Meet Our Board of Directors
Mike Mitrano (President)
Mike Mitrano is a director, production manager, lighting designer, and actor based in Rutland, Vermont. Although originally from Southeast Massachusetts, Mike was raised in the Rutland area and graduated from Castleton State College with a Bachelor’s in Theatre Arts (Technical Theatre and Design). Mike has since toured North America with numerous productions including the Pink Floyd LaserSpectacular, Champions of Magic, Disney On Ice, Legally Blonde: The Musical, The Disco Biscuits, among others. He operates Dark Shadows Entertainment which offers Production Management and Lighting Design services to clients across the Northeast region. When not working, Mike can be found kayaking, hiking, or enjoying a good film.
Amanda Van Eps (Vice President)
Amanda Van Eps is a stage manager, designer, and costume curator based in Rutland, Vermont. As a Vermont native, she began her design education at Stafford Technical Center. She has since worked primarily as a kitchen and bath designer throughout Cornwall, Killington, Stowe, and Southern Vermont. She operates Haus of Van Eps, offering interior design services to clients in Central Vermont. Amanda has a passion for advocacy, working alongside the EveryLife Foundation pursuing equity and accessibility for the Rare Disease Community. She is also a contributing writer for The Mighty. In her downtime, she can be found paddle boarding, hiking, snow shoeing, or hanging out with her fur babies.
Marisa Valent (Secretary)
Marisa Valent is a director, actor, and playwright based in Rutland, Vermont. Originally from Upstate New York, Marisa received a bachelors in Theatre Arts and Spanish and a masters in Arts Administration from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York. She moved to Vermont in 2019 to pursue a career at Vermont State University Castleton, where she works as the Director of the Fine Arts Center, Soundings Manager, Box Office Manager, and Arts Reach Coordinator. Marisa also directs Black Box productions at VTSU Castleton. Her original ten minute plays have been produced all over New York and Vermont and her original full-length play Letter Writing was produced in Binghamton and Syracuse New York. Her new original play Eating Richard Parker premiered with a staged reading at the Dorset Playhouse in Dorset, Vermont. Favorite directing credits include Macbeth (Boot and Buskin), Dead Man's Cellphone (Dorset Players), The Drowsy Chaperone (SPARE Productions), and Dog Sees God (VTSU Castleton). Favorite acting credits include Cinderella in Into the Woods (SPARE Productions), Katherine in The Taming of the Shrew (Boot and Buskin), Catwoman in By the Bog of Cats (Major Arcana), and Woman One in Songs for a New World (SPARE Productions). When not pursuing her passion for theatre, Marisa volunteers for the non-profit organization The Feline Connection and collects rubber ducks.
Cameron Wescott (Board Member)
Cameron Wescott is a musician, conductor, and teacher from Poultney, Vermont. He graduated from Castleton University with a bachelor's degree in music education in 2023. He is the director of choral activities at Otter Valley Union High School in Brandon, Vermont. He performs with various musical ensembles throughout the states of Vermont and New York on voice, trumpet, and bass. Previous music direction titles include Spongebob: The Musical and The Fantasticks In his free time, Cameron enjoys fishing and spending time with his dog, Mac.
Martin VanBuren III (Board Member)
Martin VanBuren III is a photographer, videographer, and playwright based in Poultney, Vermont. He graduated from Castleton University in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in Communication (Multimedia & Film Studies). He is the owner + lead photographer of Pine Fox Photo, and serves as the President of Stone Valley Arts in Poultney. Martin has photographed and filmed over 100 theatrical productions across New England, and has written a handful of full-length plays that have been recently produced in Texas and Vermont. His work includes Aisle 5: The Play, Aisle 5: The Musical, Aisle 6, Aisle 7, and current project Dusktown. With three standalone Aisle shows in development, alongside the parody The Isle, he assumes he’ll be sick of the word “Aisle” by the time he retires. His work has been developed with college/older high school student audiences in mind, to subvert their expectations and write shows where they want to bring their friends back the next night. In his free time, Martin enjoys gaming, watching entire seasons of a show over a weekend, and puppetry.