Mr. Hart, a tenured Full Professor at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, is a master teacher of ensemble theater and creative dramatics as well as playwright, actor and director. Mr. Hart’s eight years of study under the late mythologist Joseph Campbell contributed to the creation of the Shoestring Players, a unique theatrical approach to world folklore. Artistic Director for the Shoestring Players, Mr. Hart founded Shoestring with Mr. Joseph Mancuso. This professional touring company performs an annual 30 week season across the United States and has performed abroad for eight years in theater festivals in Scotland and Edinburgh. In 1994, The Shoestring Players received the coveted FRINGE FIRST AWARD for "Outstanding Dramatic New Works" at the Edinburgh (Scotland) Fringe Festival. Mr. Hart’s improvisational exercises and ensemble work with the Shoestring Players were the basis for the Shoestring PLUS creative expression programs. As a playwright, Mr. Hart has merited three national awards and has seen his productions performed in numerous regional theaters. Mr. Hart holds a B.A. from Fordham University and an M.A. from New York University.

Mr. Lewis’ career has been varied and includes extensive work in both the theater and the retail and hospitality industries. His business management resume includes working for leaders in several fields, including Starbucks Coffee Co., for whom he assisted in opening the New York market, and Novotel Hotels (a division of Accor, the largest hospitality company in the world), for whom he opened the Princeton property’s new restaurant. Mr. Lewis majored in theater at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon where he studied Acting and Directing with Jack Leigh Featheringill. (He finished his B.A. in Theater at Thomas Edison State College here in New Jersey.)  In New York, he continued his studies at the H.B. Studios in New York City. As a professional actor, Mr. Lewis has performed all across America. In 1995, Mr. Lewis assisted Stephen Pickover of the Metropolitan Opera on the direction of the original production of Where or When, for which he also served as the Assistant Producer. In 1996, he produced Rick Sordelet’s Buried Treasure, presented at the George Street Playhouse’s Second Stage. The show is now under development as a major independent film. He has also produced a series of up-dated classics at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe over the last four years (Scapin, King Stag, Servant of Two Masters).

Kerri Lynn Sirkin is a recent graduate of Rutgers University with a B.A. in Theater. She has prior experience with Shoestring, as their Marketing Intern. In the past Kerri worked for Samuel French, Inc. She is also involved in performing in many community theater productions such as The Diary of Anne Frank, Grease, Hello Dolly and West Side Story.

Ms. LeCompte is an actress/singer, who has been seen on the New York stage in Twelfth Night, Take Me Out to the Ball Game, and various cabarets at Don’t Tell Mama’s. Musical theater is Ms. LeCompte’s great love, she recently had the unexpected pleasure of playing Rose Alvarez in Bye, Bye Birdie. Her other favorite roles include Peppermint Patty- Snoopy, Estelle - No Exit, Carnelle - Miss Firecracker Contest. She also directs Drama Ministry at Spotswood Trinity Methodist Church and is a featured cantor for St. Cecilia’s in Kearny. Ms. LeCompte continues her studies at HB Studios and studies privately with Joseph Goodrich. Before moving to the metro area, she co-founded and directed Y Not and the Pickle Pepper Productions in Southern New Jersey, providing the community with summer stock opportunities for youth. Y not productions toured I Never Saw Another Butterfly to promote Holocaust Awareness. Ms. LeCompte continues to acting for Kids College every summer in South Jersey. She is happy to have been a teaching artist for Shoestring Plus for four years