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© 2008 Valley Youth Theatre
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Working Together
Bobb Cooper 
Bobb is in his eleventh year at VYT as Producing Artistic & Managing Director. He came to VYT with a bright new vision to offer children a safe place to learn, grow, and exercise their innate sense of creativity. Under his direction and energetic leadership, Valley Youth Theatre has become a highly-respected, professional-level theatre company where virtually thousands of young people experience the magic of live theatre. Bobb's first full season at Valley Youth Theatre was nominated for 32 ariZoni Awards for Theatre Excellence, and was the recipient of 15 awards, including Best Overall Children's Production for Annie and Best Director for The Wizard of Oz, a favorite production of Bobb's because it so beautifully illustrates his view that anything can happen as long as you believe. On the heels of the successful 1997-98 season, VYT lost their home at Tower Plaza. Bobb and the Board found a run-down building at the corner of First Street and Fillmore, a lease was negotiated and construction began on a new home for Valley Youth Theatre. For most of the 1998-1999 season, Bobb could be found with hammer, nails and shovel in hand. Yet, he still managed to produce two shows that season at the Herberger Theater Center, and walked away from the 1998-99 ariZoni Awards with Best Director honors for You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. In the 1999-2000 season, Bobb oversaw the grand opening of VYT's new 202-seat theatre, produced eight shows, including the very successful Peter Pan for which he secured the set from the Cathy Rigby touring show.
Kim Rice Kim brings 20 years of business and financial management experience to VYT in the position of General Manager. As a former resident of Chicago, Ms. Rice served as Vice President of Operations in a variety of industries including Piper Studios Inc., a web development and marketing collateral company; Media Staffing Network, a staffing placement organization; CHICOR Information Management, Inc., a software development company; and her fondest association - The Pritzker Organization. Kim's business focus on creating, implementing and fine-tuning business processes and procedures, makes her a great addition to the ever-growing and evolving VYT. The desert lifestyle makes Phoenix the perfect venue for Kim and her husband Jim Silha, employed with KPHO Channel 5, to blend professional experience and their love of golf. Lauren Antioco Lauren Antioco, is a VYT alumni who completed graduate school at ASU with a teaching certification in Theatre Arts. Lauren has also received her B.A. in Psychology and Theatre Arts at Iona College in New York City. Lauren is co-director of the VYTeens Troupe. Lauren has acted in many shows such as Bye Bye Birdie, Annie, Macbeth, and West Side Story. She has also directed plays such as The Glass Menagerie, The Importance of Being Ernest, The Jungle Book, and 101 Dalmatians. Karol Cooper Karol has been designing since the 1996-97 season, when she won ariZoni Awards for Best Costume Design for Cinderella, Wizard of Oz, and Raggedy Ann and Andy. In 1999-2000 she won ariZoni Awards for Best Costume Design for A Winnie-The-Pooh Christmas Tail and Jungle Book; in 2000-2001, she received ariZoni Awards for her costumes in A Winnie-The-Pooh Christmas Tail and West Side Story and an ariZoni Award for Hair & Makeup. Karol received 10 ariZoni Award nominations (the most of any artist) and two ariZoni Awards for costume and hair and makeup designs in the 2001-2002 season. She also received a 2002 Maxie Award Honorable Mention for Best Costume Design for The Wiz. For VYT's 2002-2003 season, Karol won ariZoni Awards for Best Costume Design and for Hair & Makeup for The Wiz and for Hair & Makeup for The Little Mermaid. She received a 2004 ariZoni for Best Costume Design and Hair & Makeup for Titanic and a Best Hair & Makeup award for Pinocchio. In 2005, Karol was honored with 11 ariZoni Award nominations, garnering three awards for her incredible costumes for The Wizard of Oz and hair and makeup designs for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the Wizard of Oz. Rounding off the list are 10 nominations in 2006 and 2 awards for costumes and hair and makeup for Bye Bye Birdie. Mark Fearey
Mark is in his eleventh season at VYT. Mark has been recognized for his outstanding musical direction at VYT with ariZoni Awards for theatre excellence for The Wizard of Oz, Titanic, Annie, The Wiz, Oliver!, West Side Story and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. He came to the world of children's theatre with an extensive history in music and accompaniment, a Master's of Music in Performance from ASU and a degree in Piano Performance from D'Angelo School of Music, Mercyhurst College. Mark also is the Music Director for Abiding Savior Lutheran Church; accompanist for the Voice Department at Grand Canyon University; and Music Director for the local opera group, Opera-tunity. Mark has traveled to Germany and Austria, where he performed in numerous instrumental and vocal recitals. Mark also has served as the opera music director on the Lake in Center Lovell, Maine. He is also accompanist for the classical/pop/jazz vocal divisions of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts ARTS Week in Miami, FL. He and his wife Tory are the proud parents of Olivia, born in December!
Jessica Graeber Jessica Graeber is a passionate actor, director, and teacher. Jessica received her B.F.A. in Theatre Education from the University of Utah. She was the recipient of the prestigious Artsbridge Scholarship and College of Fine Arts Advisory Board Scholarship. She is proud to be the director of the VYT Playmakers Troupe and co-director of the VYT HaHa's. Jessica is a professional improvisational actor/instructor and performs weekly with the comedy troupe, the Jester'z. Other productions have included A Midsummer Night's Dream, You Can't Take it With You, Naomi in the Living Room, and Macbeth. Bruce McBurney Bruce loves working with the energetic and talented folks at VYT, especially the wonderful parent volunteers who work on sets! There is always room for more helpers, regardless of their experience level! Bruce comes to VYT from seven years of school bus driving and seven years as the Technical Director at the Tempe Performing Arts Center. Bruce has a degree in Education from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, and did some graduate work in Theatre Arts at ASU. He has experience in commercial set construction, such as movies, TV commercials and trade shows. The McBurney family has been involved with VYT for some years and enjoys the quality experiences offered by VYT. Carolyn McBurney Carolyn gets to combine her theatre roots with her marketing and community volunteer experience at VYT. For 15 years, she worked in Phoenix metro television in the capacity of marketing and community relations. She joined Valley Youth Theatre last year after serving the Valley non-profit community since 2002 as President of EnVision Project Management. Carolyn is glad to be a part of the exciting things going on at Valley Youth Theatre along with her hubby, Bruce (see below) and Robyn (NARNIA). Joey Mitchell Joey is a recent graduate of Florida State University, specializing in Marketing and Management. Having been a part of the Florida State University School of Theatre for the past four years, he has developed a greater appreciation for theatre through his years of hard work. Joey is extremely excited to be a part of the Valley Youth Theatre family, and he is grateful for the opportunity the Theatre has given him. Marten Niner Marten Niner has performed professionally all over the world. Beginning his stage career as a classically trained vocalist, he is an alumnus of the Phoenix Boys Choir, Phoenix Symphony Masterworks Chorale and Naval Academy Glee Club. Marten has performed, directed and taught improvisation for over 15 years. He was a founding member and assistant director of the Oxymoron'Z Improv Comedy Troupe and has performed stand-up around the Valley including The Improv in Tempe. Marten serves on the Board of Directors of Valley Youth Theatre. Stacey Reed Stacey comes to Phoenix from New York City. Since moving here, she has taught, directed and performed improvisational comedy with The Originals improve comedy troupe, and taught workshops for the Great Southwest Comedy Convention. She is currently performing in her two-person improvised show, Irrational Fear. In New York, Stacey was the co-founder of improve comedy troupe Late Night Ritalin, which performed regularly around Manhattan. She also appeared regularly in the sketch comedy show "Saturday Night Rewritten,"" which is a Sunday night revisionist's look at the previous night's Saturday Night Live." She was a producer and workshop director of the Oktoberfest improve comedy festival in New York City, and also regularly taught summer enrichment drama and dance programs to children and teens in her hometown of Akron, Ohio. She is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University. Lauren Nicole Sherwood Lauren Sherwood practically grew up on the Curtain Call stage, a community theatre in Stamford, CT. After many years of performance, her passions shifted to directing and theatre education. Hoping to someday become an Artistic Director, Lauren traveled to Tucson to pursue her BFA in Arts Management from the University of Arizona. After graduation, she moved to Tallahassee to attend Florida State University, where received her MFA in Theatre Management. Carla Sulka Carla is thrilled to rejoin the staff of Valley Youth Theatre, where she previously worked in media and public relations. For the past 4 years she has been a stay at home mom for two sets of twins, Emily and Maddy who are 11 and Miles and Audrey who are 4. Carla is a native of Phoenix and very involved in the community, and serves on the Boards of Directors for the Upward Foundation and the Phoenix Women's Sports Association. When not at VYT, at home or in a meeting, you'll probably find her on the tennis court. She is looking forward to watching a new crop of youth actors hone and perfect their skills under the tutelage of the amazing VYT creative forces. Carla and her husband Seth have been married for 12 years. Seth Sulka Seth, a life-long resident of Arizona brings extensive Valley connections to the position, having served over 18 years in the Valley Sports marketing and management field. Seth oversaw the creation, organization and management of the Phoenix Mercury from its inception in 1996 until 2006. Prior to that, he was Vice President of Operations for Phoenix Arena Sports, which included the Arizona Rattlers, the Phoenix Sandsharks, the Phoenix Smash and various tennis, boxing and NHL exhibitions. His sports career started with Jerry Colangelo and the Phoenix Suns in 1990, where he worked in media relations before moving to Operations. Paul C. Thorpe II Paul is thrilled to have joined VYT full time after six years of collaborating part time. Since starting with Peter Pan in 2000, Paul has worked all of the VYT Herberger shows and a handful of shows at Valley Youth Theatre. He has shared his talents with other Valley arts organizations, including the last five seasons with Ballet Arizona. When Paul is not working, he loves spending time with his son Jacob. J'ana Young J'ana has been teaching musical theatre at Valley Youth Theatre for over 4 years. She has a BA in piano performance and voice and is working on a graduate degree in collaborative piano and musical theater. J'ana teaches private piano for Noteworthy Academy of Music. She enjoys spending time with her family and new husband, Daniel, making costumes and watching musical theatre productions. |
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