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Leadership L. Walter Stearns
Walter has also directed several Gilbert and Sullivan operettas for the Savoy Aires of Evanston including, Ruddigore, The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance and Patience. Other Chicago directing credits include The Pajama Game (Columbia College), The Student Prince (Light Opera Works), Once Upon a Mattress, Cinderella (Emerald City Theatre), Sweeney Todd (Effective Theatre), Weird Romance - The Girl Who Was Plugged In (Effective Theatre), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Up and Coming Theatre), and What the Butler Saw (Effective Theatre in 1996 and Amusing Productions in 1991). Walter's favorite theatrical experiences include touring Eastern Europe performing in The Dragon and The Birds as well as across North America in The Wizard of Oz. Walter has received 4 Jeff Citation nominations and an After Dark Award. Walter has received two Jeff Award nominations, four Jeff Citation nominations, and three After Dark Awards including Outstanding Season for 2006-2007. His alma mater, the University of Illinois Chicago honored Walter as an outstanding alumnus with UIC's Franny Award from the Department of Theater. Donald E. Sprague Since July 2006, Donald Sprague has served as Operations Manager. In this capacity, he coordinates Porchlight's office operations as well as development, subscriber relations, communications, and marketing efforts. Sprague previously served as administrator for the 2004-2005 season. As a Porchlight Board member, Sprague has served as treasurer and on the education, executive, and marketing committees as well. Currently, he serves on the finance committee and as Vice President of the Board of Directors. He has coordinated Porchlight's grants and community outreach programs this past season. After many years as a high school teacher and administrator with experience in public relations and development activities, Sprague is currently an adjunct professor at Kennedy King College and is an editor for Bolchazy Carducci Publishers. He served as president of the Chicago Classical Club for four years and as treasurer of the Illinois Classical Conference for fourteen. He has also been a board member for the Northern Illinois Student Press Association and the Williams College Alumni Association of Chicago. Sprague earned a BA in classics from Williams College and a Masters in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University Chicago. He has pursued graduate work in education and in leadership studies. Board of Directors
Board Members
Advisory Board Mary Kay Conley Benefit Committee Eugene Dizon Finance Committee Jason Carver Marketing Committee Carlos Costa Artistic Associates Charissa Armon is very happy to be a part of the Porchlight Music Theatre family. She is the recipient of a 2007 After Dark Award for Outstanding Performance as well as a Jeff Award nomination for Actress in a Principal Role--Musical for her portrayal of Mother in Porchlight's critically acclaimed production of Ragtime. Other Porchlight appearances include: Elegies (Carolee's Track), Falsettos (Dr. Charlotte), A Little Night Music (Anne Egerman), Passion (Clara) and Colette Collage (Young Colette). Additional Chicago credits include productions with Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Victory Gardens, Apple Tree Theatre, Drury Lane, Noble Fool, Pegasus Players', Circle Theatre and Provision Theater. Regional credits: BoarsHead Theatre, NY Fringe Fest and Heritage Theatre Group. Charissa appears in the short film Stealing Kisses , is the voice of Leah Rose in the Left Behind dramatic audio series, and is a graduate of Michigan State University. www.CharissaArmon.com. Eric Bramlett, a Naperville resident, left his heart on the North Side. A founding member of Porchlight and former Artistic Director, Eric's directorial debut with Porchlight was Women Who Love Science Too Much. Other Porchlight directing credits include Children of Eden, Three Sisters, The Still Time, and the world premiere musical The Vanishing Point. Other Chicago credits include Breadline Theatre's A Chorus Rebellion, This Side of Angels and We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay! Other directing credits include The Complete History of America (Abridged) and You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown for Penn Centre Stage; and A Christmas Carol for the Sacramento Theatre Company. Eric is the Creative Arts Director for Community Christian Church in Naperville. Eric co-authored "The Big Idea: Focus the Message, Multiply the Impact" for Zondervan and Leadership Network with Dave and Jon Ferguson. Eric loves his wife Kristi and their three kids, Sadie, Dillon and Anna. Lili-Anne Brown is a native Chicagoan and an actor/singer/dancer with local, regional and national credits. Projects for Porchlight Music Theatre include serving as Assistant Director of Ragtime and appearing as Mazeppa in Gypsy. She has worked with Broadway luminaries on the concerts of the new musicals Doll and The Princess and the Black-Eyed Pea at Ravinia Festival. Some other favorite credits from recent years include: Fabulation (Next Theatre, BTAA nominee); Lady Madeline (Steppenwolf Theatre); Measure for Measure (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Parade (Bailiwick Theater). She is also a local cabaret artist and member of Chicago Cabaret Professionals; her solo shows Brown & Blue and Same Fool Twice debuted at Davenport's Cabaret. Offstage, Lil spent five very interesting years working as a talent agent in Chicago. She also spent several years teaching drama for Northeastern Illinois University's Collaborative Authentic Learning about the Environment Program, and as an actor and Red Cross-trained HIV/AIDS educator for HealthWorks Theatre. Miss Brown has also served as Assistant Director of The Life, Side Show and The Wild Party, for Bohemian Theatre Ensemble; and Ain't Misbehavin' and Ragtime for Timber Lake Playhouse. She is a Northwestern University graduate (Performance Studies), and a proud member of Actors' Equity Association. Christa Buck has been an Artistic Associate for almost five years. Her Porchlight credits include A Wonderful Life, Gypsy, Falsettos (2005), Company, Passion, Merrily We Roll Along, and The Secret Garden. Christa has also performed with Terrapin, the Savoy-Aires, Timeline, Griffin, Theatre at the Center, and Court Theatre. Eugene Dizon has been a proud Artistic Associate with Porchlight Music Theatre since 1999. Eugene was awarded both a Jeff Award and After Dark Award for Sweeney Todd , and a Jeff Award nomination and After Dark Award for Ragtime. Eugene has musical directed 23 shows for Porchlight and will be musical directing Nine, his 24th show, in the spring of 2008. Other favorite Porchlight Music Theatre credits include Phantom, A Wonderful Life, The Secret Garden, Gypsy, Elegies: A Song Cycle, Falsettos, Closer Than Ever, Amadeus, Company, Promises, Promises, A New Brain, A Little Night Music, Passion, Into the Woods, Merrily We Roll Along, Colette Collage and The Vanishing Point. Other musical directing credits include Thrill Me for TimeLine Theatre Company and Chicago Historical Society, The Pajama Game at Columbia College, Once Upon a Mattress and Cinderella with Emerald City, Hands and It's So Quiet Here at the Stages Festival at Theatre Building Chicago, and Nunsense at Centerlight Sign and Voice Theatre. Eugene is currently the treasurer of the Porchlight Board of Directors and is on both the Finance and Benefit Committees. Eugene has received a Jeff Award, three Jeff Award nominations, eight Jeff Citation nominations, four Jeff Citations, and four After Dark Awards. He has been inducted into the Chicago Filipino Hall of Fame. Matthew Gunnels has been an Artistic Associate since 2000, having first appeared in Porchlight's Merrily We Roll Along (Jerome and Charley Kringas) and Company (Paul). He directed a revised version of William Finn's In Trousers (Top Ten List of 25 - TimeOut Chicago ) as part Porchlight's Finn Fest and directed Macabaret for Porchlight's 2005-2006 season. Matthew served as Assistant Director and understudy for Gordo for the Chicago premiere of A New Brain. Other directing credits include The Wine Seller (The Baum House), Rudolph the Red Hosed Reindeer (Hell in a Handbag Productions), staged readings of The Big Ending/The Big Beginning (STAGES 2005), Despairadise (STAGES 2007), Naked in America (Theatre Building Chicago) and the world premiere musicals Green Eggs & Ham and other stories, Cinderella: A Holiday Musical, Me Tarzan, You Jane, and Frosty 2007 (Emerald City Theatre), It's a Fabulous Life! at the Bailiwick Repertory and The Wizard of Oz at Timberlake Playhouse. He is a graduate and former improv instructor for Player's Workshop. As an actor, he has been seen as Max Lyme (and 7 others) in the two-man show The Hawkshaws (After Dark Award--Outstanding Ensemble), Bazzard in The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Circle Theatre), Charles Strouse's Studio, Musical! The Musical, the title role in You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, and as Arnold in Torch Song Trilogy. In November 2005, Matthew played U.S. Attorney General Harry Daugherty in the Off the Porch staged reading of The Teapot Scandals of 1923 . Matthews holds a BFA from Wright State University. He currently teaches acting at TVI Actors Studio in Chicago. Bil Ingraham is excited to be an Artistic Associate at Porchlight Music Theatre where he recently was seen in the critical and box office hit Ragtime as Father. He has also been involved with PMT's productions of Macabaret, A Wonderful Life , Sweeney Todd (Ensemble/Judge US), Amadeus (Salieri), Passion (Colonel Ricci), A New Brain (Doctor), and A Little Night Music (Fredrik, understudy).Other recent performing credits include a chamber opera version of The Adding Machine at Next Theatre and Big: The Musical at AppleTree Theatre. Past credits include Rev. Crisparkle in The Mystery of Edwin Drood , Sipos in She Loves Me , The Husband in Hello Again, Dr. Neville Craven in The Secret Garden (Jeff Citation: Outstanding Musical), and Goldberg in The Wild Party all with Circle Theatre in Forest Park. Bil has also worked with Bailiwick Repertory (20 & Inferno Beach ), Stage Left Theatre (Prairie Lights ), Griffin Theatre (1001 Arabian Nights ), American Theatre Company (Scapin ), Tinfish Theatre (The Balcony ), and Emerald City Theatre Company (Winnie the Pooh ) among others. He is a key player in the creation of Porchlight's Off The Porch series and directed the first concert reading of the series The Teapot Scandals of 1923 by fellow artistic associate Jon Steinhagen, which ultimately played last season's mainstage and received a Jeff Award nomination for New Work--Musical. Two of his favorite and unique performing opportunities have been co-starring in the independent feature film "Butch Camp" with comedienne Judy Tenuta (now on DVD) and performing at the House of Blues Chicago, opening for Russell Crowe's rock band. He is a '95 graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University with a BFA in Music Theatre. Mark Johnson has been an active collaborator with Porchlight Music Theatre since moving to Chicago in 2004! Mark began his relationship with Porchlight as assistant stage manager for Sweeney Todd, and has since managed Closer Than Ever, A New Brain (2005), Gypsy, The Secret Garden, A Wonderful Life (2006) and the extension of Ragtime at the Apollo Theatre. Mark has also been active at the Marriott Theatre, Live Bait Theatre and Emerald City Theatre Company. Mark received his BFA in design and technical production from Fredonia State University in 2003 and is a proud member of Actor's Equity. Rob Lindley appeared in Porchlight Music Theatre's productions of Children of Eden (Abel), A New Brain (Roger), Sweeney Todd (ensemble and for many performances Beedle Bamford), and Closer Than Ever (which won an After Dark Award for Outstanding Ensemble). Rob has been most recently active with Porchlight behind the scenes, directing the 2007 production of A Wonderful Life (he served as assistant director for the 2006 production), and project managing, directing, and creating shows for Off The Porch, including his music review Hit Factory: The Songs of the Brill Building. Rob was also the director and creator of two amazing benefit concerts for Porchlight After Sondheim and aFINNity: Chicago Sings William Finn , which was called "one of the years finest and most exhilarating events" by Gay Chicago Magazine. A graduate of Second City's Conservatory program, Rob does a lot of improv and sketch comedy around town including performances at the Apollo Theatre with Baby Wants Candy --improvising full-length musicals every weekend. Rob is also active in the cabaret community directing, writing, and performing. His work with vocal trio Foiled Again earned him a 2003 After Dark Award for Outstanding Cabaret Artist. Rob has also performed in shows at Ravinia Festival, Writers' Theatre, Theatre at the Center, Light Opera Works, Bailiwick, and Lifeline Theatre. www.roblindley.com. Doug Peck is one of Chicago's leading musical directors, having won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Musical Direction for Court Theatre's production of Man of La Mancha , which he also conducted at Connecticut's Long Wharf Theatre. Peck also received a Jeff Citation for TimeLine's production of Fiorello! , which will be revived this spring. At Porchlight, Doug was very proud to music direct this last season's Assassins , as well as the reviews After Sondheim: Broadway's New School of Composers , Hit Factory: Songs of the Brill Building , and aFINNity: Chicago Sings William Finn , all in collaboration with fellow artistic associate Rob Lindley. Other Chicago credits include Raisin, Guys and Dolls (After Dark Award), James Joyce's The Dead , and The Importance of Being Earnest at Court Theatre; Shenandoah (Jeff nomination), The All Night Strut (Jeff nomination), State Fair , and Marc Robin's Beauty and the Beast for the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire; Dessa Rose (Jeff nomination) and Hello Again (Jeff nomination, After Dark Award) at Apple Tree Theatre; The Most Happy Fella at the Ravinia Festival; Seussical! for Chicago Shakespeare Theatre; and Into the Woods at Peninsula Players. Peck was musical director at Wagon Wheel Theatre in Warsaw, Indiana, for four seasons, where favorites included Pirates of Penzance, Titanic, Kiss Me, Kate, Hello, Dolly! , and Cats . He also played keyboards for About Face Theatre's production of Stephen Flaherty and Frank Galati's Loving Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein , including the original cast album. He is a proud Northwestern University graduate who also trained at Interlochen Center for the Arts. He resides in Chicago, where he is also active as a voice teacher, vocal coach, and cabaret pianist, most notably with the acclaimed vocal trio Foiled Again, in addition to serving as musical director for Unity in Lincoln Park. Next up are I Do! I Do! for American Theatre Company, Little Women and The Nutcracker for the Marriott, and Carousel at Court and Long Wharf Theatres. Doug's dream productions are Lady in the Dark starring Rebecca Finnegan and Rob Lindley and an all-star cast of Michael John LaChiusa's The Wild Party . L.Walter Stearns is the Artistic Director of Porchlight Music Theatre and has directed the Porchlight productions of Phantom, Ragtime, A Wonderful Life, The Secret Garden , Gypsy, Elegies: A Song Cycle, Sweeney Todd, Amadeus, Cabaret, Company, Promises, Promises, A New Brain , A Little Night Music , Passion , Into The Woods , Merrily We Roll Along , Falsettos and Ruthless! He will be directing this season's Nine in the spring. Walter has also directed several Gilbert and Sullivan operettas for the Savoy Aires of Evanston including, Ruddigore , The Mikado , The Pirates of Penzance and Patience . Other Chicago directing credits include The Student Prince (Light Opera Works), Once Upon a Mattress, Cinderella (Emerald City Theatre), Sweeney Todd (Effective Theatre), Weird Romance - The Girl Who Was Plugged In (Effective Theatre), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Up and Coming Theatre), and What the Butler Saw (Effective Theatre in 1996 and Amusing Productions in 1991). Walter has received two Jeff Award nominations, four Jeff Citation nominations, and three After Dark Awards including Outstanding Season for 2006 - 2007. His alma mater, the University of Illinois Chicago honored Walter as an outstanding alumnus with UIC's Franny Award from the Department of Theater. Jon Steinhagen has received four Joseph Jefferson Citations and six After Dark Awards since 1995 for musical direction, songwriting, or acting in the Chicago theater scene, and most recently received a Jeff Award nomination for Best New Work--Musical for The Teapot Scandals . He wrote the music and lyrics for People Like Us, Inferno Beach, Emma and Company (which opened in Manhattan in 2001), The Arresting Dilemma of Mister K, and The Circus of Dr. Lao. He wrote the book, music, and lyrics for The Teapot Scandals , which received a 2005 NAMT Producer-Writer initiative grant and had its world premiere at Porchlight Music Theatre in January 2007, later becoming a featured question on Jeopardy! (air date: 5/29/07). Current projects include the book, music, and lyrics for First Kiss (a musical comedy about the first filmed screen kiss in 1896) and The Seneca Falls Sentiments (a 10-woman musical about the first women's rights convention in 1848). His plays include The Applewood Pistols, The Analytical Engine, The Destruction of a Furious Elephant, Vexations, The Belasco Experience and The Tempest Prognosticators as well as numerous short plays, some of which have been collected in Empty Vessels, an evening of his short plays. He has written the lyrics for such musicals as Alice in Analysis and Past Time, opera libretti for composer Ilya Levinson ( The Tell-Tale Heart, Young Goodman Brown ) and the English lyrics for the double album Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano: 19th Century Yiddish Popular and Political Song (available on Cedille). As a musical director and arranger, Jon has worked with Circle Theatre, Bailiwick Arts, Pegasus Players, Theatre Building Chicago, Porchlight Music Theatre, and Light Opera Works; recent musical direction highlights include the world premieres of Muscle and Josephine Tonight! a s well as regional premieres of The Life and Thou Shalt Not. His many cabaret songs and arrangements continued to be performed. As an actor, Jon has appeared in leading roles in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Darling of the Day, Sweet Smell of Success, and Mack & Mabel. In 2008 he will appear as John Dickinson in Signal Ensemble Theatre's production of 1776 . He is an artistic associate of Porchlight Music Theatre and is a member of the Chicago Federation of Musicians. Sarah Zematis has been a part of the Chicago theatre scene for 10 years now. She has acted with many companies, such as Light Opera Works, Griffin and Baum House and also directed around the town at Strawdog and Emerald City. She has enjoyed being a collaborator with Porchlight, assisting with the direction of Sweeney Todd and Falsettos . And she is really stoked about the Off the Porch series and cannot wait to start sharing all the new works with the world!!! |
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L. Walter Stearns has been the Artistic Director of Porchlight Music Theatre since 1998 and has directed the Porchlight productions of 