LISA SHRIVER, she/her (Director) – Bio coming soon!
TIM SYMONS, he/him (Music Director) is the Resident Music Supervisor at Village Theatre. Select credits include Brigadoon, The Color Purple, Legally Blonde: The Musical, Jesus Christ Superstar, Cabaret, Hart Island, Billy Elliot, The Who’s Tommy (Village Theatre); Rock of Ages, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion (The 5th Avenue Theatre); Assassins (ACT Theatre); Man of La Mancha, Xanadu (Arizona Theatre Company). Original scores for Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare Company, and Village Theatre. Love to Taylor, Cedar and Winslow!
JASON ARDIZZONE-WEST, (Scenic Designer) is an award-winning set and production designer whose work spans live theater, television/film, concerts, dance, architecture, and more. Recent and notable projects include: Lady Gaga, Mayhem Ball (tour/festivals), Redwood (Broadway), Jesus Christ Superstar (Hollywood Bowl & NBC – Emmy award, ADG nomination), Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy (UK), Jon Batiste (tour), Blood/Love (Theatre 555), The Swamp Dwellers, Wedding Band (Theatre For A New Audience – Drama Desk, Outer Critics, Audelco nominations), Dua Lipa, Radical Optimism (tour), The Grove, Sojourners, & The Bluest Eye (Huntington, Elliot Norton nominations), shadow/land (The Public Theater – Lucille Lortel nomination). @jasonardizzonewest jawstudiony.com
DANIELLE NIEVES, she/her (Costume Designer) is thrilled to be back with the amazing artists at Village. Her work has been seen previously at Village Theatre (Once on This Island, Sense and Sensibility), The 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle Rep, Union Arts Center, The Old Globe, Dallas Theater Center, South Coast Repertory, The Goodman Theatre, Theatre Under the Stars, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Writers Theatre, Intiman Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Taproot Theatre, Children’s Theatre Company, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and Cleveland Playhouse. Off-Broadway: Pity in History, No End of Blame, Gertrude The Cry, and Lovesong of the Electric Bear for Potomac Theatre Project/NYC at the Atlantic Stage 2. daniellenieves.com
ROBERT J. AGUILAR, he/him (Lighting Designer) – Bio coming soon!
KEN TRAVIS, (Sound Designer). Broadway: Disney’s Aladdin, In Transit, Jekyll and Hyde, A Christmas Story the Musical, Scandalous, Disney’s Newsies, Memphis, The ThreePenny Opera, Barefoot in the Park, Steel Magnolias. Numerous New York and regional theaters and companies including: The Old Globe, The 5th Avenue Theatre, McCarter Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, LA Center Theater Group, ACT Theatre Seattle, Guthrie Theater, Dallas Theater Center, Playwrights Horizons, The New Group, NYSF Public Theater, Signature Theater NYC. The Civilians, Mabou Mines.
JR WELDEN, (Stage Manager) is thrilled to be reuniting with Lisa Shriver at Village after collaborating many times together. At The 5th Avenue Theatre, JR has stage-managed a large roster of shows including Elf The Musical, Waitress, White Christmas, West Side Story, Austen’s Pride, Rock of Ages, and Kiss Me, Kate. JR has stage-managed numerous productions at Seattle Rep, ACT Theatre, Intiman Theatre, Theatre Under the Stars, and Mark Taper Forum. Beyond the stage, he’s a proud dad, having adopted his wonderful son, after becoming a licensed foster parent.
MIRANDA MIKOLAIZIK, she/her (Assistant Stage Manager) is so excited to be working on this show! She is also grateful to be serving as the theatre’s Resident Stage Manager. Miranda has worked on a number of shows at Village since 2014 including Dreamgirls, Matilda, Songs for a New World, Legally Blonde: The Musical, The Color Purple, and 9 to 5 The Musical. She also stage manages for The 14/48 Projects whenever possible and loves lifting heavy things. All the love to Chris and the kittens.
ETHAN SWIM, he/him (Assistant Stage Manager) is thrilled to be joining such an amazing stage management team! Previously Village Theatre credits include: Brigadoon, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Jersey Boys, Les Misérables School Edition (Village Theatre’s KIDSTAGE), and more. Thanks to Drew and family for their constant love and support! “The world is your oyster and we’ll all be Cosmopolitans.” Instagram: @ethan_swim22
ANNA VRANEY, she/her (Assistant Stage Manager) is thrilled to be back at Village Theatre. Previous credits with the company include 9 to 5: The Musical, Once on This Island and Hello, Dolly! Other select credits include Julius Caesar (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Disney’s Mary Poppins, Into the Woods (The 5th Avenue Theatre), The Skin of Our Teeth (Seattle Rep), Stew, Choir Boy (ACT Theatre), Goodnight Moon and The Pigeon Gets a Big Time Holiday Extravaganza (Seattle Children’s Theatre).
WARREN CASEY, (Book, Music & Lyrics) was born in Yonkers, New York, and attended Syracuse University. During the late ’50s, he learned all about “greasers” while working as an art teacher in upstate New York. He moved to Chicago in 1962, where he hoped to pursue an acting career. He appeared in dozens of productions, including creating the role of Bernie Litko in David Mamet’s Sexual Perversity in Chicago. He supported himself with jobs in retail, including working as an assistant manager of a chain of apparel stores, and as a record salesman. In the meantime, he taught himself how to play the guitar and began writing songs. Mr. Casey acted with the Chicago Stage Guild (where he met Jim Jacobs), the Old Town Players, and the Kinston Mines Theatre. The latter company staged the original production of Grease, which he wrote with Jim Jacobs. After the incredible success of both the musical and the movie, the two collaborated on Island of Lost Coeds, a musical satire of the B-movies of the 1950s. Mr. Casey died in 1988.
JIM JACOBS, (Book, Music & Lyrics) who created Grease (in 1970) with Warren Casey, was born and raised on the mean streets of Chicago’s far northwest side. During the golden era of rock ’n’ roll (1956-1960) he was a guitar-playing “greaser” student at Taft High School. In 1963, Jacobs met Warren Casey when they were both cast in a local theatre production of A Shot in the Dark. Seven years later, they wrote what was to become one of the greatest musicals of all time. Grease opened in 1971 in a former trolley barn called the Kingston Mines Theatre in Chicago. A year later, Grease made it to Broadway and “Greasemania” took off, resulting in one of the longest-running shows in Broadway history. The 1978 movie became and long remained the highest-grossing movie musical of all time. Originally an actor, Jacobs has been seen on television, in motion pictures, regional theatre, national tours, and on Broadway. He is the co-author of several other plays and musicals including Island of Lost Coeds, a musical spoof of the low budget sci-fi/horror/jungle movies of the 1950s, which he wrote with Warren Casey. In May 2014, Mr. Jacobs was presented with an honorary doctorate degree from Columbia College in Chicago. He currently resides in Southern California and remains active in the theatre, especially with the American Theatre Company of Chicago.
ADAM IMMERWAHR, (Artistic Director) is responsible for season selection and also oversees the artistic, education, and production departments. He recently directed Village’s productions of Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, Dial M for Murder, Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot, Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood, and The Fantasticks. He previously served as Artistic Director of Theater J, the Associate Artistic Director at McCarter Theatre, and the Resident Director of Passage Theatre. Adam’s producing credits include new works by Edward Albee, Christopher Durang, Danai Gurira, Fiasco Theater, Will Power, Stephen Wadsworth, Tarell Alvin McCraney, and Ken Ludwig, several of which have transferred to Broadway or off-Broadway. As a director, Adam’s work has been seen from Aspen to Zimbabwe, including at some of the top theaters in the country: The Public and Theater Row (both for Summer Play Festival), Ensemble Studio Theatre, Walnut Street Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, McCarter Theater, Cleveland Play House, Lyric Theater of Oklahoma, Theater J, Passage Theater, Hangar Theater, Bristol Riverside, and many others. He serves on the Board of the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce and is an inaugural member of the Drama League Director’s Council.
DEREK WATANABE, (Managing Director) has served as the Managing Director of Village Theatre since the beginning of the 2024-25 season and oversees the marketing, finance, fundraising, patron services, operations, and facilities areas of the organization. He has been a long-term champion of Village Theatre, as subscriber (27 years), Board member (15 years), Village Originals member, KIDSTAGE parent, and donor. During his tenure as Board President, he helped lead Village through the construction of the Watjen Technical Studios, Hunt Family Theatre and Cope Gillette Theatre. Originally from Honolulu, Derek moved to the west coast to pursue his bachelor’s and graduate degrees at Pomona College, UCLA, and USC. He and his wife, Anne, have lived in Issaquah for 28 years, where they raised their 3 children. He can be reached at derek@villagetheatre.org.
CREATIVE ASSOCIATES
JESSICA LOW, (Associate Director) is a Director, Choreographer, Performer, and Educator with a BA in drama from the University of Washington. Village Theatre credits: Legally Blonde: The Musical, Disney’s Newsies, Billy Elliot, Xanadu, Annie Get Your Gun, Jesus Christ Superstar, 42nd Street, The Who’s Tommy, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and Singin’ in the Rain. She has also directed/choreographed many Village Theatre’s KIDSTAGE productions, most recently having directed/choreographed their concert version of Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812. Other credits include The 5th Avenue, ACT Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Showtunes Theatre Company, ArtsWest, and Sound Theatre Company. She received the 2014 Gregory Award for Outstanding Choreography for The Wild Party. jessicaannlow.com
ELISA MONEY, they/she/he (Associate Music Director) is a storyteller and noisemaker from Vancouver, Canada. Favorite credits: The Goree All-Girl String Band, Wakeman, Cowboy Bob (Village Theatre Festival of New Musicals), MISS STEP (Village Theatre Beta Series), Come From Away, Lydia and the Troll, Shout Sister Shout (Seattle Rep), Revenge Song (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). They have contributed to productions at The 5th Avenue Theatre, Theater Mu, The Arsht Center, ACT Theatre, 54 Below and others across the USA and Canada as music director, composer/lyricist, arranger/orchestrator, performer, and copyist. Their recorded music is available for streaming everywhere. @elisamoneymusic
KATY TABB, (Associate Choreographer) is honored to return to Village Theatre after most recently directing 9 to 5. Katy’s choreographic work has been presented at The 5th Avenue Theatre, Village Theatre, Union Arts Center, Theatre Aspen, The Great Lakes Center for the Arts, Olney Theatre Center, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Seattle Symphony, Cornish College of the Arts, The Triple Door, Taproot Theatre, and Showtunes Theatre Company. Katy is a proud two-time Gregory Award recipient for Best Choreography for Disney’s Newsies and Legally Blonde: The Musical at Village Theatre. Big thanks to Lisa and to you for supporting live theater!
EMMA ANTENEN, she/her (Associate Scenic Designer) is a scenic designer currently based in Brooklyn, N who works as an associate on a wide array of projects including Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theatre, touring, and international productions. Emma is a proud member of United Scenic Artists, local 829 and received her BFA in theatre design and technology from Syracuse University.
GIN HAMMOND, (Dialect Coach) is an award-winning Harvard University/Moscow Art Theatre graduate and certified teacher of Fitzmaurice Voiceword and is delighted to be a part of the Grease team!
ALEGRA BATARA,
BEN DOW,
TORI GRESHAM,
CHERISSE MARTINELLI
NICK MCCARTHY
MAYA MCQUEEN
PILAR O’CONNELL
BRANDON O’NEILL
CONNOR RUSSELL
JASMINE JEAN SIM
DANE STOKINGER,
TERI LEE THOMAS
DANIEL VELASQUEZ
JEFFERY WALLACE II
SHELBY WILLIS
SUSANNA CATHRYN BALLENSKI
TOMMY BEALE
DANNY KAM, 
JACQUELINE TARDANICO,
CHAILIA WENDLAND
