We rely on our seasonal staff and older students to help keep our ship afloat! If you are in 8th grade or higher, and are currently registered for a show or have done a show with us in the past year, please consider applying to be a counselor for one of our younger programs. For the Junior level (grades5-8), counselors must be in 11th grade or older. All counselors MUST be available for all rehearsals (or camp days) and all performances. If you have a conflict, we will look forward to having you apply for a future program!
Mrs. Mary Jo Springer, Owner and Artistic Director
John is a Phoenixville based designer who holds an MFA from New York University’s Tisch School for the Arts, and currently teaches at Salisbury University. John’s design work includes: Anything Goes, Bring It On, Hair, How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and In the Heights for MSMT; Blithe Spirit for Delaware Theatre Company; The Drowsy Chaperone and How I Learned to Drive for Villanova University; Hair, King Hedley, and Satellites at Swine Palace in Baton Rouge; Bat Boy the Musical and Kit Marlowe for the Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C.. He also works with Tobin Ost on many productions, including Disney’s Broadway production of Newsies, Maurice Hines’s Off-Broadway production of Tappin’ Thru Life, and Barry Manilow's Harmony at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta and Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. John’s extensive work also includes assisting Erhard Rom on productions for many national opera companies including Lucia di Lammermoor at SanFrancisco Opera.
John began his work with TSSYT this past winter with Into the Woods and The Little Mermaid Jr. He is excited to return this summer to not only design lighting, but also design sets and train TSSYT students in both professional lighting and set design. We are SO happy to have John on our team!
Michael Ronca, Stage and Production Manager
Michael is an actor, writer, director and teaching artist based in NYC and the Greater Philadelphia area. As an actor: Off-Broadway: Ode to the Wasp Woman (Swing), Amélie (Dufayel), Sprawl (Ricky/Swing), Off-Off Broadway: Assassins (John Wilkes Booth), Matilda (Miss Trunchbull). Regional: Assassins (Arden Theatre Company). As a writer: Sprawl (National Playwrights Conference Semi-Finalist, SoHo Playhouse), Poser (Nashville Film Festival Finalist). As a director: 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Facetime Theatre), Dark Match (Playwrights Horizons Downtown), Nine Muses Lab Fellow. Member of the Dramatist Guild. BFA Drama/Dramatic Writing NYU Tisch.
Michael is a massive extrovert always looking to collaborate with artists from diverse backgrounds. He loves teaching and is currently pursuing an MFA. In his spare time he obsessively watches Survivor, listens to Stephen Sondheim, and, unfortunately, plays Fortnite. He is thrilled to join the TSSYT staff this summer and looks forward to producing some fantastic shows with these talented kids!
Mrs. Springer never imagined she would own a youth theater program. She began singing before she could talk and dancing almost before she could walk. She began performing in 5th grade in musical productions at her elementary school which then grew into a passion for musical theater in high school. Past amateur and professional credits include Oliver! (Beth), The Music Man (Marian Paroo), The Boyfriend (Polly Browne), Pippin (Ensemble), A Funny Thing…Forum (Philia), Willy Wonka (Mrs. Gloop) and Footloose (Ethel McCormack). The Springer Studio Youth Theater was born out of a desire to keep a community together when St. Basil the Great Parish was forced to close the school, where Mrs. Springer had been the choir and band director, classroom music teacher and Musical director for 7 years. In an effort to keep the students involved in each other’s lives, she began a summer program that rehearsed in her basement! After 5 years of bringing shows to small Catholic schools in the area and renting various facilities every summer, Mrs. Springer found herself at a cross roads of closing the business or building her own theater. In March of 2020, The Springer Studio Youth Theater that we know today opened with a GRAND celebration of fun, friends and music. Only 6 days later, the pandemic closed our doors. Mrs. Springer continued to teach and rehearse over ZOOM until the restrictions were lifted. Our first LIVE show in our new facility was NEWSIES in the summer of 2020 and we’ve never looked back. She has Directed, Music Directed and produced 61 shows to date, with 31 of those occurring here at her own theater space.
Charlie Bensinger, Assistant Director
Charlie Bensinger is thrilled to be returning to TSSYT as Assistant Director for The Little Mermaid, Jr.. This is his second time as Asst. Director, as he recently joined the staff of Into The Woods this past winter. He also was a member of the creative team for TSSYT’s Fall production of A Christmas Story, where he worked as a Teaching Artist. Charlie was introduced to Musical Theater by Mrs. Springer, who gave him his first ever role in a musical called School House Rock. Since then, he graduated from Temple University with a degree in Musical Theater and has performed in numerous productions in Regional Theaters, such as Gretna Theatre, Candlelight Theatre, and the Fulton Theatre. He continues to pursue his passions towards a fulfilling career as an actor, teacher, and storyteller.
