It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of Debra Dion-Faust, on Thursday 7 August 2025. She profoundly influenced many in the theatre community, and has been responsible for helping Theatre Company of Saugus thrive over the past several years in her role as the organization and facility manager of the TCS home base at the American Legion Post 210 in Saugus.
Deb served as an English and theatre teacher at Ipswich High School from 1983 until her retirement in 2012. Before that, she taught English, theatre, and served as a drama advisor at Saugus High School from 1979 to 1981 (TCS member John Macero was a student). Deb was an accomplished writer and contributed articles to professional journals and was actively involved in organizations such as the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild and the National Council of Teachers of English. She also held leadership roles in the High School Drama Guild, including secretary, treasurer, vice president, and president.
Debra graduated from Moravian College, where she earned a B.A. in music and French in 1973. She later completed her education at Boston University with an M.F.A. in theatre education in 1978. Throughout her career, she was certified to teach speech, theatre, English, music, and French.
In 2019, Debra Dion-Faust was honored as the Saugus Woman of the Year for her outstanding contributions to the community.
Deb’s relationship with TCS was one of support and excitement for our shows and youth programs. She was pivotal in helping us thrive year after year. On top of advocating for us, she also loved coming and watching our shows. Knitting as she watched, and offering little critiques as any theater teacher would. She will be truly missed. TCS will be discussing how to honor her memory.
We are sad to learn of the passing of John L. Greene, a former member of Theatre Company of Saugus. He died on Saturday 2 August 2025. He lived in Saugus with his family, across the street from St. John’s Episcopal Church, the former long-time home of TCS.
John was a fine actor, and appeared in several roles in TCS shows:
Claude Upson in Auntie Mame in May 2001
Carleton Fitzgerald in Light Up the Sky in November 2001
Mr. Van Daan in The Diary of Anne Frank in November 2002
Paul D’Argenson in Sabrina Faire in November 2006
Pancrace in The Forced Marriage, part of our From Moliere With Love! production in February 2007
Posted onJuly 21, 2025bylsegel|Comments Off on TCS 2024-2025 DASH Nominations
Each year the Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theatres (EMACT) evaluates shows and makes nominations for DASH Awards (Distinguished Achievement and Special Honors) in many categories. The nominees for the 2024-2025 season were announced on Sunday 20 July 2025.
The Theatre Company of Saugus (TCS) production of Evil Dead the Musical, presented in October 2024, earned some nominations:
Best Production of a Musical
Outstanding Performance by the Cast (Ensemble) of a Musical
Set Dressing of a Musical – Patrick Cleary, Jason Hair-Wynn, Lauren Thompson
Sound Design of a Musical – Mel Ingalls
Prop Design of a Musical – Patrick Cleary, Jason Hair-Wynn
In addition to those nominations, Evil Dead is also the winner of a Consultants Choice Award for “Excellence in Blood Creation and Execution”, to Lauren Thompson, Vanessa Phelon, Jason Hair-Wynn.
Longtime TCS member Larry Segel was one of the recipients from several EMACT member groups of the Lifetime Achievement Award. TCS member Nathan Fogg Desisto was also honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work with Hingham Civic Music Theatre.
Several current or former members of TCS were also nominated for their work on shows for other community theatre groups:
Richie DeJesus – Lead Performer in a Musical-Comedy – First Date at Colonial Chorus Players
Kristen Sehn – Supporting Performer in Musical-Comedy – First Date at Colonial Chorus Players
Mel Ingalls – Sound Design of a Musical -Comedy – First Date at Colonial Chorus Players
Matt Garlin – Sound Design of a Play – Working for Crumbs at Burlington Players
Patrick Cleary – Prop Design of a Musical – Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical! at Theatre III
Kris Reynolds – Costume Design of a Play – The Book of Will at Burlington Players – WINNER
Em Sheeran – Costume Design of a Play – The Secretary at Hovey Players
Monica Bruno – Stage Management of a Play – How I Learned to Drive at Concord Players
Molly Scrivens – Stage Management of a Musical – Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical! at Theatre III
Patrick Cleary is also the winner of a Consultants Choice Award for “Best Puppetry and Design” for Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical! at Theatre III.
The winners were announced at the annual EMACT DASH Gala, which will be on Saturday 23 August 2025 at Cary Hall in Lexington, Massachusetts. For complete details and tickets, see Emact.org.
The cast of Evil Dead performed some musical numbers at the gala, because of our nomination for Best Production of a Musical.
Posted onJune 13, 2025bylsegel|Comments Off on 2025 College Scholarship Available
Deadline Extended to July 26
In addition to putting on shows, the mission of Theatre Company of Saugus (TCS) has been to educate our membership about theatre. We have done this through many workshops over the years, as well as through our annual summer Youth Theatre Workshop.
For many years TCS has awarded a modest scholarship to a graduating college-bound senior at Saugus High School (SHS). This has been named the Leo Nickole Scholarship, in honor of our founder.
With the recognition that many TCS members are not living in Saugus, we initiated a new additional scholarship intended for TCS members that do not go to SHS. This has been named the Rosemary DeGregorio Scholarship, in honor of our lifetime member.
The scholarship amount is $300, and is intended for those who will be attending college or graduate school in the fall of 2025. The recipient should be a participant in past or current TCS productions or activities. Preference is given to those who intend to study theatre or related arts.
Applications for the third annual award of the Rosemary DeGregorio Scholarship are now being accepted. The online application form asks questions about your plans for school, and your experience with TCS. The application deadline has been extended to July 26, 2025. The winning recipient will be announced in August.
If you have any questions about the new scholarship or the application, please write to us at: tcsaugus@gmail.com. (The recipient of the Leo Nickole scholarship has been selected and will be announced by SHS.)
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Posted onMay 31, 2025bydshaw12|Comments Off on Early Bird Registration closes JUNE 1 for Youth Theatre Workshop
This is a reminder that Early Bird Registration closes on June 1 at 11:59PM for Youth Theater Workshop. Regular registration is open until June 20 for SpongeBob (Grades 8+) and July 13 for Alice (Grades 1-8). Sign-up today to take advantage of a discount and to guarantee your spot this summer!
TCS continues to hold two Youth Theatre Workshops – one for Grades 1-8 (Session I) and one for Grades 8 and up (Session II). Session I will run for two weeks in July and Session II will be over the course of eight weeks from the end of June through mid-August. Auditions are used to assign roles to all the workshop participants. Internship Opportunities are for Grades 9 and up to work with either or both productions depending upon needs and schedules.
The Youth Theatre Workshop is a great way for kids to discover if they like being on stage or behind the scenes. They will be meeting new people, reconnecting with friends from school or other local programs, and learning more than their lines and choreography. Children who have participated in the TCS Youth Theatre Workshop often return for future summers and some have even participated in some of our mainstage productions. Prior participants have even returned as coaching staff!
If you are not sure about joining the program, be aware that regular rates will go into effect after June 1 and that the last day to register for SpongeBob is June 20 and the last day to register for Alice is July 13.
Comments Off on Early Bird Registration closes JUNE 1 for Youth Theatre Workshop
Posted onMay 9, 2025bylsegel|Comments Off on Legion Basement Reorganization
We need your help to complete the next phase of our costume-props-storage reorganization project. On Saturday 17 May 2025, starting at 10 AM, we will tackle the basement storage area of the American Legion building that is our home. We will expand the safe storage area on the old bocce court.
First, we will take everything off of the bocce court and carry it outside. This includes the furniture, drapes, shelves, and bins. (We do not need to touch the heavy stack of seating risers and floor panels; these are already in the correct place.) Then we will cover the sand on the bocce court with wooden pallets, so as to provide a separation between the sand and stuff stored above it. (We have the pallets.) Then we will cover the pallets with sheets of plywood or Masonite panels. If you have extra scrap sheets or panels, we could use them please.
After the new surface is set up, we will put all the stuff back, reorganized. We will have teams to work on specific areas: Furniture, Shelves, Bins, and Drapes. We should be done by mid-afternoon.
Posted onApril 24, 2025bydshaw12|Comments Off on Registration is now open for Youth Theatre Workshop Summer 2025
We are delighted to announce that registration is now open for this summer’s Youth Theatre Workshop, now in its 15th year. Sign-up today!
TCS continues to hold two Youth Theatre Workshops – one for Grades 1-8 (Session I) and one for Grades 8 and up (Session II). Session I will run for two weeks in July and Session II will be over the course of eight weeks from the end of June through mid-August. Auditions are used to assign roles to all the workshop participants. Internship Opportunities are for Grades 9 and up to work with either or both productions depending upon needs and schedules.
Productions: The workshop for younger kids, in grades 1 thru 8, will run July 21 through August 1, Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM. The program will culminate with three performances of Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, JR., on Friday and Saturday, August 1-2, 2025. The auditions will be Wednesday, July 16 at 6:00PM and held at Saugus Middle High School at 1 Pearce Memorial Drive in Saugus, MA. If needed, Callbacks will be held the same evening with those needing to be seen again asked to stay a little bit longer. The audition process also functions as a Meet & Greet for parents and youth actor participants to acquaint themselves with each other, the coaching staff for the workshop, and the interns who will be assisting the coaches.
The other Youth Theatre Workshop taking place this summer will run for eight weeks for our teens in Grades 8 and up. Their show this year will be The Spongebob Musical: Youth Edition. Performances will be Friday and Saturday, August 15-16, 2025. Auditions will be on Monday, June 23 at 6:00 PM, with callbacks on Tuesday, June 24 if needed. These will take place at the American Legion Post 210, 44 Taylor Street in Saugus, MA. Rehearsals will be three times a week (Mon, Tue, Thu) from 6:00PM to 9:00PM starting on June 23. The June 23 Auditions will also function as a Meet & Greet for parents and youth actor participants the same way the one for Grades 1-8 will as described above.
Workshop and Performance Locations: The current plan is for a portion of each workshop to take place at the American Legion Post 210 (TCS’ home space) and a portion of each workshop to take place at the Saugus Middle High School Lemoine-Mitchell Auditorium. All performances for each workshop would take place at the school’s auditorium. This is contingent upon having enough youth actor participants sign up for each workshop. We will have a better idea of reaching these numbers by the close of our Early Bird Registration on June 1. Being able to partner with Saugus Middle High School allows TCS to provide an expanded summer theater experience than what we have been able to provide in prior years. We hope that if it goes well this inaugural summer it will continue successfully in years to come. It not only allows us the opportunity to expand the size of production, the number of cast members, and have our youth participants work in a theatre space they are either already familiar with as students or many be in the future, BUT it allows so many more family members and friends to attend and support them due to the larger seating capacity.
Coaching Staff: For Grades 1-8 we welcome Sydney Vallone to the team as the acting/stage directing coach. Sydney was an assistant coach for Frog and Toad, Princess Fiona in Shrek, JR., and Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family, young@part. Our other staff members are all familiar faces behind the scenes for Grades 1-8: music/singing coach will be KG Spungen, dancing coach will be Amanda (née Allen) Goolsby, tech director will be Sean Perry, and stage manager will be Maisey O’Brien. For Grades 8 and up we will have much of the same staff with a slight change. Acting/stage directing coach will be Becca Griffing, music/singing coach will be KG Spungen, dance coach will be Will Fafard, Jr., technical directors will be Tricia Smith and Saahil Rana (Saahil has been a tech intern with us in prior years and is now joining us as a coach – welcome aboard!), and stage manager will be Maisey O’Brien.
Step into the wacky world of Wonderland in this vibrant retelling of a Disney classic!
Fall down the rabbit hole with Alice as she navigates the curious world of Wonderland on a journey of self-discovery. When young Alice finds herself in a strange world where everything seems upside down, she must find her way home…and find herself along the way. As she travels through Wonderland, she encounters all of the iconic characters that audiences have come to love: including the ever-tardy White Rabbit, the grinning Cheshire Cat, a cool Caterpillar, the wacky Mad Hatter, and the hot-tempered Queen of Hearts.
Alice in Wonderland JR. features Disney favorites such as “The Golden Afternoon,” “The Unbirthday Song,” and “Painting the Roses Red” along with brand-new songs, including music from the 2010 live-action film. Whether this is your first experience with Alice or your hundredth, you’ll fall in love all over again with this timeless story of adventure, imagination, and pure fun!
A one-hour edition of the hit musical, specially tailored for young actors!
Plunge into this stunning all-singing, all-dancing, dynamic stage show! When the citizens of Bikini Bottom discover that a volcano will soon erupt and destroy their humble home, SpongeBob and his friends must come together to save the fate of their undersea world. With lives hanging in the balance and all hope lost, a most unexpected hero rises up. The power of optimism really can save the world!
The SpongeBob Musical is based on the beloved animated series created by Stephen Hillenburg and features a book by Kyle Jarrow, with original songs by Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alexander Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady A, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants and T.I., and songs by David Bowie, Tom Kenny and Andy Paley. Additional lyrics are by Jonathan Coulton, with additional music by Tom Kitt. The musical production was conceived by Tina Landau.
An exciting new musical featuring irresistible characters and magical music, this deep-sea pearl of a show is set to make a splash with audiences young and old. The future is bright, the future is bold, the future is The SpongeBob Musical.
Thanks to all who helped out with our costume storage reorganization project, led by the chief organizers Vanessa Phelon and Patrick Cleary. Others who helped out the first weekend include: Jeanette Amaru, Samantha Dawson, Caroline DeBrota, Cambria DiCecca, Amanda and Cheryl-Lynn Goolsby, Liz Hartsell, John Leonard, Tom Monahan, Dana Murray, Larry Segel, Shawyoun Shaidani, Tricia Smith, Lauren Thompson, David Vincent, and Valerie White.
On the second weekend we had the help of Kathy Bedard, Heidi Fisher, Billy Jenkins, John Leonard, Melissa MacNeil, Stephen Nedell, Ian Page, Larry Segel, Avonne Thomson, David Vincent, and Valerie White; again all led by Vanessa Phelon and Patrick Cleary.
Here is the costume storage rental unit Before:
After we filled the storage unit with all the bins, Vanessa and her kids Mels and Joy went in and rearranged all of it. Here is the After:
Still to be done in the coming weeks is filling in the detailed database with all our costume holdings, which will allow costumers to search and find out if we have what they need.
On Saturday 17 May 2025, starting at 10:00 AM, we will do a related project to remodel the Legion basement and reorganize all the stuff that is stored there.
Theatre Company of Saugus 