions at Hartford Stage, received full scholarships to NYU Steinhardt's Vocal Performance program, and have advanced to final round callbacks for the prestigious opera program at Juilliard. For news about Shannen's upcoming performances and educational endeavors, you can find her on Instagram (@shannenraevocals), or visit her website www.shannenhofheimer.com
CORINNE KRAVETZCorinne recently retired as acting teacher and theatre director from Conard High School, where she joyously taught acting to and directed hundreds of talented and diverse young people, all the while having the privilege of seeing theatre change their lives. Career highlights include: Volition, a world premiere student-written production selected by American High School Theatre Festival to perform at Fringe Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland; collaborating with Tectonic Theatre Project (NYC) to guide students in the writing and staging of the groundbreaking piece The Chieftain Project, and the direction of numerous musicals and plays. Corinne was on the board of the CT chapter of the International Thespian Society and has also taught musical theater classes for graduate students through the HARTT School Summer term. She was a founding member of Acts Factory Players of Collinsville, where she directed and wrote the annual youth show for many years. In another lifetime, Corinne spent summers performing around CT with the professional theater group Honeybee Theatre. Corinne has directed/taught in a variety of different venues with young actors, including Simsbury High School, Avon Summer Theatre, West Hartford Community Theatre, Playhouse on Park (Charlotte’s Web), Goodman-Banks visiting artist at Kingswood-Oxford School, King Philip Middle School, CT Inclusive Arts, Miracle League/Playhouse on Park collaboration, and W.H. Unified Theater, as well as various summer workshops and classes for young performers. Corinne holds an M.A.Ed and was among the first in CT to acquire the CT Theatre Arts Teaching Certification. Corinne is passionate about working with young actors and takes great joy in their growth and success. Corinne has a strong belief that in theatre, there is a place for everyone.
MADDY TAMMSMaddy Tamms is a graduate from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Performance. She is inspired by everything from Shakespeare to SNL and is so thrilled to be teaching with Playhouse Theatre Academy! Maddy is a dedicated performer with a passion for the classics, comedy, and musical theatre. Some of her previous theatrical credits include: Bye Bye Birdie (Kim MacAfee), Othello (Desdemona), The Pirates of Penzance (Mabel), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Helena), The Wolves (#2), and The Moors (Emilie). With years of childcare and teaching experience under her belt, she is excited to help young learners develop necessary "real-life" skills through the wonderful world of imaginative play and theatre education. She has previously taught with Little People's Creative Workshop and Ivybrook Academy and has created magic for children of all ages with Port City Princess Parties. Maddy is looking forward to fostering a creative, exciting, and FUN learning environment for all students!
DARLENE ZOLLERDarlene is the co-founder and co-artistic director of Playhouse on Park where she has directed PIPPIN, NUNSENSE, CHICAGO (Best Director of a Musical/Broadway World,) PINKALICIOUS, ELEPHANT AND PIGGIE,SWINGING ON A STAR and THAT HOLIDAY FEELING, SAY THINGS FUNNY, and choreographed; PIPPIN, INTO THE WOODS, THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS, IN THE HEIGHTS, A CHORUS LINE, HAIR, CABARET, PASSING STRANGE among others. She is the founder, director and choreographer of stop/time dance theater, the resident dance company of Playhouse on Park, now in its twentieth year. She was voted Best Director of a Musical/Broadway World for I’D RATHER BE DANCING. CT Critics Circle nominee for Best Choreographer for HAIR, ROCKIN’ THE FOREST and IN THE HEIGHTS. She IS Mama D of MAMA D’s OUTRAGEOUS ROMP; a grown ups only music, dance and comedy event-exclusive to the Playhouse. Social media followers know her as "the driveway lady" for having taught 450 consecutive days of WE'RE BETTER WHEN WE'RE DANCING dance classes online during the pandemic where she gathered a loyal following. Darlene is a former adjunct professor at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School where she directed and choreographed CHICAGO and did the choreography for ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, SMILE, CURTAINS and NUNSENSE. She also teaches dance classes for adults at The 224 ECOSpace and is a dance/fitness instructor at Big Sky Fitness in Vernon.