Artistry Community Theatre

Elizabeth Abair is a graduate of SUNY Plattsburgh with a Bachelors of Arts majoring in Theatre and English. She is also a member of Alpha Psi Omega the national theatre honor society. Elizabeth has been in over thirty theatrical productions over the years, some of her favorite roles to date include, Cathy in The Last Five Years, Diana in Next to Normal, Princess Fiona in Shrek, Christine in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Janet in The Rocky Horror Show, Riff Raff in The Rocky Horror Show, Catherine in Suddenly Last Summer, and Stevie in The Goat or Who is Sylvia. Elizabeth has also worked on two theatrical boards in the past. She served as treasurer for the College Theatre Association for three years and was on the Artistry Board as the Vice President at the beginning of the organizations journey. Elizabeth currently works as the Health Center Manager for PPNCNY and loves her career and coworkers. Elizabeth is grateful for the consideration of being a part of the Artistry board again and looks forward to the opportunity to contribute to this great organization again.

Term: 2023-2025

Bonnie Hopkins has volunteered for Artistry Community Theatre since its inception assisting with the financial record keeping.  She is the current Town Clerk / Tax Collector for the Town of AuSable in Keeseville, NY.  She is also the tax collector for the AuSable Valley Central School District.  Bonnie is married to her love, Howard, and have three loving sons: Scott, Derrick, and Philip.  The light of her life are her three grandchildren: Allison, Carter, Theo, and Vera.  

Term: 2023

Derrick A. Hopkins is the current president and founder of Artistry Community Theatre (ACT) Corp.and educator. He earned his BS and MS in Elementary Education at SUNY Plattsburgh and currently works at AuSable Valley Central Middle-High School as the 8th grade math teacher.  Previously, he taught English at AVCS and was an elementary teacher and theatre teacher at Willsboro Central School for twenty years.  Notable roles include Mary Sunshine in Chicago, Jud Fry in Oklahoma!, King Kasapar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Horton the Elephant in Seussical. Derrick has been directing school and community productions in the area since 1998 including Cabaret, Chicago, Company, Hello Dolly!, I Hate Hamlet, Into the Woods, The Last Five Years, Mothers and Sons, My Fair Lady, Next Fall, Next to Normal, Peter Pan, Rabbit Hole, Steel Magnolias, West Side Story, Wit, among many others. He had the privilege and honor to direct Leslie and George Hearn in South Pacific and Mame.  Derrick was invited by Tony winner, Adam Guettel to play Fessik in the workshop of The Princess Bride at Lincoln Center earning his entry into Actors' Equity Association.  He founded the Keeseville Hometown Hero Banner program, which honors local veterans in the Town of AuSable and Town of Chesterfield.  Derrick is the proud father of two gorgeous babies! ❤️

Term 2024 - 2026

Megan is so excited to join the Board of Directors with ACT and learn more about the process of putting together a successful show!! Megan has approximately 25 years dance experience and 15 years musical theater experience. She has enjoyed playing many leads including “Belle” in Beauty and the Beast and “Dorothy” in The  Wizard of Oz. Most recently she came out of a 5 year hiatus to join the cast in ACT’s The Music Man. In her time outside theater, Megan is an oncology pharmacist and volunteers with the Whiteface Ski Patrol. She lives in Saranac Lake with her husband, Pete, their kids Eli and Mayah and the best dogs ever, Abby and Perry.

Term: 2022-2024

Annie-Laurie Lemieux has been a dedicated member of the creative team for a variety of Artistry productions. Assistant directing, casting director, and/or stage management for [title of show], The Hilarious Hillbilly Massacre, Cinderella, and Little Shop of Horrors. Over the last twenty plus years, Annie-Laurie has been in various improvisation groups and her fondest theatre memories include performing as Holly in the Stand Center for the Arts benefit performance of Next Fall; Willsboro Drama Club performances as Becca in Rabbit Hole and as Susie in Wit; SUNY Plattsburgh performances as Abby Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace and as Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream; Essex Theatre Company performances as Frauline Kost in Cabaret, Sylvia in Sylvia, and April in Company. Annie-Laurie graduated from SUNY Plattsburgh with a Bachelors of Arts in Theatre and English. Her greatest loves are her husband, Eric and son, Rodney.

Term: 2023-2025

Max Longware graduated from SUNY Clarkson with a Bachelor’s in psychology. He works at Crown Point CSD as a college career advisor and got his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Clarkson University last year. He has been performing since PreK and is excited to continue performing with Artistry Theatre. Past shows Max has been in include Proof (Father), Elf Jr. (Buddy the Elf), Mame (Young Patrick), [title of show] (Jeff), Hello Dolly (Ambrose), Cinderella (Grace), and Into the Woods (Rapunzel's Prince). He hopes can be part of this creative community for many years to come.

Term: 2023-2025

Ethan Luoma has worked with ACT since 2018 when he first joined the company for a production of Hello Dolly! and recently played The Prince in Cinderella. He’s performed in over 30 productions. Previous roles include Prince Eric (The Little Mermaid), Angus Tuck (Tuck Everlasting), and Joseph Pulitzer (Newsies!). Ethan is currently a student studying music at the Crane School of Music in Potsdam majoring in music education. Prior to this he studied Musical Theatre at Manhattanville College.

Term: 2024

Nora Mockus is ecstatic to be a part of ACT’s Associate Board of Directors. She previously starred as Woman #2 in ACT's Songs for a New World and the title role in Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella.  When she’s not singing, she works as a RN at CVPH’s Fitzpatrick Cancer Center. Some of her past shows include: Frenchy in Grease, Urleen in Footloose, Brenda in Romance, Romance, Alice in Bye, Bye Birdie, Natalie in Next to Normal, and Humpty Dumpty in Shrek: The Musical. 

Term: 2024

Linda Murphy has been active with Artistry Community Theatre since September 2018 when she discovered their fall play reading series. Since then she has acted in their production of Steel Magnolias as Miss Clairee. She looks forward to participating in the future productions of this up and coming theatre company.  Linda is excited to be a part of the Associate Board of Directors.

Term 2022-2024

Michael Rafferty is a senior at the University at Albany where he studies Political Science and Theatre. He is currently the Live Entertainment Manager at Santa’s Workshop at the North Pole, NY, where, for the past two years, has strived to strike a balance between preserving the history of the nation’s first theme park, and developing new works to be enjoyed by guests. Michael has been a member of various theatre groups throughout the North Country for more than a decade where he has been both an actor and technician. Some of his most notable projects have been You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (AVCS) and Next to Normal (ETC). Michael is a longtime supporter of youth programs in the North Country with groups including The Boy Scouts of America, The Missing Children’s Basketball tournament, and the AuSable Forks Christmas tree lighting celebration.  

Term 2022-2024

Andrew Russell is a partner at Russell, McCormick & Russell, the largest law firm in Keeseville, New York. Mr. Russell graduated from AuSable Valley Central School in 2000, SUNY Plattsburgh in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a Minor in Music. In 2008, he graduated from Albany Law School with a Juris Doctor degree and was admitted to practice law in 2009 in all Courts of the State of New York as well as the Federal Court System.  He is currently the Vice president for Literacy Volunteers of Essex and Franklin County, and a Member-At-Large for the Adirondack Regional Theatre.  He is now a "retired" community theatre actor and has appeared in Annie, Sound of Music, Anything Goes, West Side Story, and Cabaret with ETC, and Oklahoma, My Fair Lady, Li'l Abner, Oliver, and Cinderella at AuSable Valley. 

Term 2024 - 2026

Eileen Wrisley is happy to be a Board member for Artistry Community Theatre. She brings rich and varied experience to her work with Artistry.  A graduate of Becker Junior College, Clinton Community College, and Plattsburgh State with a B.A. in Business Administration, Eileen has worked in Human Resources for the Press-Republican, the Manchester NH School District, and the UVM Health Network – CVPH, after 20 years in banking for Albany Savings Bank (now Community.)  She was previously treasurer and on Board for Honor Society at Clinton Community College and sang with the Champlain Valley Oratorio Society and acted as their treasurer. Now retired to provide daycare for her grandson, she has found Artistry to help fill her free time.  Last summer she was in the onstage ensemble for Hello, Dolly! She jumped in to save the day as costume assistant, altering costumes and constructing hats and Dolly’s spectacular headdress. 

Term 2024 - 2026