Ghostlight Productions is a dynamic and growing theatre ensemble based out of Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, that is the dream and brainchild of Jonathan and Rachel Strayer.  Jonathan and Rachel met in college and quickly realized that they shared a passion for the arts and a desire to start their own theatre company.  By connecting with local theatre artists like Jeremy and Jill Kemmerer, and community members who have the same passion for quality theatre, Ghostlight Productions was born.  

Jonathan Strayer. Jonathan earned his Master of Arts in Theatre at Bowling Green State University. In 2005 he started working as the Technical Director at The Electric Theatre Company in Scranton, PA. In 2006, Jonathan started teaching part-time, first at Marywood University then Penn State Worthington Scranton and Keystone College. He now teaches theatre classes at Baptist Bible College where he also serves as the technical director, set designer and builder for their mainstage productions.  Along with teaching, Jonathan has been involved in over 50 productions.  He has served our area theatres, schools, and community organizations through technical direction, set/costume/lighting design and set construction, workshop instruction, writing, directing, and acting. In the past five years, Jonathan has directed Twelfth Night, Ghostlight's first-ever Shakespeare in the Park; A Midsummer Night's Dream; Much Ado About Nothing; co-directed and performed in the ensemble piece A Midnight Dreary; played Mercutio in last year's production of Romeo & Juliet; and done set design and building for each production, including The Mousetrap. Jonathan is receiving a Master of Education in Experience Based Learning this May and working to create a highly interactive and experiential theatrical curriculum. He plays Mr. Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Rachel Luann Strayer. Rachel earned her Master of Arts degree and her Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing/Playwriting at Wilkes University. She is following her dream as a writer while teaching speech, literature, and writing classes at Keystone College and Marywood University. She has several writing projects in the works; her short one-act plays, Empathy, and A Clean Bathroom were performed by Gaslight Theatre Company as part of their playRoom series and her original play, Drowning Ophelia, will be produced by Repurposed Theatre in San Francisco, Calif., in the fall of 2013. Rachel regularly offers beginner and intermediate playwriting classes at Abington Community Library and is looking to add a drama club for the summer of 2013. Rachel has been seen as Feste the Clown in Twelfth Night, Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing and has directed Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap and co-directed and performed in A Midnight Dreary. Her most recent role in Ghostlight was directing this past summer's production of Romeo & Juliet. She is excited to play Mrs. Ford in Ghostlight's upcoming production of The Merry Wives of Windsor!

Jeremy J. Kemmerer. Jeremy graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Music and a Master’s degree in Education. He has taught at the college, high school, middle school, and elementary levels, currently working for the Tunkhannock Area School District. He serves as the Musical Director for the mainstage musicals performed at Baptist Bible College, and he has acted and directed for college, high school, and community theatre groups. Outside of Ghostlight, Jeremy’s favorite role was playing Man in Chair for the Impulsive Players’ production of The Drowsy Chaperone. For Ghostlight, he has played the roles of Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Christopher Wren in Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, and Friar Lawrence in Romeo & Juliet. He co-directed and performed in A Midnight Dreary. He is excited to direct The Merry Wives of Windsor for Ghostlight this coming summer.

Jillian Alyse Kemmerer. Jillian has earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education with an emphasis in Vocal Performance. After graduating from college, she was thrilled to be accepted into the Master’s program for musical theatre at New York University’s Steinhardt School as well as the Master’s program at Westminster Choir College to study vocal performance. Jillian created and implemented the ESTA (Excellence in School Theatre Arts) Awards program, which is geared towards recognizing local High Schools and their students who are involved in educational theater programs. Jillian’s memorable roles include Jo March in Little Women, the Broadway Musical and Maria in The Sound of Music. For Ghostlight, she has played the roles of Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Miss Casewell in Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, and Ursula in Much Ado About Nothing. She served as costume designer/creator, actor, vocal coach, and co-director for A Midnight Dreary.

Many of you have noticed the same people acting in and working on most of our shows.  That's great news--our ensemble is growing!  Keep checking back as more artists are added to our roster!

Ghostlight Productions is always looking for talented artists, performers, technicians, and business-savvy people to join our team.  Please email us at info@ghostlightproductions.org if you are interested...we sure are!