Dennis is thrilled to be back at Venice Theatre and working with his dear friend Brad! Previous directing credits at VT include: Oklahoma! The Drowsy Chaperone, The Marvelous Wonderettes and The Santaland Diaries. As a director and choreographer, Dennis has been involved with productions including john and jen, West Side Story, Sylvia (Ritz Theater), Ruthless! and Heathers (The Starlite Room), ICONS!, Legally Blonde and Footloose (Players Centre for the Performing Arts), Oklahoma! (Naples Players), Life Could Be a Dream, The Drowsy Chaperone, I Love a Piano (Swift Creek Mill) White Christmas and Fiddler on the Roof (Riverside Center), As Thousands Cheer (New Harmony Theatre), Gypsy (Sheboygan Theater Company) Footloose (Crown Uptown), and Whoop Dee Doo (RTP). As a performer, Dennis has performed all over the country and has been seen in VT’s: Smokey Joe’s Café, Blood Brothers, The Full Monty, and Singin’ in the Rain. A teacher as well, Dennis coaches privately as well as having worked with students and directed productions at Walnut Hill School for the Arts and Stagedoor Manor. Most recently Dennis finished a term as the Artistic Director of the Ritz Theater in Sheffield, AL.  Currently he is a freelance performer, director, choreographer and teacher and serves as the Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Fort Salem Theater Company.

 

A music dierctor at VT since 2000, Michelle is very proud to announce she has just been hired as Venice Theatre’s first Resident Music Director.Her numerous area productions include A Christmas Carol, Hair, Mamma Mia!, Cabaret, The Toxic Avenger, Head Over Heels and Shrek the Musical. Originally from New York, she has been playing piano for over 55 years and has music directed many off-Broadway productions including Always, Patsy Cline. She has accompanied professional Broadway tours which include A Chorus Line and Legally Blonde and artists such as The Irish Tenors and Bernadette Peters. She has performed her own concerts as a singer/pianist all over the world. Michelle has her BA in Music Performance, M.S. in Music Ed and Ed.S. in Ed Leadership. She relocated to Florida in 1998, and was selected as Charlotte County’s Teacher of the Year in 2014. In 2000 she met her talented husband, Neil Kasanofsky, at a local theater company’s production of Red, Hot and Cole, and they’ve been together ever since. They have a blended family of six children, and a gaggle of grandchildren to keep from getting bored.

 

Alyssa is thrilled to be joining the staff at Venice Theatre as Assistant Production Manager. She was previously seen on our stage as Tracy in Hairspray. Other theatrical credits include Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly; Paulette in Legally Blonde; and Orange Girl in Shout. She has over 50 stage management credits to her name, and is very excited to be adding “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” to that list in a couple months. She is also a theatre director and designer in her spare time. She has no hobbies. #AKF

 

Hailing from Des Moines, Iowa, Tim is Venice Theatre’s Resident Scenic Designer. In Des Moines, he has designed for Stage West, Des Moines Onstage, The Des Moines Metro Opera and was previously the Resident Designer for The Des Moines Playhouse. Prior to returning to his home town of Des Moines, Tim worked in New York City. While there he served as the Window and Creative Director for Saks Fifth Avenue for 12 years, in addition to designing numerous theatre and television projects. He is a graduate of Drake University.

 

In his 13th season at VT, John is glad to be a part of the VT family. He has a B.A. in Technical Theatre from Lycoming College in Williamsport, PA, and has continued his technical career with lighting and scenic designs for productions such as: Handy Award winning Metamorphoses; The Jungle Book; Urinetown; Inherit the Wind; Peter Pan; Ragtime; Sweeney Todd; Godspell; Boeing Boeing; Avenue Q; Hello, Dolly!; Smokey Joe’s Cafe; Radio Gals; Dreamgirls and A Christmas Carol. John thanks Harper for her continuous constructive criticism.

 

Originally from New England, “Molly” is the VT Costume Shop Manager. Her 30 years’ experience has taken her around the country to work for Colorado Shakespeare Company, the Tony Award winning Denver Center Theater Company, professional Broadway touring shows as well as many professional and amateur smaller theaters. Molly holds an MFA degree in Costume Design and Technology from the University of Florida.

 

Mary, who is a member of VT’s Silver Foxes, has been in the productions of Assisted Living^© and Assisted Living^©: THE Home for the Holidays. This is her first time serving as a stage manager.