DIRECTOR

HE/HIM | Michael Nichols-Pate is thrilled to be given the opportunity to direct for Fort Salem Theater! Michael has 20+ years of work in front of and behind the scenes on various productions. Prominent productions are: The Heidi Chronicles (Producer), The Mousetrap (Producer), Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (Producer), and Rabbit Hole (Director - 2025 Broadwayworld Nominated).

Along with his behind the scenes work, Michael also enjoys starring as Roberts onstage; Bert (Mary Poppins), Robert Martin (Drowsy Chaperone), Robbie Fay (A Man of No Importance), and Bobby (Company). Michael would like to thank his family and friends for their constant support and love. For further inquiries, please contact his mother.

STAGE MANAGER

HE/HIM | Alex is excited to make his Fort Salem Theater debut with this production. More known for managing musicals, he is excited for a change of pace with a play. Alex serves as a board member at Schuylerville Community Theater, where he has contributed both onstage and behind the scenes. He was most recently seen at SCT as Spike in "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike," and backstage as Stage Manager for "The Twenty-Fifth Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" and "Cinderella."

Beyond Schuylerville, Alex served as Stage Manager for Bunbury Players’ "A Man Of No Importance" at The Edison Club and as Technical Director for Bunbury Players’ "It's A Flop" at Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library. He has also worked as a spotlight operator for "Cabaret" at Broadway Upstate.

COSTUME DESIGNER

Lawrence Thomas Nichols has been creating costumes for theater productions for over 35 years. Most recently, “Anastasia” for Schuylerville Community Theater, “A Man of No Importance” for Bunbury players, “The Minutes” for The Dorsett Players, “Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike for Schuylerville Community Theater. Other credits are “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” where he won “Best Costume Design - non-professional from Broadway World and “Cinderella” (SCT). “The Heidi Chronicles”, “The Rabbit Hole” and “The Mousetrap” for Bunbury Players. Previously he has worked with multiple theater groups including The North Star Children’s Theater, Adirondack Children’s Theater Troupe, Broadway upstate and several local High School productions as well. He has also directed several Musical productions as Drama Advisor at Corinth Central School. His favorite Musical to Direct and Costume has been Into the Woods, that he costumed for ACT and directed at CCS.

RESIDENT SCENIC DESIGNER

HE/HIM | Charles/Chuck is a well-rounded artist with experience in creative writing, HDR photography, graphic design and 3D rendering, improvisational piano, original song composition and scenic design for theater. While attending Southern Vermont College 2001-2005 (bachelor’s in liberal arts) he worked summers at Old Castle Theater in Bennington, VT (2000 to 2005) where he learned, by observation, the creative nuances of set design as he worked as a stagehand. Charles is currently the Resident Scenic Designer and an Artistic Associate for Fort Salem Theater where, in October 2021, he debuted a design for The Diary of Anne Frank. In the 2022 season, he went on to design: Little Shop of Horrors, Steel Magnolias, Pride and Prejudice, Grease, The Wizard of Oz: Youth Edition, Bright Star, I Love You Because, Spring Awakening, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, Footloose,  The Little Mermaid Jr., The Pirates of Penzance, The Rocky Horror Slow, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Into the Woods, Beethoven, Godspell, Mary Poppins, The Drowsy Chaperone, Kinky Boots, and Tick, Tick…Boom!, along with designing Grant’s Ghost for Hubbard Hall on the side. Charles has also directed Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus in 2004 at his then-former High School, and The Glass Menagerie at Southern Vermont College in 2009.

Prior to his work at Fort Salem Theater, Charles has over eight years of set design experience, artistic/stage directing, assistant directing and serving as a theatrical creative-solutions consultant (for a local high school drama club). Shows he has designed there include: The Diary of Anne Frank (2007), Once Upon a Mattress, Rumors, The Importance of Being Earnest, Beauty and the Beast, Into the Woods, Twelve Angry Jurors, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, And Then There Were None, The Sound of Music, Noises Off, Shrek the Musical, and ended his run there with The Mousetrap (2015).

After taking some time away from theatrical design Charles feels truly thankful and honored to reignite his passion for design at Fort Salem Theater and is very honored to have helped design Grant’s Ghost for Hubbard Hall.

LIGHTING DESIGNER & PRODUCER

SHE/HER | Courtnie is a performer, director, and designer who grew up right next door in Greenwich. A graduate of The Institute for American Musical Theatre in NYC, she brings storytelling to life both onstage and behind the scenes. While in New York City, she performed with Hudson Classical Theater Company, where she also served as Hair Designer for “Pride and Prejudice” (Lydia Bennet) and “Sense and Sensibility” (Charlotte Palmer). Favorite credits include “Bright Star” (Alice Murphy), “Into the Woods” (Baker’s Wife), “Tick, Tick… BOOM!” (Susan), “Secret Garden” (Martha), and originating the role of Kayla Charter in “Solstice: A New Musical,” which you can see her reprise this May at the Wood Theater.

You can usually find her at Fort Salem Theater (her second home) where she’s helped create shows like “Kinky Boots,” “Godspell,” “Footloose,” and “Ripcord.” Love to all the friends and family who keep her going. She swears she’ll take a break, someday.

courtnieharrington.com

PRODUCER

HE/HIM | Kyle has three decades of creating award-winning theatre under his belt, working as a producer, director, choreographer, designer, and performer. His work has been seen all across the US, from Cape Cod, to Boston, Arizona and Dallas, to New York and has been recognized by the AriZoni Awards of Excellence, BroadwayWorld Awards, Column Awards, Annie Award, MET Awards, and MHSDG Awards, among others.

Most recently, Kyle took a brief sabbatical from Fort Salem Theater to serve as Company Manager for the esteemed Williamstown Theatre Festival, where he led a company of 350 artists and staff members. There, he worked alongside the talents of Pamela Anderson, Amber Heard, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Susan Sarandon, Kate Walsh, Chris Messina, Brandon Flynn, Whitney Peak, William Jackson Harper, Elizabeth Lail, Tonatiuh, Jensen McRae, among many others.

At Fort Salem Theater, he has directed and choreographed “Salem Under The Stars,” “The Marvelous Wonderettes,” “Next to Normal,” “There’s No Business Like Snow Business,” “Grease,” “The Pirates of Penzance,” “Agnes of God,” and “Mary Poppins” and has designed costumes for FST’s “Pride & Prejudice,” “Grease,” and “Bright Star.” Other direction and choreography credits include “Hairspray,” “Evita,” “White Christmas,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Guys and Dolls,” “The Music Man,” Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” “West Side Story,” “Into the Woods,” “RENT,” “The Rink,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “A Chorus Line,” “Chicago,” “La Cage aux Folles,” and “Cabaret.”

Kyle is humbled to be the executive and artistic director of Fort Salem Theater, and in June 2023, was named one of the Top 10 New York State LGBTQ+ Leaders by I ❤️ NY.

*Indicates Associate Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society