From falling in love with theatre because of Shirley Temple to Children of Eden being her last production at North Penn, Roney has had a magical journey with theatre that will continue into her retirement. The end of her time here is just the beginning.

It;s not easy to put 20 years of hard work, dedication, and inspiration at North Penn into an article.Mrs. Andrea Roney has taught a multitude of English classes and has spearheaded the
North Penn Theatre and Thespians program for the past two decades.

Located on Rt. 563 in Telford, is the Dutch Country Playhouse (DCP). This is where Roney’s path with theatre first began at the age of six.

“When I was six, I got into my first production at Dutch Country Playhouse, DCP now, which my grandparents and then my parents started. The first production occurred there before I was born…They used to be in an old barn that was beside a hotel,” Roney explained.

Years later she was casted in the show that would change her life and spark relationships that would last past lifetimes.

“I was 15 and [Dutch Country Playhouse] did The Crucible and I got cast as Mary Warren and met Sandy Wood who became my mentor,” Roney reflected.

As a student of Upper Perkiomen High School, Roney participated in a multitude of shows, ranging from with Pumpernickel Players, her junior year play, community theatre, and even writing and putting together her own shows. While she didn’t participate in her senior year, Roney’s childhood was full of everlasting theatre memories that continued into her college years.

“Then I went to DeSales University, which was then Allentown College. I was the sixth class to come in, we didn’t even have a theater yet. We had an old lecture hall that had been turned into a small theater space, and it was an amazing four years,” Roney said.

Further pursuing theatre, Roney completed university resident theater auditions while she was a senior to be selected by repertory companies and graduate schools.

“From there, I auditioned with the university resident theatre auditions, which are auditions for repertory companies and graduate schools that you can do your senior year in college. About 15,000 students participate in these preliminary auditions and then about 1,500 are called back. And I was called back for both acting and production stage managing/directing,” Roney described.

It was at these very auditions when Roney was asked what she wanted to do when she grew up and her answer encapsulates her entire purpose with theatre.

“I want to do it all,” Roney said

“And I’ve been able to do that in my career and especially when I got to North Penn,” Roney explained.

Going from the girl who never wanted to walk back into a high school, after getting bullied and not fitting in, to being handed Mrs. Cindy Louden’s big shoes to fill was a jump Roney never expected.

“I swore when I graduated that I would never walk back into high school. Well then my kids went to North Penn and I was involved as a music aid parent and helping out. As my son, Drew, was a senior Cindy Louden was starting to talk about retiring, and she was the founder of the program and had been teaching there for 37 years,” Roney stated.

From there, North Penn Theatre’s fall production of Zombie Prom which was conducted by Roney’s other son Conal and was chosen to go to the International Thespian Festival.

“I went to Cindy and I said…’What do you need?’ She goes, ‘Money to go to Internationals.’” Roney said.

With her experience with the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival at DeSales, Roney had all the tools she needed to rise up to Louden’s challenge.

“I had some experience, and I said, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’ And we raised the $70,000 to get them to [Internationals], which was a combination of the kids putting in their own money, raising their own money, and raising for the troupe,” Roney explained.

From there it was history.

“And Cindy turned to me one day and said, ‘Did you ever think about maybe coming into high school?’ And I said, ‘No.’ Well Cindy had very close connections over at Gwynedd Mercy University and she said, ‘I think we could get you your certification. I think there’s a way to do that.’ And so we started working on it and it was not easy,” Roney remembered. “My first three years teaching, I had to take 15 different courses in English and education on both the undergraduate and graduate level. I was studying and testing out of classes that I couldn’t go to because I was teaching here and they were taught during the day. It was crazy…but doors opened and though the path wasn’t easy, the doors kept opening to come to this job. Including Cindy retiring a year earlier than she expected to. That almost threw everything off balance, but I was able to do student teaching with her in the spring of 2005. And then I got hired to do the job for the 2005-2006 school year,” Roney said.

From a recession to a pandemics, Roney has seen it all. With all the millions of pictures of memories she holds in heart, the most beloved is closing night of this year’s production of Children of Eden.

“I looked at [Children of Eden] when it all came together, and if I had had a dream when I walked through the door of how I would want the department to look like when I left, that did it. That was there that moment on closing night,” Roney expressed.

Now Roney heads into a new act in her stage of life, one going to be full of moments with her family and grandchildren. She has truly inspired a multitude of students and given them not only a creative outlet but a home. She has taught them to ask questions, explore, wonder, and know that there is always a choice.