Meet Our Staff

Sharon Hilton

Artistic Director
Director, "Burt and Me"

Sharon has been around the barn for over 45 years. She remembers following Carleton out to the barn to milk the cows, long before anyone thought it might be a theatre. Carleton also brought her to see her first play. Some of her other roles over Hackmatack's thirty year history have been actor, stage manager, and director. In 1980 she founded Renaissance Stage Company that performed at Beaver Dam Grange for over 5 years. In 1989 she established InterPlay Production A theatre in education touring company. Her theatre journey has been influenced by actors, directors, producers, family and friends to numerous to mention but whom without their influence and support would not have been possible. Sharon has also directed Rumors (2008) and Annie Get Your Gun (2008).

Jerard-James Craven

Director, "Oklahoma"

Jerard-James Craven will return to Hackmatack this summer as Director of "Oklahoma". Some of Jerard's directing credits include: Jack and the Beanstalk and the Two-Headed Ogre, The Fisherman and his Wife (The Little Red Wagon), The Magic Flute (UNH Opera Dept.), Hard Candy, Check Please! (UNH Mask & Dagger). Acting credits include: Anything Goes, Our Town, The Producers, The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Hackmatack Playhouse), Celebration! (New Hampshire Theatre Project), Urinetown (Seacoast Repertory Theatre). Jerard received his Bachelor's in Musical Theatre Performance from the University of New Hampshire, and has spent the past year working in Midland, TX at the internationally recognized Midland Community Theatre as an Assistant Director and Props Master.

Stephen Small

Director, "Hairspray"

Stephen will be returning to Hackmatack this season to direct "Hairspray". This is Stephen's second directing job at Hackmatack, having directed "Anything Goes" for the 2009 season. This past winter he directed and choreographed, "SHOUT! The Mod Musical" for the Rochester Opera House. He is thrilled to be back at the barn with one of his favorite shows. Some of his choreography credits include, "Forever Plaid" and "Footloose" for Hackmatack. His acting credits include, Dennis in "All Shook Up!", Carmen Ghia in "The Producers", Hysterium in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" and the Male Diction Coach in "Singin' in the Rain".

Mary Tarochione

Director, "Boeing-Boeing"

Mary Tarochione has directed: The Pirates of Penzance, The Secret Garden, The Mikado, Into The Woods, Wait Until Dark (Hackmatack Playhouse); Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, Why We Have a Body, Avatar, Macbeth, Uncle Vanye (Part One, Toward, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Best Boyfriend, a staged reading of A Loss Of Color (NativeAliens Theatre Collective, New York, NY); Another Country, Monologue and Alice in Wonderland (University of Memphis, Memphis, TN). Costumes for Pillow Talk, Furious, Civilized and Southern Reckonings. Scene Design for Pillow Talk. As a writer: The Velocity of Light and Native Aliens. She is a founding member of NativeAliens Theatre Collective in New York.

Katie Rodger

Children's Theatre Camp Director

Katie is proud to have been a part of Hackmatack Playhouse since 2004. She graduated the University of Massachusetts with a Bachelor of Music in Education, and Fitchburg State University with a Master's in Special Education. She currently teaches at an alternative school in Methuen, MA, where she directs after school arts programs when time allows. She has been the director of the Hackmatack Children's Camp since 2009, directing "The Pirates of Penzance", and "The World's a Stage", an original musical she wrote with her husband, Jay. Acting credits include: Carousel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, South Pacific (Hackmatack Playhouse), A Chorus Line, and Once Upon a Mattress (UMTG). Choreography credits include: Cinderella, Big River (Hackmatack Playhouse), Into the Woods, and Seussical the Musical (Somersworth High School).