Keilani Haddon – Camp Co-Director
Keilani Haddon is the camp director and choreographer for the BPTP’s Kid Summer Theatre Camp, along with help from her co-director Annika Ruelo. Keilani recently graduated from Crete-Monee High School, and now attends Illinois State University as a junior (she is also an active member of Gamma Phi Circus!). Actively performing throughout middle school and high-school has manifested a strong love for theatre for her and she considers it a second home. On top of theatre, she was also involved in cheer, soccer, show choir, etc., exemplifying the same dedication and commitment as she does with camp. She has been a part of the Crete district since pre-school and became introduced to the BPTP program in 2016 (shoutout Susie Zirkle). She remained a camper for 3 years and participated in Seussical Jr. (Cat in the Hat), Shrek Jr. (Pinocchio), and The Little Mermaid Jr. (Sebastian). She was a counselor at camp for 5 years before being fortunately granted the director/choreographer position in 2023. She has loved spending those years working with these young performers and watching them flourish on stage! In addition to camp counseling, Keilani has helped to coach recreational cheer, so, she has a lot of experience working with children. She is ecstatic to have the opportunity to work with such talented campers again and have the ‘coolest’ summer ever!
Annika Ruelo – Camp Co-Director
Annika Ruelo is a camp director for the Beecher Part-Time Player’s Kids Summer Theater Camp, alongside Keilani Haddon. Annika will be graduated from Beecher High School as of May 16th, 2025 and will be continuing her education at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin for the next 4 years. She will be majoring in Art Education and Musical Theater so she can continue working with children and enjoying the magic of theatre. She originally learned of her passion for the arts when she was initially enrolled in the BPTP Summer Camp in the summer of 2017 where she first starred as a bird girl in Suessical the Musical Jr. She would continue on to star as the Dragon in Shrek the Musical Jr. and a mersister in The Little Mermaid Jr., finally graduating on to become a counselor in the summer of 2022 during Peter Pan. At this time she would also begin acting in Part-Time Player shows such as The Sound of Music and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as well as Beecher High School shows like Clue!, The Wizard of Oz, and The Lightning Thief. But following her junior year, she was upgraded to co-director in the summer of 2024 during the production of Finding Nemo Jr. Since then she has become more active in theater, having participated in BPTP’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee as Marcy Park, and BHS’s Mean Girls as Cady Heron as well as heading the clubs latest show. She has also become more active in working with children as, alongside her job at Casey’s, she began teaching drawing classes every week at the elementary. Besides theater and teaching, Annika was also extremely active in Math Team, Bowling, Student Council, Class Officers, Band, Choir and Scholastic Bowl. She is currently experiencing some health issues that require an intensive procedure that will inhibit her ability to be physically present at camp this summer but will be extremely active from the sidelines as she heals and works diligently on things for camp. She is very dedicated to providing these children with the best experience possible and is super excited to be working with them!
Maria McCarthy – Music Director
Maria has been a part of the Beecher Part-Time players since 2014. If you were around back then, you might have seen her on stage as Meg in Leading Ladies. More recently, she has directed music for last year’s Carrie: The Musical. Currently, she is working with a huge cast on R&H Cinderella. However, this is her first time working aside Keilani and Annika. She is thrilled to be guiding the music for this magical summer camp production of Frozen Jr.! Whether it’s warming up with silly vocal games or perfecting a heartfelt rendition of “Let It Go,” She can’t wait for you to see just how amazing these young performers are—because some people are worth melting for!