FrontRow
The Center's FrontRow program invites small groups of high school and college students with interests in the performing arts to talk with Center Presents performers about the influences and experiences that have shaped their careers. At no cost to them, the students sit in on the artist’s sound check, then engage in a Q&A or special workshops with these accomplished professionals, followed by dinner and tickets to the performance.
Educators and students interested in participating should email Outreach@TheCenterPresents.org.
PREVIOUS SESSIONS AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING:
August 24 at 7PM ET
Tony-nominated sound designer
Cricket Myers is a Los Angeles-based sound designer. On Broadway, she earned a Tony Award nomination (the first in Best Sound Design for a woman) and a Drama Desk Award for her design of Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. She has designed regionally at the Geffen Playhouse, Mark Taper Forum (including Bent with Moises Kaufman), La Jolla Playhouse, South Coast Repertory, Kirk Douglas Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and Kansas City Repertory Theatre. Other selected L.A. theaters include Rubicon Theatre, Ghost Road Company, Ricardo Montalban Theatre (I Only Have Eyes for You), and Celebration Theatre. She has earned 23 Ovation Award nominations, as well as winning the League of Professional Theatre Women Ruth Morley Design Award. www.cricketsmyers.com
September 28 at 7PM ET
Broadway actor, singer, dancer
Michael Stiggers Jr. is a 2009 Colorado State University Theatre Education graduate. After graduating, Michael began his professional journey in the Atlanta theater scene, working and growing with some of the city's best talent in regional productions including Born for This: The Bebe Winans Story (Alliance Theatre), Rent (Actor’s Express) and Les Miserables (Aurora Theatre). He now resides in New York City, where in 2017 he made his Broadway debut in the Tony Award-winning Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Now in one of the biggest Broadway shows of all time, Disney's The Lion King, he performs eight nights a week with the ensemble in addition to understudying the lead role of Simba. Michael is also a voiceover artist with national campaigns and projects for Adidas, Uber, and Nickelodeon Network. www.michaelstiggers.com
October 19 at 5PM ET/10PM UK
Broadway and British theater/film choreographer and movement director
Lizzi Gee, choreographer for A Christmas Carol on Broadway and the 2014 film Pride, is an Old Vic Theatre Associate Artist whose work spans musicals, plays, operas, film and television. She has worked in many prestigious buildings, including: the National Theatre, Old Vic, Young Vic, English National Opera, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre and numerous West End productions and U.K. tours. She is the mother of two boys and a facilitator for artsINSIDEOUT at Nkosi’s Haven in Johannesburg. http://lizzigee.com/
November 2 at 7PM ET
Nationally recognized jazz musician
A sought-after saxophonist, clarinetist, flautist and clinician, Todd Williams was initially known for his work with the Wynton Marsalis Quintet/Septet and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Music Education at Indiana Wesleyan University, where he directs the Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combo, and is pursuing a doctorate in music education at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. A former music director of Times Square Church in New York, he has penned a variety of contemporary gospel choral works including the international favorite “We Proclaim Him.” He has toured the world, played venues from the White House to Carnegie Hall to the Hollywood Bowl, and appeared with such artists as Harry Connick Jr., Jon Hendricks, Terrell Stafford, Marcus Roberts, Slide Hampton and Christian McBride. Williams is a four-time recipient of ASCAP’s Plus Award for Composers. His latest jazz recording, Lift Up Your Heads, is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
December 7 at 7PM ET
Production stage manager for Broadway & national tours
David Lober was the PSM of The Lehman Trilogy on Broadway when the shutdown happened. Past Broadway credits include A Christmas Carol, Groundhog Day, Matilda and Saturday Night Fever. West Coast productions have included Wicked, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Henry IV, 33 Variations, Camelot, and Caroline, or Change. National tours have included Dear Evan Hansen, Million Dollar Quartet, The Light in the Piazza, Aida, Show Boat, Sunset Boulevard, Miss Saigon and The Phantom of the Opera. He also was the production supervisor for the North American productions of Matilda. www.davidlober.com
January 25 at 7PM ET
Broadway actor, singer, musician and narrator
Jane Pfitsch is currently in the Broadway company of Dear Evan Hansen and previously performed in Angels in America (2018 revival), Cabaret (2014 revival), Les Liaisons Dangereuses (2008 revival) and Company (2007 revival). She also appeared in the national tour of Dear Evan Hansen and off-Broadway in Peer Gynt and Allegro (CSC), The 39 Steps (New World Stages) and Pumpgirl (MTC). Regional credits include Huntington Theatre Company (IRNE nominations, best actress and best supporting actress), Barrington Stage Company, The Old Globe, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Arena Stage (Helen Hayes nomination), McCarter Theatre Center, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Alley Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Capital Repertory Theatre, Virginia Stage Company. She also appeared in the film 27 Dresses and on CBS’ Elementary. https://www.janepfitsch.com/
February 22 at 7PM ET
Actor-producer
Maggie Politi Stiggers is a professional actor, voice-over artist, author, award-winning comedy writer and producer in New York City. As an actor, she's been seen in Rachel Dratch's Late Night Snack on TruTv, Brainchild on Netflix and Theatre School Dropouts on Amazon Prime Video. Her face and voice have appeared in commercial campaigns for products including Swedish Fish, Old Bay Seasoning and TickPick. She co-founded NikoFrank Productions, a nonprofit production company in NYC specializing in comedic sketches and providing more opportunities for women in film. She recently published a book, Dear Future Producer: A Guide to Create Your Own Content and Gain Creative Freedom, available in Kindle and paperback on Amazon.
March 29 at 7PM ET
Country musician and songwriter
Adam Ollendorff is a Nashville-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has toured and recorded with Kacey Musgraves, Will Hoge and John Oates and appeared on recordings by J.D. McPherson and Carrie Underwood. Playing guitar, Dobro and pedal steel guitar, he has shared stages with Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson and Katy Perry and appeared on the CMA Awards, the Grammy Awards, Late Show with David Letterman and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. As a songwriter, he has collaborated with Natalie Hemby, Jim Lauderdale and Maren Morris and co-wrote the title cut of Keb’ Mo’s 2019 holiday album, Moonlight, Mistletoe & You, which spent four weeks at #1 on the Billboard blues chart. Ollendorff also serves as Community Outreach and Music Programs Manager at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
