Daryelle Chery (Playwriting Teacher) is an actress and writer based in New York. After dedicating years to refining her craft on stage and for the camera, she turned her attention to writing. She majored in Creative Writing and English Literature at Southern New Hampshire University. Her most recent achievement is "I'll Be Waiting,” her first produced short play. The play was chosen by the New York Theater Festival for the spring/summer season of 2024.
José D. Cruz (they/he) is absolutely thrilled to be Music Directing at Saddle River Youth Theatre! They recently MD’d SRYT’s production of Sweeney Todd, alongside their beloved teammates Elisabetta Bracer and Bridget Wiggan! José has more than 10 years of experience music directing throughout the Northeast and, during that time, has both taught and performed over 100 productions of 40+ different shows. Some recent(-ish) highlights include a production of The Prom in July of 2024, Alice By Heart in May of 2024, and Spamalot back in July of 2022. This season, in addition to working with SRYT, José will be music directing with Broadway Theatre Workshops, as well as working with his team at International High School in Paterson, NJ. José will also be performing and releasing music with their NYC-based alternative-rock/folk band Dr. Ted and the Stone, and you can find them singing oldies at senior care facilities across New Jersey. As a passionate instructor, José teaches private lessons for instrumental, vocal, and acting technique! They can be reached at JoseDCruzMusic@gmail.com!
Elisabetta Bracer is a literary theatre artist based out of New Jersey. She has over 20+ credits as director and/or choreographer for youth/teen theatre including Alice By Heart, Beetlejuice Jr., The Prom, Mean Girls Jr. and Shrek the Musical. Offstage, she teaches English Lit at International High School, writes plays and freelances her dramaturgical services. Her original show, An Empty Museum, participated in the New York Theatre Summerfest in 2022 and her work has been published through the Normal Review at Montclair State University and the Pirandello Society of America. Most recently, she directed SRYT's production of Sweeney Todd: High School Edition!
Bridget Wiggan (Choreographer)
EDUCATION / TRAINING Muhlenberg College: Bachelor of Arts in Theatre (Directing) & Dance (Choreography) 2019 - 2023 Summa Cum Laude Bergen County Academies: Major in Theatre w/ Dance Education 2015 - 2019 ACTING: James Van Valen (Meisner), Larry Singer (Process), Rebecca Strum (Commedia Dell’Arte, Viewpoints), Stephen Kaplan (Stanislavsky, Scene Work), Victoria Pero (Shakespeare, Styles) VOICE & SPEECH: Victoria Pero (Linklater, Alexander, Ben: Ballet / Contemporary Ballet, Pattie Bostick-Winn: Ballet, Lynn Wiener, Modern, Laurie Crochet: Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern 4 years VOICE: Cynthia Sol 6 years rry) DIRECTING: Nigel Semaj, Matt Moore, Stephen Kaplan DANCE: Heidi Cruz-Austi
EDUCATIONAL PRODUCTIONS SWEENEY TODD (Saddle River Youth Theatre) DESCENDANTS (Rosen)ALADDIN JR. (BTW) THE LIGHTNING THIEF THE PROM JR. INTO THE WOODS JR. MATILDA JR. DESCENDANTS ALADDIN JR. ANNIE JR. THE LITTLE MERMAID JR. (Porchlight)
Sarah is a music teacher and director in Bergen County. She graduated with a music degree from William Paterson University, where she was awarded Outstanding Classical Vocalist for her graduating class. A versatile singer, Sarah has also performed and studied pop, country, jazz and musical theatre singing under veteran Broadway actress Ann Van Cleave. She is an accomplished stage actress, having performed in many locals venues and summer stock theaters. Favorite Credits include Nellie in "South Pacific", Charlotte in "A Little Night Music", Rona in "25th Annual...Spelling Bee", and Emma in "Jekyll & Hyde".