<div dir="ltr"><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Press Release</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>For additional
information please contact </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>MaryJo Alexander </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>330-374-7568</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><a href="mailto:alexanderm@actorssummit.org">alexanderm@actorssummit.org</a></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><font size="6">Neil Thackaberry, Founder, </font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><font size="6">Artistic Director of Actors’ Summit
Theater</font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><font size="6">Retires</font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><font size="6"> </font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial">In June of 2015, <b>Neil Thackaberry Founder and Artistic Co-Director
of Actors’ Summit Theater</b> announced his retirement to the Board of Trustees of Actors’
Summit at their
most recent meeting. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial">Founded in </span><b>April 1999,</b><span style="font-family:Arial"> Actors' Summit, gave its first performance of <b>Arthur
Miller's "The Price</b>” directed by Neil Thackaberry. Neil also performed the
role of Walter. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial"><b>Marianne Evett</b>, former theatre critic for the <b>Cleveland Plain Dealer</b>
considered Actors' Summit production of <b> “The Price”</b> to be one of the top 10 productions in her career as a
critic.</span><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial">“Neil’s retirement was reluctantly accepted by the Board of Trustees”
said Peter Gerber, current Board President.</span><span style="font-family:Arial">
</span><span style="font-family:Arial">“His vision has been remarkable both artistically and fiscally”.</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> <b> </b></span><b><span style="font-family:Arial">Actors’ </span>Summit</b><span style="font-family:Arial"><b>
</b>mission has been to “create professional theater using exclusively </span>OHIO<span style="font-family:Arial"> artists”.</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> </span><span style="font-family:Arial">Actors’ </span>Summit<span style="font-family:Arial">,
a 501-c-3 nonprofit professional arts organization operates on a $300,000
budget and boasts no outstanding debt.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial">Under Neil’s leadership the theater has produced over 130 full
scale major shows, with Neil directing more than 75 of them over the past 16
seasons. Neil has performed principal
roles in some 20 productions. He has also designed most of the sets and
marketing materials for the theater, and served as primary grant writer for the
theater. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial">With Neil at the helm,<b> Actors’ Summit Theater</b> has commissioned
scripts by <b>Wayne S. Turney, Bob & Pamela Noll, and Eric Coble</b> as well as original
music by <b>Sebastian Birch, Daniel Taylor, and Eric Benjamin</b>; He also produced the world premieres of <b>Eric
Coble’s “Girl’s Guide to Coffee” </b>(Part I of the trilogy which included the Broadway
production of “Velocity of Autumn”) and the <b>World Premiere of “Manning Up” for
the National New Play Network. </b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial"><b> </b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial">Actors’ Summit produced the regional premiers of over a dozen
prominent Broadway shows including
<b>"Copenhagen," "Freud’s Last Session," "Golda's
Balcony," "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change!"</b> and the New
York Musical Theatre fringe Festival hit <b>“My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan
Wedding” </b>which was revived for the 2009 International Gay Games held last
Summer in Cleveland and Akron. </span><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial">The theater has also relocated the entire theater (sets, lights,
costumes, props, platforms, and seats) 11 times. Neil and volunteers renovated a
former warehouse Hudson
which was home for the company for nine years.
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial">You will still be able to catch Neil at the theater, where he
will appear in the Northeast Ohio premiere of
“Chapatti” by Christian O’Reilly. Brian Zoldessy will direct. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial"> </span><span style="font-family:Arial">“You’ll see Neil around; but his first priority is playing
Grandpa to his 3 grandchildren, then acting and then gardening”, said MaryJo. </span><span style="font-family:Arial"> </span><span style="font-family:Arial">“We’ve created a new title for Neil, Founder
and Director Emeritus”.</span><span style="font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial"><b>MaryJo Alexander</b>, (Neil’s spouse of 44 years and longtime
Artistic Co-Director), will assume leadership and growth of the theater. “We
have an exciting season underway season full of laughter, love and music
underway” said MaryJo, “season subscriptions are on sale, with complete
information on our website.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial">For additional information call MaryJo Alexander <a href="tel:330-374-7568" target="_blank">330-374-7568</a> or visit us on the web at: <a href="http://www.actorssummit.org/">www.actorssummit.org</a>. </span><font face="Arial"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Actors-Summit-Theater">www.facebook.com/pages/Actors-Summit-Theater</a></font><span style="font-family:Arial"> . </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:Arial">Neil can be reached at <a href="mailto:thackaberryn@actorssummit.org">thackaberryn@actorssummit.org</a>.</span></p><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><em><font color="#000099" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong><font><font>MaryJo Alexander</font></font></strong></font></em></div>
<div><em><font color="#000099"><font><font><b>Artistic Director</b></font></font></font></em></div>
<div><em><font color="#000099"><font><font>Actors' Summit Theater</font></font></font></em></div>
<div><em><font color="#000099"><font><font>Greystone Hall---6th floor</font></font></font></em></div>
<div><em><font color="#000099"><font><font>103 S. High St</font></font></font></em></div>
<div><em><font color="#000099"><font><font>Akron Oh 44308 </font></font></font></em></div>
<div><em><font color="#000099"><strong><font><font>330-374-7568</font></font></strong></font></em></div>
<div><em><font color="#000099"><a href="http://www.actorssummit.org/" target="_blank"><font><font>www.actorssummit.org</font></font></a></font></em></div></div></div></div></div>
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