John Henry (Director) "A man of many talents" barely begins to describe this dedicated thespian. John has been an usher, a house manager, light and sound tech, spot operator, set designer and builder, painter, scenic artist, box office attendant ... the list goes on. John is also an accomplished actor, having appeared in Arsenic and Old Lace, Of Mice and Men, and Painting Churches, but that's only since 1999. Additionally, John is an OCTA award-winning director for his debut production of Pvt. Wars. With such a diverse background in the theatrical craft, you can understand why he's one of our most cherished volunteers. When not here, John enjoys old British cars, motorcycles, history and archaeology, but we have a hard time letting him go long enough to get around to those things.
Mary Wagner (Lu Ann) – Mary is making her
Village Players debut, but is no stranger to Toledo theater. She has been seen
at the Rep in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Masque of Beauty
& the Beast at the Horizon Youth Theater, and in Bowling Green’s production
of Rumors. When she is not acting on stage, she enjoys choral singing,
writing, and attending private voice lessons. Mary graduated from Maumee High
School in 2003, and is now attending the University of Toledo.
John Jennens (Skip Hampton) John has had the good fortune to
portray a number of characters in the Village productions, as well as
appearances in film, radio, and TV commercials. Playing the role of Skip in
The Last Meeting of the Knights of the
White Magnolia was so much fun that John, like Skip, wanted another
shot.
Jean Mills (Claudine Hampton) If you saw last year’s Driving
Miss Daisy at the Toledo Rep, then you are familiar with the talented Jean
Mills. You may also have seen her in A
Little Night Music, Mixed Emotions,
or Sylvia on our stage (just to name a few).
Jean serves as President of the Board of Directors for The Village and is also a
teacher at Maumee High School. When not working or acting, she enjoys traveling,
reading, ballroom dancing and going to the theatre.
D. Nicholas Hansen (Billy Bob) Derek has been involved in Toledo
theater for several years. Here at The Village he last appeared as Scanlon in
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
He has also been seen in The Last
Meeting of the Knights of the White Magnolia and co-directed
Wrong Turn at Lungfish last
November. His numerous accomplishments include receiving 2 Excellence in Acting
awards from OCTA, assistant directing the independent film “In the Company of
Strangers” and directing Much Ado About Nothing
in 2002. Derek graduated with a BA in theater last May from UT and currently
works for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Frank Venda (Dale Laverty) Frank first came to the Village last
year when he appeared in One
Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest as Warren. Within a few short months, Frank
went from no involvement with the Village to being a props master, the VP of
Development, and theater Photographer. “It’s easy to join us. Just leave your
name at the box office and let the fun begin. Many thanks go out to all who have
helped and supported me in my endeavors.”
Norb Mills (Red Grover) Past Experience includes
Wrong Turn at Lungfish,
The Last Meeting of the Knights of the
White Magnolia, Mixed Emotions,
Dames at Sea,
The Last Night of Ballyhoo,
70 Girls 70, and
Cabaret. He has received two OCTA awards for acting and one for
co-directing. His hobbies include golf, dancing and traveling. He is currently a
Professor of Communications at the University of Toledo. Norb will be retiring
this coming June after 42 years of teaching in public education (31 years @ UT)!
Tom Wagner (Rufe Phelps) An OCTA award winner, Tom Holds a degree
in theatre from Pacific Lutheran U. He has performed and directed extensively
around this area and on the west coast. At the Village he recently appeared as
Teddy in Arsenic and Old Lace. Tom
has also has worked with Rep, Waterville Playshop, Valentine Theatre
Productions, Black Swamp Players (Clark in Sunshine Boys), and the
Sylvania Historical Society. Tom is the owner of Promotional Resources Co. in
Maumee, where he is also president of the Maumee Council for the Arts. Tom was
last seen at the Village Players as Red Grover in
The Last Meeting of the Knights of the
White Magnolia.
Marc Malley (Olin, Assistant Director) Marc was last seen on stage
as Martin in last season’s Social Security.
Board Secretary here at the Village, Marc also enjoys his life as a sound
“techie” when not on stage. “I would like to thank John Henry for the
opportunity to learn the ropes as assistant director.”
Ben Lumbrezer (Corky Oberlander) Ben is happy to once again appear
on the Village Players stage. Ben has been seen in many roles, including
Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing,
George in Of Mice and Men, and several
others that he has either blocked out or can’t recall to protect the innocent.
He would like to thank his wife Thereasa for her support and her willingness to
once again become a theater widow.
Alex Read (Milo Crawford) Alex has been behind the scenes for
sometime here at the Village Players. He is quite familiar with the light and
sound booths as well as with the finer points of stage crew and producing. This
summer he made his debut onstage as Nicky in
Psycho Beach Party. He is pleased to be
back onstage, although he suspects a slight amount of type casting. When Alex is
not milling around at the Village, he earns his keep working for the Social
Security Administration.
Deanne Miller (Charmaine) Deanne can usually be seen lurking
around behind the scenes as one of our lighting designers. However, this past
summer she broke out and portrayed the nerdy Berdine in our summer production of
Psycho Beach Party. When not at the
theater, she enjoys reading, and enjoying the outdoors with her husband, Justin.
Deanne is currently employed as a Human Resources Specialist at the Walgreens
Distribution Center in Perrysburg.
Last Modified: 09/16/12