Bill Kassay has been in the performance industry for more than thirty years. He began in the business as a professional jitterbug dancer and has continued to evolve. He has been an actor, director, choreographer, producer, playwright, designer, and birthday clown. Bill is a recipient of the Jim Henson Award for puppetry and is thrilled to be a puppet trainer and the business manager for Imaginary Friends. Besides his work in show business, Bill also served his country honorably for twenty years and is an Army retiree with three tours served in Iraq. The way he tells it, “I gave twenty years to Uncle Sam. Now, I get the next twenty to do what I want to do”. In 2021, Bill received a BA in Theatre from the University of Maryland. Go Terps!

Cat Kassay is an industry veteran with production experience on Welcome to Shelltown and Exousia. She appeared at Dutch Wonderland during their puppet show and is very excited to join the Imaginary Friends team. In addition to her work in puppetry, Cat is a BSN nurse at Penn State Hershey, so when she isn’t providing healthcare or production assistance, she is most likely sleeping. Cat is also an Army veteran and the proud mother of two teenagers.

Mary Benson’s life as a puppeteer began in 1997 when she helped a friend in Camden, New Jersey who was performing improvised puppet shows for a few local daycare centers. She fell in love with the fascinating art of puppetry, and signed up for puppetry classes at Glassboro College (now Rowan University) in Glassboro, New Jersey. The courses were taught by Dr. George Neff, who was the director of Dr. Neff’s Incredible Puppet Company, a professional puppet theater in residence at the college. After the classes, Mary joined their puppet company, learning the ropes (and strings!) of the art form, while performing shows for schools, libraries and festivals throughout New Jersey. In 1996, after moving to Lancaster, PA, Mary started her own puppet show and puppetry workshop business – Harmony Hill Puppet Theatre. She performs shows and leads workshops for schools, libraries, childcare centers, camps, churches, parties, and special events throughout Pennsylvania. During Dutch Wonderland Amusement Park’s 2023 season, and for Spring 2024, she performed in their Melody Meadow puppet show
series, performing Mayor Gladwyn Groundhog. Mary is a member of the Puppeteers of America, The Greater Philadelphia Area Puppetry Guild, and the National Capital Puppetry Guild.

Nate Kassay is a musician, composer, and storyteller currently living in Virginia. He graduated in 2023 from George Mason University with a Bachelor’s in Music. While attending GMU, he composed for a short film titled ‘We’re Only Strangers,’ directed by Jennifer Vu, which received a Regional Student Emmy Award within the capital area in the Winter of 2023. Nate has also composed for many smaller projects, including another Bill Kassay-production: SHELLtown.