Dr. Patricia Winter, President
Anisha Jackson
Illeana Kirven
Judy Pizzurro
Andrew Grayman-Parkhurst, ex officio
Michael Grayman-Parkhurst, ex officio
Chioma Anyanwu
Pamela Baskin-Watson
Nedra Dixon
Cynthia Hardeman
Timothy Houston
Illeana Kirven
Sarah Montoya
Eric Palmquist
Vanessa Severo
Julie Shaw
Doug Weaver
Emily Wirkus
Nedra Dixon
Maggie Niven
Julie Shaw
Ryan Tucker
moved to Kansas City (Andrew's hometown) from New York City in 2010 to form Spinning Tree Theatre. Andrew and Michael received permission from the Jerome Robbins Foundation to reproduce the original West Side Story choreography for Spinning Tree’s 2015 production: the first all-local professional production of this show.
Michael (Artistic Director) directed The Wizard of Oz in 2018 for producer Mark Edelman and Theater League. Michael studied directing and producing at Princeton’s famed McCarter Theatre Center as assistant director to Tony Award winner Garry Hynes on the 2007 Broadway revival of Translations, Kent Gash on Tarell McCraney’s The Brothers Size and Artistic Director Emily Mann on her world premiere production of Mrs. Packard, which Michael assisted in transferring to The Kennedy Center. As an actor, Broadway national tour credits include West Side Story, The King and I and Mamma Mia! A graduate of the Cincinnati School for Creative and Performing Arts and The Boston Conservatory, Michael teaches acting to young and emerging artists. Michael is a 27-year member of Actors’ Equity Association. Michael's radio show SHOW PEOPLE! airs on KKFI 90.1FM every 3rd Saturday of the month as part of The Tenth Voice, the region's longest-running LGBTQ+ radio show.
Andrew (Managing Director) was assistant choreographer to Tony Award-winning choreographer Rob Ashford on the Broadway production of Curtains. He was Dance Captain/Swing on the Broadway tour of Mamma Mia! for more than 2,000 performances, maintaining the production under the supervision of the original creative team. He had the honor of being directed by Roman Polanski in the original Vienna production of Tanz der Vampire as Dance Soloist, was chosen and directed by Alvin Ailey at age 16 to dance Memoria and performed on the 2009 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall. A veteran of the national tour of the musical Chicago, Andrew also played Milan, Berlin, Vienna, Zurich and Frankfurt on the 40th Anniversary European Tour of West Side Story. Andrew is a 26-year member of Actors' Equity Association. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Modern Dance from Texas Christian University and recently earned his Master of Arts in Arts Leadership and Management from Wichita State University.
We honor the memory of beloved actor Kip Niven with a $1,000 annual scholarship awarded to a Kansas City high school senior planning to major in acting or musical theatre at university. Application information available each year in February.
We offer tuition-free professional mentorships for young artists who prefer to collaborate behind the scenes. Opportunities include stage management; lighting, sound, costume, properties & projections design; and directing.
We love our patrons, volunteers, donors and artists!
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