Gary Gisselman (Director-Oklahoma!) Gary was raised in Bloomington where his grandparents settled in 1910. His first professional work in the theater was as artistic director for Bloomington Civic Theatre in 1964 until becoming the founding artistic director of Chanhassen Dinner Theatres in 1968, a position he held until 1980. Gary then took on the artistic directorship of the Arizona Theatre Company in Tucson and Phoenix from 1980 to 1991. He and his family then moved back to Minnesota and he was the associate artistic director of the Children's Theatre Company until 1995 when he accepted the directorship of the Opera Workshop at the University of Minnesota. Since 2000 he has been teaching full time at St. Olaf College and free lance directing. He has directed eight years of the Guthrie's A Christmas Carol as well as A Delicate Balance and Lost in Yonkers. He lives in South Minneapolis with his wife, Margo, the executive director of the Jungle Theater. They have two sons, a daughter-in-law and two grandchildren. Gary has worked for over 40 years with Anita Ruth.

Michael Matthew Ferrell (Choreographer-Oklahoma!) Michael is the 2007 Ivey Award recipient for Choreography and 2010 Choreographer of the Year by Lavender Magazine. Credits include Evita, The Full Monty, Parade, Gypsy, The Rink, and Passage of Dreams for Theatre Latté Da; You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, Grand Night for Singing, and Broadway’s Legendary Ladies at The Ordway Center; Annie, Babe The Sheep Pig, Tommy, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Disney’s High School Musical, A Year with Frog and Toad, and Fashion 47 at Children’s Theatre Company; Cats, Annie, The Sound of Music, Camelot, The Music Man, My Fair Lady, Forever Plaid, Oklahoma!, and Can Can at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres. Additionally, his work has been seen at Minnesota Opera Company, Park Square Theatre, Sesame Street, Stages Theatre Company, Pantages Theatre, Disney World Orlando, and Guthrie Theatre Cabaret shows.

Matt Sciple (Director-Brighton Beach Memoirs) Matt Sciple, a City Pages Artist of the Year for 2008, has directed, performed in or written more than 100 plays for theaters across Minnesota, including Park Square Theatre, Minnesota Opera, Ten Thousand Things (directing Waiting for Godot and playing 30+ roles in 13 plays, including Tateh in Ragtime and Roderigo in Othello), Theatre in the Round, Paul Bunyan Playhouse, Theatre l’Homme Dieu, St. Croix Festival Theater and Gremlin Theater (directing Almost Exactly Like Us, A Devil Inside, The Homecoming, and Orson's Shadow, the 2008 Ivey Award Winner for Best Ensemble.) Matt teaches adults and children of all abilities with Upstream Arts.

Jon Cranney (Director-Sweet Charity) has had a long and varied career in the theater as a director, producer and actor. He began his professional career as a member of the company at the Guthrie Theater, where he performed in many productions and served as director, stage manager and administrator over a period of 15 years. He served as the Artistic Director of Children’s Theatre Company from 1984 to 1997. His directing credits span the globe and include Tom Sawyer at The Central Children’s Theatre in Moscow and The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins at The Children’s Art Theatre of Shanghai as well as productions at The Guthrie Theater, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Mixed Blood Theatre, Actors’ Theater of St. Paul, The Arizona Theatre Company, The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and BCT’s 2010 production of Jacques Brel is Alive and Well & Living in Paris. For VocalEssence he has created many staged works including Libby Larsen’s opera, Barnum’s Bird and a multi-media version of William Bolcom’s celebrated oratorio, The Songs of Innocence and of Experience. For Park Square Theatre in St. Paul he directed Linda Kelsey in The Belle of Amherst, the musical revue Jacques Brel is Alive and Well & Living In Paris, and Shirley Valentine, The Retreat from Moscow and more recently he directed both Copenhagen and Democracy by Michael Fryan and Defiance by John Patrick Shanley. In the winter of 2010 he staged Painting Churches by Tina Howe. He directed a production of The Walleye Kid for Mu Performing Arts at the McKnight Theatre of the Ordway and staged a production of Song of Singapore for the Actor’s Theater of Minnesota. Cranney has appeared in many productions as an actor including the Eye of the Storm Theatre’s Skylight and Park Square Theatre’s The Heiress and Romeo and Juliet. He has also performed at The Guthrie Theater, The Children’s Theatre Company, Chanhassen Dinner Theatre and The Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Tracy Doheny Erickson (Choreographer-Sweet Charity) Tracy started dancing at age three and over the years has obtained extensive training in various forms of dance. Little did she know that her days in Miss Louise’s basement dance studio would lead her into an exciting dance career. Tracy’s Russian ballet training came from the Andahazy’s and she performed with the company from 1983-1988. She’s also had several years of private tap training under the direction of Char Weiss, along with numerous workshops with the old hoofers of days gone by. In 2005 she took a trip to New York where she studied privately with Heather Cornell, director of the Manhattan Tap Company. Tracy received jazz training from various people and places, including John Command, Zenon, Michael Ferrell, and the Lundstrum Center to name a few. Her main passion has been musical theater and she has worked in several Twin Cities theaters including the Ordway, Troupe America, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, and Minnesota Opera. Tracy has also worked locally and internationally as a director and choreographer and loves the diversity this has brought to her career. She choreographed BCT’s 2010 production of Jacques Brel is Alive and Well & Living in Paris. Currently she works as a freelance dancer as well as owning and operating Sweet Feet, Inc. She also has a massage business, Break 4 Balance, and offers massage therapy out of her home in Shakopee. On the side, Tracy enjoys time with family, friends, and her pooches Dorothy and Glinda. She loves The Wizard of Oz, clipping coupons, yoga, and making a difference in people's lives.

Karen Weber (Director-Inspecting Carol) Karen is returning to her artistic roots as a director after working for years as a professional actor. After completing her degree in theater at the University of Minnesota, (Direction and Scenic Design), Karen went on to direct locally for over five years. Working with professional and aspiring actors alike, she enjoyed working behind the scenes and never thought to become an actor herself. After stepping away from theater altogether for more than 10 years to start a family, she returned to the stage, this time as an actor, when her children expressed an interest in it themselves. She has worked with The History Theatre, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Park Square Theatre, Minneapolis Musical Theatre, Bloomington Civic Theatre, Plymouth Playhouse, Troupe America, Actors Theater of MN, Theater Latté Da, Theatre in the Round, Gremlin Theatre, Playwrights’ Center, Jon Hassler Theater, Pioneer Place on 5th, The Empty Space Collective and Nautilus Music-Theater. Favorite roles include Charlotte (A Little Night Music), Lucy (Jekyll and Hyde), Eva Peron (Evita), Phyllis (Follies), the Witch (Into the Woods), Suzy (Wait Until Dark), Fiona (How the Other Half Loves), Nellie Bly (FireBall), Rosa (Burning Patience), Carolette (A Christmas Carole Peterson), Jessica (Communicating Doors), Meredith (Bat Boy, the Musical), Rosie (Simpatico), The Beggar Woman (Sweeney Todd), and originating the role of Maureen (To All Men Named Jackson). Her local, regional and national work as an actor has allowed her to learn from many talented and respected directors. She is looking forward to bringing that knowledge and perspective back to the director's chair.

Christine Weber (Assistant Director-Inspecting Carol) Christine is excited to be back at BCT (played Anybodys in BCT’s 2003 West Side Story), this time in the director’s chair. Christine has assistant directed with Walking Shadow Theater Company (36 Views by Naomi Iizuka), and has performed on stages throughout the Twin Cities. Credits include The Winter's Tale, A Christmas Carol, Romeo and Juliet (a co-production with The Acting Company, national tour), When We Are Married, The Merchant of Venice and Deborah Stein's When I Was a Ghost... at the Guthrie Theater; The Sense of What Should Be (Workhaus Collective); Amazons and Their Men (Walking Shadow Theater Company); The Count of Monte Cristo (Minnesota Centennial Showboat); and various productions at The Children's Theatre Company, Theatre L'Homme Dieu, and Minnesota Jewish Theater. She earned her B.F.A. from the University of Minnesota/Guthrie B.F.A. Actor Training Program.

Joe Chvala (Director-You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown) Joe directed BCT’s 2010 production of The Light in the Piazza and the 2011 production of Into the Woods. He is the founder and artistic director of the Flying Foot Forum. He has spent most of his choreographic career based in Minneapolis and Gothenburg, Sweden. As a multi-disciplinary artist, he has worked as a director, choreographer, writer, composer, performer, designer and teacher for opera companies, experimental and non-experimental theater companies, concert dance venues, performing arts academies, and universities. The range of Chvala's work with the Flying Foot Forum has been described as "somewhere between Sammy Davis, Jr. and Samuel Beckett" and has earned him such diverse titles as “Fred Astaire on acid" and “the Agnes DeMille of tap". Chvala founded the Flying Foot Forum in 1991. He has toured with his company both nationally and internationally. In addition to the many works he has created for Flying Foot Forum, Chvala has choreographed, directed, and been commissioned to create new works for a variety of theater and dance companies including Guthrie Theater, Walker Art Center, Ordway Music Theater, Minnesota Opera, Children’s Theatre Company, Gothenburg’s Balettakademien, Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, Great American History Theater, Alpine Theater Project, Park Square Theatre, and Zenon Dance Company. His theatrical endeavors have earned him both Ivey and Sage awards for theater and dance as well as numerous “Best of the Year” honors from various national newspapers and periodicals. Chvala has held the Cowles Chair in the Dance Department of the University of Minnesota four times and is currently a member of its adjunct faculty. He has received numerous choreographic and interdisciplinary awards, fellowships, and grants from such organizations as National Endowment for the Arts, Minnesota State Arts Board, Bush Foundation, Target, Jerome Foundation, Intermedia Arts Minnesota, Minnesota Dance Alliance, and McKnight Foundation.

Zach Curtis (Director-The 39 Steps) Zach recently completed a six year run as the Artistic Director of the Paul Bunyan Playhouse in Bemidji; Minnesota's longest running summer stock theater.  In a previous life, he was Artistic Director for Fifty Foot Penguin Theater in Minneapolis.  He has directed over 75 professional productions, including the Actors Equity Showcase of A Streetcar Named Desire, the area premiere of Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical, and the recent staging of Chicago at the Paramount Theater in St. Cloud. As an actor, Curtis has appeared at the Guthrie, Children's Theater, Park Square and 10,000 Things, among others, including the lead role of Dave in The Full Monty in 2009 for Theater Latté Da at the Ordway.

Lewis Whitlock III (Director-My Fair Lady) Lewis began his career in Minnesota, training under Barbara Lotsberg. His work has been seen locally, nationally and internationally, including Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Guthrie Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Plymouth Playhouse and the Minnesota Orchestra’s Night at the Pops concert series and Young People's concert series. Lewis is artistic director for A Minnesota Without Poverty. In 2008 and 2009 Lewis was honored to be a Cultural Envoy for the American Embassy in Kazakhstan, conducting musical theater workshops. He completed a Fulbright Grant, teaching jazz dance in Riga, Latvia in 2003. His most recent performance has been the Narrator in Portrait of Lincoln with the Lake Charles Symphony in November 2008. Educational theater productions: Blithe Spirit, Caroline or Change, The Zoo Story, The Sandbox, The American Dream, The Skin of Our Teeth, Das Barbecü, Crowns, The Butterfly, Little Shop of Horrors, and Libation Bearers at McNeese State Univ., Violet at Louisiana State Univ.; Godspell at St. Cloud State Univ.; The Bacchae at the Univ. of Wisconsin-River Falls and Equus at Carleton College. Lewis has taught in St. Paul Central High School's Performing Arts Program. He also presented a movement workshop at the Lake Charles Little Theatre for the American Association of Community Theatre Festival. He enjoyed a sixteen-year association with the Des Moines Community Playhouse. As a member of Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul, Lewis directed and/or choreographed many productions including its original production of Black Nativity, which he conceived, directed and choreographed for fourteen years. His work includes summer stock productions of Beehive at The Depot Theatre in Westport, N.Y. He produced the dance and music concert Come By Here with the Sounds of Blackness and was awarded the Twin City Mayor's "Public Arts Award." Nominated by Governor Perpich, he has served on the advisory council of the School for the Arts and Resource Center, as well as serving on the Neighborhood Arts New Presenter’s Committee and as a Minneapolis arts commissioner. Lewis served on the advisory committee and teaching staff of the City Children’s Nutcracker in Minneapolis. Lewis holds a MFA degree in Theatre Arts from Minnesota State University-Mankato.

Wendy Lehr (Director-Crimes of the Heart) Wendy began her theater career in Minnesota in 1962.  From 1966-1986 she was a resident actress at Children's Theatre Company (CTC) where she returned from 1990-1998 as Associate Artistic Director and Director of Education.  She was a member of Arizona Theatre Company, acting from 1986-1990. Upon leaving CTC she performed locally at Jungle Theater, Guthrie Theater, Park Square Theatre, Illusion Theater and History Theatre, as well as Theatre de la Jeune Lune, Theater Latté Da and  Ordway Center for the Performing Arts.  Regional credits include Seaside Music Theater (FL), Lyric Opera Cleveland and Kansas City Rep. Wendy has directed over 20 productions at CTC, including five premieres and three national tours. She has directed at Park Square Theatre, Seaside Music Theater, Lyric Opera Cleveland, The National Arts Centre (Ottawa), University of Minnesota and Hamline University. In 2005 she helped create Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists (SPCPA) where she served as Artistic Director until 2009. The Lehr Theater in downtown Saint Paul was named by SPCPA in her honor. Wendy is the recipient of the 2008 Sally Ordway Irvine Award for Commitment in the Arts and the Ivey 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award.

ANITA RUTH (Music Director) Anita is an orchestrator, arranger and musical director, having worked on over 150 musicals in the last thirty years. BCT: 50th Anniversary Gala, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Follies, Wonderful Town, How to Succeed…, Command Performance, Funny Girl, A Little Night Music, The Fantasticks, The Pajama Game, Crazy For You, Fiorello! , Man of La Mancha, The Music Man, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Light in the Piazza, The King and I, City of Angels, Jacques Brel..., NEO Cabaret's On our Own, and Into the Woods. Anita collaborated with Bonnie Erickson to produce the 2008 and 2009 breast cancer awareness fundraiser, The Breast of Broadway. She music directed for Chanhassen Dinner Theaters from 1968 to 1988, and has since been a freelance music director and orchestrator at Guthrie Theater, Children’s Theatre Company, Park Square Theatre and Theatre Mu, among others.