Meet Team Illuminate 

A general maker, Chris is an amateur woodworker, metal worker, and electrical engineer. With a passion for learning how things work and building new things combined with a drive to help others has lead him to working with Illuminate building sets and props. Chris has been working in computer science and programming field for over 20 years, learning, building, and troubleshooting various systems over that time. More recently getting involved in amateur radio has accelerated his hobbies in electronics and the world of wireless communications.

Michael Sherrod has been involved with illuminate since 2018.  He has served the company in various roles with productions and serving on the Board of Directors. He looks forward to working with the students even more to help teach and create the magic for the stage production.

Mike, a sophomore in high school, has been with illuminate for 7 years. Mike, along with his three siblings, has been homeschooled and has been in the local homeschool community since childhood. Working alongside his family, Mike has played an important part in the production of illuminate shows. He has been involved with tip crew and set building since he joined, has worked as an intern both backstage and in the stagecraft classes, and has recently started as an instructor for the Tip Crew. Mike has hands-on experience working with set construction and enjoys teaching young students the skills they need to be successful members of the set crew.

Jason Lamb, a graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, was introduced to theater production his freshman year and has been involved ever since.  During his time at WPI he was the President of Lens and Lights, WPI’s lighting, sound and projection club.  He has worked on numerous productions as the Master Electrician, Lighting Designer, Master Carpenter and Technical Director. Jason actively participated in and served as the President for The Gazebo Players of Medfield.  Jason has recently joined AWIP and is delighted be running Master Classes in Lighting and Set Construction.  While not working on productions Jason finds himself immersed in the activities of his four busy children and his career as an IT Director. This is Jason’s sixth year with the company.

Melissa Lamb is a graduate of WPI with a degree in Chemistry and Theatre Technology. While at WPI, she worked in every aspect of technical theatre, with a concentration in stage management. She was also a member of Lens and Lights, which provided sound, lighting, and projection for concerts and other on campus performances.

Since leaving WPI, Melissa has worked with a variety of community theatre groups, including an assistant management position at The Vineyard Playhouse, a professional theatre company located on Martha’s Vineyard. She also worked with The Gazebo Players of Medfield where she was the stage manger for Helen Keller and Brighton Beach Memoirs, and worked as the Producer for their annual outdoor Shakespeare summer shows. This is Melissa’s sixth year with illuminate, and is excited to be sharing her love of theatre with the next generation.

Kenny Boardman is a business owner that specializes in photo and video production, working with football teams, television studios, churches, real estate and more! With almost a decade of hands-on experience, training and teaching as an Eagle Scout at the National Youth Leadership Training course in the Boy Scouts of America, he is excited to help students grow and develop the next generation of photographers and filmmakers.

Skylar McWilliams has been dancing ever since the age of two. She took part in competitive dancing for a few years and learned lots of different techniques to help her move forward into teaching. Her first students she taught always made her smile and laugh, from then on she wanted to continue. Not only does she have an interest in dance, but she has and interest for acting and has been since the age of seven. Every single play had been performed with the wonderful people of Illuminate. She can’t wait to continue teaching and learning!

Gwen McGovern is a Massachusetts based dancer, teacher and choreographer who has been dancing since the age of 3 at New England Dance Academy under Stephanie Kemp, Hope Specht and Jill D’Aguanno. After graduating high school, Gwen moved to New York City and studied at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy under Lars Rosager, Janine Aloisi, Oren Korenblum and many more renowned choreographers. She studied there for a year before moving home and studying at Dean College under Todd Shanks and Kristina Berger. She was also an apprentice in Fourth Dimension Tap Company based out of Boston. She has been teaching at New England Dance Academy in North Attleboro since 2021 and with Illuminate since 2023. Dance has always been her passion and she's is so excited to share her knowledge and experience with Illuminate!

Growing up in the Adirondacks Mountains of Up State New York ,Nicole spent a lot of time volunteering with the local chamber of Commerce working on town events for the children. Starting at the age of 12, she ran a local summer reading program at the local public library, which she also later worked at. Nicole is a graduate of Howard G Sackett Technical Center, in Glenfield NY with a certificate in Early Childhood Education. She has 25+ years working with preschool to middle school aged children as well as special education children. In the last few years Nicole has found a love for making and creating, from cosplay as well as historical reenactment.

Making several masks, outfits and props from different characters to attend PAX Boston, where a video game creator was blown away by the attention to detail. Photos from one event were published in the CPU magazine that covered PAX East that year. She has also volunteered at Plymouth Plantation helping open up Plantation for that year as well as working on some of the outfits the reenactors wear.  Now a mother of two daughters who have found their people at Illuminate. She was happy to help with the different productions. She has so far worked on painting set pieces and crafting headpieces, while assisting with costume changes during Singing in the Rain. On Frozen Jr, she created wigs and helped with making Sven come to life. Nicole is a Disney Nut and loves working with children. Always looking to help wherever she can.

Eleni is a junior in High School and the oldest of 4 homeschooled kids who found their way to AWIP/illuminate over 9 years ago. She started out singing in high notes and taking summer workshops. During her time with illuminate she has acted in three Jr Productions and interned in one and then joined the set design and backstage crew for Newsies and Beauty and the Beast. She found her way into the media department doing marquee boards for Newsies, BB, Shrek, SITR and various Jr. productions. She has also been involved in costume design for Beauty and the Beast and OZ, Shrek, SITR and Frozen Jr. She has acted in three staged readings and two mainstages. In the last two years she took the lead on set painting for Shrek, SITR and Frozen Jr. She has also designed over a dozen logos for various productions, events and the company as a whole since 2020. She has also been involved in Salt + Light, one of illuminate’s outreach teams. She is excited to reach the next generation of illuminate kids and share her love of the arts with them. She is looking forward to teaching at illuminate this semester and helping with mainstage set painting. 

Leah Mahiri is a mother, artist, writer, and teacher. She has a BA in Art from California State University,  Sacramento. She also has a certificate from Rhode Island School of Design in Children’s Book Illustration. Leah has over 20 years of experience  working with children. She has worked as a nanny, in church groups, in home school groups, and most currently is also the art teacher at Grace Baptist Christian Academy. 

Leah loves sharing her love of art with students, and hopes to encourage and inspire them in their own creativity.

Evie is a Sophomore in high school, and has been with illuminate since it began when she was four. She explored all sorts of hobbies through AWIP/illuminate – from dancing, acting, and singing, to writing, art, and puppetry, she found that what she loved the most was helping. From ages 6 – 10, she helped clean Tolman for the shows, and worked as an usher. At 11, she helped paint the sets and create the props for the MainStage production “Beauty and the Beast.” At 12, she started interning, taking part in the writing of the junior productions. From then on, she interned for most of the junior productions as a script writer and acting coach, while also interning for art classes. She began teaching at 13, serving as a substitute teacher for Eleni LaFond, and at 14, began teaching classes of her very own. Whether she’s in the background or center stage, Evie continues to serve illuminate as much as she can.

Josiah Belli is a high school senior who has been at illuminate since the spring of 2019. In his time at illuminate, he has played in five of the musicals, sang in choirs, participated in all kinds of classes, and performed in puppet theater. He has also been on illuminate’s outreach team Salt and Light for three years. In his time, Josiah has also helped with Sunday School classes, Vacation Bible School, and has interned on all sides of the illuminate spectrum. Josiah looks forward to teaching the next generation of illuminate students!

Jess Sanna is a life-long learner and performer. She started dance classes at age 3 and competed nationally (acrobats, tap, jazz, ballet) through her teens. She took dance and acting lessons in college and graduated from RIC with a BA in Theatre Performance in 2001. She worked at the MacColl Field YMCA as the cheerleading and camp director, as well as a site leader for their after school program. She eventually went back to college and got her Master of Arts in Teaching Elementary Education while pregnant with her son. Always interested in American Sign Language, Jess took her first ASL class in 2004 and never looked back. She graduated from American Sign Language Academy in 2011 and soon began teaching there. Her background in performance has helped her immensely in her ASL studies, and she's excited to share her passion for art, movement, and ASL with her students.

Aimiejeanne Given is an alumni and college student who is set to graduate in 2026. She joined Illuminate in the year 2020 with “The Wizard of Oz.” She slowly started helping with dance classes and continued to run her own even after she finished Illuminate as a student with “Shrek” in 2022. She has been dancing since she was seven, doing diverse styles that include ballet, jazz, hip hop, musical theater, tap, modern, and contemporary. She gained a love for choreographing with her sister long ago and has used that passion to help with main stages. As well as being the main choreographer for “Frozen Jr.” Her favorite thing to see is a dance coming together and the kids enjoying it.

Hannah Enos is a RI-based musician and educator. She began her formal music training at 7 years old and has managed a private piano studio for over 14 years. She is the oldest of 11 adopted kids and finds an odd amount of peace in the chaos that comes with being around lots of kids (maybe that’s why she’s a teacher).

Hannah comes to Illuminate after having taken a drama class with Jen some 16+ years ago. Having heard about their newly-minted puppetry program last fall, Hannah dove head first into assisting with teaching the intro to puppets class as well as lead-coaching the select puppetry group The Luminators, which recorded several TV episodes.

She’s now all-in with teaching both puppet classes as well as music theory and violin classes. She takes joy in getting to introduce the whimsy and colorfulness of music to kids as a music teacher and educator in the arts. In her free time Hannah enjoys playing board games, hiking, finding the best bubble tea shop in every city she visits, learning a new instrument every other month, and playing keys in her friend’s band LYNDI

Cassandra Hanudel earned her B.M in music education from Gordon College in 2004 and her M.M.Ed. in music education from the University of Hartford in 2010.  She taught music in the Needham Public Schools for 10 years, directing choirs and teaching general music, and was the choral director at Pollard Middle School for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade choruses as well as the award winning Treble Choir. Under Mrs. Hanudel’s direction the Treble Choir traveled and performed everywhere from Washington D.C. to New York City, won numerous gold medals at state festivals, and was invited to perform at Symphony Hall, Mechanics Hall, and the 2009 NAfME Eastern Division Conference in Providence, RI.

During her time at Gordon, Mrs. Hanudel studied voice and vocal pedagogy and sang with the College Choir and various other chamber ensembles. She has also performed with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and has taught voice privately for nearly 20 years.  Since 2014 Mrs. Hanudel has been home with her children and has maintained an active voice studio, focusing on vocal pedagogy and performance techniques with high school students. She has been directing choirs at Illuminate since the Spring of 2020 and is excited to share her love of singing with the students here. A homeschooling Mom herself, she is also grateful that her own children are given so many opportunities to create and perform with their peers  not only in music classes but within all the diverse course offerings.

Laura Jenkins is a singer, voice teacher, musical director and choral conductor.  She has a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Massachusetts.  She had the pleasure of directing three previous Mainstage shows with A Work In Progress Productions (Illuminate): The Wiz, Mary Poppins, and White Christmas.  She also conducted High Notes choirs and taught vocal techniques classes.  She is currently directing Hello, Dolly! at Barrington Christian Academy, where she was the choral and musical director for three years. She maintains a private voice studio out of her home as well as serves as a worship team musician at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Providence.  She has appeared locally with the Providence Singers.  Previously, she was a voice faculty member at the Springfield Community Music School.  She has also appeared with the Arcadia Players, the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, the Pioneer Valley Symphony, Commonwealth Opera and the Keene Chorale and Orchestra. 

Evie is a Sophomore in high school, and has been with illuminate since it began when she was four. She explored all sorts of hobbies through AWIP/illuminate – from dancing, acting, and singing, to writing, art, and puppetry, she found that what she loved the most was helping. From ages 6 – 10, she helped clean Tolman for the shows, and worked as an usher. At 11, she helped paint the sets and create the props for the MainStage production “Beauty and the Beast.” At 12, she started interning, taking part in the writing of the junior productions. From then on, she interned for most of the junior productions as a script writer and acting coach, while also interning for art classes. She began teaching at 13, serving as a substitute teacher for Eleni LaFond, and at 14, began teaching classes of her very own. Whether she’s in the background or center stage, Evie continues to serve illuminate as much as she can.

Josiah Belli is a high school senior who has been at illuminate since the spring of 2019. In his time at illuminate, he has played in five of the musicals, sang in choirs, participated in all kinds of classes, and performed in puppet theater. He has also been on illuminate’s outreach team Salt and Light for three years. In his time, Josiah has also helped with Sunday School classes, Vacation Bible School, and has interned on all sides of the illuminate spectrum. Josiah looks forward to teaching the next generation of illuminate students!

Lynn-Marie Dubeau is a mother of 5 who is passionate about reading,  teaching, learning something new everyday and hopes that everyone will get to hold (or at least pet) a chicken in the lifetime.  She grew up singing in choirs at church and dancing in high school studying Jazz, Ballet and Modern. Lynn-Marie participated in the dance company at Rhode Island College while studying Psychology and Early Childhood Education. She later pursued Deaf Studies at BCC in Attleboro, MA.

She was a lifeguard for 30 years, taught first aid, CPR AED, and trained lifeguards, She taught swim to parents with infants, senior citizens and all ages in-between, while specializing in working with those "terrified of the water" and with students all throughout the learning spectrum.  Lynn-Marie is a farmer/homesteader teaching Backyard Farming, Agricultural Science classes and camps and  absolutely calls it a " win" when she can sneak farm themed topics into her Playful Poetry and Playful Puppetry classes. Ms. Lynn also teaches Dramatic Discoveries which is a course where students research guided topics and then present what they have learned utilizing Public Speaking skills and Intro  to Acting basics that are taught. Dialogs, monologues, improvisational skits, creating commercials and short skits are some choices of presentation. Lynn-Marie enjoys working with students of all ages, encouraging them to express themselves through movement, words, sounds, art and music,  to learn new things and blossom in confidence.

Colleen Sutcliffe is a classically trained vocalist, performer, educator, trained massage therapist and certified personal trainer. She grew up in a musical and theatrical family and had countless experiences in the arts. She began acting, singing and directing in her childhood and continued performing throughout her school years eventually leading her to pursue a degree in Theatre Arts in College. After college, she worked as the Theatre Director for Somerset High School and as a cantor for a local church. Colleen always felt a connection between wellness and the arts and so she also attained certification as a massage therapist and personal trainer. During her college years, she continued to hone her craft as an actor where she was nominated for an Irene Ryan Acting Award for her portrayal of Pearl in The Scarlet Letter 

After years of performance-focus, she received additional training in technical theatre, scenic design, directing and education and she discovered a love and appreciation for all that goes into the “magic” of theatre. Colleen has served as the Mainstage Production Manager for Illuminate since 2019. She teaches various classes and directs our staged readings.

Stephanie is a graduate of WPI and of the UWisconsin at Madison with a BS/MS in Civil Engineering as well as a Professional Engineer. As a homeschooling mom of 4 she turned her attention to aiding illuminate with its needs, joining the staff in 2017 as our bookkeeper.  Her family are all very active in the illuminate community, taking classes, working on and in productions, interning and teaching.

The granddaughter of two professional seamstresses, she is a predominantly self-taught sewer who loves creating unique items for illuminate productions. She created original costume designs for her first production with AWIP (now illuminate): Beauty & the Beast 2019, and “The Wizard of Oz” livestream. She also created many original pieces for our production of Shrek and our most recent middle school production of Frozen Jr, which included a split second, on-stage dress transformation. She is looking forward to new, on-stage costume challenges in the coming year and sharing her love of costume design with the illuminate community.

Katherine has always loved music; she played piano and other instruments, sang in chorus, performed in musicals and served as a cantor and song leader for kids at her church during high school. She earned a BS in Spanish and Elem. Ed. from Regis College, and was an active member of the Glee Club that toured in Greece and France. She earned a MSEd in Special Ed. from Simmons College and worked with children with autism before staying home with her kids. She is mom to 5 kids, homeschooling for over 14 years now. She was very excited to find our company in 2018; all her kids are or were active participants, interns, teachers, and alumni! In 2019, Katherine joined the team as a bookkeeping assistant, growing into the current role of General Manager. She began to use her creative skills to assist with set decorating in 2022 and then designed the set for Frozen, Jr. in 2023. She'd much rather be in the background supporting others than in the spotlight! She is excited to continue to use her gifts in both the creative and administrative roles!

Jennifer began acting when she enrolled in “The Peter Pan Players” of Worcester at age 7. For the next 10 years, she received specialized musical theatre, dance and improvisation training, performed in over 50 productions, and performed with their touring company. At 15, she began choreographing and directing the theatre company at her high school. She graduated with a degree in theatre from UMass Amherst, all the while still directing at her high school. She then traveled with professional touring companies, performed in summer stock productions, and eventually landed in NYC, where she worked for Disney Theatricals (“The Lion King”) and MTV during the day, while she continued her acting career in the evening.  Once she moved back from NYC, she directed MainStage productions at UMass Dartmouth and taught at Theatre Companies throughout the state before she started her family and discovered the homeschool community. She led homeschool theatre classes for five years before founding "A Work in Progress" (now illuminate) in 2013.   She recently appeared in a music video for Kelce Mclernon’s single, “Mirrors,” and was selected as a national spokesperson for Noom. She is Secretary of the Attleboro Cultural Council, and is a member of the TDI Attleboro Downtown Partnership, and along with her three children who are active participants in the company, she looks forward to seeing illuminate shine for generations to come!