Meribeth Reeves (Managing Director) is a native of Carefree, Arizona who began her theatrical career at Coronado High School under the direction of Jim Newcomer.  She attended Oberlin College, where she focused her studies on theater criticism and direction under the tutelage of Roger Copeland; and on music education as a double-degree student in the Oberlin Conservatory of Music (cello) and Oberlin College.  Upon completion of her BA in theater, she moved to Pittsburgh and began her career in arts marketing with the Pittsburgh Dance Council (PDC)--one of the country's largest dance-only presenters where she moved up the ranks to Marketing Director.  She was responsible for all marketing and promotion of PDC events and during her tenure saw ticket income nearly double.  At PDC she had the great fortune to work with wonderful dancers and choreographers like Bill T. Jones, Mark Morris, Judith Jamison, Joan Myers Brown, Merce Cunningham, Bella Lewtizky, Twyla Tharp and others. She also continued her work in theater through board membership, directing, writing, stage managing and consulting with a variety of theater and dance organizations in Pittsburgh. Meribeth was an inaugural member of Pittsburgh’s prestigious Leadership Development Initiative, a program designed to develop and future leaders in the Pittsburgh community.  After the birth of her children, Meribeth began consulting with a variety of non-profit organizations on web design, marketing, PR, fundraising and board development.  In addition, she taught arts management classes at Point Park University.  Upon moving to Arizona, she continued her consulting, and became actively involved in her children’s schools serving on a variety of Cave Creek Unified School District committees. She served as Black Mountain Elementary School PTO Co-President from 2004-2006 and again serving in that capacity in 2007-2008 and 2008-2009. An avid runner (finisher of 4 marathons) Meribeth founded the Luminaria Run, now in its 7^th year with over 1200 runners and walkers participating each year. Meribeth began work with DFT in May of 2006 as communications manager. She worked with DFT to increase both earned and contributed income. She also initiated development of DFT’s Gecko Teatro and oversaw the creation of the BMES Black Box Theater. Meribeth loves living back in her hometown with her husband and two children and is thrilled to be a part of DFT as it looks toward a bright future in this wonderful community.

Wes Sullivan (Managing Producer, Lighting Designer, Technical Theater Instructor) is a theatrical lighting designer who has returned to Phoenix after graduating from the University Nevada Las Vegas with an MFA in Lighting Design. In Las Vegas he worked for Lance Burton and most recently was the Assistant Lighting Designer for "Stomp Out Loud," at Planet Hollywood Casino. He also worked for the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago during their Telluride Colorado residency. Wes is glad to be back in Phoenix with his beautiful wife, but unfortunately misses the casinos sometimes, though his pockets don't.

Miss Brenda B. Waffle (Founding Director, Gecko Teatro) was owner and director of the award winning Columbus Youth Theater in Columbus, Ohio for ten years. For the past fifteen years, Miss Waffle has been a teacher for the Cave Creek Unified School District and has been performing in theaters throughout the valley.  Miss Waffle was excited to be able to combine her two great passions: teaching children and theater.  Miss Waffle had been on stage acting since the third grade.  She acted in or directed over forty shows during this time period. Miss Waffle passed away July 2008.

DFT 2010/2011 Directors

SARA BERNSTEIN

(Director, Bye Bye Birdie, Suessical, Jr.) Sara Bernstein is an actor, director, choreographer, and theatre educator with credits in Arizona, Maryland, and Chicago.  Sara served for five years as Phoenix’s Education Manager to introduce people of all ages to theatre and promotes arts education.  Through Arizona Theatre Company, where she taught acting classes to Maricopa County high school theater students and exposed them to performing arts events and venues throughout the Valley.  During the summer of 2008, Sara directed Seussical for ATC’s Summer on Stage, an acting intensive program for high school students.  This production was featured at last year’s Arizona Thespian Conference in downtown Phoenix.  Additionally, in the summer of 2007, Sara choreographed Lucky Stiff for the same program.  In the spring of 2010, Sara directed the critically acclaimed, City of Angels. In the spring of 2008 she directed DFT's ariZoni winning production of I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change for which Sara also received an Arizoni for Best Director of a Musical. Sara has directed youth theatre productions including Really Rosie, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Sound of Music, and Flapper.  As an actor, Sara has played Amy in Company, the Witch in Into the Woods, and Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof.    She received a Bachelor of Music Degree in Musical Production and Direction from Northwestern University.   Following graduation, Ms. Bernstein worked for the Lake Forest Children’s Theatre Company in Highland Park, Illinois as a teacher and director of youth productions, directing four productions with students ages five to fourteen. 

DARLENE DUFFY (Music Director, Seussical, Jr., Spring 2011) hails from the state of Kentucky, spent much of her professional life in Cincinnati, OH and now calls Arizona home. Her 30 years in music have focused on teaching and conducting. she holds a music performance degree in voice with a minor in piano from Northern Kentucky University as well as her teaching certification with a Masters in education for grades K-8. Professional credits include leads in The Sound Music, Oklahoma, The Music Man, Hello Dolly, the Old Maid and the Thief, Carmen and Le Nozze di Figaro. Ms. Duffy directs the  band/choral program at Sonoran Trails Middle School in the Cave Creek Unified School District.

KEVIN GLENN (Music Director, The Rocky Monster Show, Fall 2010) has been working with Desert Foothills Theater for many years. He is a previous ar­tistic director of DFT. His performing credits include Jimmy Powers in City of Angels (DFT); Sky Master­son in Guys & Dolls (DFT); Andrew Thomas, the architect, Titanic: the Musical (Scottsdale Community Players); Rapunzel’s Prince, Into the Woods, (DFT); Darryl, Three Divas and a Darryl, (Dark­night Productions); Various characters in Broadway Based On…True Stories; ...Fairy Tales;...Crime & Punishment; ...The Holidays (SCAN Originals). Musical Direction for DFT’s Grease, Footloose, Fame, and Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (for which he won an AriZoni Award), and Darknight Productions’ Coyote Dreams and Football: the Musical. He has also served as music director for Cactus Shadows High School Shadowbox Players productions of Little Shop of Horrors, You’re a Good Man Char­lie Brown, and West Side Story. He currently performs in the valley’s newest swing band, Main Event Swing Band. Kevin has served as composer and song writer for Nick Johnson’s Alithea Productions of Alice, Cinderella, Don Quixote, Once Upon a Planet, Symphony of Silence, and The Odyssey. A collection of Kevin’s songs is available on CD album title; see in full at CDBaby.com. www.kevinglenn.com.

Bill P. Moore (Musical Director, Bye Bye Birdie) - Theatrical experience began with a church youth group production of Little Mary Sunshine in Glendale, AZ, where he was born. He has since musically directed Working, Minnie's Boys, Pump Boys & Dinettes, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Godspell, in addition to appearing in Tintypes, Evita, The Amorous Flea and Something's Afoot at Phoenix Theatre and A Funny Thing…Forum at NAU. Recently retired from Honeywell, Bill is happily searching for additional musical opportunities with his newly-won freedom from that long-running "day-gig".

Petey Swartz (Director, Rocky Monster Show and Inspecting Carol, Fall 2010) has been hooked on theatre ever since she played a thundercloud in the 5th grade and over the years, she has donned many hats in numerous valley productions.  She directed and did sound and costume design for Moon Over Buffalo at the North Valley Playhouse, which recently garnered six 2008 ariZoni nominations, including Best Director and Best Overall Production. Petey also directed and handled design elements for the ariZoni award-winning Six Degrees of Separation and was the Assistant Director, Stage Manager and sound designer for NVP’s Gin Game.  Petey has been nominated for a 2008 AriZoni Award for her work on DFT's production of Last of the Red Hot Lovers.
At Mesa Encore theatre, Petey was director and sound designer for this summer’s very successful run of “Breaking Legs”, staged at the Mesa Arts Center. Acting is another of Petey’s passions and some favorite performances include Hale Center Theatre’s Fiddler on the Roof, John Loves Mary, and You Can’t Take It With You, On the Spots’ Skimpies, (ariZoni nomination), iTheatre Collaborative’s The Bad Seed, and Stageworks’ Cinderella, the World’s Favorite Fairy Tale, (recent ariZoni nomination).
Between roles on valley stages, Petey has played multiple zany characters in the popular Mystery Mansion Dinner Theatre. She is an accomplished voiceover talent as well. For the last five years, Petey was heard on radio and television as the commercial voice of AJ’s Fine Foods. Whether she is directing, acting, doing design duties, props, set dressing, or voiceovers, Petey is totally committed to giving audiences the highest quality product possible. It is her passion, experience and diligent attention to detail that make all the difference between a good show and a great show.

Lori Vander Maten (Director, The Dixie Swim Club)
Lori has worked in theatre since the 1980’s as an actress, writer, director, producer, designer and stage manager.  She has worked in professional, community and educational theatre and has taught and directed at the adult, college, high school, middle school and elementary school levels.  She is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter who earned both her BA in Theatre and her MFA in Playwriting from UCLA.  Her musical adaptation of Little Women was the winner of the YES Festival of New Plays and premiered at the University of Northern Kentucky in 2001.   Her first full-length play, Storms Without Warning was the winner of the Siena College International Playwriting Competition, and she was a guest-artist-in-residence at Siena College for the premiere production of that play.  Her full-length play, Seasons, was 4^th runner up for the Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award, and her musical, Make Believe, was the two-time winner of the Burdette Fitzgerald Award for Theatre for Young Audiences.  Her screenplay, Goin’ Home was a semi-finalist in the Walt Disney Fellowship for Writers Competition, and her screenplay, Razha, was a semi-finalist in the Fade-In Screenplay Competition.  Favorite acting roles include:  Meg in Brigadoon, Anne in All My Sons, Elaine in Arsenic and Old Lace, Mrs. Beaver in Narnia, Amy in The Contender, Mopsa in A Winter’s Tale, and most recently, Rose in God’s Favorite.  She has studied acting at UCLA, The University of Arizona and the Arizona Theatre Company . Favorite directing experiences include:  The Merchant of Venice, West Side Story, The Actor’s Nightmare, Working, A Marriage Proposal, The Singer, Rich and Pearl, Make Believe and portions of The Kentucky Cycle.  She also directed a short film, Secret Sisters, which was a semi-finalist in the Miramax/LivePlanet Project Greenlight directing competition.  Since moving to Phoenix in 1999, Lori has taught at Southwestern College, Scottsdale Community College, Paradise Valley Community College and most recently at Scottsdale Christian Academy.  She is currently working on several writing projects, teaching a class here and there, doing a bit of theatre, and being a wife to Mike and a mom to daughters Kailee and Erin.

Dee Dee Wood (Director and Choreographer) - Dee Dee Wood, with her extensive background in Hollywood and New York City for film, stage and television, started as a dancer on Broadway (Guys and Dolls, Can-Can, Lil'Abner, Destry). She soon turned to choreography. Her work can be seen in the films Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, Beaches with Bette Midler, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Her television extravaganzas include The Statue of Liberty's 100th Birthday - Closing Ceremonies for which she won an Emmy Award; the 1984 Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies; and numerous Super Bowl Half-Time shows. Dee Dee received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1998 American Choreography Awards in Los Angeles and was honored at the 2003 Dance Masters of America Awards in Las Vegas. She is on the Board of Judges for the Emmy's. In 2005, Dee Dee was inducted into the Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame. Ms. Wood has directed six shows for Desert Foothills Theater: All Night Strut, Sweet and Hot, Guys and Dolls, Forever Plaid, and A Grand Night for Singing and Hot 'N Cole. Check out this wonderful short video on YouTube about Dee Dee created by the Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame.

Wesley Sullivan (Lighting Designer)