ALL ABOUT LAINIEPROFESSIONAL BIOhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xWsarhQAt0 Lainie BelcastroLainie has been performing since the age of four and has been a student of classical voice since the age of nine. A featured, linguistic singer, Lainie has performed through out the east coast and Europe and was accepted in the National Touring Division of Lincoln Center, NYC. Her musical career spans the fields of contemporary, musical theater, and classical music. She has studied under the direction of Maestro Josef Ferguelli of the Metropolitan Opera in NYC, and Erna Zuterman of the Sorbonne in France. She presently studies under the tutelage of Helen Workman of Summit, NJ. Lainie is a graduate of Essex College of Business, NJ, and the John Robert Powers School of Modeling, NYC.Lainie is a published writer having had her byline in The New York Times, a column with KIDStoday, and an opinion column with the Morris County Daily Record, both New Jersey publications. She was also a guest columnist for the NJ Recording Publishing Co. Her proposal to establish a world wide day of recognition for the elderly was adopted by the American Gerontologists Association and accepted by the United Nations in 1989 establishing every October 1st as International Elderly Day. She is an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators. She and her daughter are creators of “Mrs. Terra Cotta Pots & Twig”®, a trademarked professional storytelling program for children. Together they have entertained and “planted dreams” for over 10,000 children in the tri-state area, produced their own weekly television show on Channel 34, a Montclair NJ Cable television network, and presented workshops with Dr. Bernie Siegel, renowned author on health and healing. Working with various hospice organizations, their most dedicated venture is their “Patching Hearts” program, designed for children experiencing significant loss in their lives. They are proud recipients of the Honeywell Corporation Volunteer of the Year Award, with outstanding recognition from numerous other corporations and associations and were honored by News 12 NJ as “Outstanding Women of NJ”. They were recently featured on PBS Channel 39, “Tempo” and are invited guest motivational speakers for the S.T.A.R. Academies program at Lehigh University and Turning Point of Lehigh Valley sharing various creative workshops and presentations. You may have heard Lainie on radio and Cable TV as she is an avid motivational speaker encouraging her “terra cotta potterriffic” audiences of all ages to capture the child in their hearts. Her spirit for the young artist promotes her participation with youth volunteer programs at the State Theatre in Easton, PA and S.T.A.R. Academies at Lehigh University. However, Lainie’s greatest role is being a mom to her daughter Nika, who often steals the spotlight from her. 
ALL ABOUT NIKAPROFESSIONAL BIOhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xWsarhQAt0 Nika BelcastroNika has been performing since the age of four and has been a student of saxophone since the age of nine. She is proficient with the soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone concentrating on jazz studies with Master professors, Tim Price, Dr. Kevin Kjos, Dr. Jeremy Justeson, and George Estes. Nika was invited and performed with the Intercollegiate Band at Lehigh University. She also has an extensive background in theater, performing for ten years with the Worth-Tyrrell Studio of Performing Arts in Morristown, NJ, and with the Weist-Barron School of Film and Commercials in NYC. She was cast as a lead in the Court TV Television Series, “Forensic Files” and is often called to act as production assistant for various films taped in PA. Nika recently performed with Kuf Knotz of the Burndown All Stars and several other musicians at the World Café Live, Philadelphia, PA, in a famed tribute celebrating the Beatles 40th Anniversary of the release of Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.She and her mother are co-creators of “Mrs. Terra Cotta Pots & Twig”®, a trademarked professional storytelling program for children. Together they have entertained and “planted dreams” for over 10,000 children in the tri-state area, produced their own weekly television show on Channel 34, a Montclair NJ Cable television network, and presented workshops with Dr. Bernie Siegel, renowned author on health and healing. Working with various hospice organizations, their most dedicated venture is their “Patching Hearts Program”, designed for children experiencing significant loss in their lives. They are proud recipients of the Honeywell Corporation Volunteer of the Year Award, with outstanding recognition from numerous other corporations and associations and recently were honored by News 12 NJ as “Outstanding Women of NJ”. Because of Nika’s volunteer efforts entertaining children challenged with life threatening diseases and special needs, Nika has received 21 scholarships to date, including the national Doublemint/Wrigley’s Ace Award presented to only 50 students in the country out of 14,000 applicants. She was also honored by Lehigh Valley Hospital for the Spirit of Women Award, recognizing her outstanding commitments for community volunteer efforts. Both she and her mom were recently featured on PBS Channel 39, “Tempo” and are invited guest motivational speakers for the S.T.A.R. Academies program at Lehigh University and Turning Point of Lehigh Valley sharing various creative workshops and presentations. Nika is a published writer with Creative Kids Magazine, A Parents Choice Gold Award Magazine, Highlights for Children and The Morris County Daily Record. She received her BS in music education from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania and plans to pursue a career and a Master’s degree in the field of film composition, audio mixing/recording, or music therapy. When not performing, Nika can be found listening to the rhythms of the world. 
ALL ABOUT THE CASTGreg and Pat Belcastro are the proud parents of Matt and Stevie Belcastro. This compassionate and creative family are the family castmates for Mrs. Terra Cotta Pots & Twig and The Patching Hearts programs and have played active roles since its inception. Bringing a wide range of experience to the stage, this family contributes by creating and performing their unforgettable characters, Mr. OOPS, Ms. PattiKake, Hemlock Grrrumble, CEO, and Old Miss Klump. As part of the whole family, they too, participate in the many challenges not seen by the audience, i.e., lighting, costumes, set design, props, sound, and promotion. Of course, they always keep their creative talents in tune by helping to create new characters, story lines and songs. Mrs. Terra Cotta Pots & Twig® are not a family without their family! GREG BELCASTRO (Mr. OOPS) Greg gives great stage presence to his character Mr. Oops as he desperately tries to fix the unfixable as a Mr. Fix It! Unfortunately, Mr. Oops never seems to fix anything quite right, but somehow, it always turns out right teaching children the valuable lesson that we can learn from our mistakes. In real life, Greg has had a lifetime career in law enforcement and is a life long resident of NJ and graduate of a NJ college. Active in his local community and church programs, Greg is also a dedicated Civil War re-enactor in the Second NJ Brigade, Seventh NJ Infantry, Company A where he has fought, died, and come back to life countless of times to promote the history of one of our Country’s greatest periods of time. PATRICIA BELCASTRO (MS. PATTIKAKE) Patricia, as her character Ms. Pattikake, is cooking up more than nutritional treats in the kitchen. Underneath her cloud of flour, she teaches children the importance of eating healthy meals and snacks. Patricia is a graduate of a NJ college and is employed by the NJ school system. She also finds time to take an active role in local community and church programs and she too participates as a Civil War re-enactor in the Second NJ Brigade, Seventh NJ Infantry, Company A, where Pat takes an additional role in the hospital unit. STEVIE BELCASTRO (Old Miss Klump) adds a whole new dimension to “little old ladies”. As her character, Old Miss Klump, Stevie teaches children to get to know the elderly and shares an original rhythm to life that only Old Miss Klump could volunteer. An all-around student, Stevie keeps herself busy maintaining good grades in high school while competing in track, soccer, baseball, swim team, basketball and shot-put, where she received first place for her county for her age group. She recently received her Varsity letter in shot-put. She also is an active member of her school chorus and string orchestra having studied violin for the past five years. Stevie was an active girl scout for 7 years. She too, like her parents and brother is an active Civil War re-enactor, serving in the Second NJ Brigade, Seventh NJ Infantry, Company A, hospital division. Her theater interests have brought her to the stage of the Worth-Tyrrell Theatrical Studios and other community theaters. Stevie is seldom seen without a pen and paper as she artistically captures new characters and ideas for stories. She has received several recognitions and honorable mentions from numerous organizations and encouraging comments from various editors of children’s magazines to pursue publication of her themes, poetry, stories and illustrations. Stevie is very involved in helping children see something beautiful everyday with Mrs.Terra Cotta Pots & Twig® and the Patching Hearts programs and plans to pursue this theme with a career in journalism, video design and teaching. 
MATT BELCASTRO (Hemlock Grrrumble, CEO) – Matt, as Hemlock Grrrumble, CEO arrives
on stage in tails, top hat and pockets stuffed with money whose mission it is to make more money.
Children are invited to volunteer a few jokes to get this old miser to laugh and once the laughter starts,
Hemlock Grrrumble realizes that his heart grows with every chuckle. An active member and officer
of the FCCLA organization which endorses young entrepreneurs, Matt received a gold medal from
New Jersey in 2002 for his leadership and team members. This honor took him to the National
Competition, in Minneapolis, MN, where he received a Silver Medal for his outstanding contributions.
Matt served as a NJ FCCLA State Officer for two consecutive years and served as President of the
Chapter level for his high school. He was an all-around sports participant in football, baseball, and
basketball, now concentrating on track, disc and javelin. He excels in the Olympic sport of shot-put
where he captured first place in his sophomore class in Morris County. Matt served as Captain of this
team and received a varsity letter for this sport in his freshman year. He also has received several awards
for swimming and track and manages to find time to coach many areas of these sports. He was a member of the Region Band and a member of the Concert Band at high school concentrating on trumpet and French horn for the past three years and received honorable mention for his artistic contributions. Matt also participated with his local church serving as an altar server for six years and as coordinator of projects for the youth council services. He is an active Civil War re-enactor, serving six years in the Second NJ Brigade, Seventh NJ Infantry, Company A in both the infantry and hospital units. Matt has encouraged hundreds of children to plant their dreams through his performances with Mrs. Terra Cotta Pots & Twig® and their Patching Hearts programs. For his extensive volunteer efforts, he was awarded several scholarships to college. Matt attends Kutztown University majoring in criminal justice and plans a career in law enforcement. When Matt has a free
moment, you’ll find him under the hood of his 1986 Monte Carlo or designing a beautiful piece of furniture for his parents home with his woodworking skills! No portion of this production can be reproduced or duplicated without permission. Copyright© 2007 tcpots.com - Lainie & Nika Belcastro. All rights reserved. |
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