CATHY ARNOLD. (Assistant Director - Hairspray) Cathy joined TAT in 2007 and recently did the choreography for Annie Jr. She is a current member of Capital Cabaret, having performed with Capital Cabaret all four years of the groups existence. Cathy also performed as Grizebella in Cats, the Wardrobe in Beauty and the Beast and as Mrs. Cratchet in A Christmas Carol, 2008. She has also performed with Taking Flight Productions and received a WATCH nomintation for her performance in the pop-rock operat BARE. Next, Cathy will be the Assistant Director of Hairspray.
MICHELLE BOGERT. Michelle has become an irreplaceable asset to TAT productions. Her lively personality and creativity makes the costumes on stage come alive with indivduality and character. As for day job, she is Profssional Organizer, which means all the costumes will be in the correct location, with teh added bonus of looking amazin gon the hangers. She started with props in the summer production of Honk! And from there participated in numberious other TAT shows including The Wizard of Oz, Cats, Beauty and the Beast and Willy Wonka. The stage was filled with vibrant colors as each character came alive in Aladdin Jr and she outdid herself, recently, as costume designer for Annie Jr creating het allusion that the sun really will come up tomorrow.
MICHAEL CLARK. (Assistant Technical Director, Hairspray) Michael has stage managed at theatres throughout Northern VA and Washington DC on shows like Bye Bye Birdie, My Fair Lady, The Miracle Worker, Arcadia, Rehearsal for Murder, Pippin, and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged); directed The Confession of Billy Drake; ran lights for Seascape; served as Technical Director for Shakespeare in Hollywood; and designed the sound effects and ran the sound board for Noises Off! He has also appeared on stage in The Time of Your Life, Captain John Smith: History of McLean and Great Falls, and The Lion in Winter. By day he is the editor and publisher of <http://ShowBizRadio.net>ShowBizRadio.net, a web magazine focusing on theater in the Washington DC region.
TINA DEMPSEY. Tina started with TAT's Beauty and the Beast with her daughter. Since then she's worked on Willy Wonka, Art of Murder, Mulan Jr and Camelot. She is grateful for the opportunity to use the creative talents developed uring a past life as Art Director in Advertising. She also volunteers to support shcool plays, book fiars and other general stuff, and somehow manages to squeeze in her Mary Kay business! "I have made some wonderful friends by getting involved with TAT and I encourage anyone to jump in and do the same. It is truly rewarding to be a part of the magic of theatre."
ANNIE ERMLICK (Director - Hairspray) Annie is a member of Actor's Equity, AFTRA and SAG. She began dance, acting and voice at the age of 6 in Philadelphia, PA. She attended Eastman School of Music as an Applied Voice Major and then went on to study Musical Theatre at the American Musical Dramatic Academy in NYC. Annie's professional background includes performing both On and Off Broadway totalling 7 shows. she began her professional career at age 18 with the Philadelphia Opera Company winning the Pavarotti Jr Vocalist Award, appearing in the Chorus in a cast with Pavarotti. Her NYC career began at the Light Opera of Manhattan and she was very fortunate to be under the mentorship of Todd Ellison who is now a 4 time tony Award Winning Musical Director. After raising her children Heidi, 21 and Billy, 17, she decided to return to performing on Film, TV and on Stage. Some favorites include Godspell (Joanne), A Night in the Theatre (Donna), Cats (Bombularina), Noises Off (Mrs. Clackett). She is currently in the cast of TAT's Capital Cabaret. She recently decided to return to directing and just completed TAT's Annie Jr this past March. Some other production credits aside from directing include Choreographer, Costume Mistress, Artistic Director, Assistant Director and Technical Director. Annie is delighted to be back with her 12th TAT show, directing Hairspray. she looks forward to working on Hairspray with a fabulous production team. She says "Have a wonderful audition, relax and know that we are on your side and want you to do well and have a great time during this audition process!".
PENNY FISCHER (Board Member - Treasurer) Penny has been involved with TAT for 5 years and held many volunteer poisitions but always seems to come back to Costumes and PRops. Required to travel most weekends with American Airlines she has to "volunteer" the services of her husband Chuck to take over unfinished jobs while she is gone. She recently handled Properties for Annie Jr and is the current TAT Board of Directors Treasurer. "Being a part of the TAT organization allows us to do things as a family. It is a fun opportunity."
DAWNE LEKANG. (Board Member - Secretary; Producer, Little Shop of Horrors) Dawne works as a Systems Engineer for Northrop Grumman. She has a MS in Computer Science from George Washington University and a BS in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University. Dawne became involved in theatre at a young age, having specialized in ballet dance all through her younger years. She began with TAT with the Summer Stars production of Oliver! She has performed in TAT productions along side her 3 children and worked on sets with her husband. Dawne has also done choreography for several TAT productions. Dawne is currently maintaining the TAT website, the Vendini ticketing system and the TAT patron program. She recently produced Annie Jr and will be producing Little Shop of Horrors.
MATINA PHILLIPS (Hairspray Lead Choreographer) is from Fairfax, VA where she received her dance training foundation at Center Stage Dance & Performing Arts Center. She graduated from Elon University in 2010 with a BFA Dance Performance & Choreography degree and a minor in Business Administration. Matina is trained in a variety of different genres including jazz, tap, ballet, modern, contemporary, musical theater, hip hop, lyrical, and African. At Elon University, Matina was a member of the Elon Dance Company where she performed in multiple concerts, including works by choreographers Chuck Davis and Leslie Scott, and also presented her own choreography ranging from concert dance to entertaining tap routines. Matina was also an intern at Broadway Dance Center in New York City which enabled her to further craft her technique and performance skills by being immersed with professional choreographers and high-quality dance classes. Currently, Matina is a performer, teacher, and choreographer in the D.C. area. From 2010-2011 she has performed in venues such as Round House Theatre, Joe's Movement Emporium, The Warehouse, Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, The Phillips Collection, The Fridge, The Jack Guidone Theatre, Dance New Amsterdam and Green Space. She is currently performing with Contradiction Dance, Micheline Heal & Dancers, and has performed with MetroTAP. Matina most recently contributed choreography to The Keegan Theatre's production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. She is also a dance teacher at Tiny Dancers based out of Fairfax, Gainesville, and Alexandria, VA
MAGGIE SWAN (Board Member, Vice President; Producer - Capital Cabaret) Maggie has been involved in theatre for nearly 35 years. Although Maggie began with acting she really enjoys working behind the scenes - directing, producing and generally making things happen. Nearly ten years ago Maggie established the Kings Players, a Christian based theatre group for young and old at King of Kings Lutheran Church. Maggie began with TAT's production of Beauty and the Beast and has been involved in some way with every TAT production since, most recently as Aladding Jr Co-Producter and Director, Mulan Jr. Director and Camelot Producer. By day, Maggie works for General Dynamics.
ELAINE WILSON (Board Member, President) Elaine was the theatre director at Chantilly High School in Virginia for 28 years. She built her department into one of the largest and most respected in the D.C. area. A graduate of Northwestern University, she has logged over 50 years in educational and regional theatre from L.A. to D.C. She co-authored with students Just Say No, a children's musical which received national attention. Her musical group "Jazzin" entertained for over 10 years. She is a past president of the Theatre Arts Directors Association. Elaine's students have received numerous awards and honors for their performances. Her young playwrights have had works produced Off-Broadway. Her actors have appeared in Another World, Small Soldiers and Pleasantville. Her technical students have worked on Paris Trout, The Shawshank Redemption, The Ice Capades, CNN, and at Virginia Tech.
SARAH MEIBURG (Board Member; Producer, Hairspray) - Sarah has been active with The Alliance Theatre for 7 years and has acted in a producer capacity for 4 Alliance Theatre productions. She has been on the board of directors for 4 years. When not involved in an Alliance Theatre production, Sarah is President of Hazelnut Marketing, a healthcare focused advertising and marketing firm.
MARWAN NABULSI (Board Member) Marwan joined the TAT technical crew as Lighting Designer for Aladdin Jr. For Annie Jr, Marwan assumed responsibility for the sound. With a degree in Electrical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis this "Mr. Mom" welcomes the chance to apply his technical knowledge beyond changing light bulbs and helping with science fair projects at home. A thespian in high school, Marwan relishes the opportunity to watch his daughter blossom on stage while helping out this fun, family oriented community theatre.
DON HALTERMAN (Music Director, Hairspray) – Don is excited to be a part of The Alliance Theatre production of Hairspray this summer! His musical involvement in community theatre has included the shows Godspell, Footloose, Nifty Fifties, Children of Eden, Grease, You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, and Les Miserables. He is currently working on music for the original musical “Weaver”, to be performed in late September 2011.