Hairspray

About the Company

EMILY BEM (Prudy Pingleton, The Gym Teacher & The Matron) – joins ZACH Theatre for the first time. REGIONAL THEATRE: “Miss Hannigan” in Annie (B. Iden Payne Lead Actress Nomination), “Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn” in The Music Man (B. Iden Payne Featured Actress Nomination) and “Alice” in My Favorite Year (B. Iden Payne Featured Actress Award winner) with Zilker Theatre Productions; Nunsense, Damn Yankees, Big River and The Music Man with Texarts; Oklahoma!, Oliver, Man of La Mancha, Sweet Charity, Sound of Music, My Fair Lady and Celebrate with Austin Musical Theatre; The Wizard of Oz with Broadway Texas; Kiss Me Kate and Damn Yankees with Austin Playhouse; Batboy with Arts on Real. OTHER THEATRE: Emily played a variety of characters in the multiple B. Iden Payne Award-winning production of Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah with Theatre At The J. OTHER CREDITS: Emily has a B.A. in Drama Studies from the State University of New York at Purchase, and teaches theatre and voice.

JOHN BERRING (Brad) – joins ZACH Theatre for the first time. REGIONAL THEATRE: “Oscar” in Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party at Texas State University, “Bobby” in A Chorus Line, “Riff” in West Side Story and “Anatoly” in Chess. OTHER CREDITS: John will be a senior Musical Theatre major at Texas State University.

 

JILL BLACKWOOD* (Velma Von Tussle - In performances June 16-26) - At ZACH Theatre: The Drowsy Chaperone, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, 365 Days/365 Plays, Bad Dates, Urinetown: The Musical, AIDA, Cabaret, Master Class, The Rocky Horror Show. REGIONAL THEATRE: Jill has performed regularly for Austin Shakespeare, Austin Playhouse, the former Austin Musical Theatre (including “Glinda” in The Wizard of Oz at Bass Concert Hall), Zilker Theatre Productions (onstage and in the pit orchestra), The State Theatre, TexArts, and Mississippi’s New Stage Theatre. AWARDS: Numerous Austin Critics’ Table and B. Iden Payne Awards, most recently for the TexArts’ production of Carousel at the Paramount and for her work as a guest artist in Full Circle at St. Edward’s Mary Moody Theatre.

JACQUI BLOOM (Shelley) – joins ZACH Theatre for the first time. REGIONAL THEATRE: All Shook Up at Texas State University-San Marcos, High School Musical, Les Miserables. OTHER CREDITS: Originally from Granite Bay, California, Jacqui is currently a B.F.A. Musical Theatre Junior at Texas State University. She will be seen in the upcoming feature film Bernie with Jack Black and Shirley Maclaine.

 

GLENN BRITTON (Sketch) – joins ZACH Theatre for the first time. REGIONAL THEATRE: Forever Plaid (Jinx), Pirates of Penzance (Frederic), The Wizard of Oz (Cowardly Lion), Grease (Teen Angel), Oklahoma! (Ike Skidmore), The Music Man (Quartet), Scrooge - The Musical (Young Ebenezer), Joseph…Dreamcoat (Dan), Cabaret, Tommy, Guys & Dolls, 42nd Street, Footloose. OTHER CREDITS: Beautiful, Beautiful World (Bock and Harnick revue), All Shook Up and Lippa’s The Wild Party at Texas State University-San Marcos. Glenn just completed his sophomore year at Texas State University pursuing his B.F.A. degree in Musical Theatre.

SARA BURKE (Amber Von Tussle) – joins ZACH Theatre for the first time. SUMMER STOCK THEATRE: Sweet Charity (Charity) with Summer Stock Austin. THEATRE: Nunsense I & II, A Little Night Music, Evita and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at The Palace Theatre. ADDITIONAL CREDITS: Choreographer for The Palace Playhouse Musical Theatre Camps at The Palace Theatre in Georgetown.

 

BRIAN COUGHLIN* (Edna Turnblad) – At ZACH Theatre: Present Laughter (Morris), Omnium-Gatherum (Jeff), Cabaret (Ernst), Rockin’ Christmas Party (Elvis). REGIONAL THEATRE: Laughter on the 23rd Floor, The Trip to Bountiful, The Mousetrap, Age of Arousal, Dancing at Lughnasa, Amadeus, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and The Mystery of Edwin Drood at Austin Playhouse; A Streetcar Named Desire; Love’s Labours Lost, Lend Me a Tenor, Evita, The Crucible, Three Sisters, Into the Woods and Tartuffe. OTHER THEATRE: Three-time B. Iden Payne Award nominee for The Fantasticks (El Gallo), A Man for All Seasons (King Henry VIII) and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (Melvin P. Thorpe); Guest Artist appearances as “Sheridan Whiteside” in The Man Who Came to Dinner at Southwestern University and “Tom Watson” in Parade at St. Edward’s University. OTHER CREDITS: Brian is a company member at Austin Playhouse and received a M.F.A. degree in Acting from the University of Connecticut and a B.A. in Theatre with a Music minor from Southwestern University.

MOLLIE CRAVEN (Brenda) – joins ZACH Theatre for the first time. REGIONAL THEATRE: White Christmas, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and the world premiere of Piggy in the Middle. OTHER CREDITS: Mollie is currently a sophomore B.F.A. at Oklahoma City University.

 

ANGELICA FAYE DAVIS (Dynamite) – joins ZACH Theate for the first time. REGIONAL THEATRE: Cardigan and The Encyclopedia Show at Austin’s Frontera Long Fringe Festival. OTHER CREDITS: Dramatic Duo Performance National Champion for the University of Texas Speech Team; recent graduate from The University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Radio, TV and Film.

 

ELIZABETH DELGADO-SAVAGE (Little Inez) – At ZACH Theatre: Jesucristo Superestrella/Jesus Christ Superstar and Speeding Motorcycle. ZACH PERFORMING ARTS SCHOOL: Just So Stories, Everything About a Day, Willy Wonka, The People Garden, Dear Edwina. OTHER THEATRE: Cinderella at JCCA; The Wiz at Bailey Middle School Theatre; High School Musical, Annie and Grease at Cowan Summer Theatre; Prince Caspian and Wicked at KidsActing. OTHER CREDITS: Elizabeth is a 7th grader at Bailey Middle School, a member of the Star Strutters Dance Team and National Junior Honor Society, and a student at Tapestry Dance Company. She studies voice with Sylvia Casper and is a member of the ZACH Performing Arts School Headliners.

JOSHUA DENNING (Seaweed J. Stubbs) – At ZACH Theatre: “Angel” in RENT (for which he won the Austin Critics’ Table Award for Best Supporting Actor). INTERNATIONAL: The Lion King (Simba) Hamburg, Germany; We Will Rock You (Brit), Zurich, Switzerland; Best of Musical (Principle Soloist), Vienna, Austria. REGIONAL THEATRE: Carousel (Billy Bigelow), Mary Moody Northen Theatre; In The Blood (Reverend D), Altered Stages; Rent (Benny), The Weston Playhouse; Miss Saigon, Theater Under The Stars; West Side Story and A Little Night Music, The Human Race Theater Company. FILM: Convergence (Michael), Abrupt Decision (Aaron), Sick Daze and Bernie. OTHER THEATRE: Hot Summer Nights, Stage One, The Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, Seaside Music Theater. ADDITIONAL CREDITS: B.F.A. in Musical Theater from Wright State University.

AMY DOWNING (Velma - In performances June 29-August 28) – At ZACH Theatre: The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee, Speeding Motorcyle, High School Musical (B. Iden Payne Award), Present Laughter and Urinetown. REGIONAL THEATRE: Heddatron and Black Snow with Paper Chairs at Salvage Vanguard Theatre, The Mystery of Edwin Drood at Austin Playhouse, Nickel N’ Dimed and A Christmas Carol at The State Theatre, A Chorus Line and Oliver at Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Joseph…Dreamcoat at The Hangar Theatre. NY THEATRE: “Sally Bowles” in National Tour of Cabaret, Trapped Family Singers and Medea Machine at NYC Fringe Festival, “Lady Capulet” in Terrance Mann’s musical workshop of Romeo and Juliet. TELEVISION: Guiding Light. OTHER: Amy studied at musical theatre at CCM and is a graduate of Ithaca College. Her other passions are teaching and being a momma.

BRANDON EDWARDS (Duane) – joins ZACH Theatre for the first time. REGIONAL THEATRE: Sweet Charity (Daddy Brubeck), Death and the King’s Horseman and On The Town with St. Edward’s University; Bat Boy, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Oklahoma! and The Little Shop of Horrors with Summer Stock Austin. OTHER CREDITS: Brandon is venturing into the world of film with a few projects in the works.

 

ERIC FERGUSON (Link Larkin) – At ZACH Theatre: High School Musical (Troy). THEATRE: The Music Man (Harold Hill) at Zilker Productions, I’ll Be Seeing You at Tex-Arts, Assassins (Baladeer) at the University of Texas, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Joseph) with Broadway Texas, Guys and Dolls (Sky), The Music Man (Tommy), Ragtime and Tintypes. ADDITIONAL CREDITS: Associate Musical Director for Tommy at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School’s production, Pianist/Vocal Coach for Little Shop of Horrors and Fiddler on the Roof at Hendrickson High School. Eric holds Music Education and Aerospace Engineering degrees from the University of Texas, and works part-time for L-3 STRATIS at NASA Johnson Space Center.

WARREN FREEMAN* (Corny Collins) – joins ZACH Theatre for the first time. NEW YORK: Bye Bye Birdie at City Center Encores!; Shows at New York Musical Theatre Festival, Musicals Tonight! and Opening Doors. NATIONAL TOURS: My Fair Lady (Freddy u/s), Cats (Skimbleshanks), The Sound Of Music (Rolf). REGIONAL THEATRE: Shows at Goodspeed Opera House, North Shore Music Theatre and North Carolina Theatre. FILM: Across the Universe. OTHER CREDITS: Also a musical director and arranger, Warren’s new show, Mixtape Confessions: The Diary of a Teenage Optimist, had its world premiere at Don’t Tell Mama in New York City this spring. He is the founder of GetOnMySides.com, an online coaching service for singers. www.WarrenFreeman.net.

KIA DAWN FULTON* (Dynamite) – At ZACH Theatre: Crowns, Beehive and Aida. REGIONAL THEATRE: God’s Trombones at Jubilee Theatre, Ragtime at Lyric Stage (“Best Supporting Actress in a Musical,” The Column), Once on This Island at TRA (“Best Actress in a Musical,” The Column), Junie B. Jones, Godspell, Man of LaMancha, and Oklahoma! with Casa Manana. TELEVISION: Sasami and The Magical Girls Club.

 

RACHEL HANEY-BUTLER (Lou Ann) – joins ZACH Theatre for the first time. REGIONAL THEATRE: The Threepenny Opera and the world premiere of Trying to Remember: A Portfolio of Theatre Songs by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt at The University of Texas. OTHER CREDITS: Rachel is currently pursuing her B.A. in Theatre and Dance from The University of Texas at Austin.

 

DAVID R. JARROTT (Harriman F. Spritzer, Patterson Park HS Principal, Mr. Pinky & TV Announcer) – At ZACH Theatre: Metamorphoses (Bacchus/Philemon); Shear Madness (Eddie); Side Man (Austin Critics’ Table Nomination, “Best Supporting Actor”), Master Class. REGIONAL THEATRE: Henry IV, Part I; Mrs. Warren’s Profession; The Speaker Speaks: An Evening With Sam Rayburn (Austin Critics’ Table Nomination, “Best Actor”); Sherlock Holmes; Dracula; You Can’t Take It With You; My Fair Lady; Gypsy; The Music Man; Talk Radio; The Fantasticks; Oklahoma. FILM: Untreated; Are We Men Or Are We Coppers?; Jollenbach (Cannes Film Festival); Piggyback; Chickenfut (San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and Venice Film Festivals); Room (Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals); Best, Texas, Grocery (SXSW). TELEVISION/INDUSTRIAL: My Generation (ABC); The Farkles (Pilot); $5.15/Hr (HBO); Footsteps (PBS); Good Rockin' (PBS). ADDITIONAL CREDITS: David has been featured on national radio and television commercials for 7-Up, Sea World, AT&T and others. An award-winning writer/producer, he is currently writing his first novel. David is also in the Texas Radio Hall of Fame’s Hall of Honor.

ELIZABETH KOEPP (Tammy) – joins ZACH Theatre for the first time. REGIONAL THEATRE: Orchesis Dance Company at Texas State University-San Marcos, American Spirit Dance Company and Spirit of Grace Dance Company at Oklahoma City University, Into The Woods (Cinderella) and Plaza Suite (Mimsey and Jean McCormack) at the Permian Playhouse. OTHER CREDITS: Elizabeth is working on her B.F.A. Dance Performance and Choreography degree with a minor in Theatre at Texas State University-San Marcos, where she is a member of Merge Dance Company.

TIFFANY MANN (Dynamite) – At ZACH Theatre: Rockin’ Christmas Party and Radio 1/Moon in Caroline, or Change. REGIONAL THEATER: Dividing the Estate at Dallas Theater Center. OTHER CREDITS: Soul on Fire (World Premiere), Big River, Chicago, Rent, Ain’t Misbehavin, Lucia diLammermoor.

 

CHET NORMENT (IQ & Dance Captain) - joins ZACH Theatre for the first time. REGIONAL THEATRE: Joseph... Dreamcoat Tour (Dallas Summer Musicals), The Will Rogers Follies, Everybody Dance (with Deborah Cox). TELEVISION: Kelly Clarkson’s Thanksgiving Halftime Show, Nokia Mobile ads. ADDITIONAL CREDITS: Guest Performer with North Carolina’s Terranova Dance Theatre, Tapped Out! (Elon University), apprentice at Ann Reinking’s Broadway Theatre Project, New York City Dance Alliance Summer Dance Intensive, rising sophomore B.F.A. Acting major and Honors Fellow at Elon University.

SCOTTY ROBERTS (Wilbur Turnblad) – At ZACH Theatre: The Drowsy Chaperone (Feldzieg), Our Town (Professor Willard/ Constable Warren), Porgy and Bess (White Gentleman & Policeman), Urinetown: The Musical (Senator Fipp), Cabaret (Herr Schulz), bee luther-hatchee (Brian Clark/Robert Leonard), Little Shop Of Horrors (Mr. Mushnick), Abundance (Will Curtis), Falsettos (Mendel), A Streetcar Named Desire (Harold Mitchell). OTHER THEATRE: Trip to Bountiful (Sheriff), Frost/Nixon (Swifty Lazar), In On It (This One), Sweet Charity (Mr. Phelps), The Music Man (Marcellus Washburn), Lend Me a Tenor (Tito Morelli), Oklahoma! (Ali Hakim), Sonny’s Last Shot (Harry Morton), She Loves Me (Sipos), Sweeney Todd (Beadle Bamford), South Pacific (Luther Billis), 110 in the Shade (Noah), Anything Goes (Moonface Martin).

WESLEY SCOTT (Fender) – At ZACH Theatre: Metamorphoses. OTHER THEATRE: “Macbeth” in Lady M at the Salvage Vanguard Theatre; Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Vinegar Tom, Terminal, And the World Goes ‘Round and Dog Sees God at Texas State University-San Marcos; HMS Pinafore, Pericles, Prince of Tyre and Dancing at Lughnasa at The Experimental Theatre in Amarillo, Texas. FILM: Deep in the Heart. TELEVISION COMMERCIALS: Blue Bell Ice Cream. ADDITIONAL CREDITS: B.F.A. in Acting from Texas State University-San Marcos.

BROOKE SHAPIRO (Tracy Turnblad) – joins ZACH Theatre for the first time. REGIONAL THEATRE: Hairspray (Tracy Turnblad) at The Gateway Playhouse. OTHER CREDITS: Company (Amy), Anything Goes (Reno Sweeney), Les Miserables (Madame Thenardier), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Mrs. Meers). Brooke recently completed her sophomore year at The Hartt School where she is pursuing a B.F.A. in Musical Theater.

 

JANIS STINSON* (Motormouth Maybelle) – At ZACH Theatre: “Caroline Thibodeaux” in Caroline, or Change, “Maria” in Porgy and Bess, “Simon” in Jesus Christ Superstar/Jesucristo Superestrella; Hank Williams: Lost Highway, Crowns, Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues, Beehive, bee-luther hatchee, Smokey Joe’s Café, Divas Live!, Jelly’s Last Jam, Little Shop of Horrors, A Streetcar Named Desire, Tapestry: The Music of Carole King, The American Play, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Blues in the Night, Ruthless! The Musical, A Christmas Carol, The Gospel at Colonus, Avenue X, Dreamgirls (’95 and ’97) Once on This Island, The Wiz, Purlie!, One Mo’ Time!, Member of the Wedding and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. REGIONAL THEATRE: Just Havin’ Church, Mahalia, Children of Eden, Gospel According to Texas, A Streetcar Named Desire, Eubie!, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Our Lady of South Oak Cliff, The Virgin Shenequa, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, 110 Degrees in the Shade, Spunk and I Am Annie Mae. TV/RADIO: Shell Oil “Take Me to the Water” (lead vocals). AWARDS: B. Iden Payne Awards for Blues in the Night, Children of Eden and A Streetcar Named Desire, and Austin Critics’ Table Awards for Ruthless! The Musical, The Gospel at Colonus and Avenue X. B. Iden Payne nominee for “Best Featured Actress” in Jesus Christ Superstar/Jesucristo Superestrella. Janis is a 26-year veteran at ZACH.

CHRISTINE TUCKER (Penny Pingleton) – joins ZACH Theatre for the first time. REGIONAL THEATRE: The Music Man (Zaneeta) with Zilker Theatre Productions. UNIVERSITY THEATRE: The Wild Party (Dance Captain), All Shook Up (Sandra), A Chorus Line (Cassie), Company (Sarah), Big Love (Olympia), Beautiful Beautiful World and The World Goes ‘Round with Texas State. OTHER CREDITS: B.F.A. in Musical Theatre from Texas State University, Houston Rockets/LA Lakers National Anthem soloist, Broadway Theatre Project.

JUSTIN WALLER (Gilbert) – At ZACH: Porgy and Bess (Scipio), High School Musical (Jock/Brainiac), Evita (Ensemble). REGIONAL THEATRE: Rent (Roger), Arsenic and Old Lace (Mortimer Brewster), Dreamgirls (Curtis), The Wiz (Tin Man), Children of Eden (Ensemble), Gospel According to Texas (Ensemble), Let the Children Sing! (Ensemble), Big River (Slave). OTHER CREDITS: Justin has also appeared in a few ZACH Theatre Summer programs, is a part of TRAFFIKjam Dance Crew as well as DfuZion Dance Crew and is the proud son of ZACH veteran actress, Janis Stinson.

* = Member Actors' Equity Association

ZACH Leadership

DAVE STEAKLEY (Producing Artistic Director) – Now in his 20th season, Dave is dedicated to creating a place where our community gathers for a collective imaginative act. Dave believes theatre offers an arena in which we might be challenged to understand not just our own lives, but also the world in which we live, and is committed to creating plays and musicals that open meaningful conversations on topics that have resonance in our community. Under Dave’s leadership:

WORLD PREMIERES: New plays by Anna Deavere Smith, Steven Dietz, Everett Quinton, John Walch, Allen Robertson & The Flaming Idiots; 365 Plays/365 Days by Suzan-Lori Parks. ZACH served as the Austin hub of a nationwide, year-long festival; Jesucristo Superestrella – ZACH created the first bi-lingual adaptation of Webber and Rice’s landmark musical; The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, a jazz/R&B reinvention set in Katrina ravaged New Orleans, which received national acclaim from The New York Times and the Gershwin Estate.

PRODUCER, DIRECTOR & CHOREOGRAPHER ON MORE THAN 250 ZACH PRODUCTIONS INCLUDING: August: Osage County, Rent, Metamorphoses, Our Town, The Grapes of Wrath, Caroline, or Change, The Clean House, Take Me Out, I Am My Own Wife, Urinetown, Crowns, Omnium-Gatherum, Hair, The Laramie Project, Hedwig, Jelly’s Last Jam, The America Play, Dreamgirls, The Mystery of Irma Vep, Angels In America and Beehive

REGIONAL DIRECTING CREDITS: Actors Theatre of Louisville, New Stage Theatre, American Heartland Theatre, WaterTower Theatre, City Theatre and Downstairs Cabaret

PLAYWRIGHT: Rockin’ Christmas Party, Keepin’ It Weird, a play about Austin’s unique character featured on CBS Sunday Morning, NPR, The Wall Street Journal and American Theatre

SERVICE TO THE THEATRE FIELD: National Endowment for the Arts Theatre and Musical Theatre Panelist • Texas Commission on the Arts Young Masters Program Panelist • National Alliance for Musical Theatre New Works Committee

RECOGNITION: 2010 Spike Gillespie Kick Ass Award; 2009 Austin Dancing with the Stars Champion; 2005 Austin Circle of Theaters’ Special Recognition Award for “Outstanding Contribution to Austin Theatre”; City of Austin declares May 18, 2001 as “Dave Steakley Day”; Austin Chronicle “Best of Austin” Readers Poll “Best Stage Director” six times; Multiple Austin Critics’ Table and B. Iden Payne Awards for Outstanding Director, Choreographer; 2000 Austin Under 40 Outstanding Arts & Entertainment Award.

ELISBETH CHALLENER (Managing Director) – joined ZACH Theatre as Managing Director in 2007 after having served as a non-profit consultant and the Executive Director of One World Theatre since moving to Austin. As ZACH’s Managing Director, Elisbeth is responsible for a $22M capital campaign towards the building of a new theatre as well as the management, development and finances of the organization. Under her guidance ZACH completed a Five Year Strategic Plan that will move the organization into the next phase of its significant expansion. Prior to Austin, she resided in the San Francisco bay area where she was Montalvo Arts Center’s Executive Director, spending nearly 20 years with the organization. As Executive Director, Elisbeth led Montalvo’s growth from a small, community-based organization into a major presenting venue and home to an internationally acclaimed artists’ residency program. Other accomplishments during her tenure included increasing ticket sales from less than $500K to more than $4 million, expanding the patron base from 6,000 to 80,000, and raising more than $20 million for capital projects. Earlier in her career, she served as Administrative Director for the San Francisco Boys Chorus, Education/Outreach Director of the Fairmount Theatre of the Deaf, and as department chair and faculty member of the performing arts department of The Purnell School in New Jersey. Elisbeth graduated from the Boston Conservatory of Music with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts in drama and musical theatre. She attended the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program, Center for Excellence in Nonprofit Management Leaders Institute in San Jose, Calif. and served in leadership roles for the American Leadership Forum, Silicon Valley, Saratoga Rotary Club and Arts Council of Silicon Valley. She is currently serving on the National Alliance of Musical Theatre’s Festival of New Musicals Committee. Elisbeth has always had a passion for the theatre and performed for many years in summer stock, dinner theatre, and semi- professional productions on the east coast and in California.

About the Artistic Staff

ALLEN ROBERTSON (Musical Director/Conductor) – Allen is an Emmy Award®-winning co-creator of the PBS children’s show The Biscuit Brothers, as well as a co-producer, performer, writer, educational director and composer for the show. Allen is an award-winning musical director, playwright, actor, director, sound designer and musician, and has worked on hundreds of productions from Chicago to Japan and just about everywhere in between including 20 years of shows at ZACH. New York credits include Radio City Music Hall and the Off-Broadway run of The Flaming Idiots. Additionally, he is a composer with credits including the film Beyond Black Rock, the musical Jouet and the ballet Secret Garden.

ROBIN LEWIS (Choreographer) – is a twelve-year Broadway and national Broadway touring veteran. At ZACH Theatre, he has choreographed Rent, The Drowsy Chaperone, Porgy and Bess, Urinetown: The Musical, High School Musical, Jesucristo Superestrella/Jesus Christ Superstar and The Rocky Horror Show. National credits include Broadway’s Fosse, Dance Captain of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and Dance Captain of A Christmas Carol at Madison Square Gardens. He toured with the first national tour of The Producers with Jason Alexander and Martin Short in Hollywood, and he has toured in A Chorus Line, Hello Dolly, Beauty and the Beast, as well as performances at The Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. Off-Broadway, he was the Dance Captain for Charles Busch’s musical The Green Heart for the Manhattan Theatre Club. He has choreographed and done workshops all across the United States. Robin is currently on faculty at Texas State University and heads the Musical Theatre Dance program for the new Musical Theater B.F.A. program. Lewis is the Co-Founder/Producer and Creative Director of TexArts in Austin. www.tex-arts.org

MICHAEL RAIFORD (Scenic Design) – is a freelance scenic and costume designer based in Austin. Michael has been a resident designer at ZACH Theatre for almost 20 years, where he has designed more than 100 productions. Recent ZACH projects include August: Osage County, Rent, The Drowsy Chaperone, Becky’s New Car, Let Me Down Easy, Love Janis, Shooting Star, Caroline or Change and The Clean House. Michael has also designed more versions of Rockin’ Christmas Party than we can count! Michael is in his fifth season designing for the Humana Festival of New American Plays at The Actors Theater of Louisville. This season includes Elemeno Pea by Molly Smith Metzler and Bob by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb. Previous Humana projects at ATL include Sirens by Debra Zoe Laufer, Fissures by Dominique Serrand, Phoenix by Scott Organ and Absalom by Zoe Kazan. Other projects at ATL include Jouét, Shipwrecked, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and The Kite Runner. Other favorite regional productions include Well, The Chosen, and Inherit The Wind at Cleveland Playhouse; The Young Lady from Rwanda at Kansas City Repertory Theatre; Guys and Dolls and Tin Types at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Florida; The Bartered Bride at Opera Boston; The Fantastiks at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC; and What Goes Up at New Victory Theatre, NYC. Other Austin productions include Rigoletto for Austin Lyric Opera, Big Love and Tesla for The Rude Mechanicals and When Something Wonderful Ends for our own Barbara Chisholm. Upcoming designs this season include Carmen at Central City Opera and The Magic Flute for Ballet Austin. Michael received his M.F.A. from the University of Texas, where he taught for 10 years, and he is a member of United Scenic Artists.

JASON AMATO (Resident Lighting Designer) – Jason’s career has spanned 18 years, designing more than 500 local and international shows. In addition to designing at ZACH for 12 years, he is the resident lighting designer for Austin Shakespeare, Blue Lapis Light and the Vortex Repertory Theatre. Recent shows at ZACH: August: Osage County, Red Hot Patriot, Rent, Metamorphoses, Becky’s New Car, Our Town, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Grapes of Wrath, Shooting Star, Beehive and Caroline, or Change. The Austin Critics’ Table Awards has honored Jason for outstanding lighting in 25 shows. He has also received B. Iden Payne Awards for his lighting of Troades, Trickster, The Exonerated, Omnium-Gatherum, Triskelion, Panoptikon, Despair’s Book of Dreams and The Deluge. In 2008, Jason received the “Outstanding Contribution to Austin Theater” award from Austin Circle of Theaters. You can view his work at www.jasonamato.com.

SUSAN BRANCH TOWNE (Costume Design) – Previous ZACH designs: August: Osage County, The Drowsy Chaperone, Our Town, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Clean House, Jesus Christ Superstar/Jesucristo Superestrella, Present Laughter, Bad Dates, Urinetown, Aida, Cabaret, It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues, Always...Patsy Cline, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, The Laramie Project and Jelly’s Last Jam. Other Austin credits include The Bat for Austin Lyric Opera; and The Music Man, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Annie Get Your Gun, The Secret Garden and Crazy For You for Zilker Theatre Productions. Favorite regional engagements include King Lear, The Diary of Anne Frank, and A Flea In Her Ear at the Denver Center Theatre Company; Crowns, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Twelfth Night, and The Taming of the Shrew at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival; My Fair Lady, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Chicago, Julius Caesar, Tartuffe, Richard III and Sophisticated Ladies at Pioneer Theatre in Salt Lake City; and The Producers, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd and Forum for Milwaukee’s Skylight Opera Theatre. In New York, Susan designed for New York City Opera and numerous Off-Broadway productions. Susan is a graduate of Carnegie-Mellon University and the Yale School of Drama, and is a 24-year member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829.

SAM KOKAJKO (Sound Design) - has been working with ZACH Theatre as a live sound engineer for the last two years and is excited to be working with them once more. Recent ZACH Theatre sound operator credits include Red Hot Patriot, Rent, The Drowsy Chaperone, Love Janis and many more. Other sound credits include The Wedding Singer, Annie, Brigadoon, Grease, and Little Shop of Horrors. He also works as a freelance sound engineer/designer for several companies in Austin and enjoys working with video, recording and other forms of media.

WILLA KAYE WARREN (Wig Design) – has designed hair for ZACH’s productions of August: Osage County, The Drowsy Chaperone, Caroline, or Change, Keepin’ It Weird, Hank Williams: Lost Highway, Aida, Cabaret, Always...Patsy Cline, Beehive, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Dirty Blonde, Hair, Little Shop of Horrors, Jelly’s Last Jam, Master Class, Jouét, A Streetcar Named Desire, Evita, The Rocky Horror Show, The Mystery of Irma Vep, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Angels in America, Tommy, Blues in the Night, The Taffetas, The Piano Lesson, Jack and Jill, Ruthless! The Musical, A Christmas Carol, Beehive (‘95-‘2003), Rockin’ Christmas Party (‘95-’05), Avenue X and Das Barbecü. Willa has been volunteering and working in the Austin art community for more than 25 years.

BLAKE REEVES (Properties Design) – AT ZACH: August: Osage County, Fiction, Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins and Rent. Blake has also worked with ZACH’s production team in numerous facets for The Santaland Diaries, The Drowsy Chaperone, Metamorphoses, Becky’s New Car, Our Town and The Flaming Idiots. In addition to production work, he performed with the award-winning cast of Our Town. Blake attended Baylor University and, during his time as a student, he designed, choreographed and performed in a number of productions. He later returned to serve as the Coordinator of Special Performances for the university, producing and designing several shows. He will provide prop design for Footloose with Zilker Theatre Productions this summer.

ALLISON LOWERY – (Make-Up Design) is the Wig and Makeup Specialist for Texas Performing Arts at the University of Texas. At ZACH she designed makeup for The Grapes of Wrath and was the wig designer for the character of Janet Van de Graff in The Drowsy Chaperone. In Austin, she has also created wigs for Zilker Theatre Productions, Austin Shakespeare Festival and St. Edwards University, in addition to working as freelance makeup artist. She served as the Wig Master at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and wig maker for the Lyric Opera of Chicago, American Players Theatre, Glimmerglass Opera, Utah Shakespeare Festival and Piedmont Opera Theatre. She recently co-authored the wig textbook The Complete Guide to Wig Making and Styling for Theatre and Film. She has an M.F.A. in Wig and Makeup Design from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

PAUL FLINT (Director of Production) – joined ZACH Theatre in 2008. He earned his B.F.A. from Shorter College and M.F.A. from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, with a focus on Technical Direction, Scenic Design and Arts Management. He has more than ten years experience in technical theatre and has worked as a Technical Director for eight years. His theatre credits include the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Ga., Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, New York, Vitalist Theatre Company in Chicago, Ill., and he is a founding member of Seaside Repertory Theatre in Seaside, Florida. Paul is the author of Managing the Creative Mind: A Technical Director’s Process.

JIM O’SULLIVAN (Technical Director) – is excited to be working on his second show at Zach. He came to Austin from TheatreWorks–Silicon Valley where he was the Assistant Technical Director from 2007-2011. He worked on over 30 productions, with 7 world premieres, at TheatreWorks including the musicals Emma, Tinyard Hill and Daddy Long Legs. He also served as Technical Director for Renegade Theatre Experiment and the Cutting Ball Theatre. He won an Arty Award for scenic design of On Golden Pond at the Benicia Old Town Theatre Group.

BLAIR HURRY (Costume Shop Manager) – grew up in Austin and studied Costume Design & Technology at the University of Texas. Her costume design works at ZACH Theatre include Metamorphoses, Shooting Star (2009-2010 Season), Farm to Market and Call It Courage (ZACH’s Performing Arts School). Other local designs include Vampyress (Vortex Theatre), Parade: A Musical (St. Edward’s University), The Famous Rio Grande, The Trojan Women and Cabaret (University of Texas). Prior to ZACH, she built costumes for the Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Ohio Light Opera Company and STAGES: St. Louis. She also worked as Head of Wardrobe and Make-up for the national tour of Playhouse Disney’s The Doodlebops LIVE! and the 2008 national tour of The Moscow Ballet’s The Great Russian Nutcracker. She is currently an active member of the local 205 IATSE union.

LILY WILLIAMS (Company Manager) – graduated from Montana State University with degrees in Media & Theatre Arts and Spanish Language & Literature. During her time in Montana, Lily served as the producer and stage manager for numerous university productions, including The Last Acts and Allen Ball’s Five Women Wearing the Same Dress. She has vast experience in film, event management and visual arts.

 

LISA GOERING* (Stage Manager) – At ZACH: Stage Manager for August: Osage County, Rent, The Drowsy Chaperone, Our Town, The Flaming Idiots, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Jesus Christ Superstar/Jesucristo Superestrella and Keepin' It Weird, among others. She stage managed An Ideal Husband for Austin Shakespeare, and keeps busy working as a dresser, sound board operator and freelance seamstress/stitcher, as well as traveling regionally to work in costume shops including two summers for the Shakespeare Festival at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. She has appeared onstage in Carousel and A Christmas Carol at ZACH and The Snow Queen with Second Youth.

JESSIE DOUGLAS* (Assistant Stage Manager) – At ZACH: Assistant Stage Manager for August: Osage County, Assistant Stage Manager and in the ensemble for Rent, the Assistant Stage Manager for Our Town, and running crew for The Grapes of Wrath. Jessie spent a year in Juneau, Alaska working for Perseverance Theatre as the Company/Stage Management Fellow. OTHER CREDITS: Stage Manager for Barefoot in the Park at Unity Theater in Brenham, Texas; Proof, produced by Thunder Mountain Theater Project in Juneau, Alaska. She is a graduate from Texas State University, San Marcos, where she earned her B.A. in Theater with a Business minor.

AMANDA NADINE GASS* (Assistant Stage Manager) – At ZACH: Stage Manager for Fiction and Becky’s New Car, Substitute Stage Manager for Metamorphoses and The Santaland Diaries, Assistant Stage Manager for The Grapes of Wrath, and Substitute Assistant Stage Manager for August: Osage County. REGIONAL THEATRE: Taming of the Shrew at Illinois Shakespeare Festival. OTHER THEATRE: The Nina Variations, Intermission: Life in the In-Between and Elektra with Gobotrick Theatre. Much Ado About Nothing, Frame 312, The Rover, The Exonerated and The Art of Dining at Texas State University; Orestes with Cambiare Productions. OTHER CREDITS: M.A. in Directing from Texas State University.'

MARK O'DONNELL (Book) - Mark O’Donnell’s plays include That’s It, Folks!, Fables for Friends and The Nice and The Nasty produced by Playwrights Horizons, and Strangers on Earth and Vertigo Park produced by Zena Group Theatre. He also wrote the book and lyrics for the musical Tots in Tinseltown. O’Donnell collaborated with Bill Irwin on an adaptation of Moliere’s Scapin and co-authored a translation of Feydeau’s A Flea in Her Ear, both for The Roundabout. For Manhattan Theatre Club, he translated Jean Claude Carriere’s La Terrasse. He has published two collections of comic stories for Knopf, Elementary Education and Vertigo Park and Other Tall Tales, as well as two recent novels: Getting Over Homer and Let Nothing You Dismay, both now in Vintage paperback. His humor, cartoons and poetry have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Spy, The New Republic and Esquire, among many others. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Lecomte du Nuoy Prize and the George S. Kaufman Award.

THOMAS MEEHAN (Book) - received the Tony Award for co-writing the book for The Producers in 2001 and in 2003 for co-writing the book for Hairspray. He received his first Tony Award in 1977 for writing the book of Annie, which was his first Broadway show, and has since written the books for the musicals I Remember Mama, Ain’t Broadway Grand and Annie Warbucks. In addition, he is a long-time contributor of humor to The New Yorker, an Emmy Award-winning writer of television comedy and a collaborator on a number of screenplays, including Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs and To Be or Not to Be. He and his wife, Carolyn, divide their time between a home in Nantucket and an apartment in Greenwich Village, near which, on Hudson Street, she owns and presides over the longrunning and near-legendary children’s store Peanut Butter & Jane. Mr. Meehan is a member of the Council of the Dramatists Guild.

MARC SHAIMAN (Music and Lyrics) won both a Tony and a Grammy Award for the score to Hairspray. He has been nominated for the Academy Award five times for the films Sleepless in Seattle, The American President, The FirstWives Club, Patch Adams and South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. He has lost each and every time! In 2002, Shaiman was honored with the “Hollywood Outstanding Achievement in Music-In-Film” Award at the 69th annual Hollywood Film Festival. They didn’t send a car. Marc has composed, adapted and arranged music, served as music supervisor and written lyrics for more than 40 other films, including When Harry Met Sally, Beaches, Sister Act, City Slickers, The Addams Family, A Few Good Men, Sister Act, In & Out and George of the Jungle. He started his career as vocal arranger for Bette Midler, eventually becoming her musical director and co-producer, finding her the Grammy Award-winning songs “Wind Beneath My Wings” and “From a Distance,” and collaborating on her Emmy Award-winning performance for The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He has been nominated two times for the Emmy Award, and won for co-writing Billy Crystal’s “Oscar Medleys.” Other television credits besides The Academy Awards include Saturday Night Live (Emmy nomination for Writing), HBO’S From the Earth to the Moon and 61*. He has also appeared as a guest on The Rosie O’Donnell Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O’Brien and The Martin Short Show. Besides having won for Hairspray, Shaiman has been twice nominated for Grammy Awards for his work with Harry Connick, Jr., and his gold, platinum, multi-platinum and Grammy winning albums include South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Bette Midler’s Beaches, Some People’s Lives, For the Boys, Bathhouse Betty, Harry Connick Jr’s When Harry Met Sally and We Are in Love. As musical director, producer or arranger, Shaiman has worked with performers that include Peter Allen, Eric Clapton, Rosemary Clooney, Harry Connick Jr., Billy Crystal, The Harlettes, Lauryn Hill, Jennifer Holliday, Nathan Lane, Jenifer Lewis, Darlene Love, Patti LuPone, Andrea Martin, Lonette McKee, Bette Midler, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Barbra Streisand, Donald Trump (!), Luther Vandross, Robin Williams and Raquel Welch - although not all at the same time. He has appeared in many of the films he has worked on, including his scene stealing moments in South Park, Beaches, Hot Shots and James L. Brooks’ Broadcast News. He resides in both New York City and Los Angeles with partner and collaborator, Scott Wittman.

SCOTT WITTMAN (Lyrics) - On Broadway, in concert and for television, he has conceived,  written and/or directed and collaborated with Kristin Chenoweth, Jayne County, Sandy Duncan,  Christine Ebersole, Dame Edna, Ellen Foley, Annie Golden, Debbie Gravitte, The High-Heeled  Women, Allison Janney, Madeline Kahn, Lainie Kazan, Laura Kenyon (as Lainie Kazan),  Nathan Lane, Ute Lemper, Darlene Love, Patti LuPone, Lypsinka, Ann Magnuson, Andrea Martin, Lonette McKee, Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Zora Rasmussen, John Sex, Martin Short, Elaine Stritch, Bruce Vilanch, Rufus Wainwright, Raquel Welch, Holly  Woodlawn...and his most important partner, Marc Shaiman for 23 amazing years. He saw John Waters’ Pink Flamingos at The Elgin Theatre with his friends Billy and Tracey in 1973, and has never been the same since.

* = Member Actors' Equity Association

The Band

ALLEN ROBERTSON .......................................................................Conductor, Keyboards
DAVID BREAUX.................................................................................Keyboards
MARK GURGEL.................................................................................Saxophone
BOB OVERTON..................................................................................Guitar
LANNIE HILBOLDT.............................................................................Bass
ARNIE YAÑEZ ...................................................................................Percussion