Lisa Ellis // Founder & Director
lisa@fireandlightproductions.com
Lisa holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Corporate Communications from Butler University in Indianapolis. She has acted on various Fort Wayne stages since she was 12. She formed Fire & Light in the fall of 2010 at the request of several families who knew she had a heart for kids and a love of theatre. Favorite shows to direct have included, Seussical Jr., 42nd Street, and Korczak’s Children. In addition to productions such as Emma, Turtle Soup and Radium Girls, Lisa also performed at First Presbyterian Theater and the Youtheater. Kids are her passion, she and her husband, Terry, have five of their own.
Sara Scantlin // Director & Communication Liaison
Sara and her children have been actively involved with Fire & Light since its inception in 2010. Sara has a strong background in music, youth and women’s ministries. Over the years, she has lead ensembles, served in the tech booth and provided administrative assistance for our growing organization. Sara is also an associate with Keystone Realty.
Audrey McCann // Director & Choreographer
Audrey has been acting and dancing since she was five, however she’s been around the arts her whole life. She earned an outstanding performer award and ranked first for a theater scholarship to what is now Purdue Fort Wayne. Audrey taught dance for many years as well as instructing dance, acting, and sign language for a special needs theater company named Jesters. She has performed at local shows and helped direct 9 productions for her alma mater before coming to Fire & Light. When she’s not at theater, she’s spending time with her husband, or doing therapy for children on the autism spectrum and in foster care.
Terry Ellis // Build Team Lead
Picture coming soon!
Terry has been working alongside and supporting Lisa's endeavors with Fire & Light since its beginning. He has recently retired from his role as a Sr. Sales Engineer for various software companies specializing in legal discovery and information governance software. With Fire & Light he has taken on the role of Build Lead. In addition to helping design and construct sets for two shows per season, he manages the build space and warehouse and coordinates with other builders to develop standards and shop safety requirements.
Randy Beery // Assistant Director
Randy graduated with a Business Administration degree from Indiana University, Fort Wayne. After a long career in logistics, he recently retired and was introduced to Fire & Light when looking for volunteer opportunities to tap into his creative side. He jumped in assisting in various capacities on the Elf Jr and Finding Nemo productions. Randy is a member of Emmanuel Community Church where he has served as an Elder, a long-time vocalist in the church’s Worship Ministry, and a member of the Emmanuel Theater Company. He also sang for nine years as a member of A Few Good Men, an octet of male vocalists performing contemporary Christian music. He is honored to be participating in Fire & Light Productions, a first-class organization. It is a joy for him to watch the kids blossom and shine on stage!
Jeff Salisbury // Assistant Director
Jeff is thrilled to be working with Fire & Light. He has a BA degree in Theatre from Bethel University and worked professionally in theatre for about 15 years before settling down in Fort Wayne. Since then, he has performed all over this city and worked in all capacities of the theatre world - actor, director, lighting designer, technical director, set designer, and director of operations! His favorite roles have been Shrek in Shrek the Musical, Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, Snoopy in You're A Good Man Charlie Brown, Mr. Knightly in Emma, and C.S. Lewis in Freud's Last Session. His favorite directing roles include A Wrinkle In Time, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Around the World In 80 Days, and Fiddler on The Roof. He loves teaching students how to explore what's inside themselves and who God made them to be through the lens of the characters they are portraying and world's they are helping create.
Bailey Heilshorn // Assistant Director
Picture coming soon!
Bailey is thrilled to be serving as Assistant Director for Fire & Light. She has been involved with the company for over four years, both onstage and behind the scenes. Some of her favorite past roles include Anna in Frozen, Anne in Anne & Gilbert, Maria in The Sound of Music, and Fruma Sarah in Fiddler on the Roof. She is currently studying Art Education at Saint Francis University and enjoys participating in local theater whenever she can. Bailey would like to thank the Fire & Light staff for their continued trust and support—it's a joy to grow and create alongside such a dedicated team.
Melissa Ferguson // Assistant Director & Lead Costumer
Melissa has had a passion for the arts, music, and theater (especially musicals), for as long as she can remember. She minored in Art in college, and has always encouraged artistic creativity in her own children, including through free play and dress-up - so getting involved with costuming has been fun. Now she considers herself quite blessed to be a part of Fire & Light with her children, and enjoys building relationships with and encouraging the other students as well. So many beautiful souls doing amazing things together.
Mikayla Boericke // Stage Manager
Picture coming soon!
A Fire & Light alumni herself, Mikayla has been involved with performing arts for almost as long as she can remember. She graduated college in 2022 with her BS in Business Administration, and has since been honing in on what she loves most - teaching, training, and empowering the people around her. Mikayla volunteered with Fire & Light throughout college, but took a break to focus on her career upon graduating. Ultimately, she was drawn back to the program as a way to gain more practical experience working with students in an environment she already knows and loves.
Joy Henderson // Stage Manager
Joy started working with Fire & Light as a stage manager in 2024. Her fascination with theater came from watching her grandmother build her own theater company founded in Christian values. Joy graduated from Blackhawk Christian School in 2023 where she took part in many productions throughout her high school career. Since then, Joy has found a calling in volunteering and working with multiple theater companies around town as show and stage crew, including assistant costumer at her alma mater. When she's not in rehearsals or running to a performance, Joy loves spending time with her cat or helping at her church. Joy finds it fascinating to see how God created everyone with gifts and how beautiful it is to see them being put to use.
Laura Maxwell // Stage Manager & Choreographer
Laura has been involved in the arts since she was seven years old. Her love of performing came from her involvement with local dance group Fort Wayne Tänzer, where she has been a member for 12 years. She has been with Fire & Light since 2016 and has enjoyed many roles both on and off the stage. She has been part of 25 shows with Fire & Light, some of her favorites being Tuck Everlasting, Newsies, Around the World in 80 Days, and Clue. Her involvement with Fire & Light over the years has helped spark her love for dancing and choreography, specifically in partner work and tap. She has been a local stage manager for the past two years and cannot wait to work on this upcoming season.
Greg Otis // Vocal Director
Greg’s experience runs the gamut; from a private vocal coach, to participating and coaching barbershop quartets, to serving in music ministry as the Director of Worship Arts for Trinity United Methodist Church in Huntington. He has served as vocal director for such productions as The Sound of Music, Carousel, My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof, and Annie. Greg has also been active with the Huntington Theater Guild, conducting performances for The Sound of Music, working as Music Director for Li’l Abner, and electronically creating the orchestral accompaniment for Cinderella. These days he seeks to fill his free time by traveling, often to attend theatre, musical theatre, and concerts.
Jeanette Hendrix // Lead Costumer
Jeanette earned her bachelor's at Purdue University in Apparel Design and Technology with a Minor in Art and Design - theatre has always been a special calling. The creativity, compassion, prayer, insight, servant nature, growth, and experience in this group (from the young to the not quite as young) is a joy to behold. For a long time Jeanette has felt loved and humbled as she remembers the verse in Ephesians that says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 KJV
Lisa Pontecorvo // Costume Rentals Coordinator
Lisa has an A.S. Degree in Fashion Merchandising from Vincennes University. She has been sewing since 6th grade and has a passion to create things from clothes to quilts to houses. Even though theatre is not her background, she has been able to use her creativity and sewing experience in making costumes for shows like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Finding Nemo, Jr. Lisa considers it a great joy working with and getting to know the kids at Fire & Light. She also loves hanging out, laughing and sewing with her friends at theatre.
Holly Hemsoth // Set Design
Holly has been crafting and creating since she was little - so helping with sets and set design has been a seamless fit. All four of her children are involved in the Fire & Light Academy, so while they are learning to tell the story, Holly is right there beside them working with the Directors to bring the stories to life through incredibly meaningful sets. There is no design too large or detail too small that Holly can’t take on!
Gwen Hyde // Bookkeeper
Lifelong theater-enthusiast, Gwen is grateful to have a handful of her five children involved in various ways with Fire & Light. If the word "organization" is involved, Gwen is probably not far behind. Graduate of Miami University (OH) with a degree in Organizational Communication, she can be found compiling receipts and calendars, coordinating and budgeting to her heart’s content, or crashing the costumers backstage during tech weeks.
Special Thanks to our Loyal Board Members:
Lisa Ellis, Executive Director, Fire & Light Productions
Travis Hemsoth, President of the Board
Terry Ellis, Vice President, Fire & Light Productions
Jeanne Nolan, Treasurer, Self-Employed Bookkeeper
Active Members: Kenneth Loechner, Bill Munsie, Sara Scantlin, and Dustin Shaw
Fire & Light is always in need of volunteers! As a nonprofit organization here in Fort Wayne, we’re actively seeking vocal directors, set builders, choreographers, and technicians who have a passion for God, for youth, and the mission of Fire & Light. If you or someone you know can help, please get in touch here.