 |
Darah is Bethlehem-born and raised, a Liberty High School graduate, and a lifelong member of the local arts community through Pennsylvania Youth Theater. She returned to the Lehigh Valley after completing her MFA at Michigan State during COVID, when limited opportunities in professional theater brought her back home. Darah was brought in by NCC colleague Brett Oliviera to direct West Side Story on short notice after the unexpected passing of former department head Bill Mutimer. That experience led to an adjunct role and eventually a full-time position as Assistant Professor and co-artistic director, alongside co-director Jessica Lopez Barkl.
Darah and Jessica spent their first months at NCC overhauling the theater curriculum to reflect new industry expectations, particularly post-COVID shifts in how theater is taught and what employers and four-year programs require. New courses include voice and speech, movement, a theater-as-live-experience writing class that takes students to regional productions, and an introduction to theater production and technology that places students on actual production crews. A central focus of this work is building formal transfer agreements with regional four-year schools including DeSales, Cedar Crest, East Stroudsburg, Bucknell, and Muhlenberg, so that students can complete their BA in theater in exactly two additional years with no wasted credits or money. NCC's goal is to clearly signal to students that the two-year pathway followed by a four-year transfer is the strongest route to a sustainable career in theater.
The Bill Mutimer Summer Theatre Series at NCC is a professional summer stock program that produces four shows each season, including a children's production for young audiences. The current 2026 season includes a just-closed run of A Chorus Line, Gypsy, Hunchback of Notre Dame, and the children's show Junie B. Jones' Essential Survival Guide to School. The series pays all actors, musicians, designers, and technicians, making it the only fully compensated community theater opportunity in the Lehigh Valley. Ticket prices are intentionally kept low to maximize accessibility. Sensory-friendly performances are offered for the children's show, with lights adjusted and sound modified for neurodivergent audiences. Alumni of the program have gone on to Broadway, including a current cast member playing Glinda. Licensing a single show such as Hairspray can cost between $10,000 and $13,000, and the program currently receives some support from NCC in addition to ticket sales while working toward full self-sufficiency through earned revenue and donations.
How Rotarians Can Help and Support
• Attend a show at the NCC Summer Theater Series. Kopachek Hall on the NCC main campus. Adult tickets are $25 (plus a $2 fee). Students are $15. Group rates are available.
• Bring friends, neighbors, and family, especially for Junie B. Jones sensory-friendly performances on June 27, July 11, and July 25, which are ideal for families with neurodivergent children.
• Spread the word within school, church, and neighborhood networks. The program needs to fill seats for Gypsy and Hunchback of Notre Dame, which run through late July.
• Consider corporate sponsorship. Darah specifically identified this as her next major fundraising goal and invited anyone with connections to business sponsors to reach out to her directly.
• Donate to the summer theater program or the NCC theater department. Show licensing alone can exceed $10,000 per production, and the program's goal is to become independent of NCC institutional support.
• Connect Darah on LinkedIn or via email with potential donors, sponsors, or community partners who care about arts education and accessibility.