About the kTC

Staff

Kitchen Theatre Staff

Rachel Lampert	Artistic Director
Stephen C. Nunley	Managing Director
Lindsay Hahnes	Director of Development & Marketing
Lesley Greene	Associate Producing Director
LaShawn Keyser	Stage Manager
Brendan Komala	Technical Director
Samantha Braziller	Marketing & Development Coordinator
Victoria Apodaca	Production Intern
Megan Pugh	Graphic Designer/Advertising Sales and Trade Partner Coordinator
Rob Fancher	Production Assistant
Carol Spence	Main Stage Season Artist

Rachel Lampert(Artistic Director) is a playwright, director and choreographer. The KTC's 20th Anniversary is her 14th Season as Artistic Director. She is thrilled that this will be the season the theater finds its permanent home. Her work at the Kitchen includes: Playwright: Main Stage Musicals Book & Lyrics for BED NO BREAKFAST, COMFORT FOOD, TONY & THE SOPRANO, THE ANGLE OF THE SUN and PRECIOUS NONSENSE. Main Stage Non-musical plays: THE TRIAL, THE BOOK CLUB, FRANKENSTEIN and THE SOUP COMES LAST. Family Fare: I HAVE A SONG TO SING O!, ADVENTURE IN APARTMENT G# (with Nathan Hilgartner) EMMETT & ELLA'S BIG APPLE ESCAPADE, SCOOT, SIZZLE & SLIDE, THE MOZART MYSTERY, THE ODYSSEY parts 1 & 2, A DECEMBER SUITE, THE SISTERS FITZANDSTARTS and A CHRISTMAS CAROL,

among others. Director: GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL!, SECRET ORDER, LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC, THE GLASS MENAGERIE, THE PRICE, MASTER CLASS, A DELICATE BALANCE, WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?, SWIMMING IN THE SHALLOWS among many others. For the 2010-11 season she will direct MARY'S WEDDING and the world premiere of AT A LOSS. Her new movement theater piece Dancing with the CCO in the Kitchen will be produced on the Kitchen Sink Specials series.

She is active in the Ithaca arts community beyond the Kitchen, having directed and choreographed at the Hangar Theatre (director: SWEENEY TODD, FALSETTOS, THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG; choreographer: 2007 production of HAIR) Other collaborations include: Ensemble X, Music' Recreation and the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra. Her play BET YOU CAN'T CATCH IT? was commissioned by AIDSWORK of Tompkins County as part of an educational program for teens and toured Central NY for three years.

Directing and theatrical choreography credits outside Ithaca include productions at Cal Rep, Arkansas Rep, Portland Stage Company, New York's Public Theatre, Mill Mountain Theatre and Hawaii Opera Theatre. Her concert dance works have been in the repertories of numerous dance companies in the U.S. and abroad.

Her trip to China in 1997 to stage WEST SIDE STORY resulted in her writing THE SOUP COMES LAST produced off-Broadway at 59E59 Theaters in Fall 2004. THE ANGLE OF THE SUN (written by Lampert & Pressgrove) was selected by the New York Musical Theatre Festival and to be presented in NYC in September 2007. Rachel is a 4-time recipient of NEA Choreography Fellowships and a CAP Individual Artist Grant. She received a SALT Award for Best Actress 2004. She attended Mount Holyoke College and has a BFA and MFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Raised in Brooklyn, she moved to Ithaca as a trailing spouse right behind her husband David Squires in 1995. They enjoy a wonderful house, two terrific dogs, and the joy of having family join them in Ithaca and friends always visiting. This is her 13th season as Artistic Director – a job she truly loves.

Stephen Nunley (Managing Director) was born and raised in the Buffalo area and received a B.S in Mathematics from Rensselear Polytechnic Institute. Stephen sidestepped a career as a junior high math teacher to become a modern dancer. He has danced for a variety of companies and choreographers around the world and, most notably, was a member of Rachel Lampert & Dancers during the 80's and early 90's. He later became general manager of Eighteenth & Eighth, a popular restaurant in the Chelsea area of NYC. In 2004, he combined his managerial and financial skills and moved to Ithaca to take on his current position. Although his primary responsibility is to maintain and improve the Kitchen Theatre Company's fiscal stability, he is occasionally coaxed out of the office to exercise his other talents. Over the past seasons he has appeared in a variety of roles on and "next to" the KTC

stage, including clarinetist in the chamber ensemble for THE ANGLE OF THE SUN. He currently serves on the board of the the Downtown Ithaca Alliance, in addition to being a member of the Ithaca Rotary Club and president of the Ithaca Gay Men's Chorus.

Lindsay Hahnes (Director of Development and Marketing) is thrilled to be joining the Kitchen for their 20th Anniversary Season. A born and bred Jersey girl, she graduated from Binghamton University with a BA in Theater/Directing Concentration. After working on and off stage with The Growing Stage Children's Theater of New Jersey, a brief internship with the Civic Theater of Allentown and a stint in the legal department at Bank of America Securities, she finally made the move off Broadway as the Development Associate with Primary Stages. While at Primary Stages she worked to raise funds for New York and World Premiere productions from both new and established playwrights, including Brooke Berman, Rogelio Martinez, Lee Blessing, A.R. Gurney and the late great Horton Foote.

Lesley Greene (Associate Producing Director) has been a member of the Kitchen Theatre staff since 2003. She has degrees in physics, geology, and atmospheric science from Cornell University. It wasn't until a chance encounter with Rachel Lampert & Dancers in 1997 that she knew she was destined for a career in the arts.

In addition to her producing responsibilities, Lesley's work at the Kitchen has included composing music (SCIENCE FAIR, WINTER TALES, and EMMETT & ELLA'S BIG APPLE ESCAPADE and others); playing flute; and acting. Last season she appeared in FIRST DAY, LOSING MYSELF, and I HAVE A

SONG TO SING O! Lesley is co-founder of Porchfest, a music festival held on the porches of Fall Creek. Her husband is Ithaca's only computer scientist/unicyclist/ukulele player, Robbert van Renesse, and they have two theatrical daughters, Anneke and Tanya.

LaShawn Keyser (Stage Manager) is in her second year with the Kitchen as the SM. Though she has really gotten good at being quiet and having just enough space to breathe, she is excited to be in a new space with a further away and roomier booth. She is proud to be a core member of the Kitchen's Monday Trivia Night at the West End, but she's constantly looking for other things to do and new people to meet in Ithaca. She is a native of Baltimore City and a graduate from the University of Pittsburgh with a B.A. in Theatre. Previous profressional credits includes work with the Bakerloo Theatre Project, Windhorse Arts, Prime Stage Theatre, Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre, and the Hazlett Theatre. She's ready to tackle this upcoming year that's destined to be full of surprises. Go big or go home.

Brendan Komala (Technical Director) is joining the Kitchen for his first season of theater in downtown Ithaca after several years working on the Cornell campus. He has built sets for a number of groups including the Cornell's Department of Theatre, Film, and Dance, Steppenwolf Theatre, Next Theatre Company, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, and Breadline Theater Group among others. He is excited to be joining the company in their growth and transition into the new playing space.

Samantha Braziller (Marketing & Development Coordinator) is thrilled to be part of the KTC staff for their exciting 20th season in their stunning new home. This is her second season with the company, and she is honored for the opportunity to have grown from intern to coordinator in a rather rapid amount of time. Samantha originally hails from northern Maine. She continued her pursuit of cold temperatures by obtaining her BA in Arts Management from Green Mountain College in Vermont while also working for the Dorset Theatre Festival, and then took a slight arts detour for a prolonged adventure in the Rockies. While the mountains of Central New York aren't quite as large, she is happy to have found her place in Ithaca with the KTC and the wonderful people who make it thrive.

Victoria Apodaca (Production Intern) is a graduate of Trinity University in San Antonio where she received a dual degree in Drama and Communication. After holding every position imaginable in theatrical production, she has decided to focus on directing and stage managing. Some of her directing credits include SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD, THE MARRIAGE OF BETTE AND BOO, and CONFESSIONS OF WOMEN FROM EAST L.A., and since February she has served as a stage manager, assistant stage manager, and props manager here at the Kitchen Theatre. She is looking forward to discovering all of the quirks in the new space that will be driving the company crazy for the next few shows.

Megan Pugh (Graphic Designer) is in her fifth season with the KTC. A painter turned graphic artist and NYC transplant, Megan came to Ithaca in 2002 to join EcoVillage at Ithaca with her artist husband and two very creative kids. Megan earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Parson School of Design and went on to be a fellow at the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program before shifting to a career in graphics. Her stage credits are limited to writing and directing an adaptation of THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA (at the age of 8) in which she cast her youngest sister as the pea. At the Kitchen Megan prefers to remain behind the scenes and enjoys the culture, creativity and community of working in the Kitchen - a place where she felt at home from day one.

Rob Fancher (Production Assistant) attended South Seneca High School and TST BOCES and graduated in 2006 with a certificate in Advanced Culinary Arts. He grew up in Ovid and Willard, NY and moved to Ithaca in May of 2009. Rob is working at the KTC through the help of Tompkins Workforce NY. He hopes to pursue a degree and career in Baking and Pastry arts in the near future, but for now is happy to be a part of the Kitchen Theatre Company.

Carol Spence (Main Stage Season Artist) visual artist and collaborator, has a Masters of Art in Teaching from the Rhode Island School of Design and her drawings, prints, and mixed media works have been shown at regional galleries. She is an art teacher at Ithaca High School and the Fine Arts Dept. Chair. Interdisciplinary inspiration has played a part in her process and she has collaborated on projects with other visual artists, writers, musicians and choreographers. This is the fourth season that Carol has created original artwork for the Kitchen’s Main Stage Season.