Our Directors,
Faculty, & Staff
The Drama Studio's staff are professional artists and educators whose mission to validate the youth experience enhances every class, rehearsal and project.
Amelia Hays-Rivest
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Amelia has been an integral part of The Drama Studio since 1991. She has developed the unique curriculum for The Drama Studio, building a conservatory program that challenges and supports the development of students ages 6 - 18, working with students of all abilities and challenges. She teaches the advanced ensemble and choreography classes, as well as the introductory and intermediate classes for the younger ages. Her intermediate and advanced classes work collaboratively to create original work for the Studio. She also developed TheaterReaders as an outreach program within the Springfield Public Schools and is the primary teacher in that collaboration. Additionally, she has taught acting and movement for the Loon and Heron Theatre in Boston, Providence Hospital, and the University of Hartford’s Summer Place. She is the choreographer for the Dance Choir and the annual Boar’s Head Festival at Trinity Church. She graduated from Smith College with a BA in education, with independent studies in teaching dance and theatre to special needs populations. She has developed and directed many original productions at Drama Studio including Sea and Sky, Kristin's Rainbow, Dream Tamer, and Ophelia: a choreo-ensemble-translation of Ophelia's visions.
Steve Hays
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Steve was Producing Director of Stage West from its inception in 1967 until 1984. He has directed Doors, Ozma of Oz, Wiley and the Hairy Man, Mother Hicks, The Secret Garden, Ordinary People, Ramona Quimby, The Birds, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Anne of Green Gables, The Italian Straw Hat, The Tempest, Very Good Eddie, and The Boy Friend for the Drama Studio. He is also a playwright and musician, with four of his plays, The Snow Queen, The Little Match Girl, Me and Ruth, and Sara Crewe having premiered at the Drama Studio.
Austin Yelinek
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Austin brings a diverse background of training in technical theatre, video design, acting, performance and fabric arts. He has developed the unique curriculum at the Drama Studio to train students in lighting design and stage management, working to make the technical aspects of theatre accessible to young actors. Austin first joined the Drama Studio as a student, and returned to work as a faculty member in 2015, You can find Austin within classes, as well as backstage at any Drama Studio event..
Dan Morbyrne
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Dan has been with the Drama Studio since 2005 where he teaches numerous classes and directs several productions every season. Dan has taught classes and workshops at numerous high schools and colleges throughout New England, and has directed with many Massachusetts-based companies as well as Off Broadway. In addition to his work at the Studio, Dan is also one of the co-founders of Real Live Theatre, a professional theatre cooperative based in the Pioneer Valley. As an actor Dan has performed nationally and internationally and continues to appear frequently in local productions. Dan has directed over forty plays at the Drama Studio including Begets: Fall of a High School Ronin, Present Company Excluded, The Secret Garden, Pinocchio, Antigone, Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, The Comedy of Errors, Cymbeline, and Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom.
Phoebe Olin
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Phoebe has been a part of the Drama Studio since 2005 as a student, and joining in 2018 as faculty. She received a Bachelor’s Degree from Kent State University in Art History, minoring in Studio Arts. Phoebe has consistently involved herself in improv since age 14, where she was in the Drama Studio Troupe. In college, she helped lead her improv troupe in practice, as well as performance. She has additionally participated in workshops with both Upright Citizens Brigade and Second City Network, as well as performed with Upright Citizens Brigade. Outside of the Drama Studio, she works in the East Longmeadow Public Schools in the Special Education department, in addition to teaching piano lessons.
Dominic Colangelo
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Dominic is a New England based theater artist and educator. In 2023 he earned his BFA in Acting from Boston University’s School of Theatre. He is the founding director of the Boston Young Artists, an organization dedicated to shepherding the next generation of theater artists to the Boston theater scene. Through this organization he has coordinated several design and performance showcases across the city, most notably producing a new work at the Plaza Theater in 2022. He is an experienced educator and has been working with students for eight years, inside and outside of theater settings. He is thrilled to be a part of the Drama Studio's team and mission.
Andreas (Dre) Varnauskas
Noreen O’Sullivan
Erica Weida
Teaching Assistants:
Megan Fabiano, Sena Yacteen,
Stephen Osgood.
Honorary Faculty
Janet Richards, Honorary Registrar
Since 1997, Janet Richards has been the registrar of the Drama Studio. Janet's love of students, work ethic, and her practical common sense have contributed hugely to the ethos of the Studio. In December 2017, Janet retired after 20 years of service!
