Theatre & Film Faculty
Andrea Robertson - Theatre Humanities/Theatre Performance/Directing
Email: andrea.robertson@paradisevalley.edu | Office: M-East, Room 166 | Phone: 602-787-6580
Andrea Robertson, the Director of Theatre at PVCC caught the theatre bug at an early age. She started her career acting, but discovered directing in college and then fight directing soon after. She has been truly blessed to work continually in the Theatre from teaching, acting, directing, stage managing, and even theatre supply retail. In 2006 she began her own fight direction company- Fight Call, LLC to pursue her love of stage combat; and is Certified Teacher with the Society of American Fight Directors and an Associate Instructor with Dueling Arts International. She is a professional fight director working for The Arizona Opera, Theatreworks, and other venues around the Valley of the Sun. For more information on her company and stage combat visit her website www.fightcall.com. Andrea has worked as a professional actress playing such roles as Louise/Gypsy Rose Lee in Gypsy, Joan of Arc in the World Premiere of Blood Royal, and Mina in Dracula; a professional director with such productions as My Fair Lady, Oliver, and Lend Me a Tenor and with her company she has fight directed such productions as Romeo and Juliet, Deathtrap, and Otello, as well as several independent films. She earned both her MFA in Directing and her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre with a minor in Music at Western Illinois University.
Tony Deshay - Film
Email: tony.deshay@paradisevalley.edu
Joe Flowers - Theatre Humanities
Email: joseph.flowers@paradisevalley.edu
Joe Flowers is a professional actor, director, and theatre educator. Originally from Prescott, Arizona, he received his undergraduate theatre degree from Arizona State University where he studied acting with Tony Award winning director Marshal W. Mason. He received his MFA in Acting from Illinois State University where he studied advanced acting, movement, and voice techniques. Joe has appeared onstage in over fifty productions with theatre companies across the country, including two seasons with the acclaimed Illinois Shakespeare Festival in Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, and Comedy of Errors. He has acted with many companies in the Phoenix area, such as Childsplay Theatre Company, Stray Cat Theatre, The Shakespeare Theatre, Arizona Jewish Theatre Company, and Theater Works. A longtime talent of the Leighton Agency, Joe has worked in commercials and industrials with clients such as Toyota, Goodwill, AAA, and KSLX. Film credits include lead roles in A Stray, The Nephila, Rupert’s Ship, and Crossroads of Fate. He wrote and directed the original television pilot The Drama which won multiple Best TV Pilot and Best Script awards at Moondance International Film Festival, Nevada Film Festival, Las Vegas Independent Film Festival, and the International Family Film Festival. He is a member of SAG/AFTRA. www.joeflowers.com
Karla Frederick - Assistant Technical Director/Properties/Costumes
Email: karla.frederick@paradisevalley.edu | Office: CPA 149 (Scene Shop) | Phone: 602-787-7310
Karla Jean Frederick (Production Manager, Props Supervisor, Photographer) is the assistant technical coordinator for the Center for the Performing Arts at PVCC. She earned her BFA in theatre from Minnesota State University and Northubria Univeristy, Newcastle England. She has worked as a stage manager, actor, and prop mistress for a variety of theatres including the Straw Hat players, Arizona Jewish Theatre Co. Entertainment Events, Hale Center theatre, and Childsplay. This is her fourth year at PVCC and is glad to be a part of the team.
Edward Kishel - Film
Email: edward.kishel@paradisevalley.edu
An Arizona native- Edward Kishel has over 12 years experience in the video production field. This started early on with the study of both psychology and film at Arizona State University- to gain a better understanding of how film affects the viewer emotionally. After graduating (A.B. Magna Cum Laude, 2001) he then completed his graduate study in film production at the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University (M.F.A. 2004).
His work has premiered at festivals throughout the US and Europe, winning top honors- including Best Short at the Phoenix Film Festival in 2005. He currently works as an industrial videographer, editor, and media technician at an international consulting firm. In addition, he teaches video production at Paradise Valley Community College- allowing him to pass this technical knowledge of film-making onto his students. He lives in Phoenix with his partner Paul.
Kristen Marovich
Email: kristen.marovich@paradisevalley.edu
KRISTEN DRATHMAN MAROVICH is an AZ Native who has a Bachelors degree in Music Theater from Arizona State University (Cum Laude). Trained classically with renowned voice teacher Dr. Judith Cloud and has been honored to sing all over the world. The ’92 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain and the Brooklyn Conservatory Summer Opera Festival are a few favorites. Kristen has performed professionally all over the valley for the past 17 years. She recently made her Phoenix Symphony Hall debut, singing as the female soloist in A Salute to the Tony's with Conductor Lawrence Golan. Kristen has been teaching private voice and acting for 15 years. When not busy at ‘Play’, Kristen enjoys spending time with her two sweet daughters. www.kristendrathman.com
Erik Reid - Technical Director/Scenic Design/Lighting Design
Email: erik.reid@paradisevalley.edu | Office: CPA 149 (Scene Shop) | Phone: 602-787-7310
Erik H. Reid: From Murray State University in Kentucky Erik went directly to a professional theater technical career. Beginning as a General Technician with Nebraska Theatre Caravan in Omaha, NE, he then advanced to Assistant Electrician, and onto Stage Manager for their East Coast touring company. Then as a Box Office Manager for Tecumseh! in Chillicothe, OH, Lime Kiln Arts Theatre in Lexington, VA, and on to Barter Theatre in Abingdon, VA. For four years he was the Assistant Curator of the Museum of the American Quilter's Society in Paducah, KY, while assisting with collegiate theatre technical instruction and directing his first shows at Paducah Community College. In 1998, Erik became the Stage Manager for Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, PA adn The Pocono Playhouse in Mountain Home, PA and soon became the Technical Director, Resident Scenic and Lighting Designer and for a short time General Manager. Working closely with the Artistic Director, Stephen Casey, Erik designed and opened more than 180 mainstage musical productions and 240 Children's Theatre productions in and eight year period. No stranger to performing, Erik has acted professional in about forty productions including roles as Sister Mary Regina in Nunsense A-Men, with Eddie Mekka, Horace Vandergelder in Hello Dolly starring Colleen Zink Pinter, Alfie Doolittle in My Fair Lady starring Peter Scolari. Erik has functioned as Judge and Critic for the Dramafestival, a five-state high school theatre competition, and as a delegate to the Kentucky Museum Association. In 1997 his play AH HA! was made into a short film and won two National Cable Access Awards. Erik joined the staff of PVCC in 2007 and designs sets and lights for the productions and events, oversees the Theatre Shop and the Technical Elements fo the Center for Performing Arts.
Anne Schindler -
Email: anne.schindler@paradisevalley.edu
Andrea Severson -
Email: andrea.severson@paradisevalley.edu
Andrea Severson has been living in the Phoenix Valley since 1997. She is an Adjunct Instructor at Paradise Valley Community College, teaching Introduction to Theatre and Modern Drama as well as serving as the Resident Costume Designer for PVCC productions. Prior to PVCC she was an Adjunct Instructor at Glendale Community College, in the Performing Arts Department, teaching Modern Drama, Acting I, Theatre Makeup Techniques, and Introduction to Cinema. She is currently working towards a Master of Arts in English: Rhetoric and Composition at Arizona State University with the intention of pursuing a PhD next. Her research focuses on rhetoric of fashion and costume design. She has a Master of Arts degree in Media Arts from the University of Arizona where her research was focused on fashion and costume theory and history and the use of design in film and television. She also has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre Arts from Arizona State University where she studied costume design and production. In addition to her work in education she also has worked for more than ten years as a freelance costume designer working on various theatrical and film projects around Phoenix and Tucson.
Lisa Gray Young
Email: lisa.young@paradisevalley.edu
Young grew up studying various genres of dance, as well as acting, voice, piano, and flute, in the metropolitan Phoenix area. After graduating from South Mountain Center for the Arts High School, Young went on to Arizona State University, graduating with honors and receiving a BFA in Performance/Choreography. She has performed, taught, and choreographed for a myriad of dance companies, theaters, schools, studios, and churches around the Valley, including Center Dance Ensemble (dancing the principle role of "Gerda" in "The Snow Queen", '98-'00), The Movement Source, Inc., Dance Arizona Repertory Theater, Stageworks, MesaYoutheatre, East Valley Children's Theatre, Greasepaint Youtheatre, The Mesa Arts Center (co-founded/co-directed Step to This Dance Company), Grand Canyon University, Mesa Community College, Phoenix College, and Paradise Valley Community College. She has received numerous ariZoni Theater Awards of Excellence nominations for her choreography in the theater community, and has won twice for her work in "The Orphan Train" and "The Jungal Book", both with MesaYoutheatre. Young currently dances with Center Dance Ensemble, resident modern dance company of the Herberger Theater, and freelances as a choreographer.
Gary Zaro
Email: gary.zaro@paradisevalley.edu
Gary Zaro is a Professor of Humanities at Paradise Valley Community College. He has a B.A. and an M.A. in Theatre from San José State University and an M.A. in History from Arizona State University. Gary is also the Director of The Film Festival @ PVCC, the campus’s annual international film festival. He has also conducted film presentations for Mesquite Library in Phoenix and the Phoenix Art Museum. For five years Gary ran the Summer Theatre Program at PVCC and directed shows such as THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, LEND ME A TENOR, STEEL MAGNOLIAS, and THE ODD COUPLE (female version). Other recent campus productions he has directed include A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, MOON OVER BUFFALO, THE SECRET GARDEN, CRIMES OF THE HEART, PRELUDE TO A KISS, ROMEO AND JULIET, RUMORS (Zoni nomination, Best Director), PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, and THE CAT’S MEOW. An actor as well with over 30 years experience, Gary has appeared in over 150 plays and television commercials and is currently represented by the Ford/Robert Black Agency.
