Principal Team

The California International Theatre Festival team:

LINDA PURL, Festival Director

Linda began her career in the theatre in Japan, where she was raised and became the only foreigner to have trained at the Toho Geino Academy. Her studies continued at LAMDA and later at both the Neighborhood Playhouse and Lee Strasberg Institute. Stage credits include Broadway’s Tony nominated The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; Getting and Spending; Off Broadway: The Baby Dance; Hallelujah, Hallelujah! Regional work: the original production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Dinner With Friends, Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville; Getting and Spending, Old Globe Theatre; The Road To Mecca (with Miss Julie Harris), The Baby Dance, Long Wharf; John Brown's Body, Lobero Theatre; Nora (with Michael York), All the Way Home (with Miss Kim Hunter), The Three Penny Opera (with Miss Betty Buckley), The Baby Dance (also at the Pasadena Playhouse), Williamstown Theatre Festival; The Real Thing, Hedda Gabler, Mark Taper Forum Rep; Beyond Therapy, Romeo and Juliet, L.A. Public Theatre; A Doll's House, Allied International Productions; The Man Who Could See Through Time, South Coast Repertory; The Merchant of Venice, Globe Theatre; Grease, Sacramento Music Theatre; On a Clear Day, San Bernardino Civic Light Opera; Oliver, The King and I, Toho Imperial Theatre, Tokyo; Love Letters with both Stacey Keach and Desi Arnaz, Jr.; Tusitala Berkshire Theatre Festival; Little Foxes, Footfalls, The Diary of Anne Frank, A Streetcar Named Desire, Rubicon Theatre Company;  The Guys,  Berkeley Rep; Mariana Pineda, Santa Fe Opera; Seven Deadly Sins, Princess Grace Theatre, Monaco; Phaedra in the inaugural performance of the Getty Classical Arena; The Glass Menagerie, Cleveland Playhouse.

Linda has received six Dramalogue Best Actress Awards and two Dramalogue Awards as Best Producer. She has received two Santa Barbara Independent Awards and is a three time nominee of the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Award for Best Actress. She is the recipient of the Connecticut Critics' Award for Outstanding Performance in a Play.

As a main stay of television, Linda has starred in over 40 television Movies-of-the-Week, although is probably best known as Charlene Matlock from the series Matlock and as Ashley Pfister, Fonzie’s fiancée, from Happy Days. TV highlights have been Born Free, The Last Days of Pompeii (with Sir Laurence Olivier), The Manions of America (with Pierce Brosnan), Like Normal People the award winning docu-drama about a mentally challenged couple. Linda's feature film credits include Disney's Mighty Joe Young, The Walking Major (with Toshiro Mifune) and Leo and Loree (produced by Ron Howard).

Linda tours with her solo concert Come Rain or Come Shine nationally and internationally. Additionally she is currently touring in a centenary salute to Great American songwriter Johnny Mercer with Lee Lessack and Rhapsody for Two, a dancing tribute to romance from the '40s with Kevin Spirtas. Linda's recordings include "Alone Together" and "Out of this World – Live with Special Guest Artist Desi Arnaz, Jr." She served as Founding Executive Director of the Colorado Festival of World Theatre and Festival Director of the 2008 Rubicon International Theatre Festival.

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M. EDGAR ROSENBLUM (1932-2010), Founding Executive Director

Arts Management Consultant; Site Visitor, National Endowment For The Arts; Auditor, New York State Council on the Arts. Former Executive Director, Theatre For A New Audience, New York. Executive Director of Long Wharf Theatre 1970-1996. With Arvin Brown, Mr. Rosenblum brought Long Wharf Theatre to a position of international prominence. He was involved in every aspect of theatre operations including day-to-day production, fiscal planning, development and marketing. Many Long Wharf productions extended their lives to other stages on Broadway, Off-Broadway and television. This expansion enabled the work of Long Wharf Theatre to reach a larger audience throughout the nation and abroad. Long Wharf Theatre, under Mr. Rosenblum's leadership, was the recipient of many awards, including: The Jujamcyn Theatres Award for development of creative talent in the theatre, 1986, Obie Award for Ensemble performance, 1983; Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre 1978; Tony awards for Long Wharf productions transferred to New York, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1987; Tony Award nominations, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1987, 1994; The Pulitzer Prize for Drama to productions of The Shadow Box and The Gin Game. Other recent positions include, Executive Producer: Stanley by Pam Gems (three Tony nominations, two Outer Critics Circle Awards), 1997; Producing Consultant, Berkshire Theatre Festival, and Consultant, Theatrevision Project, Old Globe Theatre..

In the summer of 1991, Mr. Rosenblum led a delegation to the People's Republic of China to forge an alliance between Long Wharf Theatre and The Shanghai People's Art Theatre. Mr. Rosenblum and Mr. Brown returned to China in 1993 to mount a production (in Chinese) of Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club. The production went on to tour China and won many accolades at the Hong Kong Festival of 1994. Other productions include the Tony Award-winning production of All My Sons by Arthur Miller, David Mamet's American Buffalo (London, New York, Washington DC and San Francisco), Simon Gray's Quartermain 's Terms, The Gin Game, Sizwe Bansi is Dead,  David Storey's The Changing Room, Peter Nichols' The National Health, David Rabe's Streamers and Eugene O'Neill's Hughie (Al Pacino).

Mr. Rosenblum served on the Board of Trustees of the American Arts Alliance, two as Chairman of the Board, Board of Directors of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, founding President , National Corporate Theatre Fund, former President  LORT (League of Resident Theatres) and  the Executive and Negotiating Committees. Mr. Rosenblum has worked as a consultant to the Abbey Theatre (The National Theatre of Ireland) the Arts Councils of Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, Rhode Island and Alaska. He has been a consultant for FEDAPT (the Foundation for Extension and Development of American Professional Theatre) and other arts institutions throughout the United States. He has taught graduate classes in Theatre Administration at the Yale School of Drama. In 1994 he was honored with an "Arts Award" from the New Haven Arts Council. Mr. Rosenblum is the former Producer and Executive Director of the Woodstock Playhouse, Woodstock, NY and the Hudson Valley Repertory Theatre. He has worked in management positions both on and Off-Broadway, as well as for National and International tours.

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TAMMY TAYLOR, Festival Producer

Tammy has worn many hats throughout her theatrical career, most recently working as Associate Producer for Rubicon Theatre Company in Ventura, California. However, she joined Rubicon’s staff after a six-year hiatus from theatre, much of it spent working as a pastry chef at the 5-star Aurora, Maison de Cuisine in Dallas and Cuvee Bistro and Wine Market in Fredericksburg, Texas.

Tammy began her theatre career as a stage manager. Her Broadway credits include Spoils of War, Eastern Standard and Macbeth. Off-Broadway credits include The Baby Dance with Jenny Sullivan, Stephanie Zimbalist, Linda Purl and John Bennett Perry; Old Times with Anthony Hopkins, Jane Alexander and Marsha Mason; and The Film Society starring Nathan Lane; Before the Dawn at American Place Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club’s productions of Mark Medoff’s The Hands of Its Enemy and Richard Greenberg’s Eastern Standard. She has also worked extensively at regional theatres including Long Wharf Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse and Williamstown Theatre Festival. As a Production Manager, she worked at Santa Fe Stages, Lobero Stage Company in Santa Barbara and the Shakespeare Festival of Dallas. World tours include those with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane & Company and the Lucinda Childs Dance Company. She co-produced BJ Ward’s Stand-Up Opera in L.A. as well as Ad Wars, again with Jenny Sullivan.

Recent stage management work includes Tea at Five with Stephanie Zimbalist, directed by Jenny Sullivan at Ensemble Theatre Company in Santa Barbara, the Ovation Award Winning R. Buckminster Fuller: The History and Mystery of the Universe with Joe Spano which toured the Southwest and the acclaimed production of Hamlet at Rubicon, directed by Jenny Sullivan, staring Joseph Fuqua.

Film and television credits include Speed, The River Wild, Lotto Land, HBO's The Jack Bull with John Cusak and John Goodman, directed by John Badham and the HBO series Arli$$, where she was an associate producer. Tammy earned a B.A. in Theatre Arts from Texas A&M University and graduated with high honors from the Cordon Bleu Program at The California School of Culinary Arts.

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SAMANTHA KADEN, Executive Assistant

Samantha Kaden is a senior at UCLA’s School of Theater Film and Television. She is a Theater major with an emphasis in Stage Management. At UCLA she has Stage Managed Last Autumn, Much Ado About Nothing, and The 25th Annual Putnam Country Spelling Bee. She spent her freshman year of college at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She worked at the Rubicon Theater Company for five years. While there she was the Production Stage Manager for Seussical: The Musical, Bye Bye Birdie, Our Town, A Midsummer Nights Dream, and Footloose, as well as Assistant Stage Manager on Little Women. She has also worked on Rubicon’s productions of One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Man of La Mancha, and Hamlet, and Will Roger’s America.

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SARAH BOONE, Consulting Producer

Sarah joins CITF from Florida where she is currently the Executive Director of Theatre Jacksonville, one of the oldest continuously producing theatres in the country.  Sarah has had a diverse career in television, radio and theatre as a performer, director, producer and manager.  She graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and landed her first job as a TV news announcer and commercial producer in northeast Florida before joining ABC Radio National News in New York as an editorial assistant.  She continued her theatrical training in NY studying acting with HB Studio founder Herbert Berghof and musical theatre with Tony award-winning actress Donna McKechnie.  A Rotary Foundation graduate scholarship took her to Scotland’s Glasgow University where she studied contemporary French theatre.  A variety of roles on several Florida stages followed including Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls, Hope Harcourt in Anything Goes, Rose in A Shayna Maidel, and Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker.  Sarah was honored to win a theatre teaching fellowship at American University in Washington, DC where she served as an acting instructor in the undergraduate drama program and earned a Master of Arts in Arts Management and Communications with an emphasis in film production.  This degree led to positions as Special Projects Manager at LA’s Geffen Playhouse and Senior House Manager at New York's Westside Theatre.  Sarah has overseen the production of more than 60 plays, musicals and concerts during the past 15 years.  In addition to her producing credits, she has also continued to create and perform in a series of cabaret shows which have included appearances in Florida and in New York at The Duplex, Don’t Tell Mama and The Triad.

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BARBARA HOLMES, Development Associate

Barbara Holmes A graduate of the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where she earned a BEd with distinction, specializing in Language Arts and Reading.  Over her nearly three decades as a teacher she taught all subject areas in the elementary grades.

From the onset of her career, she became an advocate for the importance of the arts in the education of the whole child. Barbara served as the Lead Teacher for the Alberta School Improvement Initiative from 2006-2009. This put her in charge of mentoring and coaching colleagues in best teaching practices focused on enhancing student skills in aural listening, decision-making, spatial reasoning, kinesthetic movement, eye-hand coordination, and oral communication; all of which supporting the research that the development of these skills through the arts correlates to academic success in areas such as reading, mathematics, language development, communication skills, and critical thinking

A fan of the theatre since a child, she and her family supported community theatre, oftentimes traveling hundreds of miles across the western Canadian prairie, in a myriad of weather extremes, to attend live productions. This is a tradition she continued with her own children. She is thrilled to be involved with CITF and is grateful for the opportunity to support such a spectacular international event.

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DAVIDSON & CHOY PUBLICITY, Press Representatives

Headed by Judi Davidson and Tim Choy, Davidson & Choy Publicity is one of this region’s leading firms specializing in publicity for the performing arts, entertainment, culture, restaurants and special events. The firm has experience with a wide range of clients -- including on-going organizations, Los Angeles and national touring theatre productions (both long runs and limited engagements in all sized venues) dance, opera, music, authors, and major arts festivals. Since 1992, Davidson & Choy publicity has represented Cirque du Soleil in Los Angeles, including Saltimbanco, Alegria, Quidam, and recently Corteo in Los Angeles and Orange County, and Mystere and Nouvelle Experience in Las Vegas. Current and recent clients include Dance at the Music Center, Opera Pacific, RICHMARK Entertainment at the Wadsworth and Brentwood Theatres, Disney Parks, Walking With Dinosaurs – The Live Experience currently on a national arena tour, Reprise! Broadway’s Best, American Ballet Theatre and Alvin Ailey American Dance. Also the Los Angeles engagements of The Lion King, Hairspray, Mamma Mia!, The Producers and Wicked at the Pantages Theatre. Davidson & Choy represented the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival, The Los Angeles Festival, UK/LA Festival and The World Festival of Sacred Music. Authors include Judith Krantz, John Lahr, Lawrence Bergreen and Richard Matheson.

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2010 INTERN TEAM

Kristina Loeffke received her first international theatre experience in Beijing, China leading a group of Chinese high school students through their first play, which was nationally televised. Here in the U.S., she is the founder and head Instructor of Moving Out Loud, a theatre camp designed for children in Alabama who would otherwise have limited exposure to the arts. Kristina is a proud graduate of the Alabama School of Fine Arts and is currently studying at Elon University pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting, Bachelor of Arts in Theatrical Design and Production, and a minor in Italian studies. Along with performing, Kristina has had many opportunities to stage manage, direct, sound design, and work with various other technical elements during her studies. She is incredibly excited to be working with CITF and learning as much as she can from the many talented artists at the festival!

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