Light Opera of New Jersey (LONJ) has announced that Susan Speidel will be the company’s first Youth in Arts Director.

In her new role, Speidel will design and oversee school- and youth-focused engagement programs, cultivate partnerships with educators and youth leaders, and develop initiatives that connect young audiences with LONJ’s artistic programming. The position also includes evaluating program impact for community stakeholders and funders and leading the establishment of the LONJ Youth Ensemble for emerging singers and actors.

Speidel, who has appeared with Light Opera of New Jersey in “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love” and “Murder and Ragtime,” previously served as the inaugural Director of Education at the Tony Award-winning Paper Mill Playhouse, where she founded the Rising Star Awards, the Summer Musical Theatre Conservatory, and the Adopt-A-School Project.

She has also served as Chair of the Performing Arts Department at Morristown Beard School from 2007 to 2019, where she directed more than 35 productions. Speidel currently teaches in the Department of Theatre at Kean University and lectures for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Rutgers University.

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