Meet the Team
Lipica Shah and Kareem Badr in Gabriel Jason Dean’s HEARTLAND, directed by Ari Laura Kreith. PHOTO: Jody Christopherson
Ari Laura Kreith | Artistic Director
ari.laura.kreith@lunastage.org | Ari Laura Kreith is the Artistic Director of Luna Stage, where her directing credits include MRS. STERN WANDERS THE PRUSSIAN STATE LIBRARY (World Premiere), HEARTLAND (NJ Star Ledger Top 10 Productions of 2019), PIRIRA, and the pandemic play-via-text-message #RIFT. She conceived and is currently developing the site-specific GROUND ON WHICH WE STAND, centering around the first home owned by a formerly enslaved person in Montclair; conceived and co-created the interdisciplinary VOTING WRITES PROJECT; and launched SECRET CITIES, commissioning history-based, community-inspired plays. Under her leadership, Luna launched a Teen Conservatory, received two National Endowment for the Arts grants, and was twice voted Favorite Small Theatre in New Jersey. Ari is also the founder of Theatre 167, where she conceived and directed THE JACKSON HEIGHTS TRILOGY — three full-length plays collaboratively written by eighteen playwrights featuring 37 actors in 93 roles in fourteen languages, inspired by the world's most diverse neighborhood. Other directing highlights: MOURNING SUN (Theatre 167/ Uganda), Tina Howe's SINGING BEACH (World Premiere), and commissions for Queens Museum and NY Transit Museum. A recipient of the League of Professional Theatre Women Lucille Lortel Visionary Award, Ari received her BA from Yale and her MFA from UC Davis. She grew up in 27 countries.
Matt Monaco | Production and Facilities Manager / Teaching Artist: Teen Acting Technique
Matt Monaco is the Production and Facilities Manager at Luna Stage, where he oversees production operations, technical logistics, and facilities and also teaches acting. An actor and theatre educator, his selected credits include RIFT and A Case for the Existence of God at Luna Stage. Matt holds a BA in Drama from San Francisco State University and an MFA in Acting from American Conservatory Theater.
Laura Hoffman | Development & Casting Associate | Teaching Artist
laura.hoffman@lunastage.org | Laura Hoffman, AEA, is the Development Associate at Luna Stage, where she performs a wide variety of tasks to support Luna’s inclusive and innovative mission. As an actor in NYC, she has had the pleasure of appearing in works ranging from Shakespeare to John Patrick Shanley. Recently, she was honored to act in “Stories of the Howe House: A Historic Tour and Performance” where the cast performed in the Howe House itself. She holds an MFA from StonyBrook University, is a nationally certified Sign Language Interpreter and plays the bass in an all female cover band.
Noa Berger | Marketing/Communications Coordinator
Noa Berger is the Marketing and Communications Coordinator at Luna Stage. She is a recent graduate of Tulane University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Production/Design, and brings a lifelong passion for the performing arts to her work. With a background in scenic design, acting, dance, and visual arts, Noa is dedicated to making theatre accessible and engaging through thoughtful communication, community outreach, and audience development. She is excited to support Luna Stage's mission of producing bold, inclusive theatre that connects artists and audiences and strengthens the local community.
Dawn Pasquin | Finance Associate
Dawn joined Luna Stage in 2019. Having recently received her MFA in Performing Arts Management from Brooklyn College, Dawn is combining her extensive previous business experience with her interest in arts education to work toward making theatre more accessible to new and diverse audiences.
Julia Murphy | Teaching Artist / Director of Summer Conservatory
julia.murphy@lunastage.org | Julia Murphy holds a BFA in Music Theatre from the University at Buffalo. She is an actress, dancer, and singer with a strong passion for teaching the arts. She has worked with several theatre companies in Buffalo including MusicalFare Theatre and O’Connell & Company Theatre where she worked as a performer and choreographer. As Education Coordinator at Second Generation Theatre in Buffalo, she worked with several schools to increase access to the arts in underserved communities. She has also worked as a choreographer and dance soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. With experience as both a middle school and high school teacher, she is committed to the supportive and enriching development of young artists. Julia specializes in teaching dance and theatre and is currently on teaching faculty at Backstage Performing Arts Center and Starr Dance Company. She is very grateful to be a part of the Luna Stage team!
Drew Hirshfield | Teaching Artist: Scene Study for Adults
Drew has long served on faculty within the acting programs at New York Film Academy, teaching technique and scene study, movement, improv, clown, Shakespeare, feathering a host of joyful, playful curiosity through it all. Drew has also developed and led workshops for actors at AMDA, Christopher Newport University, Governor's School of the Arts, and elsewhere.
Drew aims to empower students to cultivate the courage to listen deeply, live in the unknown, invest in the personal pleasure of play, and develop the mind-body presence that is vital to good acting. His wide-ranging approach comes from the master teachers who have challenged and inspired him while training at American Conservatory Theater's M.F.A. Program, the National Alliance for Acting Teachers' Teacher Development Program, The Michael Chekhov Association, and elsewhere,
As an actor, Drew is lucky enough to have worked on plays by Bertolt Brecht, Francis Beaumont, Sandy Rustin, Arthur Miller, Kate Hamill, Robert Askins, Jordan Seavey, Lucas Knath, Anton Chekhov, Steve Martin, Peter Shaffer, Lanford Wilson, Sam Shepard, Oliver Goldsmith, Tom Stoppard, Neil Simon, Steven Sater, Shakespeare, and many others, at theaters and rehearsal rooms across the country.
Natasha Gallop | Teaching Artist: Acting, Creative Drama, Improv
Natasha Gallop is a Newark, NJ native who is thrilled to be back home after a long stint in Washington, D.C and Atlanta, Georgia. Her resume includes a wide range of experience covering everything from theatre, television, and commercials to radio ads as well. She has worked with companies like Only Make Believe in D.C. and Kaiser Permanente to provide interactive art experiences for children within care facilities and the public school system of Baltimore, respectively. Natasha has also worked to develop the interpersonal communication skills of our future doctors and lawyers at George Washington University, Howard University, American University, and Washington College of Law, to name a few. She received her Mass Communications degree from Paine College in Augusta GA and then her Master of Fine Arts in Acting from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She can currently be found as the face to Baltimore’s road safety campaign Look Alive. It brings Natasha nothing but joy to be able to finally give her gifts back to the place that nurtured her from the start.
Leanne Marie Laurino | Teaching Artist: Create A Play
LEANNE MARIE LAURINO is a certified New Jersey K-12 Theatre Educator. She works full-time as the drama teacher at Nishuane Elementary School in Montclair, NJ. Leanne has been working as Luna Stage’s Lead Teaching Artist of their Kids Theatre Camp for the past five summers. She graduated from Kean University with her B.A. in Theatre Education and minor in music (voice) in 2022. Also an actress and singer, Leanne most recently performed as Rifka in Fiddler on the Roof at Cranford Dramatic Club and sang “The Sound of Music” in A Cabaret of Firsts at Studio Playhouse. Leanne’s teaching philosophy is to cultivate kindness in young artists through self-exploration, creativity, and the power of working together.
Emeriti
Jane Mandel | Founding Artistic Director
Jane Mandel is the Founding Artistic Director of Luna Stage where she served as AD for over twenty years. With her guidance, Luna earned a reputation for producing excellent, intelligent, and provocative theatre, where scores of new and classic plays are brought to audiences through readings and full productions. One of her passions is creating devised theatre. She developed and directed IN THE NAME OF THE WOMAN, an original exploration beginning with the ancient time of the Goddess; “we don’t have enough sugar for the public,” an exploration of racism; and THE AMERICAN PROJECT an exploration of what it means to be an American. She also co-created and directed MI CASA TU CASA, a bilingual Latino-based play with music. Read more about Jane’s work with Luna Stage here.
Board of Directors
Danah Alexander
Laura Amin
Faith Baum
Lisa Marie Bronson
Debra Caplan
Taylor Margis-Noguera
Raj Amin, Special Advisor to the Board
Advisory Board
Ruthi Byrne
Rose Cali
R. Jonathan Cobb
reg e gaines
Cady Huffman
Rosemary Iversen
Palisa Kelley
Joe Morton
Cal Trevenen
Gila Zalon
Jules Zalon
Kim Zimmer
Kevis Hillocks in J. Stephen Brantley’s PIRIRA, directed by Ari Laura Kreith. PHOTO: Jody Christopherson