Contact: Jennifer Uphoff Gray, Artistic Director,
(608) 332-7737, jgray@forwardtheater.com or
Scott Haden, Communications Director,
(773) 259-5599 shaden@forwardtheater.com.
Madison WI – Forward Theater Company is pleased to announce that the organization has added new members to its team as of October 1, 2013. Area artists and leaders familiar to the Madison community will fill staff, board and advisory company positions.
Scott Haden, Communications Director, will manage marketing, public relations, and audience services for the company. He has most recently served as the Managing Director for Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre in Grand Lake, CO for the last three years. Madison residents may recognize him from his appearances with American Players Theatre, Children’s Theatre of Madison, and the Madison Rep. Scott graduated with a BFA in Acting from the Webster University Conservatory of Performing Arts.
Kimberly Megna Yarnall, Artistic Associate most recently worked as artistic coordinator for Fusion Science Theater, a Madison-based company that developed interactive drama programs to educate young people on scientific concepts. Previously she worked as a copywriter and supervisor at Epic, and dramaturg with the Madison Repertory Theatre. Before making her home in the Midwest, Kimberly was the literary assistant for the Blue Heron Theatre in New York City (2001-2004) where she worked with many playwrights including New York Times Notable Author, John Dufresne. Kimberly was also an assistant writer on Broadway’s Tony nominated A Class Act. A published and produced playwright, Kimberly holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Theater from the University of Notre Dame and was a member of the Actors Theatre of Louisville apprentice company.
Jon Furlow, Board of Directors, is a partner at Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, and has practiced law for almost 27 years where his practice focuses on litigation and regulatory matters. Jon represents clients in courtrooms across the country, and is vitally interested in education, training and maintaining the professionalism of the practice of law. He is devoted to mentoring young lawyers at Michael Best, and for over 15 years has served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School.
William Bolz, Advisory Company, has long been active in Madison theater. Forward Theater audiences may have seen him in The Farnsworth Invention and the Soul Food monologue festival, or heard him calling bingo numbers in Good People. He has acted with many area theater companies, including APT, Madison Rep, Madison Theatre Guild, Strollers, and Mercury Theatre. He recently earned his MFA in Acting from The University of WI-Madison, and frequently appears in online comedy videos from Madison’s own Blame Society Productions.
Jessica Bess Lanius, Advisory Company, is an actor, director and proud native of Wisconsin. For FTC she played the doctor’s wife in In the Next Room, or the vibrator play. She is the co-founder of Theatre Lila, an ensemble-based theatre company created in New York City. She has directed and choreographed for Four Seasons Theatre, Wisconsin Wrights, and UW-Stevens Point, and has performed locally with many Wisconsin theatres. Jessica has also appeared on film and television, with numerous national network commercials. Jessica graduated with a BFA from UW-Stevens Point and an MFA in Acting from Rutgers University.
The company’s offices are at 579 D’Onofrio Drive, in the High Point Office Park, a space generously subsidized by T. Wall Properties. ”This is such a significant time for Forward,” explained Artistic Director Jennifer Uphoff Gray. “As this organization continues to evolve and expand each season, our artistic and administrative operations demand a knowledgeable and passionate company of professionals. I am thrilled to welcome these new members to the Forward Theater family.”
About the Forward Theater Company
Founded in March 2009, the mission of FTC is to create a home base for Wisconsin theater professionals that will expand the economic and cultural life of the greater Madison area.
