Amick starred in several Broadway shows including Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Sunset Boulevard and over 50 professional Equity productions. He has worked extensively in television and has made many appearances on prime time including Frasier, Kristin, Ally McBeal, Friends, and Star Trek, The Next Generation, to name just a few. He also sang the role of Moses in the animated feature The Prince of Egypt.
Amick was an original co-producer of the New York premiere of the stage musical, Radio Gals at the John Houseman Theater on 42nd Street and also produced and wrote Great Gershwin!, The Best of Broadway, and A Hollywood Tale. He produced and directed the world premiers of David which has toured internationally; Ben Hur in Orlando, Florida, an $8 million stage production; 1 to 1, an original rock/multimedia musical; the world premiere of Pinocchio and Mounette, a new adaptation of the classic tale for the stage written by Allan Jay Friedman and Bob Merrill (Carnival, Funny Girl, Sugar); and most recently completed the world premiere workshop staging of Aesop based on the life of the classic Greek writer.
Amick also directed Les Miserables, Brigadoon and Into the Woods and The Secret Garden at the Lyceum Theater in Orange County, California. Both Brigadoon and Into the Woods were voted best production of 2004 and 2005 by Daily Pilot. Amick has two Grammy nominations for vocal jazz albums, recently recorded his first solo CD titled Encounter, and has directed many award winning cast albums and dramatic recordings. He is also an alumni of the prestigious Lincoln Center Directors Lab West and is an adjunct faculty member in the theater department at Vanguard University of Southern California. To find out more about Amick, go to http://www.amickbyram.com . Email Amick at abyram@americancoasttheater.org
Susan K. Berkompas Producing Artistic Director / Founder
Susan has been a producing artistic director for over ten years and is the Department Chair of the Vanguard University theatre arets program. She received her B.F.A. in acting/directing from the University of Montana and her M.F.A. in acting/directing from the California Repertory Company. She has studied Shakespeare in Oxford with the British American Drama Academy where she worked with renowned Shakespeare teacher and scholar, John Barton.
Susan is an associate member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers and AFTRA. She is the 2005 receipient of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Award for Excellence in Theatre Education and is an alumnus of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab West. She also serves on the Education Committee at SCR.
She has directed plays such as: The Glass Menagerie; Othello (The Daily Pilot's top college pick for 2006); The Boys Next Door; Macbeth; A Midsummer Night's Dream; Charley's Aunt; and Pump Boys and Dinettes. Her favorite roles are: Velma Kelly (Chicago); Frau Schneider (Cabaret); Eleanor (Lion in Winter); Desdemona (Othello); Queen Elizabeth (Richard III); Queen Hecuba (Agameimnon); The Witch (Into the Woods); Monda (Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean); and Blanche (A Streetcar Named Desire). Email Susan at sberkompas@americancoasttheater.org
Wendy Isbell
Board Member
Ms. Isbell has over 25 years' experience directing product development and support activities in high tech corporations in Orange County. She has been a member of Mariners Church for more than twenty years, and has served in volunteer leadership roles in many of its ministries, including music, service production, capital campaigns, local outreach to families in transitional housing, and small women's study groups. She is a committed supporter of missionaries and organizations that work to serve the poor, train leaders, and communicate the life and message of Jesus Christ worldwide, and has helped in the area of partnership development as a volunteer with the Jesus Film Project.
Wendy is also a lifelong fan of, participant in, and supporter of the Arts in Orange County. She is an amateur singer and current member of Musica Sacra Singers, with experience in recruitment and program material development for choral groups. She holds an investment position in a local private school of Dance and Theater Arts, and has been a season subscriber and donor to local theater companies since her days as a college student.
Wendy loves the immediacy of live theater, with its potential to touch lives and promote self-evaluation, and is thrilled to have the opportunity to serve on the Board of American Coast Theater Company.
David Bennett
Board Chair
David is a history teacher at Stoneybrooke Christian Junior High School in Ladera Ranch and has also been the junior high principal for many years. He comes to us with an extensive background in leadership and managerial skills. He has a love for live theater and has been a supporter of Vanguard’s theater program for a number of years. Prior to working in education David was a pilot in the Air Force. He became a Christian in 1985 when he attended a Billy Graham crusade in Anaheim.
Gary Kingsbury Advisory Board Member
Gary was named General Manager of Taproot Theater Company in January 2005. He joined Taproot from South Coast Repertory Theater in Costa Mesa. He received a Masters of Business Administration from John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio, and has been working in arts and non-profit organisations for more than ten years. Gary currently serves on the Greenwood-Phinney Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, as well as the leadership teams for Mars Hill Church Shoreline Campus and Mission Fest Seattle.
Mike Stoop Board Member
Mr. Stoop has more than 25 years Senior Management experience in multiple Orange County high tech companies. He has served on various non-profit boards and has a passion for building organizations with a purpose. Mr. Stoop holds a bachelors degree in business from University of Redlands and a Masters degree from Pepperdine University.
