Meet Ovation!'s Board of Directors (click a photo to read an expanded bio):
MEET OVATION'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dan Opalski, President
Margaret Johnston, Vice-President, Advancement Committee Chair
Margaret is a long-time theatre enthusiast and has appeared in many shows with Ovation!, most recently on the mainstage as Queen Constantina in "Cinderella" in December 2023. She also often sings with Crescendo, Ovation!'s adult choir. After creating and leading Amazon.com's Customer Service Training team in the late 90s, Margaret left to become a stay-at-home parent and frequent volunteer. Recently, she's spent a lot of time doing political organizing, including a stint working for Indivisible's national texting team in 2020. Margaret has served on three local non-profit boards prior to joining the board of Ovation! and brings a wealth of governance and strategic planning knowledge to the table, as well as a passion for local theatre and for Ovation!'s mission. (Keith Brofsky, photo)
Wendy LaVoy, Treasurer, Production Committee Chair
After retiring from a nearly 30 year career in finance at Apple, Wendy with her husband Gary moved to Bainbridge in 2018. Wendy is thrilled to finally have the time to pursue her love of theatre. Although she has been singing all her life, she performed in her very first full length stage production show in 2022 as a nun in Ovation’s “The Sound of Music”. She also has been active in Crescendo since moving to the island. She loves that there is an organization on the island that provides a place to grow as a performer regardless of age or experience level, and so was honored when asked to join the board. She hopes that her background in budgeting and financial planning will be of good use. Outside of theatre, Wendy enjoys spending time with her three grown children (and two grandchildren), and experiencing new places around the world with her husband.
Kendra Truett, Secretary, Academy Committee Chair
Kendra has been involved in many types of performance including theatre, independent film, voiceover, burlesque, singing telegrams, singing in bands and a cappella groups, improv, and (gulp!) even reality television. One of her favorite opportunities was teaching theatre to English language learning students with the La Jolla Playhouse and Arts for Learning in San Diego. With degrees from the Academy of Art University and San Diego State, she was also a theatrical set designer and photographer for many years. She was a co-founder of the theatre group, the Poolhouse Project, and Crazy Mother Independent Film Productions and enjoys writing plays and screenplays.
Judy Pansullo, Board Member
Judy started acting and directing in Community Theater on the east coast and went on to major in Theatre Arts at Amherst College in MA. She went on to Community Theatre where she acted in and directed A Thousand Clowns, Native Son, Noises Off, The Tempest, The Crucible, and Funny Girl. Longing for palm trees, Judy moved to Los Angeles to get her master's degree in film and television production at USC and from there went on to a career as a documentary and concert producer for Public Television and A&E, winning awards for her work. One night she got up on stage at a voice workshop in Hollywood and sang to a live audience, loving every moment. That was when she realized how much she missed the excitement of live performance. At that point, Judy also knew that she no longer wanted to drive the crowded freeways of Los Angeles and moved up to Bainbridge Island where she has been a member of Crescendo Chorus for two years and acted in last year’s Island Theatre’s Ten-Minute Play Festival.
Marijane C. Milton, Honorary Board Member
Marijane is an Ovation! co-founder and served as our volunteer Managing Director since our inception in 2003 through early 2019. During that time, she worked on and/or appeared in every Ovation! production from the chorus, to leads, to tech crew, to costumes - whatever was needed. (Keith Brofsky, photo)