Caitlin Beckman graduated from Wagner College with a BA in theater performance. After graduating, Caitlin was a Youth Entertainment Cast Member at Walt Disney World Resort (2013-2016), directed elementary through high school educational theater, and performed with the American Repertory Theater and community theaters in the Boston area. Previous roles include: Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls; Molly in The Smell of the Kill (DASH Award: Ensemble Performance 2019); Lily St. Regis in Annie; Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof. Caitlin is a theater teacher at KIPP Academy Lynn, where she directs and choreographs the annual school musical, is a dance teacher at Enchanted Dance Academy, performs locally as a music duo “Cait + Pat” with her brother (come to The Charles in Reading the first Thursday of every month!), and of course, is an instructor at Five Star Theater Program. This is her 11th year as a Five Star Counselor and she is thrilled to be back in orange. Click here to visit Caitlin's website!

Samantha Gibbs is a former Five Star camper. She has performed in Camp Rock, Starmites, Shrek, Elf, Singing in the Rain and others.  Samantha graduated in 2020 from Reading Memorial High School and was a member of the RMHS Drama Club for four years. Samantha currently studies at Salem State University and is a member of the hair and makeup crew for all productions in the Theatre Department. Hair and makeup is her passion!

Tessa is incredibly excited for her first summer as a Five Star counselor! Not too long ago she was a camper during Singin’ in the Rain Jr. and Annie Jr. Since then Tessa has been an assistant choreographer for Birch Meadow’s Seussical kids and Willy Wonka kids, as well as a four year participant of Reading Memorial High School’s Drama  Club and Choral Department.

​

Tessa just finished up her first year at George Washington University studying socio-cultural anthropology with additional interests in LGBTQ+ studies and speech sciences. This past year she participated in GW student theater in numbers from shows such as The Prom and Footloose. Currently, Tessa is taking her time to get to know the city and all the wonderful theater D.C. has to offer.

​

Newsies is one of Tessa’s first and favorite movie musicals and she is thrilled to spend the next month carrying the banner with you all!

Jack is very excited to join Five Star this summer for his first year as a counselor! Jack is an active member of theatre in the Reading community, having spent four summers with Five Star and all four years of high school in the RMHS Drama Club. Jack was a participant in the RMHS Choir Program, serving as student director of the Crescendudes, an audition choral group, during his junior year.

Jack recently graduated from Reading Memorial High School in the Class of 2022. In the fall, Jack will attend Colby College with hopes to major in history. He will continue participating in the arts with Colby’s many student-led theatre and choir groups. Jack can’t wait to see everyone this summer!

Lindsey is so excited for another summer of Five Star fun! Lindsey graduated from Reading Memorial High School in 2011 and Salem State University in 2015 with a major in dance. She is the owner and director of Enchanted Dance Academy in Winchester, which she opened in 2016. There she teaches dance classes for ages 2-18 in all styles (ballet/pointe, contemporary, lyrical, acrobatics, tap, jazz, musical theatre, and hip-hop).

Lindsey is also the choreographer for Coolidge Middle School’s annual musical and for Venturing Theatricals (Reading). Lindsey is the co-founder of Vitality Dance Project, a modern dance collaboration; she performs in several modern dance shows and festivals each year. She was most recently seen on stage at the Salem Arts Festival dancing “tiny dance” with her duet partner. Lindsey can’t wait for Newsies!

Allie is thrilled to be back for her fourth summer at Five Star! She graduated from Merrimack College in 2020 earning her Bachelor's in Elementary Education, followed by earning her Master's in Special Education in 2021. During her time at Merrimack, she was highly involved with the student run theatre organization participating on stage in both musicals and plays. This past school year, Allie taught third grade at Barrows Elementary School in Reading and is so excited to continue sharing her love for theatre with this year's Five Star participants. She hopes you enjoy the show!

Miles is excited to start his first year as a Five Star counselor. He has been going to Five Star since he was nine and was thrilled at the opportunity of becoming a counselor himself. Miles recently graduated from Reading Memorial High School in the Class of 2022 and will be attending Rochester Institute of Technology in the fall. There, he will be pursuing a degree in Software Engineering as well as participating in their Performing Arts Program.

This past year Miles was the Student Director of the Crescendudes and a member of Harmonium, both of which are auditioned choral groups at the High School. Miles plans to continue participating in choir by joining one of RIT’s acapella groups. Miles also hopes to continue his gymnastics career as a level 10 gymnast at the New York Gymnastics Alliance. Miles is a big fan of Newsies and can’t wait to see where Five Star takes it!