Our Team
Angela Bonacasa
Artistic Director
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Angela (she/her) is a director, actor, singer, teacher, and fight director. Directing credits include DANCING AT LUGHNASA, LIFE SUCKS., THE CHILDREN’S HOUR, TARTUFFE, SIX DEAD QUEENS AND AN INFLATABLE HENRY, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, SILENT SKY, CALENDAR GIRLS, and THE MIRACLE WORKER, among many others. Outside of True North, she has directed for Maine theaters that include Penobscot Theatre Company, the Belfast Maskers, The Center Theatre in Dover-Foxcroft, and the University of Maine. In addition to being a director, Angela has a successful career as a stage combat instructor and fight director. She is a Certified Teacher of Stage Combat with the Society of American Fight Directors, and is the Resident Fight and Intimacy Director for Penobscot Theatre Company. She has a B.F.A in Performance from Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts, and is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy.
Tricia A. Hobbs
Board President
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Tricia (she/her) is an Orono-based Director, Designer, and Administrator who began her career as a traveling freelance scenic artist and designer. After a few years in Chicago, she returned to Maine as the Production Manager and Resident Scenic Designer at Penobscot Theatre Company, where she spent over a decade, ultimately serving as the Acting Artistic Director. Outside True North Theatre, a selection of Tricia's on and off-stage credits includes Maples Repertory Theatre (MO), Theatre at Monmouth (ME), New York City Children’s Theatre Festival (NY), Prologue Theatre (IL), and The Public Theatre (ME). With a deep passion for the power of live theatre, she strives to uplift and inspire artists of all ages through representation and inclusivity. She proudly serves annually as a judge for the Maine Drama Festival and frequently works as a guest professional with Ellsworth High School. Tricia is currently the University Designer/Architect & Space Manager for the University of Maine, her alma mater, where she also serves as an Adjunct Faculty Instructor in the School of Performing Arts.
Holly Costar
Secretary
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Holly (she/her) credits True North Theatre and the artistic community she has met through them with reigniting her love for theater after a long hiatus from the stage. She has appeared in True North’s productions of A Lion In Winter, Table Manners, Eurydice, The Moors, Sylvia, Picnic, The Children’s Hour, Life Sucks. and Dancing At Lughnasa. She also enjoys co-writing, co-directing, and performing in the company’s annual Ghosts of Mount Hope Cemetery Walking Tour. Holly is a psychologist in private practice in Bangor.
Hilary clark
Treasurer
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Hilary (she/her) is a graduate of UMaine with a Bachelors in Latin (Summa Cum Laude) and Trinity College, Dublin (Classics Program). She is the Tax Manager for Edwards, Faust & Smith, where she’s been employed for the last 21 years. In addition to serving as the Treasurer for True North Theatre she is also the Treasurer for Amicus and the Heritage Building Associates. Her hobbies include: gardening; cooking/baking; reading; miniature-making; and herding cats.
deb ashmore
Board Member
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Deb (she/her) has been participating in local theatre since the tender age of 14 when she appeared in her first school musical. Deb attended New England Colleges BFA program to study theatre. Later she returned to school to earn her degree from the University of Maine. She has been a practicing nurse for nearly 20 years, bringing the same dedication and insight to healthcare that she brings to the stage.
Her early performance work includes Antigone (Chorus) and God Has Pity On Kindergarten Children, a staged series of poems. She has since appeared in numerous productions at The Grand, including The Music Man (Pick-a-Little Lady), Alice: Down The Rabbit Hole (March Hare), Our Town (Mrs. Soames), Shrek: The Musical (Dragon).
Deb has also performed with True North Theatre in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (Big Momma Pollitt), The Moors (The Maid), and as a cast member of the Ghosts of Mt Hope Cemetery Walking Tour. Additional credits include Little Shop of Horrors (Chiffon) with Acadia Community Theatre.
Offstage, Deb is an experienced costume designer, contributing to productions at Ellsworth High School, The Grand and Acadia Community Theatre. She has been costuming for local theatre for nearly a decade, supporting the creative vision of countless productions.
tellis Coolong
Board Member
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Tellis Coolong (he/him) has been actively working in independent theatre in one way or another for almost twenty years now, collaborating with Orono Community Theatre, Stillwater Stage, Ten Bucks Theatre Company and True North Theatre. With True North, he has appeared in productions of Becky's New Car, Table Manners, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Odd Couple, Once Upon a Bride There Was a Forest, Life Sucks, Cosmogenesis: The Story of Us and Tinker Bell. As a director, his credits include Greetings! (co-produced with Ten Bucks Theatre Company), Sylvia and Circle Mirror Transformation. He also served as a writer, co-director, performer and tour guide for True North's Ghosts of Mount Hope Cemetery Walking Tour. Telly is a graduate of the University of Maine’s School of Performing Arts and is the author of several novels.
jared roxby
Board Member
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Jared (he/him) was 6 when he first stepped onto a stage and has continually sought new opportunities to experience the unique thrill of performing, acting, and singing. Theatre played an enormous role in his formative years, appearing in locally produced musicals and straight plays throughout High School.
Favorite musical experiences include productions of Pippin, The Man of La Mancha, and Lil’ Abner as well as plenty of choral singing and back up vocal work in his former band, Regular 87.
Jared’s most rewarding work has always been in character driven dramatic productions such as Burn This (Pale), The Miss Firecracker Contest (Delmount) and The Book of Will (Henry Condell).
Continuing this work with True North Theatre been an absolute joy, appearing in True North productions of The Children’s Hour (Dr. Cardin) Life Sucks. (Vanya) Tinkerbell (Captain Hook) and Dancing at Lughnasa (Father Jack)
Jared earned his BFA in Theatre and Performance from Hofstra University and studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York.
Erica Veazey
Board Member
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Erica (she/her) made her theatre debut at 15 playing a pony in her high school’s production of Barnum. After a brief 20+ year hiatus from the stage she returned to play Kenni in True North’s production of Becky’s New Car. Now retired to backstage and supportive positions, she helps with PR and box office in addition to serving on the board. Her most beloved True North tradition is hanging show posters around town with friends. Erica lives in Bangor where she is an attorney with Pine Tree Legal Assistance.
Rachael Bechtel Wetzel
Board Member
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Rachael (she/her) is an arts administrator with over a decade of experience in theatre operations and management. She currently serves as the Administrative Support Supervisor for the University of Maine's School of Performing Arts.
Rachael holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, with a concentration in Technical Theatre and Stage Management. She worked for theatres in FL, RI, and NYC before moving to Maine in 2019 to join Penobscot Theatre Company as their Artistic Administrator and eventual Operations Manager. She is delighted to serve on the board for True North Theatre where she brings strong organizational skills, deep operational knowledge of theatre companies, and a genuine passion for cultivating positive company culture.