STAFF
Polly Edelstein (she/her)
Artistic Director
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.
Christine Petrini (she/her)
Outgoing Managing Director
Christine Petrini is a performer/writer/teaching artist/arts administrator in the Philadelphia region. 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 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), 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 Program Director for Lyceum Studio for the Performing Arts, a theatre arts education program in her hometown of Burlington, NJ. Also, she teaches and directs for West Chester Studio for the Performing Arts. Christine is a proud arts advocate with a particular commitment to women+ artists, parent artists and youth. As Co-Founder and Managing Director 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.
Anne Goodman (she/her)
Director of Engagement
Anne Goodman founded the Statera Mentorship Philadelphia chapter for women and non-binary people in the arts. Anne has been working in various administrative roles in the theater for the past 15 years, including Development Director at the Philadelphia Women's Theatre Festival (Philadelphia, PA), Development Associate at Two River Theater (Red Bank, NJ), Marketing Manager at Southern Utah University (Cedar City, UT), Assistant Stage Manager at Long Wharf Theater (New Haven, CT), Stage Manager at Brevard Music Center (Brevard, NC), Assistant Stage Manager/Company Manager at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival (Center Valley, PA), Production/Company Manager at the Neil Simon Festival (Cedar City, UT), and Production Manager at the Philadelphia Women’s Theatre Festival (Philadelphia, PA). Anne received her MFA in Arts Administration from Southern Utah University in 2010 and her BA in Theater Design/Technology from DeSales University in 2006.
Shannon Hill (she/her)
Associate Artistic Director
Shannon Hill is an actor, director, artistic leader, and theatre educator based in the Philadelphia area. She has an MFA in Theatre from the University of Houston and a BA in Theatre and English Literature from Western Michigan University. Before putting down roots in Philadelphia, Shannon spent eight years working in regional theatre around the country, including serving as the artistic director of Festival 56 in Princeton, IL. In the Philadelphia area, Shannon has worked with Philadelphia Artists' Collective, Allens Lane Theatre, American Immersion Theatre, and the Walnut Street Theatre. Shannon was also the first female Hamlet in the Houston Shakespeare Festival's 50-year history. Shannon is a fierce advocate for equity in the arts. Her best creative project to date is her daughter, Rosalind.
Glynnis Nadel (she/her)
Development Manager
Glynnis Nadel is a Philadelphia-based theater artist and administrator. She received a B.A. in Theatre from Bates College in Lewiston, ME, where she founded a small theater company and partnered with the Lewiston Public Library to start an annual free "Shakespeare Week." In 2017 she relocated to Philadelphia, and is a proud member of the Arden Professional Apprentice Class 25. She is currently the Director of Warrior Writers, a national veterans focused arts non profit, dedicated to providing opportunities for veterans to engage in artistic expression, creating visibility for veteran artists and their work, and supporting veterans in the discovery of the arts as a transformative tool.
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Emily Cross (she/her)
Managing Assistant
Emily Cross is a Philadelphia based arts administrator and technical theater artist. She got bit by the theatre bug at a young age, performing and eventually teching with Methacton Community Theater in Collegeville, PA. She graduated from Temple University in 2016 with a degree in film & media arts, and currently works as an administrative assistant for the tech department of the School District of Springfield Township in Montgomery County. She also enjoys working as a tech director for the theatre program at St Hubert Catholic High School for Girls, encouraging young women to become interested in the technical aspects of theatre.
Autumn Blalock (she/her)
Incoming Managing Director
Autumn Blalock is an interdisciplinary artist and Theater for Health (TfH) researcher originally from Capitol Heights, MD. A published playwright and scholar, her most recent works examine the way that Black people are visually interpreted onstage. Her work in theater scholarship has been recognized by the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) among others. When she is not contributing to the literature Autumn is an administrator and dramaturg. Her recent credits include serving as dramaturg for Inis Nua Theatre’s production of Nine Night by Natasha Gorman and for Villanova Theatre’s production of The Revolutionists by Lauren Gunderson. She is passionate about creative communication and will have her Masters degree in Theater and a certification in Nonprofit Management in May of 2022 from Villanova University.
Juliana Luber (she/her)
Website and Design Specialist
Juliana Luber is a Philadelphia-based theatre artist and administrator. As a 2019 graduate from The University of the Arts with her BFA in Musical Theatre, she is honored to work in both performance settings and through theater admin opportunities. She is excited by work that creates opportunities for, and honors storytellers from all walks of life. Additionally, she enjoys working in educational theatre, with the hope to inspire our next generation of artists. She is thrilled to be working with PWTF, and looks forward to continually supporting their incredible mission.