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Owners Steve and Tim met in the fall of 2002. With a shared passion for theater and education, they started the Acting Manitou program. Since 2003, they have been directing, producing, operating and running Acting Manitou. STEVE BOROWKA is a Drama Teacher at Hunter College High School in New York City. Steve is a proud member of the Dramatist Guild and Actors Equity. He received his MA in Educational Theater from NYU. He met Tim Brownell when they were both working at the McCarter Theatre. They founded Acting Manitou in 2003. Steve most recently directed and adapted His Dark Materials. steve@actingmanitou.com TIM BROWNELL is a Drama Teacher at The Brearley School in New York City. He has directed plays with students in NYC, Princeton, Ridgewood, Washington DC and Middlebury, VT. He is the co-founder of Acting Manitou, and serves with Steve Borowka as producer and director of the program. He most recently directed the new rock musical Cupid and Pysche, which was written especially for Acting Manitou. tim@actingmanitou.com
Directors We pride ourselves on the talent, experience, and kindness of our directors. They are dedicated to creating important, fun and exciting theater with campers. AMI FORMICA received her MA from NYU in Educational Theater. Ami has taught drama for The Young Women's Leadership Project, The Brearley School, The McCarter Theatre and at Middlebury College as a Guest Instructor for “Children and the Arts.” She most recently directed the First-Year Show, Tales of Love, Loss and Laughter: A Relationship Study at Middlebury College. Ami directed the politically charged Big Mary in our 2009 season. CAL SHOOK received her B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She currently is teaching at The Brearley School in NYC. Cal has been seen in performances with the Fiasco Theater Company. When not acting or teaching, Cal is a yoga instructor. Cal teaches a morning yoga warm-up each morning at camp. Arabian Nights marked Cal’s directing debut with Acting Manitou. BEN STEINFELD was most recently seen on TV’s Law and Order: Criminal Intent. He also appeared in Off-Broadway’s Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at the Public Theater. Ben is an adjunct professor at NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. Ben is a graduate of Brown University and the Brown/Trinity Rep Consortium MFA Acting Program. He is also the artistic director for Fiasco Theater and co-directed and starred in their latest hit, Cymbeline. Ben directed and conceived Acting Manitou’s all-female version of The Taming of the Shrew. www.fiascotheater.com MEG STURIANO teaches Drama and English at Hunter College High School in New York City. Meg is the Associate Artistic Director for The Management Theater Company and is returning for her second year to direct in manhattan theatre source's Estrogenius Festival. Additionally, her one-act play One for More Options was recently produced at the Bedlam Theatre in Minneapolis. She holds an MA in English Literature from Hunter College. Meg’s Acting Manitou directing credits include As You Like It and Pippin. JOE VARCA is a director and actor in NYC. Recent work includes Extraordinary Circumstances (by Julia Brownell), City of Glass (Atlantic Theater) & As Far As We Know (FringeNYC). He is co-founder of Redux Productions and his theatrical work has been seen at the NYC Fringe Festival (Amerika - 2005 Best Ensemble Award and I Was Tom Cruise - 2006 Outstanding Play Award). He spent his first summer at AM in 2009; serving as light designer in the first session and directing Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors in the second. www.reduxproductions.com
Teaching Artists In addition to the classes they teach, our teaching artists multitask as choreographers, musical directors, vocal coaches, and producers. They are professionals in their field and passionate about their art. SARA HERRERA received a BFA from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia with an emphasis in modern dance. Sara taught for and performed with the Kennedy Dancers and the Peyari Dance Project in NYC. After moving to the DC area, Sara began choreographing and dancing for Funk, a Hip-Hop dance company, and her own company, District Dance. Sara choreographed Little Me, Cupid & Psyche, Pippin and Once on this Island for Acting Manitou. JONATHAN KARPINOS graduated from University of North Carolina Chapel Hill with a BA in Classics. Jonathan wrote the book for two new musicals which premiered at Acting Manitou: The Averageachievers Club and the new rock-musical Cupid & Psyche. The Averageachievers Club recently had a showing at the NAMT New Musical festival in NYC and will be performed at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia this February. KRISTAN MANCINI works at the Northgate High School in Pittsburgh, PA, when she is not producing the plays at Acting Manitou. She freelances for the Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theater. Kristan graduated from Shenandoah Conservatory with a BFA in Musical Theater and holds an MA from New York University in Educational Theater. In her free time, she studies voice and continues to sing around the city of Pittsburgh. TIM MATSON is a voice teacher and musical director currently living in North Carolina. He received his BFA in Dramatic Arts with a concentration in music from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and he received his MA in Music Theater from NYU. Tim has recently worked on the musicals The New Hopeville Comics and All Shook Up. At Acting Manitou, Tim served as musical director for Pippin. JOHN MCGREW graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2003 and has been a rock star ever since. He performs in venues in NYC and around the country with his band, ‘Apollo Run’. www.apollorun.com John plays trumpet, guitar and piano, sings lead vocals and is the songwriter for the band. John wrote the score for Cupid & Psyche and he wrote original music for The Trial, His Dark Materials, Arabian Nights and Comedy of Errors. www.johnmcgrewmusic.com CHRIS MURRAH has performed as an actor at Goodspeed Opera House, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, and the Geva Center for the Performing Arts. Most recently, Chris was seen as Bobby Strong in the National Tour of Urinetown. Chris holds a BFA from Florida State University and has trained with Yale's Pamela Prather and Juilliard's Wendy Waterman. JARON VESELY graduated from the directing program at NYU (BFA from Tisch - Playwrights Horizons). Jaron is a Backstage Bistro Award winning member of the Vocal Jazz Trio, "The Fabulous Pink Flamingos" and recently was invited to a solo night club act for the Metropolitan Room (Swingers and Standards). Being a teacher for five years, Jaron has taught basic music concepts to babies as well as tutored the cast of the Broadway’s 13 in music theory. www.jaronvesely.com DAN VILLAR holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Maryland – College Park. He teaches private voice and piano lessons to children and adults in the DC area. An accomplished singer, pianist and songwriter, Dan is a teacher, musical director and composer for ArtStream. He most recently wrote the music for the new work, Knights of Glory. www.danielvillar.com
Designers & Production Our state-of-the-art theater allows our designers to truly show off their incredible talents. In addition to designing our main stage plays, the designers also teach classes in scenic, lighting, costume and sound design. NICK OLSON received his BA in theater from Middlebury College. Nick currently resides in Maryland where he enjoys being a teacher at The Key School in Annapolis. Nick has authored numerous plays for children. Nick has served as Acting Manitou’s sound designer and master carpenter since 2008. JENNIFER PAAR is a costume designer for theater, film, and opera, and her work has been seen throughout New York and in regional theaters nationally. She is passionate about collaborating with directors and actors to help them achieve their vision through costumes. Jennifer received her BFA in technical theater and design from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and her MFA in costume design from New York University. She currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. JENNIFER SCHRIEVER received her BFA from Purchase College in Lighting Design. She is currently light designing Hairspray on the maiden voyage of the Oasis of the Seas cruise. On Broadway, Jen has been the Associate Lighting Designer for Joe Turner’s Come & Gone, You’re Welcome America, American Buffalo, 13, A Catered Affair, Cymbeline, and The Color Purple. Her first summer as light designer was 2009. TERSHIA VAN DENHAM is a Theater and Humanities teacher across the ocean for elementary students in Melbourne, Australia. Tershia costumed designed for Acting Manitou’s second session last year and has been the resident Costume Designer over at Camp Manitou for Boys since 2008. JEFF VAN VELSOR is the Scenic Design Teacher at the Princeton Day School in New Jersey. Jeff was a member of the Production Department of McCarter Theatre Center for over ten years. He freelance scenic designs for the Loft Theater, Princeton University, Passage Theater and Westminster College. At Acting Manitou, Jeff runs the production department, designs and builds the sets, and teaches set design classes.
Business ADAM KIPINIAK is a graduate of Macalester College. He runs every aspect of Acting Manitou’s business and website needs from our winter office in Waldwick, New Jersey. In addition to his savvy business sense, Adam is a performer who specializes in improvisation and sketch comedy. adam@actingmanitou.com
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