ABOUT THE THEATREZONE TEAM / BOARD

Mark Danni – Artistic Director and Board of Directors

Mark Danni is one of the most well rounded people in the entertainment business. His directing, music directing and drumming skills make him a sought after commodity in the theatre world. After starting his New York City career as a drummer on Broadway for shows such as Chicago (starring Jasmine Guy, Jennifer Holiday, Vicky Lewis and Alan Thicke) Grand Hotel (starring Michael Jeter, Rex Smith and Jane Krakowski), Miss Saigon (starring Lea Salonga and Hinton Battle), Les Miserables (starring Colm Wilkinson, Ricky Martin, Andrea McArdle and Laurie Beechman), Joseph…(starring Michael Damian), Annie Get Your Gun (starring Bernadette Peters and Tom Wolpat) and Nunsense, he quickly moved into the conductor’s chair and conducted the national tours of Barnum and Les Miserables. During his 14 years in New York, he also toured with the shows The Phantom Of The Opera, 42nd Street (starring Gretchen Wyler and Marcia Lewis), the 25th anniversary tour of Hair (directed by James Rado and Galt McDermott), Evita, Les Miserables (starring Sutton Foster) and Fame as the drummer and/or percussionist. Regionally, he was the conductor of A Little Night Music at the Signature Theatre in Washington, D.C., where he also worked on the Studio Theatre’s production of Falsettoland. Quickly becoming a favorite in D.C., he was then asked to play drums for Al Gore’s Innaugural Gala in 1993, A Taste of Tennessee, starring Dixie Carter and Gary Morris.

Directing shows became inevitable for someone as creative as Mark. While conducting the tour of Les Miserables, he soon became a favorite conductor for many of the cast members and the director of the show started teaching him the ropes of directing, encouraging him to start directing himself. That’s just what Mark did. When he left the road, he started directing anywhere he could and even directed a few Off-Broadway productions. Some of those include the critically acclaimed play, Aggravation, and the musical workshop of What Would Esther Williams Do In A Situation Like This? (starring Richard Heard).

After leaving New York, Mark continued directing in Southwest Florida, and became the Founding Artistic Director of TheatreZone Inc., a professional theatre company in Naples, Florida. While Mark maintains a heavy directing schedule, he is still in demand as a conductor and drummer. At Sandy Duncan’s request, Mark toured through the state of Florida with her show, Sandy Duncan: celebrates Broadway, and has also played with the Naples Philharmonic.

Born and raised in Buffalo, NY, Mark attended Baldwin-Wallace College in Cleveland, OH. He is a trained director, conductor and percussionist whose teachers include Jack Lee, Eric Schaeffer, Dwight Oltman, Donald Schleicher, Rick Holms and Karen Carpenter.

E-Mail the Artistic Director: Mark Danni

Ellen Elleman - Managing Director & Board of Directors

Entrepreneurial in spirit, Ellen Elleman enjoys her work as Managing Director of TheatreZone as it allows her to combine her MBA education with her creative side. Relatively new to Naples, Ellen and her family have lived in Atlanta, GA, Charleston, SC, Columbus, OH and San Diego, CA. Their goal is to have fun in all 50 states, as travel is their favorite pastime. They also love warm weather and the beach, and are happy call Naples home. In her spare time Ellen plays tennis, volunteers at The Community School of Naples and scrapbooks like a fiend.

Laurence D. (Larry) Goodsight - Board of Directors

Before establishing his current production company based in Fayetteville, NY and New York City, Larry Goodsight served as Vice President and General Manager of AXXESS Media, a part of WCNY Public Broadcasting in Syracuse, NY. At WCNY, he wrote, produced and directed the award winning documentary, “Auspicious Vision…Edward Wales Root and American Modernism”.

From 2003-2006, he resided in Naples, operating The Goodsight Company, a marketing, video production and public relations firm. While in Naples he was a founding member of TheatreZone.

For more than twenty years previously, he served as Chairman/CEO of Goodsight/Herrmann, Inc., an entertainment/marketing communications firm with offices in New York, New Jersey, Virginia and California. The firm’s Communications Division served Fortune 100 clients with meetings and convention planning and production services. The Video Division produced commercials, promotional and training programs.

Entertainment activity included theater and television productions, celebrity entertainers, speakers, major award shows and musical and cabaret productions in which Mr. Goodsight served as writer, producer and director. He also served as media consultant for political organizations and several corporations.

In addition to his other roles, he has worked extensively on the performing side of the entertainment business. As an actor he appeared in the U.S. theatrical premiere of the Parisian hit show Paris en Foli. His television credits include recurring roles on The Edge of Night and Ryan’s Hope. Mr. Goodsight was a founding member of the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway Yankee Rep Theatre Company and served as Producing Artistic Director of the Cazenovia Theatre Company. His writing/producing credits include: Broadway at Eleven O’clock, The Singing Weatherman, Calling You and the Off-Broadway hit musical Prom Queens Unchained.

Mr. Goodsight’s professional associations include: American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Actor’s Equity Association, Screen Actor’s Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Performers and the Dramatist’s Guild.

Glenn Guiler - Board of Directors

Glenn moved permanently to Naples in the fall of 2005, after having been a frequent visitor since 1992. Glenn's first musical theatre experience was singing in the chorus for his high school production of "Guys and Dolls." Glenn grew up in a military family and enjoyed traveling and living all over the United States and Europe, eventually attending Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, and graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree in voice performance. He attended the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music graduating with a Master of Arts in Arts Administration. Glenn has worked in both marketing and public relations for the Santa Fe Opera, the Houston Symphony (Public Relations Director) and the Houston Grand Opera (Marketing Director) as well as working as an artist’s manager for emerging young opera singers in New York City. A change in career direction led him to general management positions with several retail luxury brands in New York City, Houston, San Francisco and now for Cartier here in Naples.

Catherine Kennedy - Company Manager

Catherine hails from Cleveland, Ohio where as an audience member, she enjoyed the many and varied theatrical offerings of the great lakes area. She and her family migrated to the Naples area over fifteen years ago. Catherine works as a medical practice management consultant in both Collier and Lee counties. She is happy to offer her background in communication and business administration to the TheatreZone team.

Kristy Knudsen-Strong - Board of Directors

Kathleen Kolacz – Resident Costume Designer

Kathleen has been involved in numerous Broadway shows and tours and lists Sound of Music, Showboat, Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, Crazy for You, 42nd Street, Evita, Les Miserable, Follies, West Side Story and Big among her credits. She has been the assistant wardrobe mistress for Radio City Music Hall, Detroit OperaTheatre and Dayton Opera Theatre where she worked on productions of, among others, Turandot, Aida, Romeo and Juliet, Madame Butterfly, My Fair Lady and Die Fledermaus. She was also a guest wardrobe assistant for the opening of the premier season for Opera Pacific.

Karen Molnar – Resident Choreographer

Karen Molnar’s Choreography Credits include FILM: Italian Lessons. OFF-BROADWAY: Space Trek; A Musical Parody, Sea Fever, What Would Esther Williams Do… REGIONAL: A Chorus Line, Crazy For You, West Side Story, Pippin, Grease, Guys And Dolls, Hello Dolly, etc. COLLEGIATE: Merrily We Roll Along at Yale University. Some of her acting credits are FILM and TV: Guiding Light, One Life To Live, Sex And The City, For Richer Or Poorer, Step Mom, The Astronaut's Wife. THEATRE: Little Shop of Horrors (Audrey), Bye Bye Birdie (Rosie), Anything Goes (Reno Sweeney), West Side Story (Anita), A Chorus Line (Kristine), the European Tour of On The Town (Flossie/Dance Capt.), the National Tour of Wizard Of Oz (Glinda), and the Off-Broadway revival of Irene. Karen has a Bachelor of Arts degree in musical theatre and marketing from Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio.

Stacey Murrell – Board of Directors

Stacey Murrell is a parent of two children who are both involved in the arts. Rachel, a CSN 10th grader, has been dancing since the age of two and loves musical theater. Howard, who is in the 7th grade at CSN, has been in numerous plays and loves acting and singing. Stacey performed in several musicals in high school and college and enjoys attending and supporting the theater. She lived in New York City for two years after college, then Virginia Beach for nine years before relocating to Naples with her husband Howard.

Susan Owens - Board of Directors

Susan Owens first moved to the Naples area in 1990 from Chicago. She has been involved in the business community as an award winning Realtor and member of Leadership Southwest Florida. Susan earned her Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and her MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management in Chicago. Out of undergraduate school, Susan became a regional manager for the Revlon Corporation in Boston and Chicago. After earning her MBA and becoming a licensed stockbroker, Susan worked in the securities industry wholesaling financial products to Prudential and E. F. Hutton, among other national brokerage firms. As Vice President of The Related Companies, a large New York City security and real estate corporation, Susan earned several industry awards including Wholesaler of the Year. Today she continues to hold an active Series 7 license as a stockbroker in the State of Florida as well as her real estate license. She currently works with Amerivest Realty selling homes and other investment properties on the Gulf of Mexico.

Paul Phillips – Production Supervisor and Board of Directors

Paul Phillips has staged managed on Broadway for Mame, Sweet Charity, Chicago, Pippin, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Take her, She’s Mine, Open Admissions and The Rehearsal. He also stage managed Judy Garland at the Palace. Paul was under contract with MGM as an actor and stage managed numerous film and stage stars playing the summer stock circuit. Paul began visiting Naples with Gertrude Lawrence and Gwen Verdon and became a permanent resident in 2001.

TheatreZone
13275 Livingston Rd.

Naples, FL 34109

888-ZONE-FLA
(1-888-966-3352)