Faculty
Griff Braley - (Artistic Director) Griff has spent his entire life in Maine and most of his life involved in theater. After graduating with a BA in Theater from Bates College, he directed his first play at Wiscasset High School in 1983, where he continued to teach children's theater, mythology, speech, acting, technical theater, film and English until 2006. He directed over sixty plays at Wiscasset, including numerous original scripts and several award winning one act plays.
Griff's work came to include adults with the production of his Zeno's Arrow at Lincoln County Community Theater in 1998. He then directed Fiddler on the Roof, Camelot, Peter Pan, The Little Prince and Secret Garden for the Chocolate Church in Bath.
Since envisioning and starting up Heartwood Regional Theater Company in the fall of 2003, Griff has acted as artistic director to produce over 40 productions, including Molly Sweeney, Les Miserables, Susannah, The Grand Design, Antigone, Blood Wedding, Man of LaMancha, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, All My Sons, Gilgamesh, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Crucible, Romeo and Juliet, Glass Menagerie, An Enemy of the People, and Once on this Island.
His work at Heartwood included creating a successful summer camps for kids which is eight years in the running. In 2008 Griff oversaw the development of a performing arts outreach program, Heartwood Goes to School, for schools in the midcoast region. Heartwood Goes to School currently offers play productions, visiting artists, and week long residencies for mid coast schools across four counties from Lincolnville to Bath.
Griff moved to Lincoln Academy in the fall of 2006 to teach theater and film, and to direct Lincoln's productions. His students recently performed their original production of Sonnets to Orpheus at the State One Act Festival.
Beth Preston - (HYPE!) Beth holds a Bachelor of Music from Brigham Young University and has completed graduate-level training in Choral Conducting, Children's Choirs, Music Technology and Vocal Pedagogy. She is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), American Choral Director's Association (ACDA), Chorus America, International Federation of Choral Musicians (IFCM) and Music Educator's National Conference (MENC). She has held positions at the state level for MENC and is a past president for the Maine Chapter of ACDA. She has taught choral music, general music, piano, and AP Music Theory in the public schools since 1982. She also teaches privately, coaching classical, Broadway, and jazz singers, in addition to being an experienced soprano solo recitalist. Ms. Preston's career has included the musical and stage direction for many shows in Utah, Minnesota, and Maine. She conducted opera chorus rehearsals for PORT as an assistant to Judith Quimby, Chorus Master. She has provided the vocal coaching for most of Heartwood Regional Theater Company's musicals and operas.
Kevin Kiley - (Heartwood Goes To School) Kevin began working in professional theater locally, at the Carousel Music Theater in Boothbay Harbor, later moving on to other theaters in New England, New York, and beyond. He toured the U.S. and Canada as the man-eating Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors and performed in the ensemble of HAIR! at the Gateway Playhouse on Long Island. Kevin studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute in New York and danced with The Portland Ballet, The Esduardo Mariscal Dance Company, and Ram Island Dance. As a professional pianist, he has accompanied several regional shows, including Heartwood's productions of Les Miserables and Into the Woods. He also produces and music directs musicals for The Opera House in Boothbay Harbor. Credits there include I Do! I Do!, Forever Plaid, and The Taffetas.
Steven Shema - (Heartwood Goes To School) Steve made his Heartwood debut in 2008 with the title role of Gilgamesh and joined the resident company in 2009 as one of the Heartwood Goes to School ensemble. Originally from Maryland, he now lives in Boothbay Harbor where he works in the Fields Lab at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in addition to being a Registered Maine Guide. A former member of the Choir of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, he holds a B.A. from NYU's Gallatin School and has studied at NYU/Tisch's Atlantic Theater School as well as at the Moscow Art Theater. Previous Heartwood credits include the Gentleman Caller in The Glass Menagerie and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet.
Samantha McGow - (Heartwood Goes To School) Samantha fell in love with theater at an early age and has worked in many capacities pursuing it since. She began acting professionally while attending college and after earning her degree in Theatre Arts from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, she went on to study at the, Stanislavski inspired, Atlantic Acting School in New York City. Samantha joined the Heartwood Goes to School (HGTS) ensemble in 2009 touring with Prince Ivan and Grey Wolf and made her debut for Heartwood’s Company as Petra in An Enemy of the People. Having appeared in several independent features as well as commercials for Regional marketing she continues her work as an actress, instructor and writer from her home base in Edgecomb, Maine.
Millie Santiago - (Heartwood Goes To School) Acting and dance were staples of Millie’s childhood studies, culminating in formal training in classical British theater in London. In New York, she quickly became one of the leads for a major repertory company, did production and editing work for Spanish-language television, and voice-over work in Spanish and English languages in a variety of accents for a number of film companies and advertisers. In California, she expanded her voice-over repertoire and her clientele, and also worked with a dance troupe. Today, she is the lead actress for all the major roles in an on-line, language-learning telenovela.
Elise Voigt - (Heartwood Goes To School) Elise's passion for literature and theater brings energy to her performances and teaching. Raised in Lincoln County, she is an alumna of Lincoln Academy and she went on to graduate from Sarah Lawrence College with a degree in Theater. Her acting training reached to London, England where she attended the British American Drama Academy. She debuted with Heartwood as Abigail Williams in their production of The Crucible, and was part of The Glass Menagerie cast the following year as Laura Wingfield. Her teaching career coincided with the inception of the Heartwood Goes to School program in 2008 with their tour of The Second Shepard's Play. She has since performed in Naked Shakespeare with Acorn Productions out of Westbrook and participated with the new Fenix Company in bringing out door Shakespeare performances to Deering Oaks Park.
Visiting Faculty
Leland Faulkner – A performer, director and teacher with thirty years of professional theater experience in storytelling, mime, shadow, and acting. He also has substantive experience in film-making, television, editing, documentary, independent films, and acting as a consultant on popular feature films. Lee began is studies of theater arts in 1973 with mime master Tony Montanaro and has continued to expand his skills and repertoire ever since. Lee travels throughout the world performing and teaching. For more information visit www.lelandfaulkner.com.
Debi Irons – A choreographer/educator/performer with over 25 years experience in all aspects of the dance world. Debi is trained in modern, jazz, ballet, acrobatics, afro-Brazilian, street, tap, choreography, improvisation, and musical theater dance. All are used in her unique teaching method - VARIANTDANCE - that inspires individual creativity and healthy dance technique. She tends to be a catalyst helping those with whom she works to further realize their own potential. For more information visit www.artmovesdance.com.
Beverly Mann - Beverly Mann is an actor, mask theatre performer/educator and mask maker. She is an independent artist and tours with several theatre companies including Faustwork Mask Theatre, based in Toronto, and Figures of Speech Theatre based in Freeport, ME. Beverly has performed in over 40 states, Canada Germany, Taiwan, Singapore, Mozambique, South Africa and Peru. She has taught numerous workshops and residencies in mask making, mask theatre techniques and theatre improvisation throughout Maine, across the U.S. and abroad. She is listed on the Maine Arts Commission Artist’s Roster and is affiliated with The Maine Alliance for Arts Education.
Karen Montanaro - A one-woman tour de force who celebrates the expressive potential of the human body as she blends the arts of mime and dance to create theater with rare physical and emotional power. Karen Montanaro tours the world with her one-woman show, teaches mime and dance residencies in schools throughout the United States, and is the winner of the 2008 Individual Arts Fellowship Grant from the Maine Arts Commission. For more information visit http://www.mimetheatre.com.
