The Crew
Nick DeGruccio
(Director)
NICK DEGRUCCIO recently directed the Southern California Premiere of First Date (LA Mirada Theatre), Sondheim’s Company (Cabrillo Music Theatre) and the LA Regional Premiere of Next To Normal for La Mirada Theatre (8 2013 Ovation Nominations including Direction) and for San Diego Music Theatre (San Diego Critics Circle Nomination for Direction), Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory for The Laguna Playhouse, The Andrews Brothers (Coyote StageWorks, Best Director - Desert League Awards) and the world premiere of The End Of It at the Matrix Theatre. His productions include: The Laramie Project (Laguna Playhouse and Colony Theatre: LA premiere, Ovation Awards for Best Play, Best Direction, Best Ensemble), Side Show (LA Premiere, 8 Ovation Nominations including direction and was voted One of the Top 10 Plays by The Los Angeles Times), Jekyll & Hyde (Cabrillo Music Theatre: Ovation Award for Direction, 9 Ovation Nominations) and 1776 (Musical Theatre West/Performance Riverside/Cabrillo: 5 LA Ovation Awards including Direction and Best Musical), the World Premiere of Caught (Zephyr Theatre), Putting It Together, A Year With Frog and Toad (South Coast Repertory), The Last Five Years (LA Premiere, Pasadena Playhouse), Cinderella (The Ordway), My Way (La Mirada), Man of La Mancha, RENT, West Coast Premiere of The Andrews Brothers (Musical Theatre West), Guys and Dolls (Cabrillo Music Theatre), The Full Monty (San Diego Music Theatre) and The Fantasticks (Performance Riverside). As the Artistic Director of Havok Theatre Company, he directed the LA Premieres of Dog Sees God, Kiss of the Spider Woman (LA Ovation Award for Production), Thrill Me and The Story Of My Life. LA Premieres: The Spitfire Grill (Laguna Playhouse: OC Weekly Award Best Musical), Zanna, Don’t! (West Coast Ensemble: LADCC Award for Direction), Bad Apples (Rubicon Theatre: World Premiere Play), A Man Of No Importance and Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party (Musical Theatre Guild), Basic Training (2nd Stage: NAACP Nomination for Direction). Ovation nominated productions: Side By Side By Sondheim (The Rubicon Theatre and Pasadena Playhouse), Guys and Dolls and La Cage Aux Folles (Musical Theatre West), I Do! I Do!, (Pasadena Playhouse), Beehive (El Portal Theatre) and City of Angels (Ovation Award for Production). Nick is the recipient of the LADCC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Musical Theatre and is an alumnus of the Lincoln Center Theatre Director’s Lab West. www.nickdegruccio.com
John Todd
(Choreographer)
John Todd, a native of the Carolina’s, received his training at the prestigious North Carolina School of the Arts, receiving a full scholarship at the age of 16. Taking his training out into the world, John has directed and choreographed numerous commercials, industrials, musicals, and has worked on many television and stage shows, garnering much attention for his unique and innovative style. His most recent experiences include directing Annie Get Your Gun for the award winning San Diego Musical Theater and being named Choreographer of the Year by StageSceneLA for his work on Kiss Me Kate (Cabrillo Music Theatre) and The Music Man (Musical Theater West). John most recently opened Bronies! the Musical (Third Street Theater) to rave reviews. Some of John’s other director/choreography credits also include the Disney stage shows Tangled, The Muppets Most Wanted, Sofia The First, Monster’s University, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, The Little Mermaid and Mulan. In addition, he has choreographed commercials for companies such as Scope with Ryan Seacrest and eyewear giant Ray-Ban, as well as the musical theater shows Sweet Smell Of Success (Musical Theater Guild), Annie Get Your Gun (SDMT), The Music Man (MTW), Kiss Me Kate (Cabrillo Music Theatre) Sunset Boulevard (MTW), Company (Crown City), Bells Are Ringing and Anyone Can Whistle (MTW), Jasper In Deadland (PMT), Falsettos, The Full Monty (Third Street Theater), Gypsy, and Merrily We Roll Along. John also had the opportunity to work as an assistant choreographer on film and television shows including Saving Mr. Banks, Mad Men, About A Boy, Ronna and Beverly, Marvel's Agents of Shield, as well as choreographing the movie musical Samantha Spade Ace Detective. Mr. Todd has also created 3 works for the prestigious Houston Ballet.
Nicholas Connell
(Music Director)
Nicholas is a singer/songwriter/producer and music director from Las Vegas. He currently plays keyboards in the For The Record series in West Hollywood. His music director credits include “Carrie: The Musical,” “The Color Purple (2015 Independent Reviewers of New England [IRNE] for best music direction),” “In The Heights”(2014 IRNE for best music direction), “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” “Xanadu,” “Next To Normal” (Speakeasy Stage), “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Big River” (Barnstormers). He worked at the Boston Conservatory for five years. In 2012 he was the first-place winner of the Indie International Songwriting Contest.
Degrees, Studies and Affiliations:
B.M., Songwriting, Berklee College of Music, Boston. ASCAP member
AMDA Faculty since: 2015
Anthony Zediker
(Assistant Music Director)
Anthony, who is a native of Nashville, attended the DePaul University School of Music in Chicago, evolving into a versatile and exciting performer keenly interested in collaborative works and experimental music. While there, Zediker studied with accomplished pianists such as Aglika Angelova from the hailed Jupiter Trio; Jelena Dirks from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; jazz pianist Ron Perillo; and concert pianist George Vatchnadze. He currently studies with composer and pianist Dr. Alan Smith who serves as chairman of the keyboard department at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music.
Zediker now resides in Los Angeles, where he works as a performer, composer, accompanist, and music director. As a founding member of the L.A-based trio Artifacto and, within a network of emerging vocal and instrumental soloists, Zediker continuously presents innovative programs, performing in unconventional venues. Aside from composing music for film, TVshows, and video games, Zediker has also co-founded and helps to organize a local film composer forum called CALA or the Composers Alliance, Los Angeles, where local active film and TV composers meet to discuss trends, engage in film score analysis and pitch and workshop their own compositions. Zediker now works as a faculty pianist and music director at the American Musical and Dramatic Arts Academy and Loyola Marymount University; and frequent accompanist at LA Opera..
Recent project highlights include; Associate Music Director of The Drowsy Chaperone (2016), Little Shop of Horrors (2016), Annie Get Your Gun (2016), Fame: The Musical (2014), rehearsal pianist for the L.A. premiere of Heathers: the Musical (2014), pianist for LA Opera’s inner-city outreach productions of The Marriage of Figaro (2015), and Turandot (2016), co-collaborator and pianist for Untitled 2013, an installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago by photographer Jason Lazarus, and frequent appearances as a pianist at Classical Revolution LA, and the weekly live music series at the MiMoDa dance studio. Zediker’s compositions and songs have made numerous appearances in feature films, TV, web series’, and video games including Let it Bleed (2016), The Drop (2015), Hammertime for the iphone, 5 episodes in the webseries Actpartment (2016), and many more.
Degrees, Studies and Affiliations:
B.M, Piano Performance, DePaul University (2013)
Kimberly Weber
(Stage Manager)
Kimberly Weber is thrilled to be staging managing her seventh main stage production at AMDA. She graduated from Chapman University with a BA in Theatre Technology. She continues to do charity work with her high school drama department with the Art4Peace scholarship. Past productions include: Crucible at Antaeus Theatre Company and If All The Sky Were Paper at The Kirk Douglas and The Lobero Theatre with Annette Benning and Laura Dern. She would like to thank the tremendous staff, cast and crew at AMDA! Enjoy the show!!
TommieLee Crutcher
(Assistant Stage Manager
TommieLee Crutcher is from Austin, TX where he began his career, performing in regional productions of Sophisticated Ladies, La Cage Aux Folles, Wizard of Oz, Oliver, AIDA and many others. He took a brief hiatus to serve in the US Air Force for six years, before obtaining his BFA from AMDA. After a lengthy career, TommieLee plans to open up a public performing arts high school that teaches both performing and technical theatre. He’s life motto is “Just go for it!”