Troy Nickerson (Director) is a Resident Artistic Director here at Civic and an award-winning actor, choreographer, and director. As a director, he’s taken on the struggles of teens (Heathers, Equus, Bare), apostles (Corpus Christi, Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell), divas (Hello, Dolly!, Gypsy, Mame), stone-cold killers (Assassins, Sweeney Todd), princesses (Into The Woods, Cinderella), dreamers (Man of LaMancha), and people just trying to get by (Rent, Boys Next Door, The Full Monty, Fiddler on the Roof, Wild Party). From the campy (Evil Dead the Musical, Escanaba in da Moonlight, Bat Boy) to the magical (Mary Poppins, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) to the profound (Every Brilliant Thing, Fun Home, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf, The Trip to Bountiful, Wit), Troy’s work has delighted local audiences and garnered national awards. His portrayal of Jody in Lonely Planet won “Best Actor in the Nation” at AACTFest 1999, and his production of I Never Saw Another Butterfly won “Best in the Nation” in 2003. Local honors include the Spokane Arts Leadership Award for his contributions to local charities, including Beyond Pink, Odyssey Youth Movement, Vanessa Behan, and the West Central Community Center.

Tonya Ballman-Lakewolf (Music Director) is a musician and performer born and raised in the Spokane area. She holds a Bachelor’s of Music in Piano Performance from Eastern Washington University. Recent projects include performing as Mrs. Gloop in Civic’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, music-directing Heather The Musical, Alice by Heart and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (all with Civic), music directing Sweeney Todd at Stage Left and playing keys in the pit for many Civic productions. Tonya would like to thank her family for supporting all her whirlwind creative endeavors.

Delaney Kahler (Choreographer) is a Washington based performing artist, choreographer, and writer. She graduated from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle with her BFA in Musical Theatre with an Original Works emphasis. Delaney has worked on many productions in her eight years as a choreographer including and Heathers The Musical, Xanadu Jr. and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee with Civic Education, Ride The Cyclone at Stage Left, RENT at LCP, Once: The Musical at Cornish and she has worked on a workshop production of A Presidential Debate with 3 Andy Warhols with Broadway producer Kenny Alhadeff. Delaney would like to thank you all for coming out and supporting local arts!

Lauretta Heaney (Stage Manager, Light Board Operator) is thrilled to be working with such a talented cast and to share the Stage Manager responsibilities with Lynn who has been a mentor and the stage manager she aspires to be. She also loves to see the show from the light booth. Lauretta’s recent stage managing credits include Amadeus, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!) and Heathers The Musical with Spokane Civic Theatre and The Little Mermaid and Nifty Fifties with Mountain Harmony Show Choir. She is looking forward to working with Coeur D’Alene Summer Theatre this summer.

Lynn Komarek (Stage Manager) is excited to be back at Spokane Civic Theatre after 5 long years to work with this great cast and crew! Prior to her hiatus she was the Stage Manager for The Book of Will and AACTFest 2019 Regionals Festival. She has also worked at Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre, Interplayers, Lake City Playhouse, Ignite and Stage Left but Civic holds a special place in her heart and has been her home away from home since 1986. A techie at heart, some of her favorite productions include: Mary Poppins, Spamalot, Secret Garden, Wait Until Dark, The Addams Family, Rent, Full Monty, and the regional premiere of White Christmas.

Michelle Holland (Producer) This production marks Michelle’s 27th anniversary at Civic, having produced numerous shows at various local theaters in that time. Civic favorites include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Heathers, Mary Poppins, Assassins, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Orphans, Full Monty, and Man of LaMancha. She has been involved with eight AACTFest shows, two Kaleidoscope Festivals, and was Festival Stage Manager for the inaugural Idaho State Festival in 2015. Michelle was honored to receive the 2016 Dorothy Darby Smith Backstage/Onstage Volunteerism Award here at Civic. In addition to producing, she has filled nearly every backstage role (with the exception of lights) and many front of house positions, including box officer.

Peter Rossing (Scenic Design) first designed and painted for the Civic with CATS last season. He has designed sets for theater, opera, dance, and corporate events in Portland, Austin and traveling productions. Favorite projects included A View from the Bridge for Portland Repertory Theatre, The Importance of Being Earnest for New Rose Theatre (Portland), On the Verge for Different Stages Co. in Austin, and A Comedy of Errors on Austin’s Zilker Park Stage. In recent years, Peter has focused on graphic design, arts marketing, and entrepreneurial projects including founding and operating an art supply store in Portland.

Jamie L. Suter (Costume Design) holds a BA in Theater Design and Technical Production with concentrations in Costume Design and Directing from Marymount Manhattan College in NYC, studying under Broadway professionals Gail Brassard, Liz Covey, and Bob Anton. Notable credits include Costume Design for The Wonder!: A Woman Keeps a Secret (T. Schreiber Studio), Assistant to the Costume Designer for Sweeney Todd (Avery Fisher Hall), Assistant Costume Designer for The Lucky Chance (Theresa Lang Theater), Director/Costume Designer for Seven Femmes (Rathskeller Studios), and Costume Designer for The Lost Cabaret (NYC Fringe Festival). Jamie joined the Civic staff in 2018, her first design on stage being Present Laughter in the Studio Theatre. She loves being part of the fun and frivolity of live theater and is incredibly happy to do that at her home away from home, Spokane Civic Theatre.

Bryan D. Durbin (Lighting Design) has a BA in theatre and is very excited to be back as Civic’s master electrician and lighting designer following the long hiatus. “I want to thank my family Heather, Evie, and Abby for all of their support.”

Dawn Taylor-Reinhardt (Consent Forward Director) An accomplished talent agent, acting coach, director and stage manager, Dawn is happy to bring the important work of intimacy coordinating to the Spokane theater community.

Kylle L. Collins (Properties Master) is an international Prop Master of the stage and screen, having served as a Prop Head and fabricator on the West End, Broadway, and the big & small screens, as well as many other prominent theatrical institutions and national tours. He is a graduate of the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London where he specialized in prop fabrication and is happy and honored to be asked to return to his hometown for this project and to support such an incredibly talented cast, who makes this extremely prop-heavy show easy as pie. Kylle would like to thank the Spokane Civic Theatre and all of its staff for being so welcoming and fostering such a collaborative environment to create in and would also like to thank Director Troy Nickerson for always being so open to creative suggestion and for allowing him to share his talents with Spokane audiences. He would also like to thank his mother Bobbie Collins Whitehead for introducing him to the original 2007 film and always fostering a love of the arts. “Mom, I wouldn’t be here without you!”

Theresa Johnson (Head Baker, Properties Assistant) Welcome to The Diner! Theresa is making her debut in Props with our production of Waitress. Dreaming, scheming, & bringing Jenna’s pies to life is a bucket list item she is thrilled to share with our community. She hopes this production reminds you to look for the kindness in others & that life is short, so go live it! She would like to thank all who consumed practice pies along the way & dedicate her work in this production to her fiancé, Jonathan. May we all be so lucky…

Mackenzie Willett (Properties) loves working behind the scenes at Civic as well as working as part of the Front of House Staff. Outside of theatre, Mackenzie spends all her time watching and playing soccer, spending time at church, and reading.

Jeremy Wissing (Sound Engineer) is excited to be back in the tech booth at Civic! Recent sound credits include The Drowsy Chaperone, Jr. (Lewis and Clark High School), Romeo and Juliet, An Enemy of the People and CATS (all with Civic).

Sara Bareilles (Music & Lyrics)

Sara Bareilles first achieved mainstream critical praise in 2007 with her widely successful hit “Love Song,” which reached No. 1 in 22 countries around the world from her debut album Little Voice. Since then, Sara has gone on to receive seven Grammy nominations throughout her career, which include Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “Love Song” and one Album of the Year for her highly acclaimed third studio album, The Blessed Unrest. Her book, Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) in Song, was released in the fall of 2015 by Simon & Schuster and is a New York Times best seller.

Making her Broadway debut Sara composed the music and lyrics for Waitress, for which she received her first Tony Award nomination for Best Score and a 2017 Grammy Award nomination for Best Musical Theater Album. She also made her Broadway acting debut in 2017 by stepping into the lead role in Waitress.

2018 was a big year for Sara, she co-hosted the Tony Awards, was nominated for an Emmy and Grammy for her role in Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert and was awarded with the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s Hal David Starlight Award. Sara also teamed up with Apple as an executive producer for Little Voice a 10-episode series, for which she created the original music. What’s Inside: Songs from Waitress, her most recent solo studio album, is out on Epic Records. On April 5, 2019 Sara released her fifth full-length and first album of original material since 2013, entitled Amidst the Chaos. For this latest body of work, she joined forces in the studio with legendary Academy Award-winning producer T Bone Burnett. As a result, the album spotlights her voice as a singer and storyteller like never before, while making an enduring statement.

Jessie Nelson (Book)

Jessie Nelson wrote the musical Waitress with music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles. The show played on Broadway for 4 years and moved to the West End in London. Sara and Jessie went on to create the show Little Voice which they Executive Produced with JJ Abrams for Apple TV. Jessie wrote, directed and produced Corrina Corrina and I Am Sam staring Sean Penn, who received an Academy Award nomination for his performance.

Among her other directing credits are Curb Your Enthusiasm and Love, the Coopers with Diane Keaton. Her writing credits include Step Mom and The Story of Us . She produced Fred Claus and Danny Collins . In London, Jessie directed Alice By Heart which she co-wrote with Steven Sater with music by Duncan Sheik at the National Theater Connections Program and again at MCC in NYC. She began her career as an actress at the Public Theater working with the award-winning experimental theater Mabou Mines and at the New York Shakespeare Festival. She wrote the children’s book Labracadabra. She has been the artistic Director of the Sundance Screen Writers Lab.

Adrienne Shelly (Filmmaker, Actor, Writer)

Adrienne Shelly was an actor (Trust) and director (Waitress, I’ll Take You There, Sudden Manhattan) for almost 20 years, she conceived the film while pregnant with her daughter Sophie (Lulu in the film), for whom she wrote it as a “love letter” in just two weeks. She also starred in the original 2007 film of Waitress as Dawn. Adrienne’s legacy includes The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, created after she died in 2006 to support Women Filmmakers. It’s awarded 60+ production grants to talented women all over the world. Please visit www.adrienneshellyfoundation.org to honor Adrienne’s memory and support ASF’s critical artistic mission.