Alumni Spotlight

Dana Amendola

Dana Amendola ('84) Vice President of Operations, Disney Theatrical Group.

Carrie Chapter

Carrie Chapter ('08) Literary Manager and Dramaturg, Philadelphia Theatre Company. In addition to Philadelphia Theatre Company, her credits include dramaturgical work at the PlayPenn New Play Conference, Inis Nua Theatre Company, Mauckingbird Theatre Company, Primary Stages, Playwrights Horizons, and GeVa Theatre Center. As a freelancer, Carrie proudly acted as an Artistic Consultant for Temple University’s que[e]ry project, in which student writers and performers created stories about the experiences of LGBT youth; also, she provided workshop dramaturgy for Broadway’s The Book of Mormon. In the summer months, Carrie leaves Philly for Connecticut, where she acts as a lead dramaturg for the National Music Theater Center at the O’Neill Center.

Liz Walsh

Liz Walsh ('89) is the Associate Vice President of Communication at Villanova University. Liz worked in marketing for the following non-profit organizations: Adventure Aquarium, The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, and The Wilma Theater.

Peter Andrew Danzig

Peter Andrew Danzig ('14) is the founder of Theatrical Trainer, a nonprofit collective exploring wellness initiatives and advocacy for the creative arts and neurodivergent communities.  Peter has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, American Theatre and others.  Proud member of AEA and SAG/AFTRA, Peter presently performs and counsels creative artists around the country.

Kimberly Reilly

Kimberly Reilly ('09) Director of Marketing & PR, Villanova Theatre. Previous non-profit management, development, and production experience: Act II Playhouse, Theatre Horizon, and The Devon Theater. In 2010, Kimberly was honored alongside Matt Silva ('09) with a nomination for "Best Direction of a Musical" by the Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre (for the duo's re-imagined production of Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat). The production garnered five nominations (Best Ensemble, Best Musical Direction, Best Choreography & Best Lead Actress). Kimberly was also awarded the Engage 2020 Leadership Program scholarship, allowing her to attend the National Arts Marketing Project Conference in San Jose, CA (2010). Kimberly is also an adjunct professor at Villanova University for both the Masters of Public Administration Program and the Honors Program.

Bill D'Agostino

Bill D'Agostino () is the Communications and Education Director of Act II Playhouse. is a playwright, educator, dramaturg, and arts administrator. Bill's plays for kids include the Murray the Elf series andSleeping Handsome at Act II; Robin Hood, Fairy Tale High Schoolat Montgomery Theater; and Making Gnocchi with Grandma, which was a semifinalist in the Write Now competition. Bill received his MA in theatre from Villanova University and his undergraduate degree in theatre from Brown University. Bill is a member of the Foundry, the Dramatists Guild, and Theatre for Young Audiences USA. He lives in Bryn Mawr with his wife Carrie and his daughter Celia.

Jacqueline Christy

Jacqueline Christy ('91) is the founder and Executive Director of Access Theatre in NYC.

Karen Dilossi

Karen Dilossi ('00) Director, Art in Sacred Places. Karen has worked professionally in theatre since 2000, both onstage and off, serving as actress, stage manager, director, producer, administrator, and manager. Her directing credits include Jump/Cut, Twelfth Night, Tartuffe, and Pounding Nails. She is the co-Artistic Director of Madhouse Theater Company, and serves on the Board of Directors for Flashpoint Theatre Company; she is also a panelist for the Philadelphia Cultural Fund. As the Director of Programs & Services for the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia for over eight years, her most prominent responsibility was in producing the Barrymore Awards many times and directing them herself twice. Karen has taught acting at West Chester University and served as a stage management consultant for Villanova Theatre. As the first Director of Arts in Sacred Places, she is creating a clear path for Partners to follow whenever pairing together a congregation with a performing arts institution. She is working towards creating a training model and manual of instruction on long-term leases for arts organizations to thrive within the walls of congregations.

Bud Martin

Bud Martin ('74) Executive Director, Delaware Theatre Company. Broadway/West End Producer: La Bête, Time Stands Still, Legally Blonde, Burn the Floor.  Formerly Producing Artistic Director of Act II Playhouse, where he directed Married Alive, Magnetic North, On Golden Pond, Respect: A Musical Journey of Women, The Story of My Life (Barrymore Award), Art (Barrymore nomination), the recent co-production with DTC, Time Stands Still, and My Fair Lady. He also directed the national tour of Respect as well as Bruce Graham's Any Given Monday Off-Broadway at 59E59 Theaters.

Callie Hisek

Callie Hisek ('08) is the Box Office Manager and Publicity Specialist at W. M. Lee Center for Fine Arts at the University of South Dakota, where she also received her MFA in Directing and now teaches. She is also a director, a photographer, a stage manager, and an actor.

Matt Silva

Matt Silva ('09) is the Managing Director at Delaware Theatre Company.  Matt has also served as the Artistic Director of Endstation Theatre Company in Lynchburg, VA, and the national touring company Playhouse Productions.

Dr. Michelle Volansky

Michele Volansky ('92)  Associate Professor of Drama at Washington College. In addition to her role as the Conference Dramaturg and Associate Artist for the annual PlayPenn New Play Development Conference, she has worked at the Atlantic Theatre Company, the Arden Theater, Azuka Theatre Collective, 1812 Productions, Theatre Exile/Act 2 Playhouse, Victory Gardens, and Next Theatre. Volansky also served on the artistic staffs at Actors Theatre of Louisville (1992-95), Steppenwolf Theatre Company (1995-2000) and Philadelphia Theatre Company (2000-2004). In her career, she has worked on over 150 new and established plays, including the Broadway productions of Buried Child and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as well as plays that have been produced in theaters across the United States and Europe. She is the 1999 inaugural recipient of the Elliot Hayes Award for Dramaturgy and is a past President of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas. Her book on playwriting and collaboration, co-written with Bruce Graham and entitled The Collaborative Playwright, was published by Heinemann Press in March 2007. She holds a BA in English from Washington College, an MA from Villanova and a PhD from the University of Hull; her dissertation explored the politics and advocacy of the critics Kenneth Tynan and Frank Rich.

Steve Smith

Steve Smith ('99) Stephen Smith is Assistant Professor of Drama at Delaware County Community College and the only full-time faculty member in the Drama department.  He has an M.A. in Theatre from Villanova University and an M.F.A. in Acting from The University of Delaware’s Professional Theatre Training Program.  He teaches all of the courses offered in Drama and directs one main stage production each semester at the College.  He is also a professional actor and director in Philadelphia and has performed in regional theatres throughout the country.  A member of Actors’ Equity, in 2005 he received two Philadelphia Barrymore Awards for Best Ensemble and Best Choreography for his direction of Tuesday at Amaryllis Theatre Company in Philadelphia.

Dr. Kristi Good

Kristi Good ('07) received her PhD in Theatre and Performance Studies from the University of Pittsburgh and her MA in Theatre with an emphasis in Dramaturgy at Villanova University. She served as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh and also taught courses in Script Analysis and Dramaturgy at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama and Theatre History at Point Park University’s Conservatory of Performing Arts.

She has an active research agenda with interests that include Contemporary Irish Theatre, Theatre of Trauma, Theatre Pedagogy, and the intersection of Theatre Arts and the Cognitive Sciences. She regularly presents papers at the Association for Theatre in Higher Education and the American Conference for Irish Studies. Her publications include “Marilyn Monroe: Soldier in Greasepaint” (Theatre History Studies) and “Testimony for the Forgotten: Sebastian Barry’s The Pride of Parnell Street as Celtic Tiger Critique” (Etudes).  She is actively involved in the Playwriting Symposium at the Mid-America Theatre Conference, where she serves as a co-chair and dramaturg for their annual new works festival.

Dr. Good teaches Understanding Theatre, Shakespeare on Stage, Theatre History, Modern Drama, and Theatre & Culture in the Department of Theatre Arts.

Dr. Rose Malague

Rose Malague ('94) Director of Theatre Arts Program, University of Pennsylvania. Rose earned her PhD from City University of New York. A professional actor and member of Actors' Equity Association, she studied at Circle-in-the-Square Theatre School in New York, and received her master's degree from Villanova University. She teaches courses in acting, directing and theatre theory; her research interests include acting theory, actor training and feminist theatre. She frequently supervises senior acting and directing theses, and directs for the Theatre Arts Program

Dr. Valerie Joyce

Valerie Joyce ('95) holds a PhD in Theatre History and Performance Studies from the University of Maryland and an MA from our program. She is an author, an educator, a playwright, a director, and a scholar and work for Villanova University as an Associate Professor.

Jessica Hinds-Bond

Jessica Hinds-Bond ('09) received the interdisciplinary PhD in Theatre and Drama from Northwestern University and a certificate in editing from the University of Chicago Graham School.  She works as an editor and indexer for scholarly presses and individual clients in academia.  She is also the Russian Federation regional managing editor for The Theatre Times, an active member of the playwritin symposium of MATC, and a long-time reader for Philadelphia Young Playwrights.

Dan Cullen

Dan Cullen ('17) is a PhD student at Bowling Green State University specializing in actor training for postmodern theatre.  With Bowling Green State, Dan attended a viewpoints workshop at SITI Company and performs in the University's productions.

Rachel DelVecchio

Rachel DelVecchio ('17) is the Production Manager and Technical Director at Pennsylvania Youth Theatre, a company that provides students ages three to eighteen iwth theatre, dance, and vocal training.