Leadership
Mary has been a part of the Portland Civic Players for 40 years, from the age of 10. She has been involved in all aspects of play production from lighting, to props, to sound, set design, being onstage and directing. Totaling 29 productions so far. Most recently as the director for the Fall 2022 production of Dreamwork’s Shrek the Musical. She has served on the Board as a trustee and vice president as well as serving as the building manager. She was elected President of the Board in 2017.
Erin started in the PCP Summer Theater program at the age of 10. After graduating from Portland High School, she embarked on her collegiate journey and took a break from acting. Being a Surgical Services nurse for the past 20 years has left her little time to pursue her acting passions, but now that she’s teaching for the nursing programs at Michigan State University and Grand Valley University her schedule is more amenable to practices. She has had roles in two PCP productions- most recently as John Dickinson in “1776”. She and her husband live in Carson City with their two dogs and cat and is happy to be back in the PCP family.
Shelly has been involved with the Portland Civic Players for over 10 years primarily with costumes. Theater is a family affair starting with her 3 children in summer theater and all being in PCP productions and recently her husband has caught the acting bug. Shelly’s grandson is looking forward to Summer Theater this year. Shelly has lived in Portland for the last 20 years and considers herself a full-time volunteer and a craftsperson as her profession. She shares her time and talents with the schools, church, the high school marching band, and the theater. When not at the sewing machine working on costumes, she can be found in her studio working on one of the numerous art and craft projects she does.
Laurie has been a long time member of our family having come from our summer theater program. After a hiatus, Laurie came back to the stage in 2017 with It’s a Wonderful Life with both of her children. From there, she got her feet wet in Stage Managing for Beauty and the Beast and hasn’t looked back. Being involved with the Portland Civic Players became a family thing and that is what she loves the most about it. She started as a trustee in 2020 and became Secretary of the Board in 2022. She is excited for what is to come.
Laurie lives in Pewamo with her family and menagerie of pets. She has been a member of the Civic players for the last 10 years and can usually be found in the Box Office during productions. She has had children participate in the Summer Theater Youth Program and has served on the Board since 2017.
Matthew Thelen has been involved in the theater scene since sophomore year of highschool, beginning with a role in Lakewood High School’s production of Beauty and the Beast. Having been involved off and on through the years since high school Matthew found a comfortable place among friends and family involved in the Portland Civic Players, starting once again with a role in their production of Beauty and the Beast, this time as Lumiere. Matthew looks forward to deepening his involvement with the theater and involving himself with a directorial role someday.
Lynette has been involved in theater since age 10 when she was cast as the mayor’s youngest daughter, Gracie Shinn for the Lakewood High School production of ‘The Music Man’ and has been in love with the theater ever since. She has been involved with theater both as a performer and as volunteer actively since 2007, and has been involved with the Portland Civic Players since 2018 designing and applying the special effects makeup for many different characters in Beauty & The Beast, Wizard of Oz and most recently, Shrek the Musical. She counts herself lucky enough to have met her husband Matthew Thelen in the theater world 8 years ago, and loves that they both share a passion for the stage together. By day Lynette works as an independent insurance agent, specializing in classic cars and is a proud cat mama to two adorable kitties.
Antonius got his start in theater back in 2015, cast as Sam Wainwright in Portland Civic Players production of It’s a Wonderful Life the Musical. Although new to theater, he knew the moment he stepped on that stage, Portland Civic Players was a place he wanted to spend a lot of his time. When not on stage, he has the pleasure to be married to a supportive lady by the name of Julie and be the father to two pretty cool kids, Parker and Xander. Other hobbies include collecting legos, funko pops and practicing different accents and voices when no one is watching.
Aaron was born and raised in Stanton, but has also hopped around between Kentucky and Florida. He finally decided to settle down here in Portland a few years ago. He’s been on stage in a more musical capacity since high school but found his first role with Portland as Lord Farquaad In the 2022 production of Shrek, and has loved his Portland theater family ever since. In his spare time, Aaron likes to make videos, record music and work on various other social media projects.