Faculty
Kevin Connors (MTC’s Executive Artistic Director & Co-Founder)
College Bound Program & Voice Coach
Off-Broadway: Play Like a Winner (NYMF award-winner), Prime Time Prophet, Jukebox Saturday Night, The Abandoned Loves of Frederick R., Life Anonymous, Lover: The Valentino Musical, Babes Off Broadway, Saloon and Suzy Q. Selected regional productions: The Fantasticks, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, Babes in Toyland, A Christmas Carol and Baby; with such stars as Joan Rivers, James Naughton, and Johnny Mathis. He has directed over 150 MTC Equity MainStage productions including Next to Normal, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, Falsettoland, Ragtime, Cabaret, Little Shop of Horrors, Evita, Doubt, Master Class, Gypsy, (all Connecticut Critics’ Circle Award Nominations/Winners), and It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, (Moss Hart Award Winner). BroadwayWorld Award Winner as Best Director for MTC’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Multiple Connecticut Critics’ Circle Best Director winner including MTC’s Ragtime and Falsettoland, and 2-time recipient of the Tom Killen Award for Outstanding Contribution to Connecticut Professional Theatre. As a composer he has penned the score for numerous musicals including It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play and The Great Gatsby: A Live Radio Play (all published by Playscripts, Inc.), and served on the faculties of The Hartt School of Music/University of Hartford, Sacred Heart University, the University of Bridgeport and Musical Theatre Works in NYC. www.kevin-connors.com
Jim Schilling (MTC’s Managing Director & Co-Founder)
College Bound Program, Acting Coach, & AJLA Program Production Director
MTC acting credits include Jacques Brel is Alive and Well..., Three Guys Naked from the Waist Down, Yours, Anne, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, Doubt, Almost, Maine, God of Carnage, The Fantasticks, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, The 39 Steps and most recently Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. He was nominated for a CT Critics Circle award for Herr Shultz in Cabaret and winner of the BroadwayWorld award for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. He continues as a Blue Ribbon Panelist for the Daytime Emmy Awards, and is on the voting committee for the SAG awards, and a member of “Who’s Who in the American Theatre” from 1991-present. Jim was also an adjunct professor at Sacred Heart University (Advanced Acting, Advanced Scene Study, Script Analysis and Directing) where he was recently nominated Best Director of a musical for his work on Godspell.
Ada Cacciatore
Dance
Ada Cacciatore is an Italian dance educator and choreographer with over a decade of experience in the U.S. dance industry. She began her professional training at the National Academy of Dance in Rome, where she earned her B.A. in Dance, and continued her studies at The Place in London. In New York City, she trained at The Ailey School through the Independent Study Program. A versatile artist, Ada is trained in ballet, modern, contemporary, and jazz. She has performed works by renowned choreographers including Donald Byrd, Darshan Singh Bhuller, Amaury Lebrun, Francesca Harper, Sidra Bell, Lakai Worrell, and Max Luna. Her international training includes intensives at Alonzo King LINES Ballet (San Francisco), Nederlands Dans Theater (Netherlands), and Random Dance Company (UK). She has also appeared in an American Ballet Theatre production as a supernumerary and is a proud ABT® Certified Teacher. In January 2023, Ada joined The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Junior Division as a ballet instructor, and most recently, she joined the Teen Faculty at the Martha Graham School in Nyc. She is passionate about creating a safe, inclusive, and joyful learning environment where students feel empowered to express themselves. She believes in the power of creativity, discipline, and play as essential tools for growth in both dance and life. In addition to her teaching, Ada is the founder of One World Dance™, an initiative dedicated to fostering global cultural exchange through dance education and performance.
Elissa DeMaria
MTC Student Production MD & Choreographer, Musical Theatre, Dance, & Private Voice Coach
A professional actress residing in the NYC area, Elissa has been part of the MTC family since 2012. She has been seen on the mainstage at MTC in White Christmas (Judy), Falsettoland (Cordelia), Jekyll & Hyde (Lucy), Little Shop of Horrors (Audrey; CT Critics Circle Nomination), Next to Normal (Natalie) as well as others! Other select credits include: The Marvelous Wonderettes (Standby), Kiss Me Kate (Lois/Bianca), Seussical (Gertrude), Shout!: A Mod Musical (Red Girl), Light in the Piazza (Ensemble/Franca U/S). Elissa teaches musical theatre and private voice lessons at MTC. She holds a BFA in musical theatre from Point Park University. Proud member of AEA. www.elissademaria.com
Emily Hoffman
AJLA Program Production Musical Director
A former MTC student, Emily Hoffman recently graduated from the University of Connecticut with a Graduate Performer’s Certificate in Voice and a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance. As a member of UConn’s Opera Theater program, Emily’s roles included Orpheus (Orphée aux enfers), Madam Kirsten (The Beautiful Bridegroom), the Imposter/Decider (Welcome to Limbo: A Purcell Purgatory Pastiche), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), and Daters #2, #41, #82, #86 (Speed Dating Tonight!). She also performed with UConn’s Collegium Musicum, Concert Choir, and Festival Chorus, singing at Carnegie Hall and in venues throughout France and Germany. Previous summer engagements include a Communications Apprenticeship with the Glimmerglass Festival, as well as participation in UConn’s Summer Music in Strasbourg program, Westminster Choir College’s CoOPERAtive program, and the Collaborative Piano Institute’s Vocal Academy. In addition to working with MTC, Emily currently serves as Soprano Section Leader at The First Congregational Church of Darien and as Media Coordinator for the Fairfield County Children’s Choir.
Deborah Levy
MTC Student Production Director, Acting, Musical Theatre, and Improv
Deb has been on the faculty at MTC since 1989! Aside from teaching and directing at MTC, Deb worked at the Johnston Talent Agency for thirteen years. Deb was a commercial agent for two well known children’s agencies in New York; Abrams Artists and Associates, and Jordan, Gill and Dornbaum. After graduating from Mount Holyoke College, Deb studied acting at Circle in the Square in NYC. She performed in several Off Broadway productions including Inside Out and Mrs. Warren’s Profession. Summer Stock credits include Fiddler on the Roof at the New Jersey Festival Theatre, as well as roles with Keene State Theatre, Hope Theatre, and The Summer Theatre at Mount Holyoke College. Deb also performed in a live Industrial for Pepsi Cola (where she met her husband, Mark), and she also appeared in several soap operas including One Life to Live and As the World Turns. Currently Deb is a paraprofessional at McKinley Elementary School. She supports students with special needs in grades 4 and 5. She lives in Trumbull with her husband and their daughters, Leah (a graduate of the MTC College-Bound program) and Justine. Member AEA, AFTRA.
Tracey Marble
Private Voice Coach
As an actress and a singer, Tracey has performed off-broadway, way off-broadway, on TV and on the radio. She has done live and recorded industrials, hundreds of sound-alikes and jingles for a multitude of clients--spanning the spectrum from PBS to The World Wrestling Federation. She has written and directed for Pepsico. Tracey is a co-creator/songwriter and producer as well as one of the actresses in Another Day In Paradise, a musical that has enjoyed three New York runs to date and is now available for licensing (www.anotherdayinparadisemusical.com). She produced the first theatrical event for Mamapalooza at Off-Broadway’s Zipper Theater in Manhattan. This is the only cultural festival of its kind, celebrating moms in the arts. In addition to being part of Music Theatre of Connecticut’s Voice Faculty, Tracey is on the Voice Faculty in the Musical Theatre Division of The Hartt School. She maintains a private studio and is an adjunct professor of voice at Fairfield University. Tracey is a member of the New York Singing Teachers Association and The National Association of Teachers of Singing. She was the lead vocalist for the popular metro area band, Celebration for 25 years. Tracey is as comfortable with jazz, swing, pop, rock and R&B classics as she is with show tunes. And as today’s musical theatre is melting pot of these various styles, Tracey integrates these genres into her teaching. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Indiana University and received a BA with Distinction in Theatre and Telecommunications. She studied voice with Margaret Harshaw and Don Pfost. Tracey continues her professional development as an artist and an educator by regularly attending Broadway Teaching seminars, workshops and master classes. She is happily married with three great kids and is living proof that family and career are not mutually exclusive.
Alex Mongillo (MTC’s Administrative Manager)
NHA Program Student Production Director
As a performer, some of his favorite roles include Bud Frump in How To Succeed, Rod in Avenue Q, and Claudio in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. Alex was the acting coach for Middletown Stage Company where he also taught a Shakespeare abridged workshop, an acting for the stage and camera workshop, and an improvisation workshop for their teen theatre camp. He has also worked on a few independent films, as a professional photographer, at Westville Music Bowl, and in the New Haven Public Schools system as a paraprofessional. At MTC, Alex has taught a variety of classes and currently directs the Norwalk Housing Authority Student Production. Alex holds a B.A. in Film, TV, and Media Arts with a Minor in Theatre from Fairfield University.
Hilary Swalm
Musical Theatre & Musical Theatre Jazz
Hilary Swalm is so excited to be joining the MTC educational team this year! Mrs. Swalm earned her BFA in musical theatre at The Boston Conservatory and went on to New York City to pursue a career in performing. Credits include the national tour of Guys and Dolls (u/s General Cartwright) and the national and Singapore tours of My Fair Lady (u/s Mrs. Hopkins). Regional work includes The Who’s Tommy (Gypsy/Acid Queen), Bonnie and Clyde (Bonnie), Crazy For You (Irene Roth), Chicago (Roxie Hart), Singin’ In The Rain (Lina Lamont), 9 to 5, The Musical (Ensemble), Jerry Springer: The Opera (Ensemble), and Kiss Me Kate (Ensemble). Hilary is the proud owner of Hilary Blaine Studios where she teaches vocal technique and acting through song. She loves teaching dance as well and has taught jazz and musical theatre style classes for several years. Hilary is also a choreographer, with some of her favorite works including Footloose, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, Bye Bye Birdie, The Addams Family, and Newsies!