Brooke Rutkowski (Director) is a tri-state area based teaching artist, arts administrator, director, and actor. Her passion lies in utilizing theatre education to help students find their voices and self-confidence while building effective communication and collaboration skills. She attended Montclair State University where she graduated with an honors Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Acting and Rowan University where she obtained her Master of Arts in Arts Administration. Additionally, she holds her teaching license in the state of New Jersey, and is certified in youth mental health. She has taught, performed, and directed throughout the east and west coasts with Montclair State University, George Street Playhouse, McCarter Theatre Center, Marin Shakespeare Company, Equalogy, Aspire Performing Arts, Noteworthy Academy of Music, and White Plains Performing Arts Company. She extends a heartfelt thank you to the remarkable team on Mean Girls Jr, the families of the performers for encouraging their artistic endeavors, and her family and friends for their constant love and support.
Casey Gorab (Music Director) is excited to music direct her second production with Aspire after working on their recent pilot production of Disney's Dare to Dream. She was introduced to Aspire as a performer around 2014 and is thrilled to return years later as a music director. In addition to music directing, she currently works as a composer for film and media, a private music teacher for voice and piano, and a performer at local restaurants and venues! She graduated Montclair State University with a degree in Music Composition and will be pursuing her Master’s Degree this fall at NYU for Screen Scoring. She’d like to wish a special thank you to her family and every other family here supporting their kids in their artistic journeys. They are all so talented and have such a big future ahead of them!
Maya Fortgang (Choreographer) is thrilled to return to Aspire as choregrapher! Last year, she worked on Something Rotten as her choreography debut, and this year she also choreographed Mean Girls High School Version. Maya is a senior at Ithaca College working towards her BFA in Musical Theater. She sends her love to the cast and crew of Mean Girls JR. for making it such an fun experience. As always, thanks to her family and friends for their endless support.
Leighann Albanese (Stage Manager) is stoked to be back at Aspire and The Barn Theatre! She currently holds a B.A. in Theatre Studies from Fairleigh Dickinson University and will be pursuing a Masters in Theatre Education this fall at Adelphi University. She would like to thank her friends and family for their constant love and support, everyone at Aspire for always welcoming her back with open arms, and Brooke for being the best director a girl could ask for. Congratulations cast, you’re all stars!
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