Wordstage Company


		Tim Tavcar Artistic Director Tim began his professional Theatrical/Musical career on the stage of the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado. Since then his work as an actor, stage director and lecturer has been seen on stages, churches, colleges, libraries and concert halls in Cleveland, Akron, Chicago, Houston, Williamsburg, VA, Newport, RI, Washington DC's Kennedy Center, NYC's Carnegie Recital Hall and Montpelier, Vergennes, Burlington and Brattleboro VT. As an Arts Administrator he has served as The Managing/Artistic Director of the Vergennes Opera House, Executive Director of the Monteverdi Music School, Community Outreach Coordinator of the Onion River Cable Access Television Network, PR/Marketing Director of the T.W. Wood Gallery & Arts Center, Box Office Manager for The Cleveland Playhouse, Audience Services Coordinator for the Houston Performing Arts Consortium, and Jack-of -all trades in the early years of Cleveland's Playhouse Square Center under the visionaries Ray Shepardson and Joseph J.Garry. After a variety of iterations, he formally founded WordStage in 2008 in Vermont, where he was honored to received a Creation Grant from the Vermont State Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Returning to his native Cleveland, he has been honored to act and/or direct at The Beck Center, The Blank Canvas Theatre, The Cleveland Public Theatre, Dobama Theatre and The Ensemble Theatre. WordStage's 2012-2013 Season in the Cleveland Area sees an exciting collaboration with the Artists of the Cleveland Classical Revolution, the addition of an East Side venue, and a second commission from the Lakewood Public Library - a program on Walt Whitman for the library's April National Poetry Month programming in 2013.

Wordstage Company
		Ariel Clayton Violinist Ariel Clayton currently enjoys a varied career as in Cleveland as both a performer and teacher. She appears frequently at the Cleveland Clinic through their Arts and Medicine Program, as well as monthly via Classical Revolution Cleveland. She has performed with CityMusic Cleveland, the Hudson Chamber Players, and has appeared on the Arts Renaissance Tremont Concert Series and the Cain Park Summer Concert Series, among others. She has performed everywhere from the Cleveland Museum of Art, to the Beachland Ballroom and Progressive Field. Having a passion for private teaching, Ariel maintains a large studio independently in the Cleveland area. Her students are members of CIM preparatory orchestras, as well as area youth orchestras. This November she'll be appearing both as guest concertmaster of the Suburban Symphony Orchestra for the Severance Hall Gala Concert, as well as with the Passport Duo in Toronto and Ottawa, ON. She enjoys the vibrant music culture in northeast Ohio, and the versatility of collaborating with such incredible colleagues!

		HyunSoo Kim - piano HyunSoo Kim is a native of South Korea and began to play piano at the age of eight. He received a Bachelor of Music in piano performance from the University of Delaware, where he was a recipient of the John D. Martini Award. He was recognized as a Delaware Representative in the Young Artist Category by the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) in 2008. HyunSoo completed his Master's degree in Collaborative Piano at the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2011, where he received the Rosa Lobe award in Collaborative Piano. He is currently pursuing his Artist Diploma with Anita Pontremoli at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He has served as a staff pianist at Kent State University since 2011.

		CARLOS JAVIER Carlos Javier is originally from Las Vegas, NV. He recently attended the Cleveland Institute of Music where he studied with Stephen Geber. Carlos has also played in masterclasses for musicians such as Andres Diaz, Paul Katz, and Timothy Eddy. He has been a participant of the National Orchestral Institute, National Repertory Orchestra, and Adriatic Chamber Music Festival. Carlos has performed with members of the Cavani and Takacs String Quartets, and has also been featured on NPR’s “Performance Today.” Carlos is currently a faculty member of the Chamber Music Connection in Columbus, OH, and a member of the Hudson Chamber Players and Ensemble 39.

		Deborah Magid Deborah Magid's career has spanned most areas of theatrical experience. She has sung and acted on Broadway with The Santa Fe Opera, and in venues worldwide. Her direction credits span new works, musicals, operas, and comedies. The Sommersault Company, which she founded in 1971, produces mostly chamber opera and musicals; she is Theater Editor of the ezine JUiCYHEADS; and the plays and operas she writes and composes are winning grants, readings, workshops, and productions all over the place. Deborah sits on the Board of the International Centre for Women Playwrights, and is a member of the Cleveland Play House Playwrights Unit, Dobama Playwrights GYM, American Composers Forum, and the Dramatists Guild. http://DeborahMagid.com

		Michael L. Mauldin Michael L. Mauldin is an Associate Professor and the Chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance at Cleveland State University. He has been with CSU since July of 2006 and brings with him a long and diverse background in performance, directing, and academia. Spending nearly 20 years in New York City as a professional actor and director, he appeared on Broadway, off Broadway, numerous regional theatres across the country, and in several national commercials. At CSU he has taught classes in Theatre History and Literature, Directing, and Shakespearean Acting, as well as directing The Laramie Project, She Stoops to Conquer, The Alchemist, The Fantasticks and Everyman. In the summer of 2007, he founded CSU’s Summer Stages, a professional summer repertory company combining theatre majors with professional actors and directors from New York, Los Angeles, and Cleveland. For Summer Stages he directed The Robber Bridegroom, Return to the Forbidden Planet and Curtains, and appeared in Booth and Rough Crossing. In other local theatres he appeared as Duke Vincentio in Cleveland Public Theatre’s M4M, and Capt. Hook/Mr. Darling in the Beck Center for the Arts’ Peter Pan. He has performed his solo play An Evening With Mark Twain since 1976 in over 40 states, and airings on PBS and a one-hour ABC special called Mark Twain: Sketches From Life. In 2009, Dr. Mauldin was named a “leadership fellow” by the International Conference of Fine Arts Deans. He received his B. A in Theatre Arts from the University of West Florida , his M.A. in Performance Studies from New York University and his Ph.D. in Theatre History, Criticism, and Literature from the Ohio State University. He is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Screen Actors Guild, the American Society for Theatre Research, and the Association for Theatre in Higher Education.

		Andrew Rosenblum - Piano Andrew Rosenblum is currently a second year master's student at Cleveland Institute of Music, pursuing a double degree in collaborative piano and harpsichord under the guidance of Anita Pontremoli and Petter Bennett. He graduated fin 2008 from California Institute of the Arts with a BFA in piano performance, studying with Liam Viney. Andrew has attended and performed at several music festivals including Banff Chamber Music Residency, ClarinetFest, SongFest, Aspen Music Festival, Bang on a Can Music Festival, The Perlman Music Program, Meadowmount School of Music, and The Kinhaven Music School. An avid interpreter of new music, Andrew has given many world premieres, including a 2005 world premiere of Lori Laitman's song cycle "Five Lovers" at Alice Tully Hall, and a world premiere of Damjan Rakonjac's chamber opera "The Other Wise Man." Andrew has performed internationally as well. In May 2011, he performed a recital of composer Juan Pablo Contreras' music in Guadalajara, Mexico, and in 2008 he performed a benefit concert for the Salvation Army, with tenor Blaise Claudio Pascal, at the Royal by Rex Resorts in Saint Lucia. As a harpsichord, Andrew has performed often with the California Institute of the Arts Baroque Ensemble, and the Case Western/CIM Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Ensembles. He has performed as a harpsichordist twice at the Cleveland Museum of Art, and performed Elliot Carter's Quartet for harpsichord, cello, oboe and flute at REDCAT, in Los Angeles, in 2008 for a celebration of Elliot Carter's 100th birthday. Andrew worked from 2008-2011 in Los Angeles as an opera accompanist and coach. His other musical interests include improvisation, composition and teaching.

		Marci Paolucci Marci Paolucci has been performing since 1984 in over 90 productions for both professional and community theatres in the Northeastern Ohio area. The venues include Actors' Summit in Akron, Magical Theatre in Barberton, Cesear's Forum at Kennedy's Down Under, Queen Bee Productions, Coach House Theatre, Weathervane Community Playhouse, Stow Players, University of Akron, KSU Stark Theatre, Stan Hywet, Cuyahoga Valley National Parks Association, Theatre 8:15, Players Guild of Canton, and Wordstage. Favorite roles include Daisy Werthan in Driving Miss Daisy, Amanda in The Glass Menagerie, Woman A in Three Tall Women, Joan in The Guys, and Eleanor of Aquitaine in The Lion in Winter (Best Production/Best Actress, Coach House Theatre 2001-02 Season.

		RICHARD SHIREY Richard Shirey is Professor Emeritus of Music at the University of Akron. He is also Organist/Choirmaster at the Episcopal Church of Our Saviour in Akron. Mr. Shirey serves as piano accompanist for professional and student performances in the Akron area and has begun his 19th year as accompanist for the Akron Symphony Chorus. He also was an Assistant Accompanist for the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus for 3 years. Richard earned music degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the University of Illinois. He also studied in London, Salzburg and Vienna, Austria and Cologne, Germany. He has presented recitals and workshops throughout the United States and has played organ recitals at Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral in London.

		Peter Toomey Over the past 20 years, Peter's acted on all sides of Cleveland – At Clague: "Lucky Stiff" as the gambler (OK, and the Nun). "Gazebo" as the supposed-murderer! "My Three Angels" as the con-man-convict! Then, finally on the right side of the law: "Cliffhanger" as the cop and the Commerce Dept. agent in "Radio Gals" ! Peter's also worked at Huntington in "Peter Pan", "1776", "Mystery of Edwin Drood", and "Sound of Music". And especially enjoyed playing that irrepressible Hawkeye in "MAS*H" at Brecksville. Lately, he's helped launch several new works: Cleveland Public Theatre: "Cowboy Poet" as a Philanthropist and Do-Gooder! Plus "Horse Latitudes" as the Narrator. And at Ensemble Theater: originated the role of John in "Oh! Beautiful Ohio". Regional broadcast includes "650-Gold" and "Injury Lawyer Connection".

		Mark Wanich Mark Wanich has been touted as a “robust,” “charming ” and “vocally buoyant” baritone for his works in the Cleveland area. His recent roles include Job (Job – World Premiere), Pandolfe (Cendrillon), Fiorello (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Nardo (La finta giardiniera), The Learned Judge (Trial by Jury), Harlekin (Ariadne auf Naxos) and Papageno (Die Zauberflöte). Upcoming performances include Don Giovanni with Hub Opera and a Soloist in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Tuscarawas Philharmonic. He has performed with Opera New Jersey, Opera Per Tutti, Opera Cleveland and Nashville Opera. Mark has performed with Ashland Symphony as the baritone soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and with the Ohio Philharmonic Orchestra as il Conte in selections from Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. In the summers of 2011 and 2012, he was an Emerging Artist with Opera New Jersey. He is a recipient of the Raphael Bundage Award at the national Orpheus Vocal Competition.

		Adam Whiting Adam Whiting is a staff accompanist at the Cleveland Institute of music; he was hired for this position upon graduation from CIM in the spring of 2005 with a double-masters degree in piano performance and accompanying. He is also a new Suzuki piano teacher and returning staff accompanist at the Cleveland Music School Settlement (since 2004) and accompanist for the Sato Center for Suzuki Studies (since 2003). At CIM, he studied solo piano with Daniel Shapiro; collaborative piano with Anita Pontremoli, head of the collaborative piano department; and cello with Merry Peckham, cellist of the Cavani String Quartet. In 2002, he graduated with a BM in performance from Marylhurst University where he studied with Sr. Anne Cecile Daigle SNJM and Susan DeWitt Smith. He attended the Oregon Suzuki Institute for thirteen years; after a few years' hiatus, he returned in the summer of 2004 as a staff accompanist, at the invitation of the directors of the institute. He studied with the Cavani string quartet for six summers at the Britt Chamber Strings Camp in Ashland, Oregon.