Staff

Hartford Children's Theatre's team works hard to facilitate the education and celebrate the success of your children’s experience in the theatre. Please call us to find out more on how your child can be part of this family. As an organization, HCT is well aligned, with a common understanding of values, mission, vision and key directions. Effective communications encourages meaningful dialogue, reinforces participatory decision-making, and enhances learning and change. HCT leadership – at the staff and Board level – create coordinated, sustained solutions for complex issues.

KEY PROGRAM STAFF

Dulcie Giadone

Executive Director
Ms. Giadone’s association with Hartford Children’s Theatre dates back to the mid-1990s when her son was enrolled as a student in the theatre’s education programs and performed in the company’s Main Stage offerings.  She served as president of the Board of Directors from 1996 to 2004.

During that time she was instrumental in securing hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants from foundation and civic sources, including funds that helped build the Carriage House Theatre, located at 360 Farmington Avenue in Hartford. In 2003, she received the Connecticut Commission on the Arts Distinguished Advocates for Arts Award. Professionally, Mrs. Giadone has served as Executive Assistant to Hartford City Councilman James Boucher.

She has established and coordinated several civic task forces during her time up at city hall. She has acted as a consultant for the Greater Hartford Citizen’s Network and Hartford Areas Rally Together (HART).  From 1996 to 2002, she served as the Executive Director of Organized Parents Make A Difference (OPMAD), a non-profit service agency dedicated to providing after-school opportunities for Hartford’s youth that she co-founded in 1991.

From 1994 to 1997, she co-founded and was a board member the Southend Knightriders Youth Center (now known as COMPASS Youth Collaborative).  Quality education and the arts whether it be advocating for her two boys who both graduated from Hartford’s Bulkeley High School with high honors, one went off to be the first Air Force Academy entrant from Bulkeley and the second graduated from NYU with a BA in Theatre Arts or advocating for other children is her passion.  She is responsible for management and day-to-day operations of the organization and provides leadership for establishing and implementing its annual goals and objectives.

Lisa Foss

Education Director
B.F.A, Carnegie Mellon University:
She is responsible for the educational component and recruitment of all professional educators for the HCT Drama School program. Lisa has had extensive training as a director, music director and choreographer. She has directed and taught theatre classes at Saint Bernard High in Uncasville, CT, UCONN’s Community School of the Arts (Middle School Spring Musical Director), Spirit of Broadway Theatre and the Garde Arts Center/ISAAC School. She was the Program Director of the after-school drama program at Lisbon Central School, which catered to children grades K-8TH  and has worked with children and on youth productions since 2000.

From 2004-2007 Lisa was also an adjunct professor of theatre at Three Rivers Community College. Lisa has taught and directed at HCT for a number of years. She is a personal voice coach and gives lessons at HCT and at a studio in Lisbon, CT. Lisa is highly trained in acting/musical theatre, voice/speech, dance/movement, and stage combat.

Ryan Ratelle

Artistic Director
Ryan comes to HCT directly from NYC where he worked as an ATPAM Press Agent on Broadway for six years.  As a Senior Account Executive at Barlow • Hartman PR (now The Hartman Group), Mr. Ratelle represented the Tony Award nominated productions of Gypsy (starring Tony Award winners Patti LuPone, Laura Benanti & Boyd Gaines), Grease (starring NBC reality show winners Max Crumm & Laura Osnes along with “American Idols” Taylor Hicks & Ace Young) and the pre-Broadway engagement of West Side Story at Washington, D.C.’s historic National Theatre.  Additional Broadway credits include Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, The Vertical Hour (starring Julianne Moore), The Pillowman (starring Jeff Goldblum), Jerry Springer the Opera at Carnegie Hall (starring Harvey Keitel) and many more.  As a freelance publicist, he served as the National Press Representative for the first national tour of Grease and currently handles publicity for the Broadway Dreams Foundation. 

As a director, Mr. Ratelle staged two productions by playwright Bethany Larsen at Off Broadway's Primary Stages.  During his tenure at TNECT at the Bradley Playhouse in Putnam, CT he directed productions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Neil Simon's Jake's Women, Three Tall Women, Cinderella and The Wizard of Oz, among others. His work as also been seen at the Majestic Rose Dinner Theatre where he served as Artistic Director for a summer season. In his first season as Artistic Director of HCT, Mr. Ratelle directed the Main Stage productions of Beauty and the Beast and Geppetto & Son.  Mr. Ratelle studied musical theatre at ECSU and Emerson College in Boston, MA.

 

Ben Oprysko

Office Manager
Ben joins us as our Office Manager. Ben is currently a graduate student at SCSU studying for his Masters in Library Science. Ben will manage the box office and the HCT office, alongside performing many other important duties to keep HCT running smoothly!

Kelly Evans

 

Marketing Associate/Office Manager Assistant
Kelly Evans is our new Marketing Associate and Office Manager Assistant. Kelly will manage the website and help with various marketing initiatives. Providing our students and families with quality programming doesn't stop when the curtain drops! Kelly's work on our comprehensive website and e-newsletters will help you stay up-to-date with all the happenings at Hartford Children's Theatre, no matter where you are! Kelly will work on weekly website material that gives YOU access to everything HCT! In addition, she will assist the Office Manager with box office and administrative work.