ABOUT OUR TEACHERS

ART

Karen Roff

Ms Roff is a mixed-media artist who is actively exhibiting in the Hudson Valley, New York City, and internationally. She was Hudson Valley curator for The Brewster Project, a public art event held in Brewster, NY, in the summer of 2002. Ms. Roff has an MFA in painting and has taught in many different locations including the extension division of Dutchess Community College, Westchester Community College, the Putnam Arts Council, and the Summer at Wooster School program in Danbury. She teaches sculpture each semester as a visiting artist in the TAG (gifted and talented) art program in New Milford, CT, and was a former teacher at Pawling Elementary School.

THEATER

Amy Emke

Amy Emke is happy to return to ACEKids Theatre Program, on the heels of an exciting summer serving as camp director for the Shakespeare at the Castle Camp in Millbrook, NY. Amy began teaching drama for ACEkids last year, and directed “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at Pawling Elementary School. Previously, Amy worked for six years as a drama teacher and director for Kids Up Front, a local non-profit children’s theatre company serving children ages 5 to 15 years old in Pawling, Patterson, and Carmel. Her directing credits include “Clara’s Christmas Dream,” “The Hatmaker’s Daughters,” “Disney’s Cinderella Kids,” “Grease,” “Disney’s 101 Dalmatians Kids,” “Disney’s Jungle Book Kids,” “Shetland Valley Farm,” “The Stone in the Road,” and “Shakespeare’s Dracula.” She was additionally employed for three years as the Music and Drama teacher for the Sunshine School in Pawling. Amy performs regularly with the Pawling Theatre Company, where she also serves on the Board of Trustees. She is a graduate in Theatre from The Baltimore School for the Arts, and later studied at NYU’s Experimental Theatre Wing, before receiving her B.A. from The City College of CUNY, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa.

MUSIC

Mary Gray

Mary C. Gray, owner of Circle of Music in Pawling, is now in her 26th year as an active music educator. Her wide experience in public and private schools includes providing instruction in general music, piano keyboard, violin, guitar, chorus, and musical theater. She holds degrees in music education and fine arts education, and she is certified by the state of New York in Music and in Early Childhood.

Professionally, she has earned specialized certificates in Suzuki Violin and Orff-Schulwerk. As a performer, Mrs. Gray has played violin with the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra in Pensacola, Florida and in chamber ensembles while at studying Suzuki violin at Capital University in Ohio.