“Theatre is a verb before it is a noun, an act before it is a place.” – Martha Graham

Company of Fools is a reflection of each artist who contributes to each play and project. The Company is fortunate to work with a variety of local, regional and national artists. From the vision and passion of the Company’s founder, Rusty Wilson, through the watchful eyes and diligence of the three Core Company Artists comes a creative home for these artists to explore, express and expand. On this page you will find a list of artists whose contributions have touched numerous productions during the Company’s first ten years. Company Artists have participated in seven or more productions - Associated Company Artists in three or more. With the implementation of these new levels of recognition, we invite you to join with us in celebrating the dynamic talents of these wonderful artists. Knowing that in the theatre, as in life, the contribution of the collective always outweighs the efforts of the individual, we express our gratitude to these artists for making our theatre richer.

company artists
artists who have been involved in more than seven productions

Andrew Alburger
Sharon Barto
Tim Black
Jon Dykstra
Anna Johnson
Danielle Kennedy
Joe Lavigne
Claudia McCain
Demi Moore
Kathy (K.O.) Ogilvie
Dennis Rexroad
Jennifer Jacoby Rush
Rich Rush
Manny Santiago
Laine Satterfield
Chad Smith
Marilyn Teitge
Robert Throckmorton
Joel Vilinsky
Debra Wagoner
Bruce Willis
Russell Simone Wilson
Genny Wynn

associated company artists
artists who have been involved in more than three productions
Lynn Allison
Jana Arnold
Ryan Capps
Mike Craig
Mac Harbaugh
Colter Hodge
Ann Hoste
Glenn Hughes
Devin Kearns
Kelly Kennedy
Ann Klautsch
Page Klune
Renee Knappenberger
Christine Leslie
Noah Levin
Courtney Lloyd
Keith Moore
Karl Nordstrom
Jennifer Perry
Tyner Pesch
Courtney Ransom
Curtis Ransom
Gordon Reinhart
Jim Remeke
Keith Roark
Dan Summers
Sheila Summers

Core Company Artists

John Glenn (Core Company Artist) is a founding member of Company of Fools with over thirty years experience in all aspects of the professional theatre. His numerous directing credits with the company include Side Man, Dinner with Friends, The Spitfire Grill and Rabbit Hole. During his five years as Artistic Director at Barksdale Theatre in Richmond, Virginia, he produced over fifty shows and directed shows that included Molly Sweeney, Once on This Island, Falsettos and the world premiere of the Charles Strouse/Sammy Cahn musical Bojangles. Prior to his time at Barksdale, John spent ten years as the Associate Artistic Director of Theatre IV, the nation's largest touring theatre for children. John also directed the Charles Strouse opera Nightingale for the James River Chamber Opera and spent five summers enjoying the challenges and thrills of working in outdoor theatre at Richmond's Dogwood Dell Amphitheatre. He toured nationally with State Fair and Bully! as Stage Manager and/or Company Manager. He served on the Arts Board of The Science Museum of Virginia and as a panelist for the Virginia Commission of the Arts. He was also a faculty member of The School for the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community for six years.

R.L. Rowsey (Core Company Artist) has spent the last thirty years as both an artist and an
advocate for the support of local arts organizations. R.L. also served as the musical director and
conductor for many national tours, including productions of <>Fiddler on the Roof, Singing in the Rain, and Kiss of the Spiderwoman. He also directed several productions in the Richmond and Washington, DC areas, including Oil City Symphony at The Studio Theatre in DC and A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline and The Gifts of the Magi at Theatre Virginia in Richmond. Besides extensive work as a vocal coach, he also held teaching positions with The Studio Conservatory of DC, The Kennedy Center's Theatre for Young People, and The Columbia School of Theatrical Arts in Columbia, Maryland. He served as the
associate producing artistic director at TheatreVirginia. During his tenure, he created several new programs for the Education and Outreach Department, which helped to integrate music and theatre into the mainstream curriculum of Virginia's schools. He has toured the country as the company
manager for national tours of Gypsy and State Fair starring John Davidson. For three years, R.L. served as General Manager for NETworks, one of the nation's leading producers of national tours. Since moving to Idaho, R.L. has become the musical director for Light on the Mountains Spiritual Center, joined the Hailey Rotary, served as Vice President of the Hailey Chamber of Commerce, and is currently the Artistic Director for the Sun Valley Summer Symphony School of Music. R.L. was awarded the
Sun Valley/ Ketchum Chamber of Commerce's Arts Advocate of the Year in 2005 and is the 2008
recipient of the Ann and Doug Christensen Humanitarian Award.

Denise Simone (Core Company Artist) is a founding member of Company of Fools as well as an
accomplished director, teacher, playwright and actor with nearly 30 years experience in the world of
professional nonprofit theatre. Her directing credits include Doubt, Frozen, Frankie & Johnny in the Clairde Lune, The Gift of the Magi, The Laramie Project, A Christmas Carol, Talley's Folly, Diary of a Madman, A Shayna Maidel, Graceland, Belle of Amherst and the New Voices series for Company of Fools and TheatreVirginia. As a playwright, Simone has had four plays produced in the United States. Her children's play on adoption, Me and My Families, toured for over four years and served as a recruitment tool for Virginia adoption agencies looking to match families with special needs children. She has taught theatre and creative writing classes in Virginia and Idaho, at Company of Fools, Richmond's School for the Performing Arts, St. Catherine's and the Henrico's Center for the Arts as well as creating and implementing Company of Fools' innovative in-school program Stages of Wonder, now in its tenth year. She was the creative writing teacher for the theatre component of Blaine County School District's Academy for the Arts from 2000-2003 and the lead teacher for the Company's facilitation
of the Community School's Elementary School Theatre Program in 2003/ 2004. She is a professional actor with credits including Becca in Rabbit Hole, the title role in Hedda Gabler, Shirley in
Shirley Valentine, Karen in Dinner With Friends, Gretta in James Joyce's The Dead, Terry in Side Man, May in Fool For Love starring Bruce Willis, Li'l Bit in How I Learned To Drive, and Roberta in Danny and the
Deep Blue Sea for Company of Fools. She was appointed by Governor Dirk Kempthorne and reappointed by Governor Risch to serve as a Commissioner on the Idaho Commission on the Arts. Ms. Simone also served on the Hailey Arts Commission, the Wood River Arts Alliance and the Hailey Chamber of Commerce.