A Grand Night for Singing

BIOS

DIRECTOR
Trisha Ditsworth is a local musical theatre artist, teacher and director. Directing: Spongebob (MCC), 9 to 5 (MET), Sound of Music (DST), Nice Work if You Can Get It (ART), A New Brain (Assistant Director, ASU). Select Acting Credits: Maria The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins Mary Poppins, Fanny Brice Funny Girl, Sarah The Toxic Avenger, Catherine Pippin, Johanna Sweeney Todd, Martha The Secret Garden, Percy The Spitfire Grill, Sister Mary Robert Sister Act, Pickles Trailer Park, Annabel Lucky Stiff. BFA Musical Theater, University of Arizona. By day Trisha teaches private voice and acting lessons and also enjoys painting. Love to Matravius, Lennox, Mom and Daddio! www.trishaditsworth.com

MUSICAL DIRECTOR
James May has been music director for many shows at  Arizona Broadway Theater and Theaterworks. Earlier he returned from two years  in Spain as music director for THE LION KING. On Broadway, Jim conducted  TEDDY AND ALICE, LES MISERABLES, and SUNSET BOULEVARD. National Tours: A CHORUS LINE, LA CAGE AUX FOLLES. KISS ME KATE, MAN OF LA MANCHA, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST; Los Angeles companies: LES MISERABLES, THE LION KING, WHITE CHRISTMAS, WICKED; in Spain and Mexico: LA BELLA Y LA BESTIA (BEAUTY AND THE BEAST), MAMMA MIA. Education: Bachelors and Masters from Northwestern University.

CAST
Loren Battieste currently lives in Phoenix area after completing an Artist’s Diploma with the Chicago College of Performing Arts and received his Bachelor’s Degree in music from University of Redlands. Loren served as a Resident Artist with both Chicago Opera Theater and Pittsburgh Festival Opera. He made his professional debut in 2010 as Jim in Porgy and Bess with New Orleans Opera. Recent shows include Beauty and the Beast (Beast) with Showtune Productions, The Little Mermaid (King Triton) with Hale Centre Theatre, Parade (Newt Lee) with Arizona Regional Theatre, and the opera La Bohème (Marcello) with Chandler Opera Company. Loren has had the wonderful opportunity to perform in opera houses all across the country.

Lauren Berman is a self-proclaimed “recovering opera singer.” After completing her doctorate in vocal performance with a focus on opera, she dipped a toe in the musical theatre world and hasn’t looked back! Favorite roles include Alice Beineke (The Addams Family), Sarah Brown (Guys and Dolls), and Irene Molloy (Hello Dolly). Her other great love is teaching voice lessons and she is the proud owner of Authentic Voice Music Studio in Tempe, AZ.

Linsey Maxson is no stranger to the stage. Her favorite past roles are: Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Margaurite in Scarlet Pimpernel, Narrator in Joseph and the…, Cathy in Last Five Years, Amalia in She Loves Me, Kate in Kiss Me Kate, June Adams in Bandstand, Mrs Cratchit in A Christmas Carol, and M’Lynn in Steel Magnolias. She can be heard on the original cast recordings of Blackbeard the Musical as Mary, Lamb of God as Martha, and Amazon Studios’ award-winning 12 Princesses animated film as January. She runs Maxson Family Music, an in-person and online voice and acting coaching business for preschoolers – adults. She and her husband/leading man Tyler are the parents of four awesome and talented children.  www.maxsonfamilymusic.com Instagram/tiktok: maxsonfamilymusic 

Nick Gunnell (Jason): Nick is excited to be a part of his first Bridge Initiative production! He was last seen as Ernst Ludwig in Cabaret atPhoenix Theatre and Monty Navarro in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder at TheaterWorks. Much love to his wife, Amber, and his two sons, Walter and Tommy. Other credits: Quasimodo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), Huck Finn (Big River), Bert (Mary Poppins), Mary Sunshine (Chicago), and Bobby Strong (Urinetown). @nbgunnell

Kim Richard (Alyson) is thrilled to be involved in the show! Notable stage credits include Sister US (Sister’s Christmas Catechism), Gun Metal Blues (The Blonde), Murder Ballad: A New Musical(Sara), South Pacific(Nellie Forbush), Seminar (Izzy), All New People (Kim), Dog Sees God (CB’s sis) and Pulp! (Pepper). She has spent the last few years focusing on family, but recently returned to theatre to work behind the scenes on the Festival of New American Theatre at TPTC as Assistant Festival Director. Huge thanks to The Bridge Initiative for the incredible work they do and for including her in this piece. 

**This program is made possible, fully or in part, by a grant from Scottsdale Arts with funding provided by the City of Scottsdale. This season’s projects are supported in part by a CCG grant for general operations from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, which receives support from the State of Arizona and the National Endowment for the Arts.**