MEMORIAL GIFTS

from Ragtime - 2023

by mtwichita

Bet ter Care L ives Here

May 2022 - June 2023

In Memory Of

Amy Antenen

Linda Marshall

Belden Mills

Sy Fischer

Stephanie Witsman Simon

Tim Sturm

Verla Swindler

In loving memory of these friends with condolences to their loved ones.

Endowed Sponsorship

Robbi C. Heck held a great appreciation for music theatre. More than that, she was exceptional in her encouragement of the performers. Young performers of Music Theatre for Young People, company members of MTWichita, and even seasoned actors were recipients of her words of appreciation for their efforts as she urged them to continue to hone their skills. In acknowledgment of Robbi, this sponsorship is given to the company member who inspires the work of others and encourages them to be the best they can be in the practice of their art.

1 Based on assets under administration (AUA) as of March 31, 2023. Investment Products: NOT FDIC INSURED | MAY LOSE VALUE | NO BANK GUARANTEE Commerce Trust is a division of Commerce Bank.

arson Hampton Palmer is the 2023 Robbi Heck Encourager onsorship designee. Joining us for his second consecutive ummer, Carson exhibits leadership onstage and in rehearsal, ilding up those around him along the way.

DEIDRE GOODWIN (Director) is thrilled to join Music Theatre

Wichita for the first time and honored that the show she is directing is Ragtime. As a Director/Choreographer recent work includes: Beautiful (Director/Choreographer), A Chorus Line (Director), Dreamgirls (Director/Choreographer), and Pippin (Choreographer).

ERIC SCIOTTO (Director/Choreographer) Since appearing in the ’96 and ’97 MTW seasons, Eric has performed in countless regional productions, concerts, tours, and 12 Broadway Shows! He's also directed and choreographed numerous plays and musicals and is currently a professor of Musical Theatre at the University of Utah. Eric is thrilled to return for ROA, after choreographing last season's The Wizard of Oz. Thank you, Brian & the MTW team!

As an actor, select credits include Broadway: A Chorus Line (Sheila) and Chicago (Velma). Film: Chicago (June – Cellblock Tango), Every Little Step and Ocean’s 8. TV: East New York and the infamous “MILF Island” episode of 30 Rock

MICHELLE POTTERF (Choreographer) held the title of Go-toHell Kitty, Roxie Hart (us), and was selected to work alongside Ms. Ann Reinking as the Dance Captain of the Broadway Musical Chicago for nine years. Her choreography can be seen in the short films Group Chat Down, Blue Wednesday, and Kaya. Some select stage choreography credits include Pippin, A Day in Hollywood, and Urinetown the Musical. She is currently Head of Dance at the Professional Conservatory of Musical Theater at NYFA.

THOMAS W. DOUGLAS (Music Director) is a compelling and passionate conductor with a long history with MTWichita. He has performed hundreds of productions nationally and internationally. Highlights include conducting Webber’s Phantom of the Opera in Switzerland. Thomas is currently the Artistic Director of the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh and has conducted the symphony orchestras in San Diego, Pittsburgh, Des Moines, Wichita and Seattle; as well as at the Anchorage Opera and the Pittsburgh Festival Opera. He has done a number of premieres and debuts and is a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He has conducted Tony Winners Leslie Odom Jr. and Kelli O’Hara. www.thomaswdouglas.com

ALYSHA MORGAN (Associate Director/Choreographer) is excited to be a part of this process! Choreography: Dreamgirls (Arrow Rock Lyceum), Beautiful (Arrow Rock Lyceum). Off-Broadway: The Harder They Come (The Public Theater). Regional: Chess (The Muny), Smokey Joe’s Cafe (Engeman), A Wonderful World (Miami New Drama). Tours: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2nd Nat’l).

Commercials: Shoe Dazzle, JustFab. Proverbs 3:6.

@TheAlyshaMorgan

CHUCK KOSLOWSKE (Associate Music Director) is thrilled to return to MTWichita this summer! He has been music director/ keyboardist for many productions in Oklahoma City, Boulder, and elsewhere. He made his New York debut in 2002 at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. Charles earned degrees in collaborative piano and vocal performance and pedagogy from the University of ColoradoBoulder and is currently faculty at Oklahoma City University.

JORDAN SLUSHER (Scenic Coordinator) is a Wichita local scenic designer and a graduate of Wichita State University. Recent scenic and projection design credits include: MTW’s Holiday Special, Spongebob with MTYP, MTW’s Mirette, Grease, Red, White and Broadway, Ballet Wichita’s Tom Sawyer, Osage Ballet’s The Nutcracker, and the Opera Kansas world premiere of Staggerwing. Thank you to Brian, Michael, Jeremy and the brilliant MTW staff for the wonderful collaborations!

MARANDA DEBUSK (Lighting Designer) (she/her) is a theatremaker and storyteller, primarily working as a lighting and media designer. Her work has been seen across the US and internationally at the Prague Quadrennial (Prague, 2019 and 2023) and World Stage Design (Taipei, 2017). At the core of her work is her belief that the best work is that which, when let out into the world, improves it.

SHANNON SMITH-REGNIER (Costume Coordinator) is thrilled to be returning to MTW after designing Wizard of Oz last season. She is currently teaching costume design at Avila University and designing locally in KC. Design credits include: MTH, Music Theatre Wichita, Spinning Tree Theater, Theatre in the Park, Kansas City Regional Theatre, KCAT, Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre, Quality Hill, and the American Heartland Theater. She has also guest designed at Kansas University and Wichita State University. She has also worked in the costume shops of Music Theatre Wichita and Glimmerglass Opera.

JOSHUA HARRIS (Hair & Makeup Designer) is excited to be returning home to Music Theatre Wichita! Josh has been involved in many ways throughout the years at MTW starting way back as a member of the teen choir! Josh is currently living in NYC swinging on multiple Broadway shows including Beetlejuice, Hadestown, Almost Famous and A Beautiful Noise. Most recently Josh has been the interim Hair and Makeup Supervisor for MJ: The Musical on Broadway. Josh has also enjoyed his involvement in several touring productions including the National Tours of Hairspray and A Bronx Tale as well as the international tour of The Sound of Music. Joshua would like to thank his Wichita friends and family for their endless support.

DAVID MUEHL (Sound Designer) is MTWichita’s primary sound designer. During MTWichita’s “off season,” David works for Wichita State, where he is the Performance Facilities Audio Producer and advises technical theater student sound designers. Some of his favorite sound designs have been for The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Into the Woods, Les Misérables, and The Wizard of Oz.

KEVAN LONEY (Projections Designer) Recent designs include:

Smokey Joe’s Cafe (The Muny, St. Louis Theatre Circle Award), An American in Paris (Drury Lane Theatre, Equity Jeff Award); Animation: Super Bowl Halftime Show LV, LVI, The 64th Grammy Awards, The BET Awards 2022 (Screens: DFP). Once (VinWonders Phú Quốc, Des. Aaron Rhyne). www.KevanLoney.com

KATE BUSSELLE (Violence Designer) (she/her) is the founder of Heartland Intimacy Design & Training and is Assistant Professor of Movement, Intimacy, and Violence at the University of Oklahoma. She is a Level 1 Margolis Method Certified Educator and is an Advanced Actor Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors (SAFD). She is also a member of the Association of Movement Theatre Educators (ATME) and the Women and Theatre Program (WTP) through the Association of Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE).

MICHAEL COLE (Director of Production) is pleased to join the yearround staff, after working as Lighting Director and a Lighting Designer in 2021 and 2022. He relocated from New York City, and has worked internationally on dance, opera, musical theatre, corporate events and more. His credits include productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, international tours, and regional theatre across the USA.

JEREMY LITTLEFIELD (Technical Director) started working professionally behind the scenes in 2006. He has his MFA from Carnegie Mellon University and BFA from Oklahoma City University. Jeremy started with MTWichita in 2016 and has enjoyed advancing the technical level of its productions and educating future generations of workers behind the curtain. He has worked across the country on many tours and is always in search of a new challenge to overcome. In his free time, Jeremy likes to adventure with his camera and take photos of the uncommon perspective. A firm believer that learning never stops, he loves to both teach and learn and is dedicated to improving the industry.

ALLY HASSELBACK (Production Stage Manager) is thrilled to return to Music Theatre Wichita for her 5th season with this spectacular company. All love and credit always to the entire Stage Management team, the MTW production team, and her incredibly supportive family at home in Buffalo. Ally is a proud member of Actors Equity Association.

ERIN MITTMAN (Stage Manager) is elated to be at home with her seventh season at MTWichita after starting on the Stage Management team as an apprentice in 2016! National Tours: Les Misérables, My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof.

AMANDA BOWMAN (Company Manager) joined the Music Theatre Wichita team full-time as development and marketing coordinator in 2019 and transitioned to Company Manager/Office Manager in 2022. She started her career with MTWichita as an apprentice in 2005 and has had numerous titles in the years since, most recently as production stage manager. Amanda is a Wichita native and Wichita State alum, with a bachelor’s in theatre and a master’s in human resource management. She has worked all over the country as a stage manager and is thrilled to be back home.

ALEXANDRIA FLYNN (Head of Properties) is ecstatic to be joining MTW this summer. Her 20-year theatre career has led her on adventures from coast to coast, just recently finishing her 220th production. When she is not traveling she enjoys working as the Props Coordinator at the Sarasota Opera, yoga, as well as long walks on the beach. She has worked in a wide range of disciplines from dance and puppet shows to film and everything in between. Some of her favorite credits include: Pride and Prejudice (Santa Cruz Shakespeare), Beauty and the Beast (Fulton Theatre), Turandot (Sarasota Opera). She would like to thank her parents for the gift of a joyous life, her friends and colleagues, and all of life’s little moments for creating stories that are worth sharing.

MELISSA PENKAVA KOZA (Head of Costumes) is an Ohio native and the Costume Shop Manager and Production Coordinator for the School of Performing Arts at WSU. Recent design credits include Mirette (MTWichita 2021). MFA in Theatre Design/Production, University of Memphis, 2014. Love and gratitude to her husband Jesse for many years of patience and support. www.mapkoza.com

JACOB KRAMER (Head of Wardrobe) is thrilled to return for their 6th season backstage at MTW! Jacob saw their first show ever here at 5 years old, and now getting to Wardrobe Supervise is a dream come true. Now based in NYC, they are a member of the wardrobe team at Playwrights Horizons.

KATIE CRANDALL (Head of Hair and Makeup) is celebrating her tenth season at MTW! A Wichitan now based in NYC, she works as the wardrobe supervisor at Playwrights Horizons. Katie is also an opera singer, receiving her MM from the University of Oklahoma in 2021. Recent engagements include Bronx Opera, Utah Valley Opera Festival and Chicago Summer Opera.

Graham Darnell (Head of Electrics) Recent graduate from Oklahoma City University with a BFA in Lighting Design and Technology. Working as a film photographer and Lighting Designer, using light to capture and tell stories, has gifted Graham opportunities to meet so many incredible artists and collaborators along the way. GDDarnelllx.wixsite.com/gddesigns

LARRY HUFFMAN (Head of Set Construction) is a scenic technician originally from Kansas. He has been working professionally as an educator and theatrical technician since 1999. Notable companies that Larry has worked for include Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma City University, and Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma. Larry is also a trained pyrotechnician.

KYLA MANSFIELD (Head of Scenic Art) (she/her) has been painting, collaborating, and creating in Wichita for nearly ten years! She has had the pleasure of working with many local theatres including Roxy’s Downtown, Field of Screams, and Shocker Studios. In the off season, you can find her at PAINTology working with the wonderful Rachel Downs where she gets to work on projects that range from art walls to haunted houses and everything in between. She would like to thank her family on and off stage, with special thanks to her ever-patient partner.

RYAN MORROW (Head of Audio) is back for his 9th season at MTWichita. Not only has he worked in the Wichita area but the Chicago, St. Louis, and Ft. Worth areas as well. When not spending time in a cold, dark theater, you can catch him soaking up the warm rays of the sun. He currently resides in Wichita with his loving family.

MARY SUE DYMAK (Rentals & Inventory Director / Drop Fabricator / Orchestra Pit Manager / Archivist) [whew!] WOW! So many seasons (even with the cancellation of 2020), this officially marks my 48th summer season with the company. Who would have thought that back in 1976, a summer job would turn into such a career!! Being one of the oldest members of the production staff, this will mark stage productions numbering well over 245. In keeping our evergrowing rental business running, I oversee the management of our two warehouse facilities. My life remains happily engaged in larger and more complex tasks working for this fabulous company. I offer my deepest love and respect to all who work in this building and for our organization. Cheers to another fantastic season!

JENNIFER FISHER (Sign Language Interpreter) is honored to return for her 15th season with MTW, having translated and performed over 60 shows. Grateful to all at MTW for the opportunity to create a meaningful performance for the Deaf community. Love to my family Grant, Kara and Stephanie.

Violin

BRIAN J. MARCUM (Artistic Director) is honored to lead MTWichita alongside Managing Director Angela Cassette. Originally from Tennessee, Brian spent his early years tap dancing, singing in the church choir, and performing whenever he could. After graduating from Oklahoma City University with a degree in dance performance, Brian spent two summers as an MTW resident ensemble member learning from the master himself, Wayne Bryan. With that arsenal of knowledge under his belt, Brian was able to make a life for himself as a working actor in New York City. Brian was in the original Broadway companies of The Gershwins’ Fascinating Rhythm, Saturday Night Fever, the 2001 TONY winning revival of 42nd Street, and The Boy from Oz starring Hugh Jackman. Brian also appeared on Broadway as a replacement in The Drowsy Chaperone and Spamalot. Brian, along with his wife Jennifer, toured the country with State Fair and Annie Get Your Gun. Brian was the Associate Choreographer of Elf-The Musical on Broadway. He has been seen on television on the TONY awards (twice) and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (thrice). After Broadway, Brian turned his attention to education and became an Associate Professor of Dance in the Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment at Oklahoma City University (his alma mater) for 7 years and an Assistant Professor of Musical Theater at Syracuse University for 4 years. In 2015 during his time at OCU he was invited back to MTW to choreograph Hello, Dolly! and has been back every season since. In 2020, Brian wrote, directed and choreographed MTW’s Holiday Special for the local PBS station, KPTS, and was nominated for an EMMY. He is ecstatic to be in this new role of artistic director. Honoring what came before him, Brian is immensely grateful to be able to share his love, excitement and knowledge with MTW audiences. Brian and Jennifer and their children Sophie and Felix love calling Wichita home!

Orchest R A

Trombone

Trumpet

Tim Jones, Cindy Dantic-Watson, Laura Black

Viola

Ricardo Cavalcante, Kay Buskirk

Bass

Eric Crawford

Oboe/English Horn

Lindsay Wiley

Horn

Jeb Wallace, Jake Rensink

Matt Blauer, Tim Shade

Harp

Ann Reddy

Percussion

Trevor Landreth

Cello

Camille Burrow, Tiffany Bell Rhodes

Flute/Piccolo

Amy Hoffman Reeds

Jim Pisano, Joel Boettger

David Hunsicker, Michael Raehpour

Tuba/Baritone

Phil Black

Guitar

Randy Zellers Drums

Steve Hatfield

Keyboards

Chuck Koslowske, Garrett Welch

MEMORIAL GIFTS

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In Memory Of

Endowed Sponsorship

Orchest R A

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Ragtime - 2023