Celeste Lauer Yanke, Stage Director and Ellen Factor, Music Director
Celeste Lauer Yanke, Stage Director
Since first appearing on stage at age 4, Celeste has been singing, dancing, and directing shows.
In 2003 she became Stage Director and Choreographer for the first Starliters production at Solivita, began singing with the Guys and Dolls, and created musical programs for Solivita clubs. She also acted in the first Solivita Theatre Group play Hobson’s Choice and performed in the first Solivita Showtime Entertainers show singing Harper Valley PTA.
After performing as the Andrews Sisters in a Starliters show, Celeste, Maggie Hepworth, and Keri Michaud formed the Starlites, performing three-part harmony in the Andrews Sisters style for clubs and meetings in Solivita and throughout the Orlando area. During the 2020 closures, Celeste entertained from driveways each weekend as neighbors gathered in golf carts. When buildings reopened, these became one-hour cabarets and later the Summer Cabaret Fundraising Series in the Palms.
Celeste continues to support Solivita Veterans by singing the National Anthem at major events and Flag Lowering ceremonies. She has sung the National Anthem for political candidates for President and sang the Anthem multiple times for the Houston Astros team at spring training.
Before Solivita, Celeste performed with local, community, and regional theatre groups. She earned a BA in Theatre Arts and Speech with Broadway as the goal—until real life intervened. For 20 years, Celeste was associated with Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance company, initially in the President’s office working on special projects and with the Donations Foundation and then in the field as a Special Agent and Financial Advisor, earning her Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) Designation, Series 7, Chartered Financial Consultant (CHFC) Designation and reaching the Million Dollar Round Table multiple times.
Shortly after joining the Starliters, Celeste retired from Northwestern Mutual and returned to her dream of singing and performing. Click here to contact Celeste Lauer Yanke.
Ellen Factor, Music Director
Ellen has dedicated her life to music education and community theater, successfully transitioning a 30-year teaching career into a vibrant retirement.
Ellen received her B.S, and M.S. in Music Education from the Crane School of Music, State University of New York at Potsdam. Her major instrument was piano. She taught piano privately and was a music teacher and choral director for 30 years at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. During that time, she was the musical director for community theater and school productions.
When Ellen retired in 2003, she and her husband moved to Solivita, hoping to have an opportunity to share their experiences with a new community. Ellen sang at the Christmas Concert with Guys and Dolls in 2003 and was asked to be the director for the following year because the previous director was moving. In 2003, a group of residents met and decided to do a spring production of “100 Years of Broadway”, and Starliters was born, with Ellen as musical director.
Solivita Performing Arts Council was established as the umbrella organization for Guys and Dolls and Starliters and both groups continue to grow and perform annually, entertaining the residents of Solivita. Click here to contact Ellen Factor.