Gamut Theatre Group Full Time Core Company

Melissa Nicholson

Executive Director

Melissa Nicholson is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Gamut Theatre Group and has worn many hats in her professional career, including actor, director, playwright, and teacher. She has written 25 original plays and is a past president of the Shakespeare Theatre Association. She was recently inducted into the Women’s History Garden, as recognized by the Civic Club of Harrisburg. Ms. Nicholson holds a B.A. in Communications/Theatre Arts with a Minor in Writing from Susquehanna University. She is a founding Board member of the Harrisburg Area Theatre Alliance, serves on the Arts & Entertainment Committeee of the Ned Smith Center, and resides in the beautiful “Bedford Falls-like” town of Millersburg, PA with her husband, Clark, Co-Founder of Gamut Theatre.

J. Clark Nicholson

Artistic Director

J. Clark Nicholson founded Gamut Theatre with his wife Melissa as the Popcorn Hat Players Children’s Theatre in 1992. Clark studied Theatre at the University of Georgia & University of South Carolina. He spent many years touring as an actor and director to share the works of classic authors including the Brothers Grimm, Aesop, Euripides, Chekhov, and Shakespeare. He trained in modern Improvisational theory and application at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Improv Theater in Manhattan. Among his favorite roles are Willy Loman in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Atticus Finch in the stage adaptation of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Sir in Ronald Harwood’s The Dresser, Macduff in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and both Hamlet and Claudius in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.

Jess Yahner

Office Manager

Jess Yahner recently stepped into a full time position at Gamut after years of involvement in various shows at the theatre. Over the course of her career, she has worked as a choreographer, dance/movement instructor, actor, teacher, director, and stage manager at theatres and studios throughout Central PA. Her choreography was recently seen in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Much Ado About Nothing at Gamut.

Marcus McGhee

Resident Theatre Manager

Marcus McGhee, hailing from Georgia, relocated to Harrisburg to work as the Resident Theatre Manager for Gamut. After being bitten by the theatre bug in high school, Marcus earned his BFA in Theatre from Valdosta State University. He has recently been seen at Open Stage as Miss Roj in The Colored Museum and at Gamut as Kayah Voices of the Eighth Part III: Hallowed Ground, Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, and a member of the ensemble in The Pirates of Penzance.

Hope Mackenzie

Public Relations Manager

Hope Mackenzie holds their BFA in Applied Theatre and is trained in acting, dance & movement, playwriting, and directing. They love using their artistic skills to promote Gamut and connect with individuals through theatre. They have written, produced, and directed various works in their career. Hope’s choreography was recently featured at Gamut in Love’s Labour’s Lost and Frankenstein. They were recently seen on the Gamut stage in King Lear (The Fool), Hamlet (Horatio), Love’s Labour Lost (Rosaline), Frankenstein (Female Creature), Much Ado About Nothing (Hero), and The Picture of Dorian Gray (Sybil). Favorite past credits include The Tempest (Ariel), Silent Sky (Henrietta), and As You Like It (Jacques).

Elizabeth Hood

Production Manager

Elizabeth Hood is a recent graduate of LIU Post’s BFA Musical Theatre program. She was most recently seen in Gamut Theatre’s King Lear (Edmund), The Revolutionists (Charlotte Corday), Love’s Labour’s Lost (Princess), Frankenstein (Agatha), The Pirates of Penzance (Isabel/Mabel Cover), and the Stage Door Series reading of The Picture of Dorian Gray (Dorian Gray).

Calian Byard

Technical Director

Calian Byard is proud to be the Technical Director for Gamut Theatre Group. Cal fell in love with scenic design after taking a course in college and helping out in the scene shop. Previous accolades include designing The Dining Room at West Liberty University and TDing The Wizard of OZ, VOTE Part III: Hallowed Ground, and The Pirates of Penzance here at Gamut. Cal was recently seen on stage as the understudy for The Creature/Victor in Frankenstein and in the bass chorus for The Pirates of Penzance. He has also played Mark Antony in Julius Caesar and Horatio in Hamlet with The Rustic Mechanicals, West Virginia’s Professional Shakespeare Troupe.

Alex Winnick

Costumes and Props Manager

Alex Winnick holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Connecticut and is an alum of Stagedoor Manor and the Powerhouse Training Program both in New York, as well as Theatre Academy London in the UK. Alex’s love of theater stems mostly from his time as a student here at Gamut Theatre Academy. He was recently seen on the Gamut stage in King Lear (Edgar), Hamlet (Hamlet), Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Pirates of Penzance, Frankenstein, Much Ado About Nothing and a whole bunch of Popcorn Hat shows. Other credits include Space Vampire (You) at Gamut; Blood at the Root (Colin), Death and the Maiden (Gerardo) at Connecticut Repertory Theatre; Trojan Women (Poseidon) at Powerhouse Summer Festival; Polaroid Stories (D/Narcissus), Shorter Scottish Play (Macbeth) at University of Connecticut.

Weimy Montero Candelario

Director of Spanish Language Programming

Weimy Montero Candelario is an actress from The Dominican Republic. She recently graduated from The University of Connecticut with a BFA in acting. A few of her previous roles include Cordelia in King Lear, Ophelia in Hamlet, Marianne in The Revolutionists, Miss Pat in The Colored Museum, Kay in Voices of the Eighth Part III: Hallowed Ground, Don John/Margaret in Much Ado About Nothing, Doctor Blenkinsop in A Doctor's Dilemma, and Lady Mac in A Shorter Scottish play. In addition to being seen on stage, Weimy can be found teaching, writing, and even working in the scene shop. She is currently working on a Spanish adaptation of a Popcorn Hat Players script!