DOUG STEWART / Producer, Author & Lyricist: Saturday's Warrior & The White Star
This 35th Anniversary Production had its start in 1973, when Doug won first place in the Utah Playwriting Contest for his book and lyrics to Saturday’s Warrior. The show went on to be performed to over two million people on the live stage. Other musicals to his credit include Latter-Day Ruth, Star Child, Threads of Glory, A Day, A Night & A Day, and Can’t Buy Love. His film credits include: Where the Red Fern Grows, Seven Alone, Against a Crooked Sky, Solo, and The Red Fury. Doug is also Founder and Creator of Tuacahn in Southern Utah. He currently serves as President of the Mormon Arts Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging LDS artists to produce works of arts equal to the best the world has created. Doug and His wife Mary are the parents of eight children (with 14 grandchildren), and reside in St. George, Utah.
LEX DE AZEVEDO / Composer: Saturday's Warrior
Lex has scored over 100 films, network TV specials and series, from the 1970’s classic film, Where the Red Fern Grows to the 1990 animated musical, The Swan princess, where he was nominated for 2 Golden Globe Awards. He has been musical director and/or music arranger for Sonny & Cher, Dick Van Dyke, Angie Dickenson, the Osmonds, the Lettermen, Angela Lansbury and Michael Jackson. Besides Saturday’s Warrior, Lex has composed the music for five other stage musicals and numerous choral works, including Gloria & Hosanna. He has served as guest conductor of some of the world’s most prominent symphony orchestras.
JANICE KAPP PERRY / Composer: The White Star
Janice Kapp Perry was born in Ogden, Utah, raised in Vale, Oregon, and currently lives in Provo, Utah. She and her husband Douglas have five children and 13 grandchildren. Through the years they have also had many foster children. Janice received her musical training at Brigham Young University in Provo and has been writing and recording gospel music for the last 30 years. She composed the hymn As Sisters in Zion for the LDS hymnbook and several songs in the Primary songbook. She has served as Relief Society President in her Provo ward and retired from singing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in 1999. The Perrys served a full-time mission to Santiago Chile and a three-year church service mission in a Spanish ward in the Provo Utah South Stake. Janice recently composed music to Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley’s poem What Is This Thing That Men Call Death which was sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at his funeral.
MATT NEVES / Director
Matt Neves is the Director of the M.F.A. Arts Administration program at Southern Utah University, where he trains future arts leaders. He also directs theater productions for the College of Performing and Visual Arts. In addition, Matt regularly directs for the Neil Simon Festival and Hale Center Theatre. Recent SUU credits include two Pulitzer Prize winning plays: How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Eugene O’Neill’s Beyond the Horizon, both productions which were acknowledged for excellence by the American College Theater Festival. Following a special invited performance at the regional ACTF festival, Beyond the Horizon traveled to New York City for a limited Off-Broadway run. Other favorite directing projects include: Lend Me a Tenor, Chapter Two, You Can’t Take It With You and Shakespeare’s King John. Matt will direct two plays for NSF this summer: Brighton Beach Memoirs and Fools open in July in Cedar City. Matt has a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University in Acting, an M.F.A. in Shakespeare Studies (Theatre Directing) from the University of Exeter, in England, and an M.B.A. from Illinois State University, in Arts Management. For three years, he served as the Associate Managing Director for the Illinois Shakespeare Festival in Bloomington, Illinois. Matt’s lovely wife, Ashley, has performed starring roles for NSF and served as the Dialect Coach for Saturday’s Warrior/The White Star. They have four terrific children: Hana, Emma, Timothy and Ada.
JEREMY SHOWGREN /Music Director
Jeremy D. Showgren's music direction credits include: High School Musical, Kiss Me, Kate, The Wizard of Oz, and the Utah premiers of Footloose and Seussical. He has also arranged, conducted, and/or recorded music for productions of Nunsense, The Tempest, and O Pioneers! at Utah Valley University. He has taught private piano lessons for ten years, and also works as the music director/teacher for Center Stage Youth Performers in Pleasant Grove. In addition to the musical side of theatre, he has also acted in several productions and directed productions of Bye Bye Birdie, Bunnicula, and The Importance of Being Earnest. He's grateful for this opportunity and thanks Matt, Jalaire, Doug, and the incredible cast.
SHAWN MORTENSEN / Choreographer
Shawn M. Mortensen was born in Orem, Utah and continues to reside there with his wife Lisa. He served an LDS mission to Marilia, Brazil. He currently works as the Production and Program Manager for SCERA Center for the Arts.
Shawn is no stranger to performing and has been in roles from The Cat in the Hat in Seussical: The Musical to Captain Hook in Peter Pan. Shawn danced both modern dance and ballroom throughout high school and was the ballroom dance coach for Orem High School for five years. Shawn has been the Director/Choreographer for the Utah premier of Swing: The Musical and most recently for Smokey Joe’s Café. “What a great experience to work with this outstanding cast and wonderful production team to bring the Saturday’s Warrior experience back to a whole new generation.”
JALAIRE ROBINSON / Stage Manager
Jalaire Robinson is very excited to be a part of this production of Saturday's Warrior and The White Star. Jalaire is 19 years old and pursuing a Theatre Management degree at Southern Utah University. This will be her Junior year at SUU. Jalaire decided to pursue a career in theatre her senior year when she stage managed Beauty and the Beast at Bonneville High. Nothing has changed since. Jalaire still loves stage managing and being involved in the theatrical process. At SUU Jalaire has stage managed The Philadelphia Story, Assistant stage managed How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and will be stage managing The Wizard of Oz next spring. Jalaire's hobbies include sports (Volleyball, Soccer, etc), Cooking when she has the time, cross-stitching, and spending time with her family.
MATT LUND / Technical Director, Lighting Designer
Coming Soon.
MICHAEL HARVEY / Scenic Designer, Projections
Michael M. Harvey is an Assistant Professor of Design at Southern Utah University, where he designs scenery, lights, and sound for the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance. Previously, he spent eight years teaching and designing at Central Lakes College in Minnesota. He also spent two years teaching at the University of Southern Indiana, where he served as scenic designer and technical director. Among his professional credits are scenic coordinator for the Opera Company of Philadelphia; scenic and lighting designer for several Primedia Inc. television productions; and production manager for both the New Harmony Theatre in New Harmony, IN, and Capital Repertory Company in Albany, NY. He holds an MFA in Scenic Design and Theatre Technology from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI.
Throughout his career Michael has been the scenic, lighting, or sound designer for over 100 productions. He is an active member of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology’s Education Commission and presents at the USITT national conference on a regular basis. He is also active in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. He enjoys experimenting with new media and technologies and often incorporates these elements into live theatre.
Leslie Aldridge / Costume Designer
Leslie is entering into her third year as a graduate student at Utah State University where she is getting a MFA in Costume Design. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Acting/Directing from Southern Utah University and studied humanities in London with Brigham Young University. Saturday’s Warrior/The White Star is Leslie’s first professional design outside of school and she is so grateful for such a wonderful opportunity. She would like to thank her loving family for their love, especially Maggie and Scottie, her "roombuds" Eryn and Tiffany for their humor, and her boyfriend Lucas for finding her missing earrings in the kitchen trash can. Also, many thanks to Matt Neves and Josh Stavros!
