Academics

SCF Theatre Faculty & Staff

Craig Smith

Craig Smith

Theatre Program Manager

Craig Smith is originally from Ohio, which is where he discovered his love of the arts and theatre. He studied theatre and visual art at the University of Rio Grande near his hometown, performed in various productions, and eventually learned set design techniques, puppet making, and directing. During this time, he toured with the original play, “Out of the Redbrush,” for several seasons - a production that eventually played in New York City at the 45th Street Theatre in 1995.Craig traveled extensively and lived in cities such as Pittsburgh, New York, and Los Angeles where he worked in film and television production and as a skilled laborer. Later, he migrated to Sarasota, Florida, where he remains today. From 2004-2005 he taught theatre classes and stagecraft classes at Manatee School for the Arts.  He later joined the Manatee Community College (now SCF) theatre department where he worked as the technical director and taught a variety of courses, some of which include Theatre Appreciation, Humanities, and Art Appreciation. In 2015, Craig became full-time faculty  and served as the manager for the SCF Neel Performing Arts Center from 2015-18. He has been the program manager of the department since 2016 and has loved working with talented staff and students. Craig holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Rio Grande and spent a year in doctoral studies at Ohio University.Craig has worked on the following shows from
2005-2008 at MCC and from 2008-current at SCF:

Designer Our Town (L/T); London Suite (L/T); Heaven Can Wait (T); Everything In the Garden (L/T); Vital Signs (L/T); Children of the Day (L/T); The Rimers of Eldritch (T); Dearly Beloved (L/T); Close Ties (T); Monu-Mental (SD/L); The Dining Room (L/T); The Good Doctor (L/T); Morality Made Easy (L/T); Spinning Into Butter (L/T); Ha! (L); The Servant of Two Masters (L/T); Ah, Wilderness (L/T); The One That Got Away (L/T); Design For Murder (L/T); Something New/ Nothing Serious (T); Amphitryon (L/T/P); The Story of Juanito Citruseed (T); A Christmas Carol (L/T/P); Dracula (L/T/P); The Sweetest Swing In Baseball (S/L/T); Funny As A Crutch (L/T/P); Wonder of the World (L/T/P); A Nice Family Gathering (L/T/P); Terror By Gaslight (L/T/P); Dearly Departed (L/T/P); Almost Maine (L/T/P); Women in Power (L/T/P); Blithe Spirit (L/T/P); How I Learned to Drive (S/L/T/P); Story Theatre (L/T/P); Crimes of the Heart (L/T); The Diary of Anne Frank (L/T/P); Zara Spook and Other Lures (S/L/T/P); The Mouse Trap (L); Bright Ideas (S/L/T/P); Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge (L/T/P); The Uninvited (L/T/P); The Grove (L/T/P); The Best of Everything (S/L/T/P); Christmas Stories (L/T/P); Thank You For Flying With Us (L/T/P); Anton In Show Business (S/L/T); Someone’s Knocking (S/L/P); Anatomy of Gray (S/L); Hide and Seek (S/L); Five Women Wearing the Same Dress (S/P); 4AM & Selfie (S/L/P); She Kills Monsters (S/L); By the Numbers (S/L); Bob, A Life In Five Acts (S/L); Christmastown, A Holiday Noir (S/L); Private Eyes (S); All For One (S/P); The Laramie Project (S); The Foreigner (S); Perfect Wedding (S); Make Believe (S/L/P); And Then There Were None (S/L/P); Significant Other (S/L/P); The Harvest (S/L/P)

Production key: L= Lighting Designer; T= Technical Director; SD= Set Designer; P= Program/Poster

 

Amanda Schlachter

Amanda Schlachter

Assistant Professor of Theatre

Amanda Schlachter is an assistant professor of theatre at the State College of Florida and directs two shows per year. She teaches Theatre Appreciation, Acting I & II, Script Analysis, Voice & Diction, and Stage Movement for the Actor. Directing credits with SCF Theatre include: “Love/Sick,” “Significant Other,” “The Harvest,” “Make Believe,” “Bob: A Life in Five Acts,” “The Laramie Project,” “Gaslight,” “Anatomy of Grey,” “4AM& Selfie,” “Five Women Wearing the Same Dress” and “All for One”. In addition, Amanda helped coordinate and create the film “Mythos” with SCF’s theatre and film departments.

Other directing credits include “The Out-of-Door Academy;” “Reflections Theatre Ensemble's Songs for a New World;” two seasons with “Kaleidoscope” (Picture This & Unwritten), a partnership with Asolo Rep and Community Haven for Adults and Children with Disabilities; “The gg Monologues;” Sarasota Actors' Workshop and assistant director for The Source Theatre (I Want to Know); event coordinator with the national tour of “The Day I Opened My Eyes;”and The Players Theatre (“Burn This,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Flapper,” “Wonderland,” “Music Man,” “Best Beware My Sting,” “Toy Camp” and multiple original showcases). Amanda has also worked with American Stage, Sarasota Community School, the Sarasota Film Festival and Girl Scouts of America. Additionally, Amanda also partnered with Jeffery Kin, coordinating The Player's "New Play Festival" by reading, scheduling and adjudicating new playwright's work on the Westcoast of Florida.

As an actor, Amanda performed with such companies at The Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, Urbanite Theatre, The Hampstead Players, Student Life, Orlando Fringe Festival, The Civic Theatre, SOURCE Productions and The Gorilla Theatre. She has also performed readings locally with Florida Studio Theatre and Urbanite Theatre. Her favorite roles include Perdita in “The Winter’s Tale,” and Nepal in the “National Tour of The Day I Opened My Eyes,” which performed on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. Amanda was in the film “Surviving Lunch” that was recently released on Amazon Prime and in a PSA with the Maryland Department of Health on Addiction that won the Bronze Level Telly Award. She was also in “The Growing Garden,” a television pilot for children created by Nate Jacobs and Jerry Chambless.

Amanda has taught at the Asolo Repertory Theatre, The Players Theatre, The Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, International Performing Arts Academy, The New York Film Academy and The University of Florida. She teaches laughter workshops with Christine Alexander of “Laugh to Feel Good.” Amanda is a graduate and Company member of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (NYC). She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre from The University of Central Florida and a Master of Fine Arts in theatre from The University of Florida. To learn more, go to: Amandaschlachter.com.

 

Timothy Bourn

Timothy Bourn

Technical Director

Timothy Bourn is currently the technical director for the theatre program at SCF. He has worked with the program since the summer of 2015. Previously he served as the technical director for Tampa Bay Triple Threat Theatre from 2014-2016 and as the assistant technical director for the theatre program at the University of Tampa from 2011-2014. He was a properties assistant, stagehand, carpenter, and theatre lighting technician for “A Christmas Carol” at Freefall Theatre Company, and “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” “The Wiz,” and “In The Heights” at the American Stage Theatre Company. He occasionally works as a forensics coach for competitive speaking and enjoys finding time to perform works of poetry and theatre as a rhapsode, reciting epic poems in ancient Greek from memory.

Timothy earned a bachelor’s degree in theatre from the University of Tampa in 2014 and a master’s degree in theatre from Regent University in 2020.

 

Ken Erickson

Ken Erickson

Adjunct Instructor / Guest Director 

Ken Erickson is an adjunct instructor and guest director at State College of Florida where he teaches THE 2000 Theatre Appreciation.  In 2019, he directed SCF’s production of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None.” Ken "retired" in 2015 from SCF after 35 years as the theatre program manager. Over the years he has taught countless classes, designed and costumed more than 150 productions and directed over 40 plays.

Ken has an associate in arts degree from Manatee Junior College (now SCF), and a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of South Florida. 

Madeline McGrail

Madeline McGrail

Adjunct Instructor

Madeline McGrail Adjunct Instructor:
THE 2000 Theatre Appreciation

Madeline is an alumna of State College of Florida’s theatre department, (formerly known as Manatee Junior College and Manatee Community College). She holds a bachelor’s degree in theatre from the University of Florida, a master’s degree in education from National-Louis , and  a master’s degree in theatre for personal and social change from Goddard College. She has worked as a professional theatre educator, director, stage manager and actor over the course of her career. Madeline is excited to be back home teaching in the department where she fell in love with the theatre.

Kelly Burnette

Kelly Burnette

Adjunct Instructor

Kelly Burnette has been an educator at Manatee School for the Arts (MSA) for the past 22 years. She was a founding chair of the MSA dance department. She has also been an adjunct instructor of dance for the past 14 years at State College of Florida.

She received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in dance from the University of Oklahoma. In addition to being a Surdna Fellow in 2006, Kelly was selected as the 2007 K-12 National Dance Educator of the Year by the National Dance Association (NDA) and was on the cover of the April 2008 DanceTeacher magazine.

Kelly’s professional dance career has taken her to 13 countries and 47 states and has included modern, ballet, jazz, tap and musical theater. She is an award-winning educator, performer, director and choreographer who has taught at conventions across the country.

Kelly is a past president of the Florida Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance  (FAHPERD), as well as president of the Sarasota/Manatee Dance Alliance. In addition to touring across the USA, Japan, and Europe, Kelly has worked at such venues as FSU/Asolo ertory Theatre, Florida Studio Theater, Golden Apple Dinner Theater, Manatee Players, Sarasota Players, Venice Theater, Surflight Theater and the renowned Paper Mill Playhouse. She has been a proud member of Actors’ Equity for 21 years, but her proudest role is “Mom” to her beautiful daughter, Alexis!

 

Kenji Trujillo

Kenji Trujillo

Costume Designer

A proud alumna of SCF’s theatre program and graduate of Florida State University’s film program, Kenji Trujillo welcomes spending time at her "home away from home." Although accustomed to designing glitz costumes for areas circuses, Kenji loves the challenge of creating designs for the intimacy and honesty of the stage productions.

She also loves working with SCF's creative directors and set designers, but most of all with the SCF students full of budding talent.  Kenji is also employed at New Gate Montessori and works to help enrich their Art/Circus/Education programs.

Brent A. Denison

Brent A. Denison

Manager, Performing Arts Centers

Brent Denison graduated with a master of fine arts degree with an emphasis in stage management from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  He has worked as a member of the technical crew, as a  stage manager, or on stage as an actor for over 60 theatrical productions throughout the United States. He was the production stage manager for the Nevada Conservatory production of "Annie," starring Sally Struthers; the resident stage manager for nine productions with the Santa Clarita Regional Theatre; stage manager for College of the Canyons theatre department productions; and ticketing and patron services manager for the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center also at College of the Canyons. He has worked at The Colosseum in Las Vegas with Celine Dion in “A New Day;” at the iconic STAPLES Center in downtown Los Angeles; at the Straz Center in downtown Tampa; and Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater.

Some of his favorite roles include Pippin in "Pippin," Clifford Bradshaw in "Cabaret," Mr. Carmichael in "Floyd Collins," Nanki-Poo in "Mikado," Mayor and Senator in “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” Drosselmeyer in “The Nutcracker” and Mitch in "A Streetcar Named Desire."

Brent is thrilled to return to his alma mater, (formerly Manatee Community College), where he earned his Associate in Arts in theatre. He looks forward to being a part of the SCF performing arts department where he began his education journey.

 

April Sheely

April Sheely

Administrative Assistant

April Sheelyan , administrative assistant, has worked for State College of Florida since 2011 and the SCF Music Program since 2016. She is a native of West Virginia, has a bachelor's degree in interior design from the Ringling College of Art and Design, and is an avid cyclist. She assists in the scheduling of courses, administering of scholarships, production of concerts and event coordination, and any administrative task necessary for the success of the SCF Music students.

 

 

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