John Sparks, Artistic Director

John Sparks was the founder/co-Director of the Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop (1979-1995) and the Artistic Director of ANMT from 1995 to the present. He founded the Writers' Workshop at Theatre Building Chicago in 1987 and was its Artistic Director for over a decade. Between the two workshops, John has mentored the work of over 250 writers, including Mark Hollmann, composer/lyricist of "Urinetown"; George Gorham and Dan Sticco, "A Change in the Heir". Other writers in the workshops have earned three Richrad Rodgers Awards and two Kleban Awards. Nearly 400 shows written by workshop members have been produced in theatres across the country. John’s own musicals have been produced in Los Angeles and Chicago.

academy@anmt.org

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Elise Dewsberry, Artistic Director

Elise has been involved in the development of new works for over fifteen years: as an actor/singer, as a director, as a dramaturge, and as a writer. While living in Toronto, Elise served as the Assistant Artistic Director of the Muskoka Festival; the Co-Ordinator of the festival’s annual Musical Theatre Writer’s Colony, the Associate Dramaturge of the Canadian Stage Company; the Resident Dramaturge of the Smile Theatre Company; and was the co-founder of Toronto’s Script Lab. Elise spent many years touring Canada with NINE MONTHS – a one-woman musical which she commissioned from writers Carl Ritchie and Stephen Woodjetts. Elise and Carl also co-wrote ANY BODY HOME?, which was produced by the Cordova Bay Theatre in Victoria, British Columbia, and published by Dramatic Publishing.

academy@anmt.org

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Scott Guy, Executive Director

Under Scott's tenure, the Academy has developed over 50 musicals for producers across the country, and over 100 independent musicals by ANMT writers. Scott's current and recent writing projects include: Musical version of Pirates of the Caribbean for Disney; script consultant for a musical by Placido Domingo, Jr., book/lyrics of e-$cape: a cybermusical for UC/Irvine; The Ghosts of Stowell Hill with music by Charles Ives; and Hunger at 2009 Stages Festival in Chicago, with music by 2009 Richard Rodgers composer Karlan Judd. Television credits: Six Emmy nominations, and over 100 produced television scripts for Warner Bros., FOX-TV, Disney, Discovery Channel, PBS, etc. www.scottguy.biz.

academy@anmt.org

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SUPPORT STAFF

Jake Anthony, Director, Perpetual Surrey; Music Director, PW

Jake works as a composer, vocal coach, and Music Director in the L.A. area. After receiving an MM in Vocal Performance and Opera Coaching at the University of North Texas, Jake turned towards musical theatre, serving as Music Director for You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Cabaret, Kiss Me Kate, and Side by Side by Sondheim for Dallas area theatres, and Once Upon a Mattress and The Importance of Being Earnest for UNT Theatre. Jake's L.A. theater work includes Snoopy! at the McCadden Place Theater, as well as the West Coast premieres of Splendora and Songs from an Unmade Bed at Celebration Theatre. As a composer, Jake recently co-wrote the 15-minute "mini"-musical "Oh God, We're Gonna Die!" with Jeff Marx (co-author of Avenue Q), and has just completed his first full-length show, Now and Then a Hero, with book and lyrics by Larry Johnson. Jake is thrilled to be part of the ANMT team, and their constant commitment to the development of new works.

ps@anmt.org

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Ellen Dostal, Producer

Ellen was ANMT’s associate producer for the 2007 Theater League Festival of new works. She is a founding member of the Academy Repertory Company and previously completed ANMT’s core curriculum as a lyricist. As an actor she has participated in many readings of new works, such as The Big Deal with ANMT and Mercury Musicals/London, the Colony Theatre reading series including Bonnie and Clyde, ANMT’s 2004 Fifteen Minute Musicals and many more. She looks forward to creating new opportunities for writers that will nurture their skills and provide them increased success.

edostal@anmt.org

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Joshua Finkel, Director, Performers' Workshop

Joshua Finkel has directed everything from Industrial Video and Plays, to Musical Theater and Cabaret. His 2004 production of the Los Angeles Premiere of THE SPITFIRE GRILL at the Actors Co-op Theater in Hollywood received the LA TIMES CRITIC'S PICK. One of his other ongoing shows, HOLLYWOOD REVISITED is scheduled to play many top corporate and private events, including cruises to Tokyo, New Zealand and Monte Carlo as well as symphony and convention dates around the country. Joshua directed the West Coast premiere of SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD at San Francisco's prestigious Plush Room in 2002 and in addition, Joshua heads up the musical theater emphasis at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks and teaches audition prep and audtion portfolio at AMDA LA in Hollywood. Joshua teaches everything from Musical Theatre to Cold Reading to Shakespeare. Joshua's own personal Los Angeles coaching studio, the Creative Combustion Acting Studio, tailors classes, private and phone coachings for actors and public speakers of all ages and levels. Among his several acting credits, Joshua starred on Broadway opposite Chita Rivera and Vanessa Williams as Molina the Window Dresser in the Original Cast of KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN; Joshua also carries an MFA in Classical Theatre from the University of Delaware and is a member of the Musical Theater Guild. Having directed the New Works Festival for ANMT in 2003 and produced the incredibly successful evening of celebrity songwriters at the Colony Theater "AND THEN I WROTE..." in 2004, Joshua is thrilled be continuing to develop new musicals for the musical theatre community of the west coast and beyond. For more information: www.ccactingstudio.com

pw@anmt.org

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Darin Goulet, ARC Music Director

Darin Goulet wrote his first musical, Not Much Fun (Adapted From Dorothy Parker), as his Harvard thesis. He has played, accompanied, music directed and conducted everything from classical recitals and Carmina Burana to jazz combos, rock bands and a Broadway-themed restaurant. He has improvised music on the spot for the Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis and for ComedySportz Los Angeles, including their long-form 90-minute “U-sical.” He has helped to develop new musicals not only with ARC, but also at Harvard and with Nautilus Music-Theatre and the Ordway Theater in Minneapolis. With his wife Tara Redepenning he has written several musicals for young audiences, which have been produced by Lincoln Middle School in Santa Monica and by the award-winning Youth Education/Entertainment Series at the Morgan-Wixson Theater. He, Tara and ANMT member Hillary Rollins are now writing the show Aging Out, in development with ANMT and UC Irvine. Darin also writes choral music; his composition The Road Goes Ever On was premiered in 2003 by the Southern CA Vocal Association Honor Choir. Darin currently teaches music to elementary students at the prestigious UCLA Lab School. Though happiest behind a piano, he also plays guitar, drums, harmonica, harmonium, ukelele, clarinet and fiddle. dgoulet@anmt.org

dgoulet@anmt.org

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Ross Kalling, Music Consultant

Ross Källing is a familiar face at the pianos of various theatres and nightclubs around Los Angeles. Most recently he played for Pacific Resident Theatre’s production of Happy End. In years past, he was musical director for Friends and Artists Theatre Ensemble’s productions of Marat/Sade and ThreePenny Opera, both of which won him Dramalogue awards for excellence in musical direction. He also was Musical Director for the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble’s revival of Liz Swados’ Night Club Cantata. Before beginning his tenure as Director of Music Curriculum for the Academy, he served as musical director for the prestigious Beverly Hills Playhouse for fifteen years, working with the likes of Jeffrey Tambor, Doris Roberts, Gene Reynolds and many others. Recently he worked as musical director/arranger/producer on an original song for the film Relative Strangers, coaxing respectable vocal harmonies out of Danny Devito and a glorious vocal performance out of Cathy Bates. In the Cabaret world his favorite compatriot (amongst many) is Penny Fuller.

rkalling@anmt.org

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Andrea Press, Producer

As a founding member of ARC, Andrea Press has been actively involved with ANMT’s development process for the past several years and has recently begun to try her hand at directing, first with Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment in the ARC-produced Concert Reading of four one-act musicals based on popular American short stories and most recently with two of the 2008 15 Minute Musicals, “Keeping Score” and “The Blue Queen and the Red Shadow” as well as choreographing a third, “Bone Appetit”. She coordinated the support staff for the 2006 and 2008 Biz of the Musical Theatre Biz conference. As an actress, she has performed a wide variety of roles ranging from the Beggar Woman in Sweeney Todd to Auntie Julie, the head Prairie Dog in the original musical, Peril on the Prairie. She also performed as a featured soloist at the Gold River Casino in Laughlin, Nevada. Cabaret performances in Los Angeles include the shows, Separated at Birth and her first solo venture, Waiting for Life to Begin. Andrea holds a BA in Music & Performing Arts from UC Riverside and an MFA in Musical Theatre from UC Irvine. She also trained at NYU in a summer program offered by LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art) and subsequently received a scholarship to continue her studies for the next year in New York and London at the British-American Acting Academy.

apress@anmt.org

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Peter Welkin, Producer

Peter’s background includes multiple stage productions as an actor, singer, director and choreographer. Peter is a graduate of AMDA in New York and currently serves as a producer, director and actor with ANMT. Favorite stage roles have included George in Sunday In The Park With George, Roger in A New Brain, Keith in Elegies, A Song Cycle. Non-musical roles include Stephen in Eastern Standard and Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing. He is a founding member of Academy Repertory Company, the performer’s wing of ANMT. Film projects include the short Singles Night as well as a supernatural thriller feature The Follower. His favorite creative projects to date are Miranda, Nathan and Genevieve.

pwelkin@anmt.org

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