Staff

Meet The Staff of MEL's School of Music & Theater

Melanie Stang

Melanie Stang is the founder, CEO, and Artistic Director of MEL's School of Music & Theater. She teaches private voice, piano, and guitar while directing the Senior Theatre company. She is a 2003 graduate of SUNY New Paltz's Theater Arts Program. There, she learned not only how to perform truthfully and connect outside of herself but also improved her guitar skills and became a singer/songwriter.

After college, she moved to NYC to pursue a career in Theater. She eventually wound up in an all-girl band called The Shells. With them, she toured the country, including the boroughs of New York and upstate LA, Nashville, Atlanta, Delaware, and more. To stay afloat in the toughest city in the country, she worked in the restaurant industry and children's music and theater entertainment. It was the dawn of social media, so the band became their own managers and learned how to promote, book, and organize the group's finances. This is where she gained a lot of her business experience. They released their highly acclaimed album, Written Roads, in 2010, which they produced themselves in Atlanta. Shortly after, the band broke up, and Melanie moved back to Buffalo, New York, to re-access her path.

She began to teach privately back home while running some well-known venues such as Woodlawn Beach Bar and EXPO Market. It wasn't until after her daughter Rylie was born and began teaching group theater lessons at local dance studios that she knew she wanted to open her own school. Her students have been a huge inspiration in Melanie's life. Watching them grow and explore their talents have made her realize why it is so important to keep arts alive and strong in Western NY. She couldn't have done it without them, her husband Ryan and three daughters. Along with running MEL's, she is the Director of Operations of her and Ryan's charity, Buffalo Spikes for Tykes, is an actor at O'Connell & Company, Musical Director for The Gypsy Theater, and is in the process of finishing her own musical, Not Your Ordinary Dorothy. Come Grow, Explore, and Perform with Miss Melanie, aka MEL, today!

Ryan James “RJ” Acanfora

Ryan James "RJ" Acanfora is a drummer, percussionist, artist, and educator. He began as a self-taught drummer and, through the years, has gained vast and varied experience playing steadily with local/regional bands and artists. In 2013 Ryan applied and was accepted into one of the world's most prestigious music institutions, Berklee College of Music. He focused primarily on the Performance and Music Business and graduated in 2017 with unparalleled experience from world-class teachers and peers. As an educator, Ryan strives to facilitate creativity and artistic exploration. This is achieved through a comprehensive understanding of the techniques, rudiments, effective practice methods, critical listening skills, and the musical intuitions that enable percussive articulation.

Maeghan McDonald

Maeghan McDonald is one of our private vocal coaches. She also teaches Singer's Club on Mondays and Broadway Mini's, and Musical Theatre Dance & Voice on Wednesdays! Miss Meg is an experienced actor, singer, and dancer with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from Fredonia State University. She has been cast in numerous plays and musicals and considers theatre her true passion. Maeghan has been involved in dance since the age of 4 and has been singing and acting since the age of 9. Some of her favorite roles include Tracy in "Hairspray" at the Kavinoky Theatre, Livingston in "1776 The Musical" at O'Connell & Company, and Miss Granville in "Daisy Pulls it Off" at Fredonia State University. Additionally, Maeghan has studied acting at the Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting in NYC in the 2016 Summer Acting Conservatory and participated in numerous masterclasses with various professionals, such as: Sara Schoch, Matthew Smedal, and Catherine Cabeen.

Jeremy Vicario

He is a Junior at Niagara University with a Theatre Performance Major and a Political Science Major with a minor in dance. He is excited to work on his second summer season at Mel's. He will also be the musical director/choreographer for Mel's first annual school year season starting this fall!

Isabella Wray

Isabelle Wray a sophomore at Niagara University. She is a Theater Performance major and a Dance minor. She is so excited to be the director for Annie Kids and Footloose Jr. She has been a teacher at Mel's for two years and can't wait to continue teaching in the future.

Joe Isgar

Joe Isgar (Accompanist, piano & voice) is delighted to return to Mel's for this performance. Joe has worked throughout the WNY community as both accompanist and music director, most notably with Theatre of Youth, O'Connell & Company, Jewish Repertory Theatre, and the Lockport Palace Theatre. He is also a local actor and will be joining the company of A Chorus Line at O'Connell & Company this October. Joe holds a BFA in Theatre Performance and a BA in Mathematics from the University at Buffalo.

Greg Barresi

Greg Barresi is a professional musician, teacher, and songwriter.

For several years he gigged extensively with the NYC roots act, The Third Wheel Band, recording two albums (On Willow Street, Family Album), both of which featured several of his own tunes. His song "Tell You Twice" appeared in a 2011 edition of the arts publication Esopus (Esopus #15) for which the band was commissioned to write an original piece.

Over the years, Greg has taught preschool music at The Village Preschool Center, Beansprouts Nursery School, Hanson Place Childhood Development Center, Gymtime Rhythm and Glues, and the Park Slope Childcare Collective. In addition to numerous enrichment programs, including Little Maestros and Sign-a-Song: A Musical Introduction to Sign Language, for whom he served as a staff songwriter and produced the 2009 record, Get Out Your Crayons. Since relocating to Buffalo, NY, in 2014, he has kept an active schedule performing solo fingerstyle guitar, teaching, and serving as a Musician in Residence at Roswell Park Cancer Institute and Oishei Children's Hospital.

Emory

Originally from Norfolk, VA, Emory moved to Buffalo in 2017 to pursue a BFA in Music Theatre at UB. She has been trained in voice for the last five years, has played the piano since she was five, and is an active member of the Buffalo theatre community. Last spring, Emory performed in Artie Award-winning Beauty and the Beast at Theatre of Youth (Ensemble/Belle u/s, Babette u/s). She just recently closed her production of Something Rotten at The Little Theater at Virginia Beach, where she starred as Bea. Past productions include A Chorus Line (Maggie Winslow), Nuncrackers (Sister Robert Anne), and Spamalot (Ensemble).

Kelly Meg Brennan

A committed, diverse creator and performer.

From operas to plays to her own devised work, Kelly brings great passion and dedication to arriving at the truth of each character and performance moment whether embodying an aria of heartache, or lobbing sarcastic comebacks in a farcical play. Rooted in appreciation of the myriad personal qualities of those around her, Kelly has a keen sense of empathy and kinesthetic understanding, which has enabled her to portray a colorful assortment of characters in a range of venues. Theater allows us to open our understanding of our shared humanity; it shows the world from another’s perspective and invites you on their journey. Kelly hastremendous respect for the craft and the exploration of performing and isconstantly seeking opportunities to stretch her creative endeavors.

Performer. Storyteller.

The development and performance of socially engaged works is the mainstay of her creative practice and Kelly created two original pieces in the hope to elicit healthy trans-formative dialogue.
The Gift: Encountering Life, Love & Loss This undertaking spans several art forms, from pop tunes to arias, from still images to improvisational dance, from poetry to monologues, and from tales of ghosts to tangible loss. Every piece of this performance has been removed from its foundation and placed just outside its intended platform. As it echoes the stages of grief, which can never be structured or choreographed, it hopes to bring an acceptance to everyone’s journey of loss.

The Possession Gone are the days of folded notes and whispers that take time to travel. In their place is one click and millions of shares. Technology has surpassed our emotional evolution. The onslaught of aggression that is now psychological bullying can be a deadly weapon within this new digital society.

Humanizing the trauma of bullying in a performance piece where the psychological damage can be embodied and openly expressed will hopefully allow for a substantive empathetic experience among viewers.

Witnessing residual trauma which impacts the life and decisions of the victim as an adult can be a powerful theatrical device. It allows those would-be aggressors to recognize their role in the cascading aftermath of their choices.

The hope is to prompt discussion and awareness of intersecting societal dynamics resulting from bullying. It’s for those within a community to recognize when someone has been left behind, socially and emotionally abandoned by their peers and an easy target for a predator.

Actress. Vocalist.

Embodying the experience and sound of another woman from another space and time is a tremendous honor. As an actress and vocalist, Kellycenters the creation of a character on the characters truth and voice.

With 23 years in professional theater and over 45 productions throughout her career, it has been Kelly’s creative pleasure to portray a colorful assortment of women on virtually every stage in the region.

The Artie awards committee has honored her work in productions with 19 nominations and 6 wins, including productions with Kavinoky Theater, New Phoenix Theater, Torn Space, and Irish Classical Theater.

Buffalo Spree also honored her work twice with their “Best of WNY award for Best Actress” 2010 and 2017

Teacher. Healer.

Kelly serves her voice and theater students based entirely on their needs. Each lesson is grounded in progressive pedagogy, where dialogue and reflection are pivotal to comprehension and growth.
www.ExpressionsofVoice.com

Nicole Noffsinger

Hello! My name is Mrs. Nicole Noffsinger and I am currently the General Music/Choral teacher at Lorraine#72 in the Buffalo Public School district. I have taught general music for 15 years, 13 of which have been in the Buffalo Public Schools. I hold a Master’s in Music Education degree from the University at Buffalo, and a Bachelor’s in Music Education from SUNY Fredonia. My instrument concentration at SUNY Fredonia was the flute. I am also professionally certified to teach music in grades K-12 in the state of NY. I have taught beginner piano lessons to interested students at Lorraine Elementary over the years. I have incorporated and taught instruments in my general music classes, such as keyboard and percussion instruments. Back in 2006-2007, I also ran and taught several adult community enrichment classes in Kenmore. In those classes, I taught beginner flute and an introduction in music theory in a small group setting.

We love to share our passion and experience! Call us at 716-551-6354 to learn more about our team or classes.