Coaches

Mary Fishburne: Director

Mary Fishburne is thrilled to join the HTC family. She has recently moved to the Philadelphia area (Narberth) with her family. Before that was Charleston, SC where she founded the educational branch of the Village Repertory Playhouse and directed/musically directed/choreographed three shows a year for their teenage/advanced group. Favorite shows include RENT, Addams Family, 13, Rock of Ages, Urinetown, Footloose, Aida, Bring it On, Seussical, and dozens of others. As an actor, Fishburne has worked throughout the country and in New York performing in musicals and plays. Favorite credits include My Fair Lady, South Pacific, Pippin, Little Shop of Horrors, Lungs, Snow Queen (The Arden) and Once (The Arden, where she first met Neill Hartley). Administratively, Mary worked at the York Theatre in New York, an off-Broadway company, as well as Footlight Players in Charleston, SC. As a composer/lyricist/playwright, Fishburne has written a musical, Boundless, that is being performed at high schools throughout the country this fall (Douglas Anderson Performing Arts, South Carolina Governor’s School of the Arts, and South Pointe High School) with an upcoming spring workshop in NYC. Mary holds a B.A. from Vanderbilt University with a double major in Vocal Performance and Human Organizational Development and a Masters (M.A.) from Temple University in Musical Theatre Studies.

To learn more, visit www.maryfishburne.com and www.boundlessthemusical.com

Carl Smith: Technical Director

Carl has been a professional actor, teacher, and carpenter in the area for 12 years. Although he’s a native Texan, he currently lives in South Philly with his wife and daughter, and has recently begun cheering for better sports franchises. He enjoys the theatre community’s penchant for relentless pursuit of positive change through powerful storytelling, and is honored to have joined HTC in this mission. Working with young artists is the best way to ensure the future for generations to come.

J. Bean (Jilly) Schwab: Assistant Technical Director

J. Bean is a multi-disciplinary theatre maker and arts educator living in West Philadelphia. Their work lives in the intersections between prop design, immersive art, puppetry, and performance. They are also a fire manipulation artist with a penchant for all things circus. Jilly has worked in community with indie artists and organizations such as SpiralQ, The Eagle Theatre, Theatre Exile, Quintessence, Tribe of Fools, Curio Theatre, Theatre Oblivion, New Paradise Labs, PlayPenn, and various works in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Bean holds a B.F.A in Acting from Arcadia University and an M.A in Theatre from Villanova University. They hold deep gratitude for the alchemy of winsome and whimsical imaginations of this team!

Kelly Myers: Costumes Coach

Kelly Myers is excited to join the Harriton Theater Company as the Costumes Coach! Her regional design work includes Philadelphia: Romeo and Juliet (Philadelphia Shakespeare Co), The Wizard of Oz (Quintessence Theater Group), The Last Match (Lantern Theatre Co), Matilda the Musical (Limelight PAC) Pittsburgh: A Little Night Music (Pittsburgh Opera Theatre), The Farnsworth Invention and Saving the World (Throughline Theatre Co), Deepchurch Hollow (Edinburgh Festival Fringe). She holds an MFA in Costume Design at Ohio University, and a BA in Theatre at Slippery Rock University.

MeLinda Tatum Kaiser: Choreography Coach

MeLinda Tatum Kaiser has worked as an independent choreographer, director and educator in theatre and dance environments for more than 30 years at the university, secondary and elementary levels.  From 2009-2016 she lived in Shanghai, China, teaching at an international secondary school and choreographing for area HS and MS musicals there.  MeLinda is currently teaching Arts Integration at Eastern University in St. Davids, PA and directing/choreographing for Everybody’s Theater Company (ETC) in Upper Dublin, Harriton, and Temple Sinai in Dresher.

Ryan Peteraf: Music Director

Ryan Peteraf is a conductor, organist, and pianist in the Philadelphia area. He holds degrees in music performance from the University of the Arts and the University of Notre Dame. He has conducted and performed in Germany, England, and Costa Rica. He enjoys the rehearsal process that goes into making a musical, and is looking forward to working with HTC in creating memorable performances!

Scott Weinstein: Principal

Scott Weinstein joined the Harriton High School team in 2016 as Principal. Prior to that, he served as Principal of Gladwyne Elementary School and was an Assistant Principal at both Bala Cynwyd and Welsh Valley Middle Schools in Lower Merion School District. He also served 20 years as an educator in the School District of Cheltenham Township, mostly as an administrator at Cheltenham High School.

During his time at Cheltenham High School, besides being a teacher, department chair and Assistant Principal, Weinstein developed a leadership program. The program consisted of a leadership course that he taught as well as biannual student leadership conferences that focused on student leadership development and enhancing student voice.

Weinstein holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Virginia Commonwealth University. He earned his Master’s Degree in Education and principal certification from St. Joseph’s University.

Weinstein is honored to serve as Principal in one of the nation’s finest public high schools and is committed to cultivating an inclusive and world class school community.

He enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters, connecting with friends, and staying active with his alma mater by serving as a member of the VCU Men’s Basketball Board.