core company artists

John Glenn
john@companyoffools.org
R.L. Rowsey
rl@companyoffools.org
Denise Simone
denise@companyoffools.org


staff

Joe Lavigne production manager - joe@companyoffools.org

Dennis Rexroad company scenic designer - dhrexroad@cox.net

Danni Dean audience development - dannimouse@cox.net

Susan Lidstonebookkeeper

Gloria Gunterhouse manager

Kirsten Shultz photographer


founder

Rusty Wilson

“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.

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
Jana Arnold
Sharon Barto
Tim Black
Jon Dykstra
Anna Johnson
Danielle Kennedy
Joe Lavigne
Ted Macklin
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
Rachel Abrams
Elizabeth Beasley
Ryan Capps
Michelle Carter
Mike Craig
Scott Creighton
Mac Harbaugh
Colter Hodge
Elizabeth Weiss Hopper
Ann Hoste
Glenn Hughes
David Janeski
Haley Johnson
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
Cliff Todd
Aly Wepplo

Core Company Artists

John Glenn (Core Company Artist) is a founding member of Company of Fools with more than 30 years of experience in all aspects of professional theatre. His numerous directing credits with the Company include Violet, Side Man, Dinner with Friends, The Spitfire Grill and Rabbit Hole. Onstage he has enjoyed taking over a household as The Man who Came to Dinner, delighted audiences of all ages as The Snail with the Mail in A Year with Frog and Toad; and was a proud member of the acting ensemble for The Laramie Project. In addition, John’s gift for lighting, set and costume design has enhanced most of the Company’s shows over the past eight years. John relocated to Hailey after several years as company manager/stage manager for John Davidson in national tours of State Fair and Bully! Long recognized as a leader in regional theatre on the East Coast, John served as the artistic director of the Barksdale Theatre in Richmond, Virginia. During his tenure, he not only directed acclaimed productions of a variety of diverse plays and musicals including Molly Sweeney, Once on This Island, Falsettos, and the world premiere of the Charles Strouse/Sammy Cahn musical Bojangles, but also led the organization through a capital campaign which culminated in the design and construction of a new theatre. Prior to his service for Barksdale Theatre, John spent ten years as the associate artistic director for Theatre IV, the nation’s largest touring theatre for children. John’s vast talents were tapped as he was involved in all aspects of the operation, serving as director, performer, producer and designer. During this time he also oversaw the creation of more than 20 original scripts. As a freelance artist, John’s work has been seen at LaMama ETC, Mill Mountain Theatre, James River Chamber Opera, TheatreVirginia and as a panelist for the Virginia Commission of the Arts. He was also a longtime faculty member for the School of Performing Arts in Richmond. John is currently a Board member of the Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber of Commerce.

R.L. Rowsey (Core Company Artist) has spent the last 30 years as both an artist and an advocate for the support of local arts organizations. R.L. has also served as 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 Always…Patsy Cline and The Gifts of the Magi at TheatreVirginia in Richmond. In addition to his extensive work as a vocal coach, R.L. 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, helping to integrate music and theatre into the mainstream curriculum of Virginia's public 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 an integral member of the local community. He is the musical director for Light on the Mountains Spiritual Center, is a member of 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. In 2005, R.L. was recognized as the Sun Valley/ Ketchum Chamber of Commerce's Arts Advocate of the Year, and in 2008 he was the recipient of both the Safeco Foundation’s Community Hero Award and 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 more than 28 years of experience in the world of professional nonprofit theatre. Her directing credits include Collected Stories, Doubt, Frozen, Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de 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, Denise 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. Simone 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. Denise also created and implemented Company of Fools' innovative in-school program Stages of Wonder, now in its eleventh 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 served as the lead teacher for the Company's facilitation of the Community School's Elementary School Theatre Program in 2003-2004. Simone 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 later reappointed by Governor Jim Risch) to serve as a Commissioner on the Idaho Commission on the Arts. Denise also serves on the board of directors for the Wood River Arts Alliance.

ARTISTIC STATEMENT OF BEING

COMPANY OF FOOLS




Announces

NEW VOICES
FOR THE THEATRE 2007

At this point in my life, NEW VOICES has been a deciding factor to what I plan on doing the rest of my life.– Max Kessler, high school playwright, NEW VOICES 2005

New Voices for the Theatre is made possible, in part, through the generosity of The Michael S. Engl Family Foundation and Ali Long and Keith Davis of the Springcreek Foundation.

Click here to open and download the New Voices Application as a pdf

new voices application

I would like to see a large, living, functioning community of young artists that will eventually become self-sufficient and become a progressive art movement in our own generation.

- Sheldon Hart, NEW VOICES Playwright 2006

WHAT IS new voices for the theatre?

· It is a chance to have your written voice heard, on stage at the Liberty Theatre, acted out by actors.

· It is for middle school and high school students, grades 7 through 12 who are invited to submit their original writing to Company of Fools for selection consideration.

· Those selected will work with Company of Fools' artists on creating original pieces to be shared at the Liberty. The program runs from June 4 through June 23rd, monday - friday, and if you are selected it is FREE to you.

· Those participating will have the opportunity to work with professional playwrights and theatre artists.

GUIDELINES:

· Please submit an application form (ask for one from your English teacher or contact Company of Fools at 788.6520), a two-page scene between two to four people AND a piece of writing of your choice (it can be a short story, poetry, monologue, etc).

· DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS May 1, 2007.

· Submissions must be mailed to Company of Fools, Post Office Box 329, Hailey, ID 83333, emailed to denise@companyoffools.org or dropped off at our
offices located at the Liberty Theatre at 110 North Main Street in Hailey.

· All material submitted will be read by COF core artists and a national panel of theatre practitioners.

· Written assessments will be sent to every participant.

· Winners will be announced May 18, 2007.

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE CALL DENISE AT COMPANY OF FOOLS 788.6520 or email denise@companyoffools.org


Company of Fools brings a mission founded upon the core element of pursuing education on all levels and the continual exploration of the creative process. It is from this position that Company of Fools is undertaking year three of its dynamic project entitled NEW VOICES FOR THE THEATRE, June 4 through June 23rd. NEW VOICES is a project that nurtures middle and high school writers in the art of playwrighting and culminates in the presentation of their work at the Liberty Theatre June 22nd & 23rd at 7PM. Writers range from 7th through 12th grade.

The writers meet for two weeks and participate in an intensive workshop environment with Company of Fools’ Core Company Artists as well as selected mentors. These writers will also have the opportunity to work with practicing and produced playwright and storyteller, Clay McLeod Chapman, for the first week of this writing intensive. Clay has seen his short fiction transposed to the stage for over the last ten years- produced in such various venues as Romania, Scotland, Ireland and here in the United States. Originator of the rigorous story-performance group, Pumpkin Pie Show, Chapman has taken his writing to the 1997 Sibiu International Festival of Theatre, the New York International Fringe Festival (1997 and 1999), the 1998 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and Coney Island Fun Park. His first book of stories, rest area, was published by Hyperion in February 2002; and his first novel, miss corpus, was published in 2003. Educated at North Carolina School of the Arts for Drama, the Burren College of Art, and Sarah Lawrence College, he now divides his time between Richmond, Virginia, and Brooklyn, New York. If Chapman keeps up with the oddball characters, well-crafted stories, and critical plaudits, that Faulkner guy better watch out. - Alexis Soloski, The Village Voice

After the two-week period of writing, improv classes and a hands-on theatrical experience the writers will be teamed up with directors and actors to bring their work to life through staged readings on the Liberty Stage.