PFAMILY ARTS

William R. Park

Founder/Artistic Director

William is a Broadway veteran and a native of Texas. He received his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Baylor University and his Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Cincinnati-Conservatory of Music.

After finishing his studies he moved to New York City and got his first Off-Broadway show in his first year and his first Broadway show in his second year in the city. While in New York he worked with Oscar and Tony Award winning artists, directors, composers and choreographers Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Harold Prince, Trevor Nunn, Rob Marshall, Christine Ebersole, Henry Krieger, Jillian Lynne, as well Robert Longbottom, all for the Broadway stage.

On the operatic stage he worked with John Alexander, Italo Tajo, Jonathan Eaton, Fabrizio Melano and Jim deBlasis, and studied voice with William McGraw and Dr. Joyce Farwell.

His Broadway credits include, The Phantom in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, Gus the Theatre Cat in CATS, Buddy u/s in SIDESHOW. His Off-Broadway and Regional credits include: Jigger in CAROUSEL opposite Patrick Cassidy, Bernardo in TROUBADOUR, Sam Wainwright in A WONDERFUL LIFE, Georg in SHE LOVES ME, Philippe THE BAKERS WIFE, Sir Harry ONCE UPON A MATTRESS, Jack JACK AND JILL, and CHESS and PIPPIN. NYC Workshops and Readings: Narrator DAS BARBEDUE, Dorian DORIAN GRAY, The Prince THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA.

His Opera credits include: Normanno in LUCIA DI LAMERMOOR, Nemorino in L’ELISIR D’AMORE, Prince Ramiro LA CENERENTOLA, and he has won awards from San Francisco Opera and several other vocal competitions.

Most recently he served as an Adjunct faculty member at Seton Hall University in New Jersey and currently serves as adjunct faculty member at Collin College as well as directing, performing and maintaining a small private voice studio.

William is represented by the Henderson-Hogan Agency, NYC and is a member of Actors Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild and American Guild of Musical Artists.

He currently resides in Frisco with his lovely wife Carrie and their two boys Patrick and Taylor.

Sheri Elder Sczapla

Executive Director

Sheri holds a Bachelor of Arts from Baylor University and a Master of Arts in Arts Management from the American University in Washington D.C. She spent many years as a professional marketer and fund-raiser for the Dallas Symphony, the Sacramento Theatre Company and university performing arts departments. As a singer, Sheri has performed in numerous choral groups and in non-professional musical theater. She currently works agency-side as a direct marketing executive.

BrianPiper

Musical Director

Brian Piper is a singer, keyboardist, composer, arranger, orchestrator, conductor, producer, music programmer, film scorer, and the eponymous front man of The Brian Piper Trio.

His father was a renowned writer, composer, producer, and sideman who performed with jazz legends of the 1940s and ‘50s such as Claude Gordon and Les & Larry Elgart and also wrote for Downbeat magazine.

Brian’s mother was an actress, dancer, and singer who, when not appearing in films, sang with Buddy “Night Train” Morrow as well as with the Moonmaids, the girl group that worked with Vaughn Monroe.

Brian was born Hollywood in 1960, and by the time he was 10, he was singing commercials for such advertisers as Dole and Manor Bread and he’s been a professional musician ever since.

Over the years, Brian has worked with the best in the business, including such jazz legends as Ella Fitzgerald, Rosemary Clooney, Kenny Rankin, Cab Calloway, Eartha Kitt, Clark Terry, and Billy Eckstein, pop icons like the Ink Spots, the Platters, the Mills Brothers, and Lou Rawls, and country stars such as Willie Nelson, Toby Keith, Amy Grant, Kris Kristofferson, Steve Fromholz, and Jerry Jeff Walker. He’s also a member of the N’Awlins Gumbo Kings, one of the premier New Orleans jazz groups in the country.

Brian has performed with symphony orchestras and Broadway shows, recorded with artists in all musical styles, and worked in venues of every type, from small, smoky clubs to concert stages to major arenas.

Brian’s CD “Piperville,” was released in 2005 on the 90th Floor Records label and the group’s new CD is scheduled for release in early 2008.  Brian just returned from playing at the Newport Beach Jazz Party last week.  Later in the 2008, Brian will open for the Neville Brothers at HOB Sacramento Jazz Jubilee where he will once again perform with the Gumbo Kings.

Between gigs, Brian is happily at home in Texas where he lives with his wife Carlene and daughters Haley and Caroline.

Gail Cronauer

Acting

One of the most respected actresses and acting teachers in the Metroplex, FACULTY: Southern Methodist University, Webster College, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Illinois State University and currently at Collin County Community College.  AWARDS/NOMINATIONS: Dallas Theater Center, Undermain Theatre, Theatre Three, Echo Theatre, Classical Acting Company, Addison Center Theatre, Playwrights Theatre, Stage West, Circle Theatre, Fort Worth Shakespeare and Dallas Shakespeare, where she played Emelia to Morgan Freeman’s Othello.  CREDITS: Maria Callas in Lyric Stage’s production of Master Class. Gail starred (as Richard!) in the Judith Shakespeare Company’s off-Broadway production of Richard III and as Macduff in the all-women A Macbeth at DTC.  FILM/TELEVISION: Kevin “Hercules” Sorbo’s mom in Walking Tall: The Payback; Oliver Stone’s JFK (with Gary Oldman) and Born on the 4th of July; Flesh and Bone (with Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid); Carried Away (with Gary Busey and Dennis Hopper; “Ma Newton” in Richard Linklater’s The Newton Boys (co-starring Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, Skeet Ulrich and Vincent D’Onofrio); Infamous; and the acclaimed television series Murder in the Heartland.  Academy Award winning drama Boys Don’t Cry; in the USA Network Special Hefner; in Robert Altman’s film Dr. T and the Women, co-starring Richard Gere and Helen Hunt; and with Dee Snider (of Twisted Sister) in the VH-1 movie WARNING: Parental Advisory!  INDIES: Learning Curve, Finding North, Positive ID, It’s in the Water, Air….

DIRECTING: Joe Bob Brigg’s on his one-man show; 3rd International Women’s Peace Conference; and the many shows at Quad C and CTC.  Her acclaimed production of Something Unspoken for Wingspan Theatre was presented at the 2006 Festival of Independent Theatres (FIT), named one of the 10 Best Theatre events of the year by the Dallas Morning News.

Gail is the coordinator of the Collin Theatre Summer Shakespeare Workshop for which she has directed Titus Andronicus, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and All’s Well That Ends Well.  She serves on the Artistic Advisory Council of Shakespeare Dallas.

Gail continues to teach at STAGE, a service organization for broadcast and theatre artists.  Her background in voice and movement adds to her skill and effectiveness as a performance and life coach for aspiring actors, professionals and “civilians.”

David Gaschen

Voice & Theatre

A world wide renown vocalist and performer, is no stranger to art of entertaining. David got his start at the early age of 15 and has not looked back. A graduate of the Texas Tech University School of Music, David received his degree in Vocal performance. After graduation, David moved to Chicago, Illinois to begin following his dream of being on Broadway . A veteran of over twenty shows, He landed leading roles of Frederic in the Pirates of Penznace and Karl Franz in The Student Prince with Light Opera Works in Chicago and then in may of 1995 David was given the chance of a lifetime. He was cast as the Phantom Alternate in the original Swiss Production of .Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera. At the young age 26 of David was the youngest Phantom that had ever been cast in the Phantom of the Opera. After playing the Phantom for two years in Switzerland, David was asked to reprise his role of Phantom in the German Production of The Phantom of the Opera. While in Europe, David performed the role of The Phantom well over 1000 times.

In the summer of 1999, David was asked to be in the cast of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. He made his debut as the Phantom in November of 1999 . David has now performed the role of Phantom over 1300 times .

Although this dynamic performer loves the Broadway stage, He has changed directions in his career to the concert arena. With his newly released CD, self-titled David Gaschen recorded with members of the Seattle Symphony, David has charged on to the Pops scene as an up and coming star. He has performed with outstanding Symphonies such as Fairfax symphony Orchestra, The Allen Philharmonic Orchestra, The South Dakota Symphony, The Wheeling Symphony, and the Lubbock Symphony.

In addition to his Self-titled CD, David Gaschen, David has also recorded Let me Sing and I’m Happy solo CD and is also on the CD Broadway’s Fabulous Phantoms with the likes of Howard McGillin, Hugh Panaro and the original Phantom of the Opera, Michael Crawford.

David has performed in a variety of benefit performances which include The Susan Komen Race for the Cure,

Lubbock Christian Schools benefit for Christian education. The Bishop Defalco retreat center in Amarillo, Texas, Benefit for St. Thomas More Church in Darien, CT, The Junior League of Lubbock, The Chancellors Gala Dinner at Texas Tech University, Christ the King Cathedral benefit for Catholic education, as well as the Lullaby of Broadway at the Marriott Marquis hotel in New York City. In addition to his benefits, David has also done the voice over work for numerous Companies including, United Supermarkets.

David also has a strong connection to teaching . He has given master classes to colleges and high schools all over the state on the art of auditioning for musical theater. He has also taught voice for the last two summers in Dallas and his home town of Lubbock.

David is very proud of his Lubbock Texas heritage. In September of 2006, David was inducted into the Buddy Holly Walk of Fame in Lubbock for outstanding contributions to the field of music. He was also received the distinguished Alumni Award from the School of Visual and Performing Arts at Texas Tech University.

David’s best productions to date ,by far, have been his wonderful son, Andrew and his incredible daughter Molly Marie. David Thanks God in Heaven for his beautiful wife Jeanne and his wonderful Father and 7 brothers and sisters.

C. Nicholas Morris

Dance

Nicholas is a graduate from Midwestern State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Speech Communications. He has been performing for over two decades, teaching dance, gymnastics and theatre professionally since he was 19 and has judged auditions and competitions for show choirs, musicals, pageants, cheer leading and drill team.

Nicholas has choreographed over 20 musicals and operas. Among his favorites are Carousel, Oklahoma!, West Side Story, My Fair Lady, Hello Dolly!, Fiddler on the Roof, Bye, Bye, Birdie and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Nicholas has choreographed for several show choirs throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. He has been the resident choreographer for Dallas Baptist University since 1995. He choreographed at Sea World San Antonio and has taught dance workshops throughout the US.

Performance credits include - Regional: Don in A Chorus Line, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, King and I, Oklahoma!, and Cinderella (Casa Manana – Bass Hall); Carousel, Evita, and They’re Playing Our Song (Lyric Stage); Bill Calhoun in Kiss Me Kate (GSM) and Don in A Chorus Line (PRT).  Theme Park: Six Flags Over Texas – Hooray For Hollywood and Coobrila. Favorite Roles: Carnival Boy in Carousel, Dream Curly in Oklahoma!, and Levi & Benjamin in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Nicholas is a proud member of the Dallas Metropolitan Ballet and Actors Equity Association.

Dee Dee Munson

Dance

DeeDee is from Ft. Smith, Arkansas where she started dancing at the age of six. Professional: Walt Disney World Dancer - Beauty & The Beast Show, Pleasure Island Explosion Dance Show, Rhythms of the World Show at Tokyo DisneySeas, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, Dallas Mavericks Dancer and various conventions and special events. Kilgore College Rangerette, Stephen F. Austin Repertory Company Member, Stephen F. Austin Pom Squad member and coach. While attending SFA she won two consecutive NCA National Dance Championship titles.

DeeDee has taught and choreographed for drill teams and dance teams across the country as well as being a head instructor and adjudicator for MA Dance. She has appeared in Body Wrappers, Dance Spirit, Cheerleader & Danzteam, YM, and Glamour Magazines. She also modeled for Disney Animation where her likeness was used for the image of Princess Kida in Atlantis Milo’s Return. Her television appearances include Good Morning Texas, Good Day Dallas, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Salvation Army Halftime with Reba McEntire, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Parade with Aaron Carter, and John O’Hurley, Live with Regis and Kelly, and the Oprah Winfrey Show. She was also a dancer/actress in the movie Miss Congeniality starring Sandra Bullock.

Russ Whifield

Voice and Drama

Russ is a vocal performance graduate of New York University where he received a Bachelors of Music in the concentration of Music Theatre. He made his debut into the world of professional theatre at North Shore Music Theatre (Boston) in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. After this production he went on to appear in a number of off-Broadway shows including Westside Story, Guys and Dolls, Fiorello, Assassins, Street Scene, and Godspell. Upon graduation he took on a number of successive roles at Bristol Valley Theatre in NY, reappearing in Godspell and leading in Five Guys Named Moe as Nomax. Russ has also spent time in studio recordings as a vocalist and composer. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree. His emphasis is song and scene analysis and role interpretation. 

Francine E. Bruggers

Dance & Pilates

Francine is from Houston, Texas where she studied jazz, tap, and ballet with Patsy Swayze, performed with Patrick Swayze in the Houston Jazz Ballet Company, and also taught mime and fencing at both the Houston Performing Arts High School and the University of Houston at Clear Lake City. While on the faculty of the University of Arkansas she taught jazz, tap, ballet, modern, and choreography.  Francine has also appeared as both a dancer and singer in productions at Six Flags over Texas, and the Outdoor Drama “Lone Star” in Galveston, Texas.  Additionally, she has danced in many venues which include Promises, Promises with Will McKenzie, The Boyfriend, The Houston Opera, The Andre Previn Jazz Band, Theatre Arts Unlimited, The Harry Blackstone touring company, and James Clouser’s Space/Dance Theatre.

Education: Masters of Arts in Dance from the University of Houston at Clear Lake City, under the direction of James Clouser; Bachelor of Arts in Drama from the University of Houston.

Jennifer Milner

Acting, Dance & Pilates

Though she grew up in Dallas, Jennifer only recently moved back after twelve years in New York doing professional theatre. She toured as Meg Giry in The Phantom of the Opera, performing in Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center as well as L.A. and Chicago. Jennifer did several off-Broadway plays and readings in New York in between travelling to various regional theatres across the country. Favorite regional roles include Anne in La Cage Aux Folles, Little Red in Into the Woods, Sister Mary Leo in Nunsense, and Kristine in A Chorus Line. She’s worked with such respected theatres as Walnut Street Playhouse and North Carolina Theatre as well as area favorites like Music Theatre Wichita and Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, and has done a guest appearance as a vocal soloist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. She has also done numerous industrials and commercials.

Jennifer started her career as a ballet dancer, dancing locally with Garland Ballet, Chamberlain Ballet, and Dallas Dance Company before spending summers apprenticing with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and Boston Ballet’s second company. Though classically trained, Jennifer has extensively studied all major theatre dance styles as well as tap, modern, Luigi, and jazz. After moving to New York Jennifer pursued musical theatre while still dancing with small New York companies, eventually committing completely to theatre.

In addition to being an accomplished dancer, Jennifer has also studied singing and acting for several years. Acting-wise, she has a thorough grounding in many of the major acting techniques, including Stanislavsky, Lee Strasberg’s method, and Meisner technique. Most recently, Jennifer studied for two years at David Mamet’s Atlantic Theatre Company school, which is the acting method she most enjoys exploring. Jennifer also spent time learning improv at the world-famous Second City Training School in Chicago. Studying voice under the renowned Marianne Challis and coach Steve Lutvak in New York rounds Jennifer out and makes her a true triple threat.

Outside of the theatre arts, Jennifer has also studied Alexander Technique, Feldenkreis, reflexology and nutrition, and is a top Pilates trainer, having trained several world-famous dancers, an Olympic medalist, and many top athletes and performers.

Oh yes, and she has two girls whom she adores.

Dereque Whiturs

Dance

Dereque Whiturs a native of Dallas Texas began his career as a performing artist at the Booker T Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Artists. Mr. Whiturs has been trained in ballet, modern, jazz, tap, and the Dunham techniques and he has trained with such artists as Alvin Ailey, Ulysses Dove, Donald McKayle, Donald Byrd, Talley Beatty, George Faison, Tina Yuan, Christine Lawson, Homer Bryant, and George Skibine, and Maria Tallchiief, Mr. Whiturs is an Alumni of California Institute of the Arts in Valencia California. Mr. Whiturs was a principle dancer with the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble under the direction of Sylvia Waters former principle dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and he went on to become a principle dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre under the direction of Alvin Ailey where he traveled the United States and Europe for 13 years. Mr. Whiturs is currently a principle dancer with Deeply Rooted Productions in Chicago Illinois where he is also on the Associate Artistic team for the Deeply Rooted summer intensive program and the Deeply Rooted 2. He is also a member of the Malone Group Incorporated in Washington D.C.

Mr. Whiturs has an extensive background in dance education he has taught in the United States and Europe in such places as The Chicago Multi Cultural Dance School in Chicago Illinois, Deeply Rooted summer intensive program in Chicago Illinois, Bertino’s School of Danceology In Chicago Illinois, Duke Ellington Performing Arts High School in Washington D.C., Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas Texas, The Black Academy of Arts and Letters in Dallas Texas, and for the Renalto Greco School of Dance in Rome Italy. Mr. Whiturs has recently come back to Dallas and has started his own company with Mr. Carl Long co-Artistic Director “HappyNia Dance Theatre” Because of his passion for building awareness in the African American community about HIV/AIDS, Domestic Violence, Substance Abuse, and Self Actualizing he wishes to use HappyNia Dance Theatre Productions as a means to communication to the people in his community to call in the community to stand for something and not just settle for anything, to work together to make a change in the community his way starts with the arts.

He is persistent in being a voice through the arts to fight injustices in communities everywhere. Mr. Whiturs knows that he cannot do it alone. He is a firm believer that “It takes a whole village to raise a child” even the child within ourselves. HappyNia Dance Theatre Productions invites any support from positive activists in the community who wishes to make a difference in changing the negative cycle that has been given to our community. Mr. Whiturs is a writer and choreographer who uses his artistry to speak authentically and truthfully about what’s wrong in our community and what we can do to change it.

Kim Evans

Music & Theatre

Cara Serber

Voice, Acting

Wendy Welch

Voice, Acting

Lesley Warriner

Dance

Denise Pacific

Dance

Keeli Denny

Dance, Momma Me & Music Theatre, Preschool Day Class