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Interactive theatre tools to ignite change in the workplace ~
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Interactive theatre tools to ignite change in the workplace ~
| Home | Programs/Formats | About Us | Testimonials | What's New? |
The Short Fuse Team
Short Fuse brings together many of the most experienced and talented professionals in New England. Members have performed on stage and screen from Broadway to Chicago City Limits to America's Most Wanted. The company includes highly experienced teachers and facilitators currently at work in Maine's business and educational community.
Our Mission
Short Fuse is committed to the use of theatre skills for Sales and Human Resources training in organizations throughout northern New England. Through a variety of experiential formats, we are an agent for change in workplace attitudes, behaviors and customer relations. Our work results in more fully realized employee potential, better company morale and increased productivity.
Representative Clients:
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Administrative Director: Kym Dakin facilitates training events for businesses and education, and arts-in-curriculum workshops, most recently through Maine Alliance for Arts in Education. She has taught acting at Bowdoin College, USM, and the University of New England and is currently working on a masters in Adult Ed through the University of Southern Maine. Kym began her career as a professional actress and has over twenty years experience on and off Broadway, in national tours and regional theaters. For the last 10 years, her focus has been on story performance and its application in a variety of business and educational environments.
Ian Bannon moved to Portland to attend the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies after earning a BA in Psychology and Theatre from Juniata College. He has an affinity for the ensemble creation process, having worked with the Independent Eye Theater Co., Whit MacLaughlin, director of Philadelphia’s New Paradise Theater Laboratories, and playwrights Russell Davis and John Mighton.
Grace Cleaves has studied and performed improvisation for fifteen years. She’s studied with ImprovBoston, Second City Chicago, and Laughing Stock Comedy Company. By day, Gracie is President of Cleaves Marketing, which provides branding, customer acquisition and growth strategies for small business and independent professionals. She’s a firm believer in "thinking things true," and teaches her clients that thoughts, attitudes and patterns of relating to the world influence the reality that one experiences.
Tavia Gilbert is an actor and director. She moved to Portland in 2001 after earning her BFA in Acting from Seattle's Cornish College of the Arts. Favorite roles include Laura Bush in Tony Kusher's "Only We Who Guard the Mystery Shall be Unhappy," Betty in "Cloud Nine" and Dr. Emma Brookner in "The Normal Heart."
Mark Honan is a British actor who trained for three years in London. He has worked in professional theater on both sides of the Atlantic and records audio books for BBC America. He has extensive experience working with young actors and gives private acting lessons for adults who wish to improve their public speaking skills and increase their professional charisma. He is an affiliate artist at Portland Stage Co.
Michael Howard is a Professor of Acting and Speech communications at Southwest Texas State University, Associate Professor of Acting and Voice at USM, with an MA in Directing and an MFA in Acting from Brooklyn College. Michael is a familiar face in the arts community through numerous leading roles at Portland Stage Co. and the Madhorse Theatre Company. He is an instructor in Voice and Storytelling at the University of New England and has directed multiple productions at Portland Players, Biddeford City Theatre and Scarborough High School.
Dennis Hunt has been performing improvisational comedy in the Portland area for the past five years, also appearing in plays such as "Turn About" and "The Subject was Roses." Over the span of five years, he has been working as Assistant Director and teacher of Improvisation with the Artsmart program at Bates College. He has been performing as a stand up comic for the past year and is a member of the Comedy Connection Improv Company.
Kathleen Kimball has worked with Laughing Stock in many corporate presentations including Southwest Bell, GH Bass and Dr. Pepper. She has been on film for the Maine Council on Domestic Violence and in the Rockport International Film Workshop. She was a finalist for the Irene Ryan Award and has been seen often onstage with the Mad Horse Theatre Co. and Portland Stage.
Michael Kimball trained with Laughing Stock and the Rockport International Film Workshop. His film credits include, "In Solitude." Michael has done many industrials and commercials for Yankee Ford, Cape Elizabeth Chamber of Commerce and Fairchild Semiconductor.
David La Graffe is an actor/educator who teaches acting and improvisation at the University of Southern Maine and at Lights Up Theaterworks, an acting school for children located in Westbrook, Maine. David was a reader for “Maine Reads” a Maine Public Radio series and is presently a member of Maine’s Rocky Coast Radio Theatre and the Ever-Ready Readers, a reader’s theatre company offering performances and workshops in Maine’s schools. David is also the artistic director of Portland Playback Theater, a company using structured improvisation to portray stories from the audience. For more information about Lights Up Theaterworks, the Ever-Ready Readers or Portland Playback Theater, email David at:dlagraf1@maine.rr.com.
Betsy Melarkey Dunphy has been performing, teaching, choreographing and directing for over 20 years. She has danced with such companies as Ram Island Dance and Oxygen Debt and is the director of the intergenerational dance company, Perennial Effects. A member of the Maine Touring Artists roster, Ms. Dunphy teaches in many schools throughout Maine, specializing in Creative Movement and Theater. She is the director of her school, "Dance for Children", offering classes in modern dance, ballet, tap and theater for students ages 4 to 17.
Chris Newcomb was trained in Creative Problem Solving and Team
Building at The Creative Education Foundation, Buffalo, NY. He has
taught, facilitated and addressed groups such as: Maine Educators of The
Gifted and Talented, Ingraham Volunteers, Maine Librarians Association,
Faculty of Falmouth Schools, Mainely Men and Boys to Men.
Janice O'Rourke As an executive coach, Janice O'Rourke has combined an extensive theatrical background with years of business experience to create and coach innovative programs that have helped people define their personal vision and develop their creative potential. Her travels have taken her throughout the U.S., Germany, France, Italy, England and Spain to coach top-level leaders to be more effective in areas of Communication, Creativity and Leadership. Janice has worked with executives and educators from the following organizations: The Boston Consulting Group, Merrill Lynch, Price Waterhouse Cooper, Textron, Hay Group, KPMG, Millberg-Weiss Law Offices, Digitas, Innosight LLC, Capezio, The Cramer Institute, Rogers Corporation, The Breakwater School, The Stern School of Business, The New York Board of Education and Professional Performing Arts School, NYC.
Marcia Pitcher has been teaching drama and directing high school plays at Massabesic High School for the past twenty one years. She is currently a member of the Portland Playback Theatre Company. Marcia also directs an interactive theater ensemble that uses improvised scenes to address bullying and issues of tolerance in her school.
Michael Rafkin is best known as the founding
Artistic Director of The Mad Horse Theatre Co. He served in that
capacity from 1986 to 1998. He is a graduate of Beloit College
and the University of Copenhagen. He earned his MFA in directing
from Carnegie-Mellon in 1974 and moved to Maine where he founded the
Rockport Theatre Ensemble. Two years later he joined the Profile Theatre
Co., now known as Portland Stage Co., and was appointed Artistic
Director the next season. Michael is currently a frequent Portland Stage
Co. Director of such productions as "Nixon's Nixon," "Gaslight" and "Art."
| Home | Programs/Formats | About Us | Testimonials | What's New? |
For
more information, contact:
Kym Dakin
kdakin@maine.rr.com
207-846-4729
©
Copyright Short Fuse
2002. All rights reserved.