PPP Staff
Leslie Stupple
Artistic Director/Musical Theater Educator
Leslie is a founding member of Pied Piper Players, Inc. With a strong belief that cultural arts are the lifeblood of a healthy, intelligent and enriched society, she has been teaching drama and life skills through drama for over 25 years. Before moving to San Francisco, Leslie worked 13+ years with emotionally and developmentally challenged children and teens.
“Theater is a wonderful teaching tool. We learn a great deal about life, others and ourselves through participation in a cooperative venture. There’s no better way to develop communication, appropriate expression and respect than coming together to work on a project with a common goal.”
She earned her Bachelor’s of Arts degree at Suny New Paltz under the tutelage of Dr. Beverly Brumm.
Rick Reynolds
Vocal and Music Director
Rick’s philosophy: Everyone needs music in their life. Rick thrives on performing and teaching music to groups large and small.
A Peninsula native, Rick has conducted and Music Directed for many Bay Area theater groups including Broadway By the Bay, TheatreWorks, Flint Center, Peninsula Center Stage, Palo Alto Players and L’Act to name a few. His first show with Pied Piper The Music Man (2006), included his entire family. It launched a very special relationship between Rick and PPP.
Virginia Musante
Theater Professional and Teaching Artist
Virginia has been directing children, teens, and adults throughout the Bay Area for over thirty years. For many years, she was best known as the Drama Teacher at Bowditch Middle School in Foster City, where she directed large school musicals annually. She is co-founder of the SNAP@DAC program for performing arts students with special needs and has directed many productions for the Hillbarn Theater’s Conservatory and Mainstage productions. Virginia is an avid improvisational actor and has spent many years doing improv in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Jad Bernardo
Musical Director/Conductor
A transplant from NYC, Jad has performed with elite from both the Operatic and Broadway communities. He served on the faculty/staff at New York University and Adelphi University.
Favorite music directing engagements include Evita, Songs for a New World, Fugitive Songs, Carousel, Guys and Dolls, Les Miserables, Hair, Spring Awakening, The Fantasticks, Footloose, Ragtime, Five Guys Named Moe, featuring Grammy Winner Nathan Best, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Sweeny Todd, The Johnny, Extraordinary, and the off-Broadway hit, Pinkalicious!
Jad served as coach/pianist for Knoxville Opera Studio’s productions of Suor Angelica, Lucia de Lammermoor, and The Telephone, Anchorage Opera’s Suor Angelica/I Pagliacci and Eugene Oneign. He conducted the premire of Kristin Hevner’s electronica opera Wednesday Before Last at New York City’s Music Concert Series. Orpheus and Eurdice by Ricky Ian Gordon.
PPP Board of Directors
Susan Melanson
President
Graphic Designer
Liane Dietrich Paulsen
Treasurer
CFO Executive
Melanie Pavate
Secretary
Corporate Executive
Karen Jue
Director
Alisa Menell
Director
Marketing Executive
Alissa Peterson
Director
Sam Scott
Director
Curator of Aviation Collections, SFO Museum
Trina Sodha
Director - Outreach
Leslie Stupple
Aritistic Director, Education Director, Teaching Artist
Past PPP Presidents
Dr. Lawrence Shore
President 2001–2003
David Merenbach
President 2003–2004
Saili Gosula
President 2004–2006
Vivian Polishuk
President 2006–2008 & 2011–2018
Steve Ruwe
President 2008–2009
David Issel
President 2009–2011
Jenese Sieben
President 2018–2023