Doug Sumey— Board President

In addition to serving as KTA's Vice President, Doug is the Managing Director of the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival. Doug has been with KY Shakespeare for 8 years, serving as Education Director prior to his work as Managing Director. Originally from Kansas City, Doug began his theatre career there as actor, director, producer, and manager.

Jane Dewey - Vice President

Jane Dewey has worked in theatre and arts education as an actress, director, producer, teacher and arts administrator. Currently, Jane is the District Director of Arts Education for the Danville Independent Schools. Jane consults with the Kentucky Center for the Arts and the Kentucky Department of Education, coordinating annual Arts Academies to prepare teachers to use the arts in their classrooms. She is an adjunct professor and guest artist in the Centre College Drama Department and continues to freelance as an actor and director.

Amanda Simmons - Vice President

Amanda Simmons has BA and MA in Theatre and Communications from Morehead State University. She is the Theatre Director for Shelby County High School. She has directed for several schools in Shelby County, Morehead Theatre Guild, Shelby County Community Theatre and directed a touring producition of The Arkansaw Bear for Morehead State University. She serves on the KTA board as Vice-Chair of the High School Play Festival.

Jeremy Kisling - Treasurer

Jeremy Kisling has taught, directed and performed for young people in Iowa, Texas, Washington and Kentucky and is the Associate Artistic Director in Charge of Education at Lexington Children’s Theatre.

He received his B.A. in Theatre Arts from the University of Northern Iowa and his M.F.A. in Drama and Theatre for Youth from the University of Texas at Austin. At LCT, Jeremy directs three or four productions per year, as well as intensively assists in the development of new works.

He authored stage versions of Why Mosquitoes Buzz and Anansi the Spider and most recently The Princess Who Lost Her Hair. Currently, he serves as the State Representative for the American Alliance in Theatre Education; the past Divisional Chair for Theatre for Youth for the Southeastern Theatre Conference and is the Kentucky Theatre Association Past President and current Treasurer. Mr. Kisling is also serving as the Conference Chair for the American Alliance for Theatre and Education in Lexington in August of 2012.

Bill Forsyth - Secretary

Bill Forsyth is president of Primary Electric Corporation and Intersales, Inc., mining manufacturing and electrical equipment companies located in Pikeville, Ky. Both corporations contribute financially to community and professional theatre companies throughout the state and region. Mr. Forsyth has been a member the board of directors of Jenny Wiley Theatre since 1999, serving as secretary, vice-president and at large positions on the executive committee in subsequent years. Bill is also a member of the Pike County Chamber of Commerce, and General Partner overseeing one of Pike County's largest tourist attractions, The Historic Dils Cemetery and Gardens, final resting place of famous feudist, Randolph McCoy. He is especially grateful to have edited material for some of Kentucky's better known and upcoming playwrights, several whom have debuted new works recently or received national awards. Bill has been a KTA board member since 2007.

Kathi E.B. Ellis — SETC Representative

Kathi E.B. Ellis serves currently as the Kentucky State Representative to SETC, serving in that role on their board of directors. She has also served as KTA’s Chair of the Professional Theatre Division, Secretary, and President. Kathi is an independent theatre director, based in Louisville, whose Kentucky directing credits include Actors Guild of Lexington, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Bellarmine University, Centre College, Horse Cave Theatre (now Kentucky Repertory Theatre), Juneteenth Legacy Theatre, Kincaid Regional Theatre, Looking for Lilith Theatre (of which she is a company member), Pleiades Theatre Company, Public Theatre of Kentucky, Studio Players, and the University of Louisville’s Theatre Department and African American Theatre Program. She is a member of the Lincoln Center and Chicago Directors’ Labs, an associate member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, and is listed on the Southern Arts Federation’s online registry, www.southernartistry/kathi_e_b_ellis. Her productions of “Jekyll and Hyde” and “West Side Story” have received nominations for South Florida’s Carbonell Award.  Kathi is a co-founder of Louisville-based StageLab offering actor coaching and teacher professional development. She formed the informal collective, ShoeString Productions to direct scripts important to her and the group of artists with whom she works.

Adanma Barton

Professor Adanma Barton came to Berea College from Richmond, Virginia in 2009 and joined the KTA Board in 2010. In addition to her KTA Board duties, Adanma is also the Chair of the Diversity Committee of the South Eastern Theatre Conference (the largest theatre conference in North America).

While in Virginia, Adanma taught theatre at Virginia Commonwealth University, SPARC: the School of Performing Arts in Richmond Communities, the Henrico High School Center for the Arts, the Virginia Governor's School of Visual and Performing Arts and the University of Virginia.

A professional actor for over 10 years, some of Adanma's favorite productions include "Intimate Apparel" at the Barksdale Theater, "Return to the Upright Position" at the Firehouse Theater, and "For Colored Girls…" at Raymond Hodges Theater.

In Kentucky, Adanma has had the pleasure of directing "BC Cubed", "An Evening of Clay", and "The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World".   In terms of performance, Adanma is currently in the process of devising original work for the Clear Creek Festival - the show "On the Creek" opens Labor Day weekend 2011.  Adanma's next directing project will be the world premiere of "This is My Heart for You" written by the wonderful Silas House.  "This is My Heart For You" will premiere in February 2012.

Adanma is always looking to assist those who are interested in Theatre for Community Development and Social Change, Audition Prep, Solo Performance, and Diversity Issues in Theatre.  Feel free to contact her for workshops.  Adanma_Barton@berea.edu

Ryan Briggs

Ryan Briggs is the Drama Teacher at Sayre School in Lexington, Kentucky. He is a proud alumnus of the University of Kentucky (MA Theatre in ’98, MA Education in ’10) and Morehead State University (BA in Theatre & English in ’95). He has performed and directed all over Eastern and Central Kentucky. He has worked in the Lexington region at Woodford Theatre, Studio Players, Balagula Theatre, Paragon Music Theatre & Phoenix Group Theatre; he has also performed regionally at Jenny Wiley Theatre, Ragged Edge Theatre, Richmond Area Theatre & The Theatrical Experience. Ryan loves teaching theatre and acting to the youth of his school, where he is also blessed to direct two or three shows a year. Theatre has been his passion for over half of his life, and he is proud to be a theatre advocate for Kentucky.

Brad Downall - 2011 Fall Conference Coordinator

A 1983 graduate in theatre from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, Brad worked in technical theatre in the Twin Cities and Duluth before moving to Madisonville, Kentucky in 1991 to serve as the first Technical Director at the Glema Mahr Center for the Arts at Madisonville Community College.

Brad was promoted to Executive Director in 1999 and has focused on growing community-based activities such as the Summer Arts Academies and reviving community theatre while maintaining the quality of the presenting program and arts-in-education programs.  Brad serves as Chair for the Kentucky Presenters’ Network, is on the Board of Directors for the Kentucky Theatre Association, and is Band Booster President for the Madisonville North Marching Maroons.

Brad and his wife, Susan Crosswait, share three boys, Ryan – 25, Evan – 17, and William – 15, as well as four dogs and two cats.

Les Fugate

Les Fugate, the Executive Vice President of The Center for Rural Development, comes to The Center after serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Office of former Secretary of State Trey Grayson.  He previously served as the Director of Alumni and Annual Giving for the Kentucky Governor’s Scholars Program. 

As the Executive Vice President, Les oversees The Center’s business services staff, finance and accounting departments, and The Center’s information technology efforts, including its state of the art data center.  Les is also working with community partners to help develop community foundations throughout The Center’s 42 -county primary service area.

As the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State he oversaw all aspects of the Office of the Secretary of State's communications efforts including serving as the office spokesperson and webmaster for the internationally acclaimed website. Les worked extensively on the office's legislative initiatives where he successfully passed and implemented Secretary Grayson’s expansive legislative agenda.

He is a graduate of Centre College where he graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Economics and of Vanderbilt University where he received an M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration. He is a former member of the National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC) & Kentucky Association of Government Communicators (KAGC) with which he served two terms as treasurer, and a former member of the Public Relations Society of America, as well as its Bluegrass Chapter and Public Affairs and Government Section.

Outside of work, Les is active in the performing arts serving as a board member for the Kentucky Theatre Association and Jenny Wiley Theatre, and formerly for the Actor's Theatre of Louisville Generation One board. Les has served stints on the Centre College Alumni Association Board of Directors and the Governor's Scholars Program Board of Directors. Les is also active in his fraternity, Phi Kappa Tau, where he serves as the Bluegrass West Domain Director, Dean of the Volunteer Development Institute, and advisor to the fraternity on such issues as governance and structure.

Les will be recognized later this fall as the Distinguished Young Alumnus Award Recipient of Centre College and was recognized by Phi Kappa Tau earlier this year with the Thomas Stennis Award, awarded to the most outstanding domain director in the country. 

Les is a native of Prestonsburg, Kentucky.

Dana Hope

Dana Hope is founder and artistic director for the Alley Theater for Young Audiences.  She is also a co-founder of Dragonfly Theatre in southern Indiana and serves as its Managing Director.  She is also an actor and director. Currently, she is serving on the Kentucky Theatre Association board of directors and is serving as President of the Alley Theater board of directors in Louisville.  Dana worked for ten years at Anchorage Press Plays and works part time at the University of Louisville Standardized Patient Program, wherein she helps train medical students by acting like various sick patients.  She holds a Bachelor of Science in Theatre Arts.

Matt Klasmeier

Phil Neace

A veteran of over 30 stage productions as a performer from college level to community, Phil is very excited to be a part of the KTA.  A graduate of Cumberland College (The University of the Cumberlands) in Williamsburg Ky and educated in theatre by the noted Dr. Daniel Nazworth, Phil calls Hazard Ky home and has been teaching in Perry County for over 15 years. He is the founding director of The Commodore Players drama program of Perry County Central High School and has given his students opportunities to act, design and direct since 2003. Being very focused on the promotion of high school and community theatre in his home region, Phil and his students formed the Eastern Ketucky Dramatic Arts Society, holding a regional high school drama festival every Spring that has increased the involvement of Mountain Region High Schools at KTA.  Phil calls his wife, Heather, his greatest supporter in the theatre world and his three children, sons Chance and Michael and daughter Jade, as his greatest inspirations.

Brittany Stacy

Jacob Stoebel

Jacob Stoebel is the Associate Director of Education for Actors Theatre of Louisville.  Now in his third season at the theatre, Jacob works to share the resources of Actors Theatre with local communities and the nation in the form of in-school playwriting residencies, student matinees, College Days weekend the New Voices Young Playwrights Festival and more.  He is interested in continuing the work of expanding excellent theatrical experiences to communities across Kentucky.  Jacob holds a B.A. in theatre from Pitzer College.