About Us
Christopher Moll - President/Artistic Director
Christopher Moll is a Las Vegas native who started dancing at the age of 10. He has a B.F.A. in acting from the University of Montana and has performed in dozens of musicals around the country including several seasons of leading roles at Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre and an eleven week tour with Missoula Children’s Theater. As choreographer, Christopher has staged dances for Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre, Stumptown Stages in Portland, Oregon, and the City University of New York. Christopher has been an active member of the film and television community in Los Angeles, including performing with distinction in the Wayne Dvorak Screen Acting Showcase, and appearing as a principal performer in the NBC daytime drama, Passions. In New York City, Christopher has pursued his performing career through giving successful solo performances at the acclaimed cabaret venue “Don’t Tell Mama,” and by releasing a solo album of his original compositions entitled Fragile Strength. He is a proud member of Actors’ Equity and SAG-AFTRA. Christopher is the owner and director of Jazz Hands Children's Theatre.
Steven Dahlke - Resident Musical Director
Steven Dahlke is a highly trained music educator and director. He received his Master of Music from Manhattan School of Music and his Doctor of Musical Arts with highest honors from University of Southern California. He is a member of the Honor Societies Pi Kappa Lambda and Phi Kappa Phi, and his article on the effects on learning of positive classroom environments recently appeared in ChorTeach, a journal of the American Choral Directors Association. Dr. Dahlke has been a music educator since 1991, and has served with distinction on the faculties of Lewis and Clark College and Linfield College in Oregon, and Orange County School of the Arts and Fullerton College in Southern California. Since 2010, he has been Assistant Professor of Music at Queensborough Community College (City University of New York), where his current research includes studying the effects of movement-based empathic teaching methods on learning, and a large National Endowment for the Humanities-funded project on interdisciplinary artistic expression and the Holocaust. As a baritone soloist, Steven has appeared with Oregon Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Pops, Portland Youth Philharmonic, Portland Baroque Orchestra, and the Aspen Music Festival. He has been an active musical theatre performer in Portland, Oregon and at Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre, and has music directed dozens of productions to high acclaim at Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre and in Oregon, Southern California, and the New York area.
Maggie Odell - Secretary
Maggie Odell is the North Shore Village Theatre’s Secretary and one of its founding members. She is a local chef and an involved parent in the North Shore School District. She found her way to the theatre when she was 12 years old and went on to receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from The University of Rhode Island. After doing lots of downtown-NYC theatre and a bit of television work, she landed in the kitchen and has been cooking professionally for nearly 20 years (production is production, after all!) Maggie is thrilled to bring her passion and energy to the North Shore Village Theatre and believes wholeheartedly in the power of theatre to bring a community together.
Michael Friend - Treasurer
While attending college, Michael took an apprenticeship with 2 old world carpenters in Queens, NY. This became a passion and after 7 years working with them started working independently as both a carpenter and cabinetmaker. While a member of a singer/ song writer duo, Michael then parlayed his woodworking skills into making repairs on guitars which continues today as a hobby. After 6 years more while continuing academic and musical education, it was time for a change in career path.
At age 33, Michael pursued another passion, food. Putting everything else on hold, he enrolled in the NY Restaurant School where he earned degrees in Culinary, Baking and Restaurant Management. Graduating at top of his class, Michael began working for the most talented chefs he could find and eventually ending up with Restaurant Associates working as a Banquet Chef at the United Nations, Lincoln Center, Players’ Chef at the US Open Tennis Championships in NY. After merging with the Patina Restaurant Group, the company called on Michael to work on opening new restaurants as well as trouble shooting at existing properties. This led to a focus on Food Safety in response to NYC Letter Grade system. After years of travelling the country in this role and the desire to wake up in the same city every day, Michael started his own consulting firm, NY Restaurant Food Safety Solutions which continues today.
As is now evident, a thirst for a new challenge has led Michael to sign on with Keller Williams Realty. Whew ! what a long, strange trip it’s been !!!
Michael resides in Glen Cove, NY
Christine Abbenda - Member
Christine Abbenda-Hughes currently serves as the North Shore Village Theatre Treasurer. She is an attorney who has dedicated her career to public service by representing children, indigent people, as well as the City of New York and the Nassau County in Family Court. Having worked in the Brooklyn Family Court Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit and as a member of the Family Court LGBTQ Juvenile Justice subcommittee, Christine used these positions to advocate for children and victims. Following law school, Christine studied millnary and fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology where she cultivated her passion for fashion and costume design. Christine is a board member of the Sea Cliff Civic Association and a Trustee of the Sea Cliff Library Board. Christine served as chairperson of Sea Cliff School’s Afterschool Enrichment program where she ensured that music and theatre became an integral part of the curriculum.