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Jennifer Adams-Carrasquillo
Senior Director of Education
Jennifer is a theatre artist committed to empowering young people as performers, creators, leaders, and individuals. Jennifer has served as a director, choreographer, and teaching artist in a variety of theatres, high schools, and community service organizations across the south including the Springer Opera House, Rose of Athens Theatre, Dramatic English: Hong Kong, Arts Works, ArtsBridge America, Lexington Children’s Theatre, Kluge Community Learning Center, and First Stage. Jennifer has developed and led playwriting and devising ensembles, teaching artist training programs, student leadership programs, and theatre curriculum development. Jennifer piloted and managed the First Stage Next Steps program designed for students on the autism spectrum, which was the recipient of the Milwaukee Business Journal’s 2013 Eureka Award for innovation in arts based programming. Jennifer holds an MFA in Theatre for Young Audiences from the University of Central Florida.
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Chris Brown
Executive Director
Before joining the staff at Orlando REP, Chris had a busy career all over the United States. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from UCF in 2005 and immediately after was accepted into the prestigious Yale School of Drama and graduated from Yale University with a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Technical Design and Production. Throughout his schooling, Chris held positions at the Utah Shakespearean Festival and was the Production Supervisor for the New York Summer Play Festival. At Yale, Chris worked at the renowned Yale Repertory Theater on many productions and was schooled in everything from structural engineering and automation to production and theatre management. After Yale, Chris went to work for one of the largest Broadway Scene Shops, Hudson Scenic Studio, and worked in the Automation department. In 2009, Chris was a supervisor in the construction of the NYC Times Square Ball, which is the first ball to reside in Times Square year round. After all that, Chris has spent the last 7 years as the General and Production Manager at Orlando REP and still strongly believes that Orlando REP is the most fulfilling position he has held in his career.
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Benjamin Fortin
Senior Director of Operations
Benjamin holds a Bachelors of Business Administration degree from Kent State University where he studied Marketing and Public Communication. Prior to graduation, Benjamin was first introduced to the Central Florida community while working for the Walt Disney World® Resort as part of the Disney College Program. Benjamin joined the Orlando Repertory Theatre in the spring of 2017 after serving as the Customer Service Manager for the Ohio Shakespeare Festival located in Akron, Ohio. In addition to the Ohio Shakespeare Festival, he worked as an Associate Manager for the American Diabetes Association, supporting the coordination and marketing of signature fundraising events. Having performed in school productions, community theater, and professional venues since childhood, Benjamin is driven by the power performing arts has to bring people together and transform the world in which we live.
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Alexandra Galford, CNP
Director of Philanthropy
Alexandra’s first encounter with Orlando REP was in 2014 as an intern in the fundraising department for two semesters. During her internship, Alexandra wrote the General Program Support grant for the State of Florida, Division of Cultural Affairs, which was fully funded at $150,000 and received the highest marks in Orlando REP’s history – 95.86/100. Upon graduation from the University of Central Florida, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre Arts with a minor in Nonprofit Management, Alexandra obtained a CNP credential (Certified Nonprofit Professional), the only nationally recognized credential in nonprofit management that provides learning and real-world experience. After graduation, Alexandra moved to Mexico City, Mexico to be closer to family and enjoyed working as a Sr. Executive Account Manager for a global software development firm. After 6 fulfilling years in Mexico City, Alexandra made her comeback to Orlando and is thrilled to be back home at Orlando REP and leading their philanthropy efforts.
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Brian Groth
Facilities Manager
Brian graduated as a Theater Major from Rollins College, where he honed his improv skills. Brian is excited to have survived the Sharknado in Sharknado III! He also appeared in MTV’s The In Betweener’s, and has enjoyed working at Universal Orlando as the Night Bus Driver.
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Tara Kromer
Props Manager
Tara earned her MFA at UCF in 2015, where her research was focused on Directing and Sound Design. She holds a BA in Theatre from the UNC Greensboro, and is a member of AEA and SDC. Her work has taken her to venues including Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Orlando REP, Orlando International Fringe Festival, Seaside Music Theater, and the Hippodrome (Florida), Steppenwolf, Congo Square, Chicago Shakes (Chicago, IL), New York Stage and Film, Potsdam Music Theatre, and the Hangar (New York). Tara recently made her directorial debut with Orlando REP with The Giver, which played for over 10,000 students in Orange and Osceola Counties last fall. www.tarakromer.webs.com
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Stacie Perez
Director of Arts-Based Learning
Stacie became part of the Orlando REP family over 10 years ago! During this time, she has managed and developed the Field Trip program, as well as the Education Department’s Youth Academy. She is excited to use her Master’s in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) in the Orlando REP’s new EyePlay program, which focuses on arts integration in dual language classrooms across Central Florida. Stacie’s passion has always been to work with children and young people using the arts to help develop and facilitate language learning, and she is very thankful that Orlando REP has embraced this new literacy initiative.
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Jeffrey M. Revels
Artistic Director
Jeff has directed many productions at Orlando REP including How I Became a Pirate, Junie B. Jones Is Not A Crook; Judy Moody & Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt; The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical; Rock The Presidents; Harry Connick Jr.’s The Happy Elf, and Orphie and the Book of Heroes. He directed Florida tours of The Amazing Adventures of Dr. Wonderful (And Her Dog!) and Katie Couric’s The Brand New Kid. Jeff recently did some writing for Dollywood and Dolly Parton. He wrote/co-directed large-scale stage spectaculars for the city of Manaus, Brazil and wrote/directed digital films seen daily at Okada Resort in Manila, Philippines. Jeff received the Alumni Professional Achievement Award from Winthrop University and was spotlighted by the Orlando Sentinel as one of Central Florida’s Most Fascinating People and one of Ten People Who Make Orlando A Better Place To Live. He also received a Distinguished Career award from Florida Theatre Conference. He serves on many arts committees and panels including for the National Endowment for the Arts. Jeff is pleased to serve on the Advisory Board of UCF’s Rosen College Entertainment Management Program. He served as Executive Producer for the Orlando Citrus Parade and as writer for the National Cherry Blossom Festival Celebration & Parade, Nashville Christmas Spectacular, National Memorial Day Parade, American Valor: A Tribute To Our Military, and the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade, all nationally syndicated. Jeff is the founder of Conway Cares, an initiative that provides food for 150+ schoolchildren each week that are struggling with food insecurity. In 2015, the City of Orlando proclaimed “Jeff Revels Day” to honor his work.
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Drew Simonsen
Accounting & HR Manager
Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, Drew has been doing accounting work for non-profits for over ten years. In high school, he was part of concert choir and was cast in Fiddler on the Roof. Drew received a Bachelors of Business Administration degree from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with an emphasis in Finance. It was during that time that he took part in the Disney College Program in 2005. He worked as the Office Manager of the North/Eastside Senior Coalition in Madison for almost eight years, and earned a Masters Degree in Business Management from Edgewood College. He lived in Sarasota for two years, then moved to Orlando. He also became a Certified Managerial Accountant in 2017. He loves movies, theater, music, karaoke, and entertainment, and is happy to be working in the industry with the REP.
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Carrie Kasten Smith
Senior Director of Production
Carrie has spent the past decade playing with Orlando REP as a stage manager, assistant production manager, and coordinator for Orlando REP’s internship program and Sensory-Friendly Series. She is a graduate of the University of Central Florida with a BFA degree in Theatre with a concentration in Stage Management. Many of Carrie’s previous summers were spent stage managing Youth Academy actors, and she is thrilled to have the opportunity to spend her third summer working with the Design & Tech Academy students as they explore the offstage roles in theatre.
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Kyle Wiehe
Technical Director
Kyle holds a BA in Technical Theatre from Harding University. In addition to his work in Stage Carpentry, he has also worked for several years as a freelance lighting and sound designer and technician for various theatres, universities, and concerts. Aside from the theatre, Kyle also enjoys playing the trumpet and the guitar
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