WILLIAM A. COOK (Producer) was born in Illinois and spent his childhood in Canton Illinois. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree from Northwestern University. In 1963 he founded Cook Group Incorporated, a worldwide family of companies that manufactures and markets over 20,000 radiological and surgical products including vascular stents and grafts. The company has provided funding for advanced research, academic chairs, and scholarships in both medicine and the arts. Mr. Cook co-founded the Dotter Research Institute at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Oregon. The Indiana University School of Music Library, the Northwestern University Materials and Life Science Hall, and the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology University football stadium bear the Cook name. He serves on numerous corporate boards, holds several honorary degrees, and is a former trustee of Indiana University. In 1984 he founded the Star of Indiana Drum and Bugle Corps to provide a musical experience for young people throughout the United States. In 1991 the corps won the Drum Corps International World Championship. Today, Blast!, born from drum corps, has received the coveted 2001 Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event. In the category of choreography, Blast was, nominated for a Tony and won a 2001 Emmy.
JAMES MASON (Co-Producer/Artistic Director),Avid fly fisherman and painter, began his musical career in 1961 at the age of seven playing saxophone in band, and bugle in drum corps. By the age of 12 he was arranging music for his local drum and bugle corps. At the University of Northern Iowa, he majored in music and played in the concert, jazz, and marching bands, while marching with the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps in 1975 and winning the world championship. In 1977, he became director of the Colts Drum & Bugle Corps of Dubuque, Iowa, moving on to become the founding director of Star of Indiana in 1984. During its first year of competition Mason led Star to a top 10 finish, the highest placement of any first-year corps in the activity's history, moving the corps steadily upward to a first place in the 1991 World Championships, where he received director of the year honors. He is one of only three people in the activity that have won a world title as a performer and a director. He has been a founder and director of the Drum Corps All Stars, a group that received national visibility through appearances in the Cotton, Orange and Fiesta Bowl parades, and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. He has also served as president of Drum Corps Midwest and on the board of directors of Drum Corps International (DCI). In 1989 and 1990 he produced and directed the first opening ceremonies for the Summer Music Games World Championship. For his outstanding work with youth, in 1994 he was inducted into the Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School Hall of Fame. He is founder and director of the Star Elementary Band Program, impacting young people in the Bloomington, Indiana, area where he resides. Throughout his career, he has been an arranger for many corps, high schools and university bands, and has served as a musical evaluator, judging bands, choirs and corps in the United States and abroad.
MARK THOMPSON (Scenic and Costume Design) read drama at Birmingham University. Theatre: Rep work includes Worcester, Exeter, Sheffield, Leeds; Royal Exchange Manchester: Jumpers, The Country Wife, Mumbo Jumbo (also at the Lyric Hammersmith) and School for Scandal. Others: Owners (Young Vic), Good (Brussels), The Scarlet Pimpernel (Chichester and Her Majesty's), Cabaret (Strand), The Sneeze (Aldwych), Ivanov and Much Ado About Nothing (Strand), A Little Night Music (Piccadilly), and Shadowlands (Queen's Theatre and Broadway), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Palladium, Canadian, Australian and American tours), Six Degrees of Separation (Royal Court and Comedy Theatre), Hysteria (Royal Court and Mark Taper Forum, L.A.), The Kitchen (Royal Court), Insignificance and Company (Donmar Warehouse), Dr. Dolittle (London Apollo Hammersmith) and The Blue Room (Donmar and Broadway). RSC: Measure for Measure, The Wizard of Oz, Much Ado About Nothing, The Comedy of Errors, Hamlet and The Unexpected Man (also Duchess). Almeida: Volpone, Betrayal, Party Time and Butterfly Kiss. RNT: The Wind in the Willows, Madness of George III and Arcadia (Haymarket; Lincoln Center Theatre, NY), Pericles, What the Butler Saw and The Day I Stood Stiff. Most recently he designed Mamma Mia, the new ABBA musical, and Alan Bennett's new play The Lady in the Van starring Maggie Smith (Queen's Theatre). Opera: Falstaff (Scottish Opera), Peter Grimes (Opera North), Ariadne Auf Naxos (Salzburg), Il Viaggio a Reims (Royal Opera House), Hansel and Gretel (Sydney Opera House), The Two Widows (ENO) and Queen of Spades (the Met, NY); costume design only for Montag Aus Licht (La Scala, Milan). Ballet: Don Quixote (Royal Ballet). Film: costume design for The Madness of King George. Awards: 1990/91 Olivier Award, Plays and Players and Critics' Circle Award for The Wind in the Willows, 1992 Olivier Awards for Set Design and Costume Design for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and The Comedy of Errors, 1994 Olivier Award for Set Design for Hysteria, 1995 Critics' Circle Award for The Kitchen.
HUGH VANSTONE (Lighting Designer) Over the past 10 years, Hugh has designed the lighting for plays, musicals and operas in London, New York and around the world. He received Olivier Awards for his work on The Unexpected Man directed by Matthew Warchus, The Blue Room directed by Sam Mendes (both plays were also presented in New York), and The Cherry Orchard directed by Trevor Nunn. Other New York credits: Art (Royale), Hamlet (BAM), Closer (Music Box). Current work: in London - Life X3 and Art by Yasmina Reza, Mouth to Mouth by Kevin Elyot, The Graduate starring Amanda Donohoe, Howard Katz by Patrick Marber; in Stuttgart - Dance of the Vampires directed by Roman Polanski; on Broadway - Blast! and Follies.
TOM MORSE (Sound Design) has designed sound for over 50 Broadway productions. He won the Ovation Award in L.A. for his design of Fool Moon. He has also designed Shakespeare in the Park for four years. In the past his Broadway designs have included Neil Simon's Jake's Women, Lost in Yonkers, Rumors, Broadway Bound, Biloxi Blues, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Odd Couple, They're Playing Our Song, Little Me and Fools. He also designed Macbeth, Grease!, Once Upon A Mattress, Me and My Girl, Artist Descending a Staircase, Ain't Misbehavin' , The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Sunday in the Park with George, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Death of a Salesman with Dustin Hoffman, Safe Sex, Mail, Most Happy Fella, Duet for One, Doonesbury, Human Comedy, Iceman Cometh, Precious Sons, Execution of Justice, Children of a Lesser God, Long Day's Journey into Night, Peter Allen Up in Once. Off-Broadway credits include Kudzu, Eleanor, Radio Gals, Sam Shepard's Simpatico, Tony Kushner's The Dybbuk, Bill Irwin's Capin and A Flea in Her Ear. Tom has also done extensive work in the industrial and special event fields. Some of his clients are Panasonic, Ciba Geigy, AT&T, Sprint, Shell Oil and MCI, and he has been a consultant on Joe's Pub at the NYSF and the NYFD. Special events include the Pope in Central Park, the Goodwill Games, Health Expo and more.
MARK HOOD (Sound Design) has lent his expertise to a wide array of musical projects, including work with John Mellencamp, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Dave Brubeck, George Benson, David Sanborn, John Scofield, Bob Mintzer, Herb Ellis, Canadian Brass, Cincinnati Symphony, Washington Winds, Sandi Patty, Ray Boltz, Bill Gaither, Richie Havens, Odetta and hundreds of others. His motion picture credits include Southie, Hard Choices, Doin' What the Crowd Does, The Bennecker Gang, So Fine and Thundercats.
BOBBY AITKEN (Sound Design) has been a sound designer for 15 years and is responsible for numerous theatre and concert productions in the U.K. and throughout the world. Bobby's West End theatre designs include The Boyfriend, High Society, Time, Metropolis, In the Midnight Hour (Young Vic), Children of Eden, From a Jack to a King, Pete Townsend's The Iron Man, Five Guys Named Moe (West End and tours), the award-winning The Fix and Return to the Forbidden Planet, which played for several years in the West End and subsequently toured the UK, Australia, USA and Japan. Bobby's current credits include Grease! (West End and tour) and Soul Train, and he has co-designed the new ABBA musical Mamma Mia! For several years Bobby has sound designed various productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company including The Beggar's Opera, The Shakespeare Revue and Bartholomew Fair, which has just completed a national tour and a season at the Young Vic Theatre. Carmen was Bobby's first sound design for Raymond Gubbay; he has since designed Madame Butterfly and Tosca at the Royal Albert Hall. Other opera designs include Sweeney Todd at Israeli Opera and Bitter Sweet, a Sadler's Wells Opera production. Bobby lives in North London with his wife Annie, daughter Eli and son Finley.
DONNIE VANDOREN (Associate Producer) has been involved in drum and bugle corps activity for more than 35 years. He has worked with numerous musical organizations throughout his career. Under his leadership as a brass manager, he has developed several world championship brass programs and is noted for his relentless pursuit of perfection and his commitment to excellence in brass performance. Donnie came to Star of Indiana as the brass manager in 1986 and has been a part of the organization's evolution from a competitive drum and bugle corps to the current theatrical stage presentation called Blast! In 1997, he was inducted into Star of Indiana's Wall of Fame. A native of Pennsylvania, Donnie relocated to Indiana in 1998 to fully commit to the Blast! Project. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Villanova University.
JONATHAN VANDERKOLFF (Staging Director/Choreography), born in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, has been involved in drum and bugle corps activities since the age of four. He performed with the world champion Garfield Cadets before he became a visual designer for many champion organizations throughout the U.S., Canada and Japan, including the world champion Star of Indiana Drum and Bugle Corps and Emerald Marquis Winter Guard. He serves as a composer, a designer and musical stager for Blast! Jonathan graduated with an honors degree in music theory and composition from the New England Conservatory in Boston.
GEORGE PINNEY (Acting Director/Choreography) is a professor of theatre and drama at Indiana University, where he has been awarded the prestigious Friedrich Herman Lieber Award for Distinguished Teaching. He has directed and/or choreographed over 100 productions for university and regional theatres. He teaches musical theatre and stage movement.
JAMES PRIME (Musical Director) has been writing professionally for brass and percussion groups since 1977. Focusing his efforts on outdoor music pageantry, he has arranged the scores for the Star of Indiana and Garfield Cadets International champion drum corps, as well as many other ensembles throughout North America. With many published titles to his credit, he was a primary orchestrator for the Canadian Brass/Star of Indiana concert and Brass Theater tours of 1994-98. His arrangements were featured in the recent London stage production and PBS television special of Blast!
JIM MOORE (Choreography, Dance Captain) has been dancing professionally for 12 years, beginning his career as a principal dancer for the Georgia Ballet Company. Along with Jim's ballet career, he has been the choreographer for many world champion organizations in the Winter Guard and Drum & Bugle Corps communities including the Cadets of Bergen County and the Emerald Marquis. Jim serves on the choreography team for Blast! as well as working extensively on training the cast in all movement technique.
DODGER THEATRICALS is a theatrical producing partnership comprising Michael David, Robin de Levita, Doug Johnson, Des McAnuff, Rocco Landesman and Edward Strong; originated at BAM in 1978; migrating to the New York Shakespeare Festival and then off and on Broadway where they share in a host of Tony And Obie Awards. Currently on Broadway: The Music Man, 42nd Street, Blast, and Urinetown. Other Broadway: Wrong Mountain, Footloose, Titanic, Mandy Patinkin: Marmaloshen, High Society, 1776, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The King and I, The Who's Tommy, Ralph Fiennes' Hamlet, Guys and Dolls, Once Upon a Mattress, How to Succeed Business..., Jelly's Last Jam, The Secret Garden, Into the Woods, Big River, Prelude to a Kiss, The Gospel at Colonus, Pump Boys and Dinettes. Other Off-Broadway: Savion Glover Downtown, Adobe Theater's Duet. Current London: The King and I; ongoing relationships with Royal Court and Almeida Theatre Companies. Dodger Theatricals is a partner in the Stage Holding Group of entertainment companies. DODGER MANAGEMENT GROUP (General Management) and DODGER MARKETING are children of parent company Dodger Theatricals.
DODGER TOURING LIMITED, also known as D-Tours (Tour Direction), is an independent booking and marketing company providing the touring industry with the highest quality talent and theatrical entertainment. In addition to Blast!, D-Tours currently represents the first national tours of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, the new Broadway production of Meredith Wilson's The Music Man directed by Susan Stroman, Mandy Patinkin: In Concert, Faith Prince in Concert and The Broadway Tenors. In recent years, the D-Tours teams have represented the national tours of the Tony Award-winning musical Titanic, The King and I staring Hayley Mills, Guys and Dolls, Angels in America, Smokey Joe's Cafˇ and The Who's Tommy.
BIG LEAGUE THEATRICALS (Tour Direction) is an independent producing, managing and booking company specializing in tours of Broadway and international attractions throughout North America and the world. This fall, Big League will be producing a tour of Footloose after successful runs at Harrah's in Atlantic City and the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas last summer. Among the recent successes are The King and I (national and international tours), The Who's Tommy (national and international tours), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (starring Rip Taylor), 1776, Mame (starring Morgan Brittany) and Guys and Dolls. The booking department at Big League Theatricals is among the most respected in the industry. It represents attractions ranging in scope from the national tours of Spirit of the Dance to Jean Stapleton's one-woman show Eleanor. Forthcoming productions include Titanic and Peter Pan.
TECH PRODUCTION SERVICES (Production Manager) Broadway: The Real Thing, Swing!, Amadeus, Dancing on Dangerous Ground, Epic Proportions, Kat & the Kings, Civil War, The Sound of Music, On the Town, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Triumph of Love, Forever Tango, Mattress, Forum, Smokey Joe's Cafˇ, Moon over Buffalo, Crazy for You, Guys and Dolls, Joseph ..., Secret Garden, Aspects of Love, Black & Blue, Starlight Express, I Hate Hamlet, Romance! Romance!, Drood, Pack of Lies, Singin' in the Rain, Foxfire. Tours: The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Sound of Music, Smokey Joe's Cafˇ, Joseph ..., Crazy for You, Guys and Dolls, Secret Garden, The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber.