About
Pascack Theatre
MISSION STATMENT
The Pascack Theatre extracurricular theatre program is committed to mounting high-quality productions that provide a rich educational and theatrical experience for its participants and audiences. We will continually strive to present work of artistic and thematic significance to our community, in the hopes that students, teachers, and spectators alike will be moved by our work to feel deeply and think deeply.
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"Art is humanity's most essential, most universal language. It is not a frill, but a necessary part of communication. The quality of civilization can be measured through its music, dance, drama, architecture, visual art and literature. We must give our children knowledge and understanding of civilization's most profound works."
- Ernest L. Boyer
Meet our Team
Creative. Talented. Passionate.
The Pascack Theatre staff is a passionate and dedicated group of artists and educators who are committed to providing high-quality theatre experiences for our community. We believe that theatre has the power to inspire, entertain, and educate, and we are proud to share our love of theatre with our students and our audiences.

Director/Producer
Tom Lupfer
Directed the Pascack Valley HS Theatre program from 2007-2024, and is thrilled to take on the challenge of a combined Pascack Theatre program! Lupfer has been a teacher at Glenfield MS, a Visual and Performing Arts Magnet in Montclair, NJ for the past 18 years, serving as Related Arts Subject Matter Leader for most of the past decade. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Mr. Lupfer was the recipient of the 2025 New Jersey Governor's Award in Arts Education for Outstanding Teacher of Theatre. In June 2024, he was named northjersey.com’s Amazing Teacher of the Month Sponsored bywww.northjersey.com and njschooljobs.com. This award honors New Jersey teachers nominated by their students. Early last year, Lupfer was accepted to the 2024-2026 Connected Artists Network (CAN) Cohort. This professional learning community of arts educators meets monthly to connect and engage, focusing on professional learning in the areas of equity, diversity, and inclusion; social emotional learning; and teacher leadership through an arts education lens.​ He loves collaborating with his wife Merielle, with whom he shared the 2022 MSU Foxy Award for Best Direction of a Musical. Tom co-produced the documentary film Ceremony For This Time (2015 Montclair Film Festival), chronicling the creation of a performance piece celebrating the power of performing arts in education. He is thrilled that his nine year-old twin daughters love going to rehearsal almost as much as he does. ​ MA: Educational Theatre, NYU; Educational Leadership, Montclair State. BA: Theatre, Susquehanna University

Music Director
Gayle Fuentes
Gayle Fuentes is thrilled to be a part of the team for the Pascack Theatre program! She holds a B.M. with a concentration in voice from Mason Gross School of the Arts and currently works as a vocal music teacher and private vocal coach. Outside of teaching, she is a freelance performing artist.

Acting Coach/Lobby Manager
Max Adoff
Max Adoff has worked on six productions as acting coach with Pascack Valley High School’s Theatre program. Max is a PV graduate of the Class of 2013 in which during his time he participated in many PV Theatre productions such as Footloose, The Laramie Project, The Pajama Game, and Romeo and Juliet. Max graduated from Syracuse University with a BFA in Acting, continuing his performance and backstage work in productions such as Lips Together, Teeth Apart, The Pillowman, Translations, and Speed-the-Plow, as well as several independent films in which he has continued involvement. Prior to beginning his teaching career, Max was a lead performance teacher at Porch Light Studio in Bergen County working with younger children on acting, Improv, and film. Max has worked for four years in Bergen County Schools as a full-time instructional aide, the last two at Milestones Program.

Director/CHAMP Crew Advisor
Merielle Lupfer
Merielle Lupfer is a 2001 alumna of PVHS who holds a degree in Educational Theatre from New York University. She spends the school day teaching 5th grade Language Arts and Social Studies at George G. White Middle School in Hillsdale. Returning to helm the high school theatre program that was her initial training ground in performance and design, and doing it alongside her favorite collaborator, has been a dream come true for the past 15 years. Though she sometimes jokes that her work is mostly “doing skits with kids,” Merielle believes strongly in the importance of the arts in students’ lives and is grateful for the privilege of creating art with young people for a living. Among the parts she’s enjoyed playing on stage are Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Amy in Company, but Merielle’s favorite role is Mama to her twin daughters.

Choreographer
Kelsey Mcgrail
Kelsey Mcgrail graduated from Pascack Valley in 2012 after performing in eight shows. She then joined the PV Theatre staff as a choreographer in 2013 and has stuck around ever since! During the week, Kelsey works as a data analyst for a large Public Relations firm, but she is forever grateful to the Lupfers and the students for letting her join them every weekend.

Construction Crew Supervisor
Gus Koeniges
Gus Koeniges is honored to be invited back to lead the scenic team.He’s a PV 2020 alum and graduated with their BFA in Technical Direction from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. He owes his career to his humble beginnings with PV Theatre and it has been a treat to return home to be a part of this show.

Sound Designer
Jonathan Melchiorre
Jonathan Melchiorre is an alumnus of Pascack Valley and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Design & Technology from Emerson College. Jon currently serves as an Account Executive for the Broadway Audio Sales Division at PRG headquartered in the heart of Secaucus, NJ. His heart beats for education and is always eager to contribute to the growth of the theatre program he once called home.
International Thespian Society
The primary objective of the International Thespian Society is to promote and strengthen school theatre by recognizing and rewarding excellence. The society strives, alongside educators, advocates, and artists, to make theatre an instrument of lifelong learning. I.T.S. also serves as the eyes, ears, and voice of the school theatre community, advocating a stronger role for theatre education in the curriculum.
Pascack Valley HS

Past Presidents:
Evelyn Jansen '24, Kelly Donlan '23, Lauren Kalfus '22, Katelyn Eror '21, Gus Koeniges '20,
Rachel Brunn '19, Amy Santo '18, Ariana Aguero '17,
Anastasia Maltsev '16,
Michelle Verkhoglaz '15,
Katie Collins '14, Dylan Jones '13, Kelsey McGrail '12, Maja Kruegle '11, Allison Bergstein '10,
Courtney Farrell '09
President: Abigail DiSalvo
Vice President: Kayla Klas
Secretary: Kayden Caleca
Board Members-at-Large: Olivia Carpenter
Tyler Cigercioglu
Maya Teckwani
Troupe Director:
Mr. Tom Lupfer
Honorary Member:
Mrs. Merielle Lupfer
Membership: Kayden Caleca,
James Campenot, Olivia Carpenter, Tyler Cigercioglu, Shannon DelMage, Ash Diaz, Abby DiSalvo, Luke Esola, Oliver Greene, Mia Kantowitz,
Kayla Klas, Matthew Kovacs,
Sophia Lambrinos, Michaela Leibfried, Erik Martin, Analiah Moral, Braydon Ottomanelli,
Jordan Pieszchata, Max Sobel,
Anna Stern, Maya Teckwani,
Emma Tritthart, Mia Vazquez, Alexandra Wells, Liza Wieland, Christian Woessner
Pascack Hills HS
Troupe 7793

President: Rily Alexander
Vice President: Sindie Agenor
Secretary: Michael Dugan
Treasurer: Anderson Moss
Historian: Caitlin Buckley
Membership: Kelsey Alexander, Reina Aliko, Camilla Ambrocio, Melania Bui, Elijah Chen,
Laila Collas, Ettie Eggers,
Eva Friedman, Alexander McKay, Michael McKay, Henry Paikin, Ava Petrosino, Jupiter Tamagny, Abbie Torrente
Troupe Director: Mr. Tom Lupfer
Associate Troupe Director:
Mrs. Merielle Lupfer