PWTF IS SEEKING NEW BOARD MEMBERS
PWTF is growing tremendously both programmatically and organizationally. We are seeking folx interested in committee work, strategic planning, volunteering and shaping a vision of future sustainability. We are restructuring our requirements to positions on our board to remove any potential barriers, and are giving priority consideration to BIPOC candidates. Fill out the application below to be considered.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Christine Petrini (she/her)
President and Co-Founder
Christine Petrini is a performer/writer/teaching artist/arts administrator in the Philadelphia region and a mom of two children. She has an MA theatre and a certificate in nonprofit management from Villanova University. She studied musical theatre at The Catholic University of America and earned her BA in communications and theatre from Temple University. Christine is an award-winning children's musician and writes and performs interactive music theater for kids with the Big Idea Committee. She sings for cabarets and special events and has appeared on stage in her one-woman musical, I Can Dress Myself (2016 DNC, Villanova Theatre, Ritz Theatre) and as a vocalist at Tokyo Disney Resort. As a theatre teaching artist and children’s musician, Christine is committed to promoting the value of arts education. She is the founder and Program Director for Lyceum Studio for the Performing Arts, a theatre arts education program in her hometown of Burlington, NJ. Christine is a proud arts advocate with a particular commitment to women artists, parent artists and youth. As Co-Founder of Philadelphia Women’s Theatre Festival, Christine is committed to creating opportunities for women in theatre as storytellers and valued creative thinkers. She has a great love for collaboration, theatre-making and arts for social change.
Polly Edelstein (she/her)
Vice-President and Co-Founder
Polly Rose Edelstein has been living and working in the Philadelphia region for the past five years. She works as a freelance theater director, teaching artist, and administrator and currently resides in West Philadelphia. Polly received her BFA in Theatre Arts from Stephens College for Women in Columbia, MO. She is also a graduate of the Masters of Arts in Theatre with a Certificate in Nonprofit Management program at Villanova University where she worked as a graduate assistant for two years. She has been a featured speaker at Villanova’s TEDx event (Theatre Beyond Theater), the Philadelphia Theatre Research Symposium, and the Villanova Showcase. Other organizations Polly has worked with include: Columbia Gorge Repertory Theatre, InterAct Theatre Company, Steel River Playhouse, Theatre Horizon, the Darlington Arts Center, East Coast Recording, International Ballet Classique, Old Academy Players, The Pub Theater and Crack the Glass Theatre Company.
Alyssandra Dougherty (she/her)
Alyssandra Docherty is a Barrymore Award winning, Philadelphia-based lighting designer originally from Vernon, NJ. Her designs have been seen at Goodspeed Musicals, Arden Theatre Company, Delaware Theatre Company, Wesport Country Playhouse, Virginia Stage Company, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Florida Repertory Theatre, and 1812 Productions, among others. She tours internationally and all across the USA with both Koresh Dance Company and BalletX. Her designs have been recognized with Barrymore and Ostrander Award nominations in Philadelphia and Memphis respectively. www.alyssandradocherty.com
Adrena Williams (she/her)
Treasurer
Adrena Williams is a freelance dramaturg and theatre maker based in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After receiving a degree in English Language and Literature from Temple University in 2016, Adrena went on to complete a Master’s Degree in Theatre at Villanova University in 2019. Her regional production history includes collaborations with Hedgerow Theatre, Simpatico Theatre Co., Inis Nua Theatre Co., Drexel University, and Villanova University. Adrena is also involved in new play development, evaluating submissions for the Kitchen Dog New Works Festival, the MITTEN Lab, and the Bay Area Playwrights Foundation, among others, and serving as a festival dramaturg for the BAPF virtual festival in 2021. She is currently engaged as the coordinator/producer for Inis Nua’s staged reading series.
Sarah Biddle (she/her)
Sarah Biddle is a Digital Marketer, Professor, Teaching Artist, Performer, and Musical Theatre connoisseur in the Philadelphia area. She double majored in Musical Theatre and Marketing at The Catholic University of America. After graduating, she booked the Dorothy Haas Acting Apprenticeship at The Walnut Street Theatre which was a dream of hers since she was a little girl. As an apprentice, she performed educational theatre in schools in the tri-state area as well as performed on the Main Stage of The Walnut Street Theatre. After the apprenticeship, Sarah performed professionally around the area obtaining her Actor’s Equity Association membership allowing her to perform for a living. While performing, she taught Voice Lessons, Dance Classes, Workshops, and Musical Theatre Intensives as a Teaching Artist around the area. She went back to school at Saint Joseph’s University where she received her Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing [THWND!] After obtaining her MBA, she was hired at The Walnut Street Theatre as a Marketing and PR Associate. Sarah is now a Digital Marketing Manager at Ensemble Arts Philly and The Philadelphia Orchestra. Sarah is so excited to be on the Board because she is passionate about all things Philadelphia, Women, and Theatre!
Lauren Hall (she/her)
Lauren Woodard Hall is the Director of Program Public Relations at The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts in Center City, Philadelphia. During her time at Ensemble Arts (formerly the Kimmel Cultural Campus), her career in Public Relations has allowed her to utilize writing and editing skills daily, crafting messaging to promote an array of initiatives at one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. Lauren manages the day-to-day programmatic PR needs for all national Broadway tours and a myriad of jazz, comedy, dance, rock, and family events in the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the Academy of Music, and the Miller Theater. She has held various positions throughout the organization since 2014, within both Marketing and Public Relations, with focuses on writing, editing, and photo/video production.
Lauren has served on the board of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association (PPRA), one of the top organizations for communications professionals in the region, since September 2020. A lifelong lover of the arts, she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from The Pennsylvania State University, with an emphasis in Publishing and a concentration in Creative Writing.