2014 PERFORMING ARTS
SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION
Sunday, May 18, 2014 6:00 PM The Charline McCombs Empire Theatre
p r o g r a m
Las Casas Foundation has created this scholarship program to honor the talented youth of San Antonio who excel in the performing arts. Through the generous giving of many supportive donors, these scholarships provide financial assistance that can help defray the increasing cost of higher education and can be used at the college or university of the recipient’s choice. Together, our city’s arts patrons are helping provide educational opportunities and helping to keep the performing arts’ stage within reach of the talented youth of San Antonio. Thank you for joining us for our sixth year of showcasing promising young talent. We look forward to seeing you at the 2015 Scholarship Competition.
Kevin Parman President, Las Casas Foundation
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2014 PERFORMING ARTS
SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION MA S TER O F CER EM O N I E S
Randy Beamer Anchor, News 4 WOAI S TAG E M A N AG E R
A S SIS TA N T S TAG E M A N AG E R
Susan Breidenbach
Mark Hicks
ACCO M PAN IS T
Ryan Fielding Garrett
M I S S I O N S TAT E M E N T
Las Casas Foundation is dedicated to the development of the performing arts through education and scholarships and the restoration and preservation of historic theatres.
s ol o da nc e
Ashton Schifani
Kaitlen Jung
Andrea Lopez
Madelene Hall
Ashley Olson
du e t ac t i ng
Hailey Medrano & Jonathon Stone
Jorge Espinoza & Marlowe Romero
Christian Parrish & Samuel Wittlinger
s ol o voic e
Cameron Kauffman
Konnor Callender
Aaron Taylor
Michele Yamin
Madeline Chancey
s ol o ac t i ng
Sydney Watt
Anna Connelly
Renelle Wilson
Joshua Riding
Daniel Quintero
t h e j i m m y awa r ds
Christopher Heron
Aria Braswell
Michele Yamin
l i n da g . t i l l e ry e s s ay awa r ds w i n n e r s
Chloee Abigail Leos
Corbyn Sprayberry
Aaron Taylor
pe r f or m a nc e s c h e du l e Ashton Schifani Solo Dance
Jerome Robbins’ Broadway
Hailey Medrano & Jonathon Stone Duet Acting
The Woolgatherer, William Mastrosimone
Cameron Kauffman
“Mr. Monotony,”
“If You Want Me,” Once
Solo Voice
Sydney Watt Solo Acting
Reasons To Be Pretty, Neil LaBute
Kaitlen Jung Solo Dance
Thoroughly Modern Millie
Anna Connelly Solo Acting
Two Gentlemen of Verona, William Shakespeare
Konnor Callender Solo Voice
“The Man That Got Away,”
“Forget About the Boy,”
A Star is Born
Andrea Lopez
Solo Dance
“Buenos Aires,” Evita
Jorge Espinoza & Marlowe Romero
Duet Acting
Zoot Suit, Luis Valdez
Aaron Taylor
Solo Voice
“I Can’t Stand Still,” Footloose
10 MIN UTE INTE RMISSION
Madelene Hall Solo Dance “There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than This,” Sweet Charity
The Cockeyed Kite, Joseph Caldwell
Joshua Riding Solo Acting Michele Yamin
Solo Voice
“Diva’s Lament,” Spamalot
Renelle Wilson
Solo Acting
Collaborations, Kellie Powell
Christian Parrish & Samuel Wittlinger Duet Acting
The Lisbon Traviata, Terrence McNally
Madeline Chancey
Solo Voice “Live Out Loud,” A Little Princess
Daniel Quintero
Solo Acting
As Is, William M. Hoffman
Ashley Olson
Solo Dance
“Roxie Hart,” Chicago
10 MIN UTE B RE AK THE JIMMY AWARDS
“Raise A Little Hell,” Bonnie & Clyde
Christopher Heron Aria Braswell
“Green Finch and Linnet Bird,” Sweeney Todd
Michele Yamin Aaron Taylor
“Someone Like You,” Jekyll & Hyde “Run and Tell That,” Hairspray
SCHOL ARSHIP AWARD CE RE MONY
Las Casas Scholarship Musical Anthology Book Donation Linda G. Tillery Essay Award Winners – Chloee Abigail Leos and Corbyn Sprayberry
j u d ge s Jonelle Allen Jonelle Allen made her Broadway debut at the age of six in The Wisteria Trees, Joshua Logan’s Americanized adaptation of The Cherry Orchard starring Helen Hayes. Allen returned to Broadway for a 1955 revival of Finian’s Rainbow. She was in the cast of the original off-Broadway production of Hair at Joseph Papp’s Public Theater and also appeared in George M! before receiving critical acclaim and a Tony Award nomination for Two Gentlemen of Verona, which earned her New York Drama Critics’ Circle, Drama Desk, Theatre World, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for her performance. Allen’s film credits include Cotton Comes to Harlem, The Hotel New Hampshire, and The River Niger, for which she won an NAACP Image Award. She had a regular role in the dramatic series Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman from 1993–1997. Other television appearances include Barney Miller, The Love Boat, All in the Family, Trapper John, M.D., Hill Street Blues, Cagney and Lacey, ER and Girlfriends. Alix Korey Alix Korey made her Broadway debut as Minnie Fay in the 1978 revival of Hello, Dolly! starring Carol Channing. Other credits include Chicago, 45 Seconds From Broadway, An Evening with Jerry Herman, Triumph of Love, Chicago, Ain’t Broadway Grand and The Pirates of Penzance. Korey received the Drama League Award for her work in Off-Broadway’s Suburb, a Drama Desk nomination for her performance in The Wild Party and an Outer Critics Circle nomination for her role in No Way to Treat a Lady. Her screen work includes Anything But Love, Dummy, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Pocahontas. Korey’s solo recordings are titled Songs You Might Have Missed and Gifts of Love. In 1987, Korey co-founded the Equity Fights Aids Committee, later to become Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids (BCEFA).
Robin Lewis Robin Lewis appeared in the Broadway production of Fosse, Beauty and the Beast, and A Christmas Carol at Madison Square Garden and the First National of Victor Victoria and The Producers. Other national touring credits include A Chorus Line, Hello Dolly, Beauty and the Beast and special performances at The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall and the Tony Awards. He appears on the PBS Dance in America Fosse: A Celebration in Dance. Lewis’ choreographic work includes the Richard Linklater film Bernie (2011) starring Shirley MacLaine and Jack Black. He has choreographed scores of other shows regionally, garnering multiple critical awards, including the Kennedy Center/ACTF Excellence in choreography. This summer he will be choreographing The Who’s Tommy at Zachary Scott in Austin. Robin is currently a professor of Musical Theater Dance at Rider University in Princeton, NJ. Sal Mistretta Sal Mistretta is a veteran of Broadway, TV, Film and Cabaret performances. He has performed on both coasts in major productions, including Evita and Sunset Blvd. and the Ace Award-winning Sweeney Todd as Pirelli. His performances of such diverse characters as Gus/Growltiger in Cats, Uncle Grahame in The Fix, and the Phantom in Ken Hill’s version of the American premiere of Phantom Of The Opera garnered the Helen Hayes Award, Boston Theatre Critics Award and the St. Louis Theatre Critics Award. Gwen Stewart Gwen Stewart made her Broadway debut as the character Canibelle in the original cast of Starmites. She is perhaps best known for her role in the hit Broadway musical, Rent, in which she originated the role of Mrs. Jefferson and the Seasons of Love soloist. Stewart returned to Rent on April 29, 2007, the anniversary of Rent’s opening, to reprise her role as the Seasons of Love soloist, a role which she also reprised in the final cast of Rent, which was filmed for Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway. Stewart’s other Broadway credits include Truly Blessed, as an ensemble member,
and the revival of Big River, as Alice. Stewart won the 2008 Ovation Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Sylvia in All Shook Up. Randy Beamer (Emcee) Randy Beamer is the Emmy Award-Winning weekday 5, 6 & 10 p.m. co-anchor and photojournalist for News 4 WOAI. He loves to grab his camera and shoot his own stories as often as possible. Beamer has shot and reported for News 4 from all over the country and even around the world, focusing on all kinds of stories involving—and important to—South Texans. Additionally, he has shot and reported stories of both the Majestic Theatre and Charline McCombs Empire Theatre and has even taken a camera up on to a scaffolding at the very top of the Empire stage. He also volunteers as popular speaker and emcee at dozens of community fundraisers. Beamer was a National Merit Scholar at Drake University. He also briefly attended the USC Film School in L.A. For several years, the Texas Associated Press Broadcasters have recognized him as one of the top anchors in Texas. He’s won two Emmy Awards, an Edward R. Murrow Award, along with many others over the years for reporting, anchoring, photography and commentary. And, he’d rather you just called him “Beamer.” Ryan Fielding Garrett (Accompanist) NYC: Mary Poppins, Matilda, Sweeney Todd (NY Philharmonic), Jasper in Deadland, The Three Little Pigs. Regional: Next to Normal (Weston Playhouse); Little Miss Scrooge (Rubicon Theatre); Passing Strange, and Chess (Playhouse Square); Two Gentlemen of Verona (Lake Tahoe Shakespeare). He has worked with composers Adam Guettel and Joe Iconis on original evenings of their music at the Weston Playhouse. Co-orchestrator, with Ryan Scott Oliver, of Darling (54 Below). Music director for Heidi Blickenstaff (Signature Theatre, Disney Cruise Line). As a composer, Ryan was selected as the recipient of the Young Composer of the Year award and his piece Return to the City Overture was premiered by the San Antonio Symphony. Graduate of Baldwin Wallace University. ryanfieldinggarrett.com
Susan Dee Breidenbach (Stage Manager) Susan Dee Breidenbach has spent most of her free time during the last twenty-eight years within the local theatre community. Please applaud, too, for all the techs that help make shows possible. Susan is Media Director with the pharmaceutical manufacturer, Mission Pharmacal. Mark Hicks (Assistant Stage Manager) Mark Hicks has performed for eighteen years on many of San Antonio’s stages in both plays and musicals. Mark also stage-manages, all of which have been with Globe Award-Winning directors and/or productions of plays. Kim Bianco (Production Consultant) Kim Bianco has been teaching and performing in San Antonio for the past 20 years. She has a Master of Music in vocal performance from the San Francisco Conservatory and a Bachelor in Music Education from Texas Tech University. For the past 14 years, she has taught voice in the Musical Theatre department at the Northeast School of the Arts and also privately for the Northeast and Northside Independent School Districts. Her students have performed professionally in television, film, summer stock, regional theatre, and Broadway. She has taught voice masterclasses on auditioning for the Las Casas Scholarship Foundation since its inception in 2009. In 2011, she was awarded an ATAC Globe Award for leading actress in a musical for her portrayal of Margaret in The Light in the Piazza at the San Pedro Playhouse. Kim has performed professionally in California, Pennsylvania and New York and is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. MaLuisa Garza-Olivo (Backstage Crew) John Onyx (Backstage Crew)
officers and board of directors 2014 Jocelyn L. Straus Founding Chairperson
Frank Z. Ruttenberg Chairman
Kevin Parman
Peggy Penshorn Bonnie Reed Kathy Rhoads Barbara Richmond
President
Michael Schaefer
Linda Guerra Tillery
Lisa Swann
Vice President
Jay Higginson
Don Thomas
Treasurer
Chris Turner
Valerie Samaniego Finch
V.T. “Skip” Wood
Assistant Treasurer
Laura G. Richmond Secretary
lifetime friends Sunny Blumenthal
Martha Avant
Clifton J. Bolner
Aliza Cantu
Bob W. Coleman
Bill Crow
Mary Margaret McAllen
Eric Dupre’
Pat Wheeler
Carmen Goldberg George Hinchey John D. Likovich Charline McCombs David Nicolson Sue Ann Pemberton
Kaye Lenox CEO
Doren Fein Programs and Development
Ana Flores Operations and Communications
Las Casas Foundation
scholarship sponsors 2014 executive producers Joci and Joe Straus McCombs Foundation Charles C. Butt H-E-B John and Florence Newman Foundation Laura and Jack Richmond ACE Theatrical Group, LLC Mays Family Foundation McCombs Automotive Valero Sheraton Gunter Malu and Carlos Alvarez Ramona and Lee Bass Charline and Red McCombs The Wood Agency
producers Estela Avery Frost Bank Edouard Foundation Betty Halff Christine and Joe Haynes Haynes and Boone, LLP Karen and Tim Hixon Dan Parman Joe Smith Texas Capital Bank Gary Woods Mollie and Bartell Zachry
co-producers Kathey and Robert Anderson Margaret Anderson and Bill Crow Ann Griffith Ash AT&T Sunny Blumenthal Ruth McLean Bowers Ron Caalgard Ernesto Calvo Nancy and Charlie Cheever Elliott Z. Cohen Susan and Jeff Edwards Kitty Nelson Ferguson Valerie and Ron Finch Caroline Funari Jennifer Furgerson Carmen and Steven Goldberg Valerie and Jack Guenther Leah and Jay Higginson Liecie and Nick Hollis IPAC Dore and Bart Koontz Suzanne and Gilbert Mathews Ruth Jones McClendon Claudia and Arthur Medina Myfe Moore Heather and Greg Parkhurst
Sue Ann Pemberton Peggy and Harvey Penshorn Dana and William Powell Becky and Stephen Schmitt Carolyn and Bill Thornton Linda Guerra Tillery and Jim Tillery USAA Foundation Julie and Randy Vrana Neill Walsdorf, Jr. Jonanna Weidman Wendy and Thomas Wirth
directors Martha Avant Barbara Banker Lois Bready and Joseph Hulahan Diane Broce James S. Calvert Mildred Ehrenberg Kathleen and Curtis Gunn Emory Hamilton Rose Marie and John Hendry Pansy Kimbro Olive Ann and Tres Kleberg Beth and Jim Meyer David Nicolson Dolores and Andew Novak Mary Carrington Philip Kathy Rhoads Layne and Mark Roetzel Robin and Tom Russell Frank Ruttenberg Debbie and Michael Schaefer Elizabeth and Scott Stephens Philip W. Stewart Lisa Swann John Toomey Christine Turner Elizabeth and Graham Weston Sandy and Skip Wood
musical directors ACE Mart Sharon Aguillen Logan and Gene Ames Chrissy Anthony Ann and Sam Barshop Nelwyn Belt Susan Biegler William Brown Margaret and Richard Calvert Rebecca Canary and Ken Fine Aliza and Willie Cantu Bryan Dempsey Perry Donop, Jr. Downtown Alliance Daniel Dupre’ Marilyn Eades
Eric Efron Annie Mae and R.E. Fawcett Debbie and Marshall Fein Patricia and Joe Flores Bette Foster Andrea Giuffrida Ruthie Gold Lorraine and Richard Griffin Margaret and Sean Gunn Sally Halff H.B. Hause Meta and Albert Hausser George Hinchey Joe Kaplan Thomas Kaufman Margie Kilpatrick George Kimbell Pamela Kittrell Heather and Judd Kraft Carolyn and Joseph Labatt Laura and Weir Labatt Pat Legan Nancy and Michael Levine Veronika Liskova Jack Locke, Jr. Cheri and Richard Longoria Barbara Lozano Philip Manfredi Edith McAllister Nickey McCasland Sarah and Joseph Miller Eric Morse Jean Marie and William Mueller Harriet and Sam Neuman Ann and Chico Newman Eleanor and Keith O’Gorman Dorothea Oppenheimer Bonnie and William Osborn Loretta and James Patterson Bonnie Reed and Stuart Schlossberg Ann Rice Dawn and Travis Robinette Jerry Rosen Rollette Schreckenghost Mary Marshall Sidorsky J. Marrin Smith Carol and Michael Stehling Patricia Steves Patrick H. Swearingen, Jr. Sandra Trevino Judy and Lorence Trick Johnye M. Voiles Tina and Brian Weiner Christen and George Wommack Chica and John Younger Marion Zoch
Thank You To Martha Avant Randy Beamer Susan Breidenbach Danny Cuellar and Trinity Flowers Mary Jo Fernandez David Green and American Foundation for Arts Education Stephen Guzman Key Ideas Charline McCombs The Playhouse Chris Rodriguez SAY SĂ Michael Schaefer and Xerox Corporation Marsha McCombs Shields Spectrum Las Casas Teacher Advisory Board Sandra Trevino Caroline and Larry Walker Brent Watkins Woodlawn Theatre
A Special Thank You to the Las Casas Board for their dedication and many volunteered hours. Also, to Mike Rilley of Arts Center Enterprises and his fabulous staff.
sp ons or s john and florence newman foundation
PROUDLY SUPPORTING THE Las Casas Foundation
Las Casas Foundation 222 E. Houston Street, Suite 640 • San Antonio, TX 78205 Phone: 210-223-4343 • Fax: 210-223-9876 • LasCasasFoundation.org
Las Casas Foundation Performing Arts Scholarship Competition is a participant in