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Who's running this show?
Following is a list and bios for Manhattan Children’s Theatre Senior
Management as well as the Board of Directors.
(All but one of MCT’s senior staff is currently on the board)
Bruce Merrill President & Artistic Director
As Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Manhattan Children's Theatre, he has most recently directed
Brave Irene, Rapunzel, Miss Nelson is Missing, Harry the Dirty Dog, The Selfish Giant, Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, Elves & The Shoemaker, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and
The Snow Queen and adapted and directed productions of The Snow Maiden, Treasure Island, Rikki Tikki Tavi, Aesop's
Fables, and Goblin Market. As Director of Children's Theatre at Vital Theatre Company his credits included
The Selfish Giant, The Swineherd, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras
County, and The Last of the Dragons; adapted and directed The
Snowmaiden; and oversaw four other Children’s Theatre productions. Other New York directing credits include:
The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 (Gallery Players); January 1, 1973 (American Theatre of Actors)
Running from the Red Girl (Brass Tacks Theatre Co.) Bruce toured with Missoula Children’s Theatre for two seasons as a Tour Actor/Director. In those two seasons, he directed over 3,500 kids in over 70 different productions. Other positions include Artistic Director for Peninsula Youth Theatre, and Education Director for California Theatre Center, Other directing credits include:
Little Shop of Horrors (Bay Players), Fifth of July (Menlo Player’s Guild),
How the Other Half Loves and The Woman at Dead Oaks (Santa Clara Players),
Arsenic & Old Lace and Guys & Dolls (LaMoure Summer Musical Theatre), and
The Yeoman of the Guard (Lyric Theatre,San Jose). Bruce holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in Theatre Arts from Santa Clara University and a Master’s of Arts from University of Montana, where he wrote his thesis, An Investigation of the Missoula Children’s Theatre Process and How It Promotes the Aesthetic Development of Children, directly on his experiences working with children.
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Laura Stevens Secretary/Treasurer & Executive Director
Laura is a co-founder of Manhattan Children’s Theatre where she most recently directed
Last of the Dragons, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Robin Hood and
Rumpelstiltskin. Prior to her work at MCT, Laura founded Vital Theatre Company in 1999, a non-profit organization that produces existing and original theatrical works for both children and adults. She served on the Board of Trustees through March 2002. Her Vital positions included Marketing Director, Development Director, and Production Manager for Vital Children's Theatre. She also created and developed a youth outreach program, Vital Voices, which integrated theatrical arts within elementary school curriculums. This program was supported by a generous grant from the Avon Foundation. As a director, her credits include:
The Ransom of Red Chief, The Arrangement and Executive Dance. As an actress her credits include Lanford Wilson's
The Madness of Lady Bright, Tennessee Williams' Purification and David Mamet's
Sexual Perversity in Chicago. Television credits include "Guiding Light," "All My Children" and the host of the golf game show "Hole in One" on ESPN and the Golf Channel. Laura has a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications from Miami University and has worked as an Account Manager for the advertising firm Berlin Cameron & Partners and as a Marketing Director for Video Monitoring Services International.
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Kristin Walter – Vice President & Artistic Associate
A graduate of Santa Clara University with a degree in Theatre Arts, Kristin worked as an actress for California Theatre Center, Bay Players, Santa Clara Players and as one fourth of the Bits and Pieces Cabaret. She has served as a vocal director and choreographer for elementary and high schools throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, and she toured the country for a year as an actress and director for Missoula Children's Theatre. As Education Director of Peninsula Youth Theatre, she ran the School of Performing Arts, the Outreach program, the Stories on Stage literacy program, and directed over 30 shows including:
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Once On This Island, and
Schoolhouse Rock Live. As a playwright, her produced works include: The Last of the Dragons, The Selfish Giant and
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (Vital Children's Theatre);
The Snow Queen, The Elves & the Shoemaker, Rapunzel and Hansel
and Gretel (Manhattan Children’s Theatre). Currently, she lives in the heart of the Silicon Valley with her husband, Chris, and her son, Max, and teaches theatre at Castilleja School
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Live Sletten Diakolios – Board Member
Live graduated with a BBA from Pacific Lutheran University in 1992 with a major in International Finance and a minor in French. Live was a vice president at American Marine Advisors, Inc. of Manhattan, an investment bank specializing in ship finance, where she worked for 9 years. She has served on the board for Manhattan Children’s Theatre since September 2005 and is currently co-char for the 2005-2006 Season Benefit.
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Libby Steiner – General Manager
Libby Steiner is excited to be working her second season on the staff at MCT and her first season as General Manager. Libby began working at MCT three seasons ago as a stage manager. She stage managed Robin Hood , Rumplestiltskin , The Selfish Giant, Elves and the Shoe Maker , and Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse . She continues to stage manage elsewhere in New York City. Libby is also excited to be writing and directing her first show for MCT's preschool series, Little Tales.
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Kathleen Conner - Production Manager
A graduate of the Florida
State University School of Theatre, Kathleen has been working in Stage and
Production Management along the east coast for the past several years.
In New York, Kathleen has Stage Managed for Blessed Unrest, Six Figures
Artists of Tomorrow Festival, and the Prospect Theatre Company. She
spent three summers at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, where she started as an
Intern in 2003, became the Assistant Production Manager in 2004, and returned
to Stage Manage the KIDDSTUFF series in 2006 . She was the
Production Management Intern at CENTERSTAGE in Baltimore, where she also
served as the Assistant Production Manager for two months. In addition
to MCT, she currently works at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy and
continues to Stage Manage throughout the city.
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John D. Ivy - Technical Director
John Ivy (Technical Director) former Master Electrician for Galveston Island Outdoor Musicals, Technical Director for Strand Street Theater and The Orphanage Theater Collective, and Sound Supervisor for the Dallas Theater Center, and as an actor with over 40 shows under his belt, John has worked professionally in every theatrical field but costumes. Mostly a sound designer in New York, John designed sound and composed music for numerous productions last season, including all of the 3 Graces Theater Productions
(Nickel and Dimed, Dream of a Common Language, and A Good Farmer ),
A Time to be Born and TLC for the fringe festival, A Turn of the Screw and
Moby Dick Rehearsed for 2point6 Productions, Half a Sixpence, Major Barbara and
Twelfth Night for The Dalton School, and Uncensored for MCC Youth Company. He is the creator of two full-length musicals, including
Teen Party Massacre! - written with Justin R. G. Holcomb. Former works with MCT include
Goodnight Moon (sound design, music arrangement), and Lilly's Plastic Purse (technical direction, sound design, computer animation). He is also currently sound supervisor at the Dalton School and Lighting Director and Sound Engineer for Jay Johnson: the Two and Only currently on tour.
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