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BTE Resident Artist
Director and Choreographer
Aaron White (Director) wishes joyful greetings to family, friends, and all our Charlie Brown Christmas audience members! He has had a gleeful time collecting friends from around the region to bring this holiday classic to life. Aaron thanks the Haneys, ARB, his librarian, and Liam for regularly making the journey from Williamsport to Bloomsburg. Moreover, the director is most grateful to the community kid cast and crew, their families, and the collaborators from Wisconsin to West Chester for their time and commitment to the show. It's a blessing and a privilege to connect our many communities with their talents. Lastly, a reminder that just like CB’s tree, we all just need a little love to flourish!

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BTE Resident Artist
The Animator and Props Designer.
Amy Rene Byrne (The Animator and Props Designer) is thrilled to work with these talented kids to bring this holiday classic to life on the BTE stage for the first time! You may have seen Amy onstage recently in The 39 Steps, Misery, or The Little Prince. Or you may have caught her work as director of Sideways Stories from Wayside School. Working on this production has been a joyful reminder of the power of ensemble, community, and how a little love can shine up the saddest of Christmas trees. Thanks to Aaron, Kimie, and the rest of the Ensemble for all they do and big love to Kris and Brahm for making home my favorite place to be!

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BTE Resident Artist
Snoopy and Props Designer
Kimie Muroya 室屋季美恵 (Snoopy and Props Designer) is excited to bring your favorite Peanuts characters to life with all of these amazing community kids! She can’t wait to share the rehearsal room joy with all our BTE audiences. Kimie is also a founding member of Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists, and has performed regionally with Delaware Shakespeare, Tiny Dynamite, Philadelphia Artists’ Collective, Quintessence Theatre Group, InterAct Theatre Company, Theatre Exile, Montgomery Theatre, and more. Thanks to Mom, Otosan (父), Mikito, Kayla, and baby Mak for all their love and support! Website: kimiemuroya.com. Instagram: @kimie.muroya. As always, Black Lives MATTER.

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Charlie Brown
Cole Clugston (Charlie Brown) is in the seventh grade at Benton Jr./Sr. High School. This is his fifth show, and his second with the BTE. He has appeared on stage as Ensemble in The Jungle Book; The Emcee in The Granny Awards; Winthrop in The Music Man; and Dameon in this past summer's BTE performance of Sideways Stories from Wayside School. In his free time, he plays the oboe, sings in the chorus, and loves to read. He would like to thank the BTE, his Mom and Dad, and his sibling for all their support.

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Linus van Pelt
Victor Troychock (Linus van Pelt) is a fourth grader in Bloomsburg School District. He appeared in Fiddler on the Roof (2022) and was a tech crew member for Once Upon a Mattress (2023) and Phantom of the Opera (2024) at Bloomsburg High School. This summer he played Nigel in Matilda Jr. and Malvolio in A Taste of Shakespeare with Berwick Black Box Theater. Victor loves manatees, polka and the art of storytelling. He’d like to thank his family for their support and all of his directors for giving him the opportunity to perform.

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Lucy van Pelt
Rosie Vogt (Lucy van Pelt) is 12 years old and loves to play trumpet and be goofy. She is a sixth grader at Benton and has been in two other BTE plays before. She would like to thank her friends, family, and her dragons.

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Sally Brown
Stella Bailey (Sally Brown) is 10 years old. She has a little brother and sister. Stella played Gretel in her school’s production of The Sound of Music. She enjoys drawing, singing, cooking, and taking care of her little sister. She one day hopes to be the President of the United States!

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Schroeder
Finnegan Foran (Schroeder) is a third grader at Central Columbia Elementary School. He has enjoyed attending BTE's summer camps and is excited that A Charlie Brown Christmas is his first production. Finn plays the cello with the Suzuki School for Strings and the Williamsport Symphony Junior Strings. He likes learning about and playing with vehicles, trains, planes, and ships. Thanks to my family for your support!

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Pig-Pen
Zev McCallum (Pig-Pen) is a theater enthusiast and a die hard fan of Shakespeare. Their favorites are Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, and Antony and Cleopatra. They also enjoy cooking, making people laugh, riding bikes, swimming, costumes, and dapper hats.

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Patty
Audrey Burnett (Patty) is a fourth grader at Bloomsburg Memorial Elementary School. Last winter, she played Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol at BTE. Audrey plays soccer, is a brown belt in karate, and has a passion for drawing, painting, and reading graphic novels. Audrey loves to spend time with her little brother Declan and skate at the skate park.

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Frieda
Scarlett Roy (Frieda) is 11 years old and homeschooled. From a very early age she had always loved to perform for people! Scarlett enjoys playing piano and also plays the cello with the Williamsport Youth Symphony Orchestra Junior Strings ensemble. In her spare time, Scarlett enjoys reading, riding her horse, training her dog, and practicing the sport of Falconry. Scarlett hopes to become a small animal veterinarian.

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Violet
Margot Sutton Figueroa (Violet) is a sixth grader at Central Columbia Middle School, where she is part of the Chorus and Games Club. She was on the BTE stage earlier this year as one of the young actors portraying The Little Prince. In her spare time, Margot loves crafting, making bracelets, playing video games and spending time with her friends. So grateful for the opportunity to be in this Christmas Classic!

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Shermy
Aiden Kawas (Shermy) is a sixth grader at Bloomsburg Middle School. Aiden is happy to return to the BTE stage. He has been seen on stage in A Christmas Story, The Velveteen Rabbit, A Christmas Carol, and The Little Prince. When not spending time with his family, Aiden enjoys playing baseball and the clarinet. Thanks to my family and friends for all their love and support.

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Charlie Brown
Carson Feger (Charlie Brown) loves theatre! This is his third show with BTE and he can’t wait to be on the stage! He loves to perform, play piano, and saxophone! He is thrilled to share his love for the arts with all of you! Big thanks to BTE for being Carson’s home for the arts!

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Linus van Pelt
Eugene (Linus van Pelt) is a creative, who is soon to be 11 years old, that currently resides in Danville, PA. His interests include coin collecting, writing, drawing, and performing/acting. This will be his second time performing for BTE. His last performance was in the Sideways Stories for Wayside School as Myron. Since Eugene will be performing as Linus he would like to promote the "Linus Project," where people can make blankets for others in need. Blankies are for everyone. Happy Christmas!

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Lucy van Pelt
Alexia Long (Lucy van Pelt) is excited to make her BTE debut! She has performed in Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief, CSI: Neverland, and Matilda Jr. with Berwick Black Box. Alexia, 11, enjoys drawing, painting, photography, piano, ballroom dancing, skiing, and reading. She’s thrilled to share her love of performing with you.

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Sally Brown
Luciana McHenry (Sally Brown) is a fifth grader at Central Columbia Middle School. This will be her eighth musical theatre performance and her first with the BTE. She loves to sing and finds her happy place on stage! She is in Chorus and loves the friends she is meeting in theatre the most! She thanks all her directors and family for their support.

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Schroeder
Liam White (Schroeder) Liam likes playing the saxophone, piano, and the ocarina. Favorite video games include: Zelda: Age of Calamity, BOTW, and TOTK. Liam has been seen on the BTE stage jumping out of trunks as a toy lion, jumping into cupboards as a dead rat, and dancing in a burning house as a dragon. In A Charlie Brown Christmas, Liam is excited to try out his piano skills as Schroeder and wishes everyone a Merry Christmas.

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Pig-Pen
David Knight (Pig-Pen) is currently a ninth grader at Danville Area High School. He was first on stage in the Christmas play, A Christmas Story, as Schwartz. He also appeared on stage in The Velveteen Rabbit as Alex, one of the Tiny Tim's in A Christmas Carol, The Little Prince as The Little Prince, and in Sideways Stories From Wayside School as a backstage crew member. David is excited to be back in his fifth play and third Christmas play as Pig Pen. He immediately looked him up once he got the role and saw that he was very dusty, which felt funny, because David sometimes sneezes when dust gets near him, so he hopes he doesn't sneeze while on stage. When he's not acting or going to school, David enjoys reading books (his favorite series is Wings of Fire), drawing, writing (fanfic and nonfiction) stories, playing video games and watching Stranger Things (he can't wait for the final season to come out). Special thanks to Mom, Dad, Eugene, Gavin, Lucas and fellow actor, Kimie (who really needs to watch her socks because they keep disappearing for some reason).

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Patty
Shaela McCrone (Patty) is a seventh grader at Bloomsburg Middle School and is thrilled to be back at BTE, this time stepping into Patty’s shoes (or maybe snow boots?) in A Charlie Brown Christmas! You might remember her in previous BTE shows as Rondi in Sideways Stories from Wayside School; Ralphie in A Christmas Story; Lucy in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Belinda and various characters in A Christmas Carol; The Girl in Six Characters in Search of an Author; and the fire-breathing White Dragon in Dragons Love Tacos. Outside of BTE, Shaela is a brown belt in martial arts at Crosswinds in Bloomsburg, runs cross country for Bloomsburg MIddle School, enjoys art, participates in theatre at Bloomsburg High School (Grease ensemble), and plays the clarinet. She would like to thank BTE for welcoming her back to the stage as well as her family and friends for always supporting her love of the theatre. Happy Holidays! May your ugly sweater win first prize and your holiday lights stay untangled!

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Frieda
Kendall Marcotte (Frieda) is a seventh grader at Central Columbia Middle School. She has previously participated with BTE in A Christmas Story in 2023 and in Berwick Black Box Community Theater's Matilda Jr. the Musical in 2025. Kendall also plays clarinet in her school band, participates in student council and enjoys playing softball.

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Violet
Adaleen Trombley (Violet) is a seventh grader and excited to be in her first BTE production. Adaleen previously performed in roles through Berwick Black Box: Mrs. Hare in On Your Mark and Amanda in Matilda the Musical. She was also in her school's ensemble for Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. Adaleen enjoys singing and playing the saxophone.

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Shermy
Ryann Francis (Shermy) is very excited to be cast this year in BTE’s A Charlie Brown Christmas! He has been seen on stage as “Randy” in A Christmas Story and “Tiny Tim” in A Christmas Carol. He loves being a 5th grader at WW Evans. When he’s not in school, Ryann enjoys playing baseball, swimming, art, music, and hanging out with his friends and family. Ryann hopes to work with BTE again in the future! He wants to thank everyone for their support – hope you enjoy!

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Youth Crew Member (Green Cast)
Charlie Dressler (Green Youth Crew Member) is in seventh grade. She is new to Bloomsburg this year, having grown up in Palestine and Germany. She's been on stage in Anne of Green Gables and The Ransom of Miss Elverna Dower. This is her first time on crew. She plays piano and loves to sing. In her spare time she enjoys reading and writing books and listening to music. Thanks to Mama and Daddy and her brothers and sisters: Thomas, Holly, Maggie, Scoty, and Georgia.

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Run Crew and BTE High School Intern
Hailey Gallup (Run Crew and HS Directing/Design Intern) is delighted to return to BTE as part of her directing/design internship, serving on the run crew for A Charlie Brown Christmas. After beginning her internship on the more serious and fast-paced The 39 Steps, she has especially enjoyed helping bring a fun, nostalgic, and heartwarming production to life. Working on a show filled with holiday spirit has been a rewarding change of pace and a memorable learning experience. Hailey is a senior at Southern Columbia and has performed on stage in over nine productions at her school. She is grateful for every opportunity to grow in the arts and looks forward to pursuing film studies after graduation.

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Youth Crew Member (Green Cast)
Josh Vawdrey (Green Youth Crew Member) is an eighth grader at Central Columbia Middle School. He has participated in crew for Matilda Jr. and Tarzan with Berwick Black Box Community Theatre. He plays the saxophone and likes gaming as well as Dungeons and Dragons. He is thrilled to be following in the footsteps of his older siblings in participating in theatre.

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Run Crew and BTE High School Intern
Egan Shimel (Run Crew and BTE HS Marketing/Admin Intern) is a performer who’s been in eight shows, appeared on the TV series School Heroes, and was featured in Urban Magazine. He also loves scare acting and bringing big energy to every project he takes on. He’s super grateful for everyone who’s supported him so far, and he’s excited to keep chasing his passion for performing arts. Next stop: Barcelona!

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Youth Crew Member (Red Cast)
Rosie Turnbough (Red Crew Member) is excited to return to BTE. Rosie is a sixth grader at Bloomsburg Middle School and participates in the middle school band, yearbook club, Othello club (the board game), recycling club, and chorus. Previous stage credits include Helen in BTE's A Christmas Story, a rabbit in BTE's The Velveteen Rabbit, Tiny Tim in BTE's A Christmas Carol, and a backstage crew member in Sideways Stories from Wayside School. Some of Rosie's hobbies include arts and crafts, specifically crocheting and she has even created her own store called Rose and Thorn Crochet on Facebook. Rosie appreciates you coming to the show and hopes you have a wonderful experience. Enjoy the show! :)

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Run Crew and BTE Intern
Katelyn is a freshman at Central Columbia High School and an intern for the BTE theater. She's been backstage in the recent performances of The 39 Steps and Sideways Stories at Wayside School, and can't wait to be a part of this one. Much love to her friends and family for supporting her endeavors.

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Music Director (BTE Guest Artist)
Mrs. Amanda Haney is a lifelong musician and choral educator who has taught in the Williamsport area since 2015. She currently teaches 7th and 8th Grade Choir in the Williamsport Area School District. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Mansfield University and a Master of Arts in Music Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Amanda is active in the region’s performing arts scene, singing with the Williamsport Chamber Choir, the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra, local arts organizations, churches, and the folk band Lavender Blue. Having played Vince Guaraldi’s music since sixth grade, performing A Charlie Brown Christmas is a dream come true. She is sincerely grateful to the production staff and all BTE members for making her first show here so positive and welcoming.

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Run Crew (BTE Guest Crew Member)
Maddy Connors (Run Crew) is a sophomore at Commonwealth University in Bloomsburg, where they are studying Secondary English Education and Integrated Theatre. Maddy’s most recent role was Wardrobe Crew for BUPlayer’s production of Ride the Cyclone and Wardrobe Supervisor in BTE’s production of The 39 Steps. Maddy has also done stage crew work for Blue Mountain High Schools production of Chicago, along with several casting roles in her theatric career.

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Sound Designer and Engineer (BTE Guest Artist)
Phill Haney (Sound Design/A1) is ecstatic to design and play with BTE for the first time. Phill would like to thank Aaron White and BTE for this opportunity. Audio/Lighting credits include Another World Music Festival, Smoked Country Jam, Jazz and Blossoms Festival, Almost Queen, Stryper, as well as numerous events at the Community Arts Center in Williamsport. Outside work Phill enjoys spending time on his bike, with his cats; as well as cooking and baking with his wife Amanda, who he attributes to being the best teammate.

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Scenic Designer (BTE Guest Artist)
Isy Kessler is a freelance scenic designer who designs abstract, emotion-based sets which help support the themes of the plays, musicals and operas she designs.

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Costume Designer (BTE Guest Artist)
Jennifer Lippert is a costume designer and maker. Her past BTE credits include: A Christmas Story (2023), Sanctuary City (2024), TIC’s Zombie Thoughts (2024), and The Little Prince (2025). She has worked at a variety of theatres including The Berkshire Theatre Group, Gulfshore Playhouse, Stagedoor Manor, Weston Playhouse Theatre Company, as well as Bucknell University. She has a strong passion for sustainable fashion and finds it interesting the roles fashion and clothing play in society. When Jennifer is not busy sewing you can find her painting, taking photographs, and hanging out with her dog. Jennifer graduated from Missouri State University's Theatre and Dance department with a BFA in Design, Technology and Stage Management, emphasizing in costume design. You can see more of her work at jenniferlippertdesigns.com.

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Lighting Designer (BTE Guest Artist)
Alejandro is a graduate of Ohio University with an MFA in production design and technology, focusing on lighting. A Charlie Brown Christmas marks Alejandro’s second production with BTE, following his involvement with The Little Prince. Alejandro is excited to bring Snoopy and friends to life on stage. Previous work includes Ohio University Lighting Design: Carrie, What the Gods Gave Me, The Thanksgiving Play, Summer and Smoke, Be Head, and Angels in America. Assistant Lighting Design: Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812; Absentia. Renaissance Theatre Light Design: Next to Normal, Cabaret, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast. South Bend Civic Theatre: Once On This Island.

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Assistant Deck Captain (BTE Affiliated Artist and Guest Crew Member)
Emaley Rose (Assistant Deck Captain) made her BTE debut in 2015's Sideways Stories from Wayside School. In the years since, she has worked on more than twenty BTE shows and remains the company's youngest affiliated artist to date. Off-Broadway/National Tour credits include Sesame Street, The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse, The Eric Carle Story Show, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show. Favorite Concert/Regional credits include Stephen Schwartz: Live in Concert with the Malta Philharmonic in Valletta, Garbanzo the Musical (Broadway Climate Summit) and Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley  (BTE). Visit her website at emaleyrose.com or follow her @theemaleyrose.

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Deck Captain and Assistant Stage Manager (BTE Guest Artist)
This is Heather’s ninth production with the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble. She received her bachelor’s degree just up the hill at Bloomsburg University in 2021. Working with a creative and energetic theatre company like BTE has always been her dream. Her experience with this company has been joyful and engaging, and she looks forward to working on more productions with these talented folks. Recent credits include: Stage Manager for The 39 Steps (BTE), Deck Captain for Sideway Stories at Wayside School (BTE), Stage Manager for A Christmas Carol (BTE), Stage Manager for Misery (BTE), Deck Captain for Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson (BTE), and Assistant Director for Mamma Mia (Southern Columbia Area High School).

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Stage Manager (BTE Guest Artist)
Rae is a theatre maker from Appleton, Wisconsin. She is thrilled to return to BTE for A Charlie Brown Christmas. As a 2024 graduate from the Drama program at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, she has been working all over Wisconsin as a stagehand and union member of IATSE 470. Her favorite play is Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl, which she hopes to stage manage one day! She dreams to go on tour with a show in the coming years, and continues to grow in her practice as an enthusiastic and empathetic maker/facilitator of art.

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Scenic Shop & Facilities Manager (BTE Ensemble Member)
Gregor Gunelson is the Scene Shop and Facilities Manager. He received his degree in Theatre and History at St. Cloud State University, MN, with an emphasis in Scenic Design and Technical Theatre. He has had a varied career in scenery and exhibitry, working in the Twin Cities, MN, and Tulsa, OK, before moving to Pennsylvania. Locally, he has worked at Reptiland in Allenwood, The Electric City Aquarium and Reptile Den in Scranton, and The Daytona Aquarium in Florida. He has been very active in the Community Theatre scene in Schuylkill County, as well as refinishing historic homes. He is very excited to be joining a talented team here in Bloomsburg.

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Creative Producer (BTE Ensemble Member)
Sarah Elizabeth Yorke is an accomplished theater director, producer, actor, and educator from Schuylkill County. She holds an MFA in Directing and an MA in Arts Administration from Ohio University, along with a BA in Theatre Arts from Virginia Tech. An experienced acting coach of nearly eight years, and former full-time faculty member of Virginia Tech, Sarah is known for her innovative, interdisciplinary approach to theater and the arts.

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Costume Shop Manager (BTE Affiliated Ensemble Member)
Emily Weisgerber is a costume and fashion designer who brings over 20 years of experience to her position as Costume Shop Manager. She began working as a costume designer for Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble in 2009, has supported Bucknell University’s costume shop as a stitcher for two seasons of theatre, opera, and dance performances, and is the Costume Director for Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg where she teaches university level classes in costume design, costume construction, and theatrical makeup design as well as mentoring student costume and makeup designers.

Before coming to the Bloomsburg area, Emily worked in a luxury millinery studio in Manhattan, a bespoke dress shop in Hollywood, and another hat shop in her hometown of Seattle. She also started her own brand of hats in 2008, which she sold in six states and in her own store in downtown Bloomsburg.

Emily graduated from Alfred University where she earned a BFA with a concentration in sculpture, robotics, and installation. She used soft sculpture, life casting, mold making, and immersive video displays to convey her interest in the body, identity, and the interaction between art and science. She has utilized her background in fine art to educate students in art camps, elementary schools, and university settings, and has had her work featured in group and solo shows.

When Emily is not working in theater, she can be found in Endless Records and Books in downtown Bloomsburg, a store she opened with her husband, Nick, in 2010. Their store has moved and grown throughout the years, becoming a vital part of the Bloomsburg community and providing a cultural hub for students, locals, and visitors who love music and literature. 

BTE Affiliate
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Master Electrician

BTE Affiliated Artist
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Master Carpenter

Charles M. Schulz was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 26, 1922. His Peanuts comic strip debuted in 1950 in just seven newspapers and launched a cultural legacy. When Schulz announced his retirement in December 1999, Peanuts was syndicated in over 2,600 newspapers worldwide, with book collections translated in over 25 languages.

The recipient of two Reuben Awards from the National Cartoonists Society and inductee into the Cartoonist Hall of Fame, Schulz also scripted and storyboarded numerous television specials, earning five Emmy and two Peabody Awards. He was awarded many different honors, including the Ordre des Artes et des Lettres from the French Ministry of Culture; the Lester Patrick Award (the only recipient who was not a professional hockey player); a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a Carnegie Hall-commissioned concerto by Ellen Zwilich entitled "Peanuts Gallery." Charles M. Schulz died on February 13, 2000, but his Peanuts gang continues to entertain and inspire the young and the young at heart.

Image Credit: This work is from the New York World-Telegram and Sun collection at the Library of Congress. According to the library, there are no known copyright restrictions on the use of this work.
This photograph is a work for hire created prior to 1968 by a staff photographer at New York World-Telegram & Sun. It is part of a collection donated to the Library of Congress and per the instrument of gift it is in the public domain.

Jose Cuauhtémoc (Bill) Melendez was educated in Arizona and then later at the Chouinard Art Institute, known now as CalArts. Hired by Walt Disney in 1938, Bill contributed his talents to such projects as Fantasia, Dumbo, Pinnocchio and Bambi. Bill was one of the prime movers of the Disney strike of 1941.

In 1942, Bill moved himself over to Leon Schlesinger Cartoons (AKA Warner Brothers Cartoons), and in 1948 he went to work for United Productions of America (UPA). During this period, he won over 150 awards. In 1960, works he directed won 18 awards at the American TV Commercial Festival, which only gave out 20 awards that year.

Bill founded his own production company, Bill Melendez Productions, Inc., in 1964. Besides his commercial work, Bill produced his first television special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and received both an Emmy Award (the first of eight) and the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award for Outstanding Children’s Program.

In international competition, he received an honorable mention in the 1965 Cannes International Advertising Film Festival. Bill received two dozen major foreign honors from Edinburgh, London, Annecy, Tours and Venice Festivals, finally bringing home The Venice Cup. This was the first time the United States had ever won the Cup, symbolic of overall excellence, in the festival’s history.

In addition to numerous awards and nominations for his Peanuts work, Bill won an Emmy in 1975 for Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus; an Emmy (the first awarded in the specific category of Animation) for The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, as well as an individual Emmy for authoring that show’s script.

Bill Melendez Productions was the first to animate Jim Davis’ Garfield the Cat, and that first special won an Emmy Award in 1982. In 1987, Bill took on the character Cathy by Cathy Guisewite, and won a Best Animated Special Emmy for that show.

He was a past faculty member of the University of Southern California in the Cinema Arts Department. Bill lived in Los Angeles until his death in 2008 at the age of 91. Bill has two grown sons, six grandchildren and fourteen great grandchildren.

Lee Mendelson is a third-generation San Franciscan, born March 24, 1933. He graduated from Stanford University in 1954 and served as a navigator in the United States Air Force from 1955 to 1957. He was a writer-producer-director at KPIX-TV in San Francisco from 1961 to 1963, where his series on the history of California won a coveted Peabody Award.

Along with Charles Schulz and animator Bill Melendez, Lee went on to produce 45 Peanuts prime-time specials, which won four more Emmys and one more Peabody and 15 other Emmy nominations. He was also the Executive Producer of four Peanuts animated feature films.

Lee produced 12 Garfield prime-time specials, which won four Emmys, as well as a 120-program series, Garfield and Friends. He also produced three Cathy animated specials, one of which won an Emmy.

Lee has produced 48 live action prime-time network specials, starring such hosts as Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Whoopi Goldberg, Telly Savalas, Bing Crosby, Lucille Ball, Gene Kelly, Lee Marvin, Peter Falk, Henry Fonda, Flip Wilson, Woody Allen, Walter Cronkite and George C. Scott. Among these are two documentaries written by Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck, Travels With Charley and America and Americans, the latter of which won two Emmys as Best Documentary of the year. Many of his productions feature environmental and American-reflective themes.

His first of four Peanuts movies (A Boy Named Charlie Brown) received an Oscar nomination for Best Musical Score and the Peanuts music has received four Grammy nominations.

Lee is the author of the book A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition, which was on the New York Times Bestseller List for eight weeks and sold over 200,000 copies, as well as two other books on Charles Schulz.

Lee was the lyricist for “Christmas Time Is Here,” (music by Vince Guaraldi for A Charlie Brown Christmas) which has become a Christmas standard. The music from the Peanuts shows has sold over 4 million albums, and has been performed by such artists as Vince Guaraldi, David Benoit, Wynton Marsalis, George Winston and Sarah MacLachlan.

Lee’s latest productions include: Born to Play Ball on Willie Mays; It’s Your 50th Christmas, Charlie Brown! (Emmy winner) hosted by Kristen Bell for ABC TV; and a documentary on Famous American Firsts.

Lee is a longstanding member of the Television Academy, D.G.A., W.G.A., AMPAS and the Recording Academy.

Image Credit: Santa Clara University, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Eric Schaeffer co-founded Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA, in 1989 and was its artistic director for three decades. The theatre received the 2009 Regional Theatre Tony Award and became home to the American Musical Voices Project (AMVP) – the largest musical commission program in America. He directed over 60 productions for Signature.

Mr. Schaeffer has directed Gigi, Follies, Million Dollar Quartet, Glory Days and Putting It Together on Broadway. He has also directed in the West End in London with Million Dollar Quartet and The Witches of Eastwick. At the Kennedy Center, he served as Artistic Director of the Sondheim Celebration, where he also directed Sunday in the Park With George and Passion, along with Mame, Follies and First You Dream. He has received six Helen Hayes Awards for outstanding direction, eight Helen Hayes Awards for outstanding musical, 31 Helen Hayes Award nominations for outstanding director and the Washington Arts Founder Award.