Who's Who . . . Backstage

JOSEPH ADLER (Director/Producing Artistic Director) is in his sixth season as Artistic Director of GableStage with this production. He previously directed on many local stages, including Coconut Grove Playhouse, New Theatre, Area Stage, Hollywood Boulevard Theatre, Players Theatre, Ruth Foreman Theatre, Florida Shakespeare Theatre, City Theatre (Summer Shorts), Hollywood Playhouse and Shores Performing Arts. At GableStage, Adler has directed Skylight, Of Mice and Men, Full Gallop, Psychopathia Sexualis, Closer, Killer Joe, This Is Our Youth, Arms and The Man, Side Man, Popcorn, Tape, The Real Thing, Adam Baum and the Jew Movie, Citizen Tom Paine, The Blue Room, Mindgame, Boy Gets Girl, James Joyce's The Dead, Edward Albee's The Play About the Baby, A Lesson Before Dying, Nixon's Nixon, Chinese Coffee, The Guys, The Shape of Things, Dirty Blonde, Tabletop, The Diary of Anne Frank, Frankie and Johnny at the Clair de Lune, The Goat, What the Butler Saw. and Ten Unknowns. Active in South Florida's film and theatre community for many years, Adler has directed hundreds of television commercials and industrial films, winning many awards, including the Clio. Other directorial credits include several independent feature films, a video version of the Broadway hit comedy Doubles and a cable TV series. He has received fifteen nominations (eight at GableStage) and four times won the Carbonell Award for Best Director: The Shadow Box (Coconut Grove Playhouse); The Killing of Sister George (Players Theatre); A Lesson Before Dying and James Joyce's The Dead (GableStage). He also received a Remy Award from the Theatre League of South Florida, and was awarded the prestigious George Abbott Award by the members of South Florida's arts, entertainment and media professions for "significant contributions to the artistic life and cultural development of greater Miami, Fort Lauderdale and the Palm Beaches." Adler studied drama at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and graduated from the Film Department at NYU.

ATHOL FUGARD (Playwright) has been working in theatre as a playwright, director and actor since the mid-50s in South Africa, England and the United States. His plays include No-Good Friday, Non-Gogo, Blood Knot, Hello and Goodbye, People are Living There, Boesman and Lena, Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act, Sizwe Banzi is Dead, Dimetos, The Island, A Lesson From Aloes, The Road to Mecca, A Place With the Pigs, My Children! My Africa, Playland, Valley Song, The Captain's Tiger and his most recent, Sorrows & Rejoicings. He has been seen on stage in South Africa, London, Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional theatres in the US. Film credits include The Road to Mecca, Gandhi, The Killing Fields, Meeting with Remarkable Men, Marigolds in August, Boesman and Lena and The Guest. He has written one novel, Tsotsi, and an autobiographical memoir, Cousins.

TIM CONNELLY (Set Design) returns to GableStage where he designed the sets for Chinese Coffee, Tabletop, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. and Ten Unknowns. Tim hails from Kentucky, and has lived and worked in South Florida for 20 years. He owns and operates the Charles T. Studio, designing and building sets for the film and commercial industry. Among Tim's finest accomplishments are his three children, Justin, Jessica and Ryan. Between raising kids and working, Tim fills his time sailing and fishing.

JEFF QUINN (Lighting Design) has been seen by our audiences many times. His lighting designs include Ten Unknowns, The Goat, Closer, Killer Joe, Boy Gets Girl, Tabletop and The Diary of Anne Frank. He has also done the scenic and lighting designs for The Shape of Things, The Play About the Baby, The Blue Room, The Real Thing and Sideman. Jeff also designed Fidelio and The Inner Ear for the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe and Steel Pier at Actors' Playhouse; Little by Little at the Coconut Grove Playhouse; Irma La Douce and The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 at Florida Repertory Theatre; Anything Goes at the Hirschfeld; HMS Pinafore and Eleemosynary at the Minorca Playhouse for Florida Shakespeare Theatre; Faith Healer for New World Repertory Company; Angels in America and Love! Valour! Compassion! at New Theatre. His lighting for dance includes work for Freddick Bratcher and Company, Maximum Dance, Ballet Espagnol Rosita Segovia, Momentum Dance Company, Ballet Theatre of Miami, Ballet Etudes, Duende Ballet Español and Ballet Blue Ridge. Further afield, Quinn has designed for the Fulton Opera House, Pennsylvania Festival Theatre, Walt Disney Enterprises, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Hilton Head Playhouse and the Kayagum Theatre in Seoul, Korea. He serves on the Florida Steering Committee of United Scenic Artists (Local 829, I.A.T.S.E.) and teaches at New World School of the Arts. Jeff is married to director Deborah Mello.

MICHAEL J. HOFFMANN (Music/Sound Design) is an award-winning composer, arranger and producer with over 30 years experience in South Florida. His score for the documentary film, Heroes Hispanos, garnered an Emmy nod. He has also won numerous Clios, Addies and other industry awards. Originally from Philadelphia and New York, Hoffmann's composing talent ranges from classical orchestration to jazz fusion to whatever you can think of. He has designed and written music for GableStage productions among which are The Diary of Anne Frank, Dirty Blonde, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, The Goat, What the Butler Saw and Ten Unknowns. Michael owns MH Productions, Inc., a post-production recording studio in Fort Lauderdale.

ESTELA VRANCOVICH (Costume Design) originally from Argentina, where she had her own design studio specializing in tango costuming for international dancers and children's independent theatre. She was the creator of Maria Burgos Indumentaria, a private school for costuming and fashion design, which she ran for nine years. Coming to S. Florida, Estela worked at Actors' Playhouse as assistant designer for Mary Lynne Izzo and as designer for The Children's Theatre under director Earl Maulding. Her work for Narnia was chosen for display at The Kennedy Center as part of The International Children's Theatre Festival. She later became Resident Designer at Hollywood Playhouse, receiving a Carbonell nomination for Man of La Mancha and Ruthless, as well as the Curtains Up Award for Ruthless. Estela has designed shows for GableStage, New Theatre and Caldwell Theatre where she received a Carbonell nomination for The Countess. As an independent designer, her work can currently be seen at GableStage, New Theatre and Hollywood Playhouse.

MICHAEL CARROLL (Stage Manager) comes to GableStage after having recently completed the Hollywood Playhouse productions of Closer Than Ever, Beau Jest: The Musical and Yoo Hoo, Mrs. Bloom! Past credits include Barefoot in the Park at Stage Door Theatre and the Miami premiere of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Lots of hard work went into two seasons at Coconut Grove Playhouse, with notable productions such as Urban Cowboy, I'm Not Rappaport and Caught in the Net. Michael holds a BFA in Theatre from Barry University. All thanks go to Mom.

TREVOR LLOYD CROSS (Assistant Stage Manager/Understudy) is a native of South Africa, and is excited with the opportunity to work with Joseph Adler at GableStage. He is currently a student in the BFA program at New World Student of the Arts. Trevor appeared recently in David Cirone's independent film, Instant Message, which was shown at the Miami Light Project's Here and Now Festival. Trevor would like to thank Patrice, Carmen, Bobbo, Puerto and his parents, Len and Lillian for all their love and support. He would also like to thank Ron and Barbara Schaefer for their assistance in his coming to America and getting into school. Trevor is pleased to be involved in this South African story with its universal theme, and hopes it will spread acceptance of differences and celebrations of similarities.

RON HEADRICK (Dance Consultant) choreographed Dirty Blonde at GableStage last season. He has directed and/or choreographed over two hundred musicals in stock, regional and dinner theatres. Ron holds a BFA degree in Dance/Theater and and MFA in Directing. On the faculty at New World School of the Arts in Miami for the last 15 years, he has been instrumental in developing the musical theater track at that institution.

CLAIRE SAVITT (Props) loves "the hunt". As prop mistress for Gablestage, she has worked on a number of plays, including A Lesson Before Dying, James Joyce's The Dead, Dirty Blonde, The Shape of Things, Nixon's Nixon, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Goat, What the Butler Saw and Ten Unknowns. A former folk art gallery owner, Claire resides in Coconut Grove with her husband.