John teaches in the Department of Theatre at UNC Greensboro where he’s the coordinator of the MFA Directing Program. Before coming to UNCG, John was the Resident Director for the Asolo Theatre Company in Sarasota, Florida. As a free-lance director, John has directed Off-Broadway and for a number of regional theatres. John received his BA in Theatre from Wake Forest and his MFA in Directing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Preston is in his 12th season as the Artistic Director at Triad Stage where he has directed over 35 productions. Preston is the recipient of the 2008 Betty Cone Medal of the Arts and is in his fourth year as the Artistic Partner for Theatre for An Appalachian Summer Festival. He was formerly Artistic Associate at the Dallas Theater Center, where his productions included the US premiere of Inexpressible Island (Dallas Observer Best of Dallas Awards: Best Director, Best Production) and The Night of the Iguana (Dallas Morning News: 2002 Top Ten Theatre List). Other productions include work Off Broadway, Regional and the National Black Theatre Festival.
As a playwright, his adaptations and original works include: the upcomingTennessee Playboy, A Doll House, Masquerade, Tartuffe, Ghosts, Hedda Gabler,Dracula, Mirandolina, and Julie’s Dance (Triad Stage); A Christmas Carol (Dallas Theater Center, Sonoma County Rep, Kids Who Care and Triad Stage), Three Weeks After Marriage and Helen! (Summer Cabaret) and with Laurelyn Dossett: Brother Wolf (Triad Stage, An Appalachian Summer Festival, The Human Race Theatre Company and St. Olaf College), Beautiful Star (Triad Stage and WaterTower Theatre),Bloody Blackbeard and Providence Gap. Brother Wolf, Beautiful Star and Ghosts are published by Playscripts Inc.
He has taught at UNC-G, NC A&T, NCSA, Greensboro College, SMU, and the Professional Actors Workshop at the Dallas Theater Center. He is an alumnus of the Drama League of New York’s Director’s Project. A native of Boone, NC, Preston received his MFA from the Yale School of Drama.
Michael Legg is in his fifth season at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Before coming to Actors, he spent three years as a theatrical agent in New York. His former clients can still be seen on Broadway, in television/film, and in regional theatres across the country. Prior to his time in New York, he spent seven years teaching and directing at both high school and university levels. He holds an M.F.A. in acting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is a proud member of Actors Equity.
Rich has served as Managing Director of Triad Stage since its inception nine years ago. Rich earned a MFA in Theatre Management from the Yale School of Drama and has a BFA in Acting and Directing from Marymount Manhattan College. In 2007, Rich was appointed by the Governor to serve on the board of the NC Arts Council where he is currently a member of the Executive Committee. He has previously served on the boards of ArtsNC and Downtown Greensboro, Inc. and has served on numerous grant panels throughout the state as well as for the National Endowment for the Arts.
Rich has taught Theatre Management at Greensboro College and NC A&T University and has guest lectured at UNC Chapel Hill, NC School of the Arts, Wake Forest University and UNC Greensboro. A native of Dallas, Texas, Rich previously served as Managing Director for the Ensemble Company for the Performing Arts (ECPA), as Artistic Administrator for the Dallas Theater Center and Associate Producer of Dallas’ The Big D Festival of the Unexpected. Prior experience also includes work at the Roundabout Theatre in New York and StageWest in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Jim received his BA in Psychology/Communication and Theatre Arts from Heidelberg College and his MFA in Acting/Directing from The University of Florida. Tenured in the Department of Theatre and Dance at UF in 1990, he defied conventional wisdom by leaving one month later for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he currently serves as the Coordinator of the Performance Program and MFA Acting Advisor. He also serves as the Resident Fight Choreographer for Triad Stage. Jim teaches both undergraduate and graduate acting classes, and serves as Artistic Director of THTR 232 – the annual summer theatre festival co-produced by UNCG Theatre and Triad Stage. As Artistic Director of UNCG Summer Repertory Theatre prior to the new festival, Jim produced over seventy plays in his sixteen years of leadership. In 2001 he received a Kennedy Center Gold Medallion for Excellence in Theatre Education, and in 2005 was named Outstanding Teacher of Acting in the Southeast serving as mentor to the acting students at the National Festival.
In 2006 he directed the Irene Ryan Evening of Scenes at the Kennedy Center. Directing credits include THE BLUE MARTINI (Kids with Guns at the NYC International Fringe Festival and Fringe Encore), THE NEW HOPEVILLE COMICS (Commander Squish Productions, Chernuchin Theatre, NYC), MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS (Hippodrome State Theatre, Gainesville, FL), THE SANTALAND DIARIES (Triad Stage), and CINDERELLA (Casa Manana, Ft. Worth, TX), in addition to over thirty productions for UNCG Theatre. His production of THE REVENGER’S TRAGEDY (co-authored with Joe Sturgeon) was selected for performance at the Kennedy Center as part of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in 2009. He and Joe have also written three musicals for young audiences- UNCLE ULYSSES AND THE MYTHIC SWORD, REDBEARD’S REVENGE, and KOKO KARATE AND THE KUNG FU KITTENS- all produced by THTR 232. A member of Actors’ Equity, he has appeared onstage in numerous roles including OUR LADY OF 121st Street here at UNCG and THE LITTLE FOXES at Triad Stage.
(Acting Artistic Director of Hangar Theatre, New York, NY) This is Stephanie’s fourth year with the Hangar Theatre. During her time here, Stephanie has created initiatives including the Hangar Pilot Reading Series, and a new incarnation of the Hangar Lab Company: a nationally recognized apprentice company for pre-professional actors. Past directing credits at the Hangar include THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL by Horton Foote and ROUNDING THIRD by Richard Dresser on the main stage, LOVE MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND for the Cabaretc. Series, and IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE & WILLY WONKA, JR. for the Kiddstuff season. Other directing/associate directing credits include the world premiere of NOVEMBER and the recent revival of AMERICAN BUFFALO, both by David Mamet, THE RECEPTIONIST by Adam Bock (MTC), OUR LADY OF 121ST STREET by Stephen Guirgis (North Carolina premiere), and the premieres of LETTERS TO THE END OF THE WORLD by Anton Dudley (NYU/Stella Adler Studios), and ALL THAT I WILL EVER BE by Alan Ball (New York Theatre Workshop). As a Casting Director, under the guardianship of Tara Rubin Casting, credits include: Yale Repertory Theatre seasons 2011-2012, 2012-2013, the LUCKY STIFF film, and STANDING ON CEREMONY: THE GAY MARRIAGE PLAYS. Additional casting credits include, under the guardianship of Bernie Telsey Casting: the films ACROSS THE UNIVERSE & THEN SHE FOUND ME, and the Broadway revivals of THREE DAYS OF RAIN, THE ODD COUPLE, and GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS.
