RYOT
The Renaissance Theatre proudly presents RYOT!
Lori Turner brings nearly three decades of award-winning experience to her position of Artistic Director of the Renaissance Youth Opera Theatre. She has performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City and at the Paris Opera in France, and has made numerous television and film appearances. She began her professional career in Los Angeles where she sang with the Los Angeles Opera, the Roger Wagner Chorale and the Los Angeles Baroque Orchestra. She spent 10 years in Europe as a member of the Royal Flemish Opera in Belgium. Her credits include Le Nozzi de Figaro, Carmen, Nixon in China, Oklahoma, Columbe, The Mikado, Godspell, as well as the motion picture soundtrack for Empire of the Sun. Lori has also frequently appeared as a soloist with the Mansfield Symphony and with the late Tom Croghan.
Dauphne Maloney is an award-winning director, costume designer, educator and actor who has, for the past 30 years, encouraged, engaged and involved hundreds of children and their families in the art of theatre. Her credits at the Renaissance include Into the Woods, Beauty and the Beast, Cats, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Always Patsy Cline, and dozens of others. Additionally, Dauphne has directed and designed productions for Mansfield Playhouse, Mansfield Youth Theatre, (which she founded), as well as Ohio State and Ashland Universities. A graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in theatre, she is also the Theatre Arts Instructor for Pioneer Career and Technology’s Performing Arts/Entertainment Marketing Program.
Don Pontious’ scenic and lighting design credits include: Fantasmic! at Walt Disney World, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Playhouse Disney, and Walt Disney’s 100th birthday celebration at Disney/MGM Studios. He currently serves as the resident designer and technical director for The Renaissance Theatre and the Ashland Regional Ballet, and is the former technical director for Central Florida Ballet. He also managed Disney’s largest automated lighting fixture repair shop, designed the DMX system for Disney’s shows, and is experienced in all aspects of stage effects, including fog, flying and pyrotechnics.
Jerry has been a fixture at the Renaissance Theatre for the last 33 years, creating the sound design for hundreds of productions, overseeing archival recording, as well as designing, managing and upgrading the theatre’s state-of-the-art audio system. A graduate of Ohio University with a degree in industrial engineering, Jerry was responsible for the reinstallation of the Renaissance sound system – now considered one of the very best of its kind in the country.
Robbie brings a lifetime of experience to his role as resident properties master and costume designer at the Renaissance Theatre. He has been at the helm of the costume and prop department for the Ashland Regional Ballet since 2001 and, at Walt Disney World in Florida, Robbie facilitated their vast merchandise inventory and distribution unit, Merchentainment for several years before returning to Mansfield to pursue his first love - creating and building costumes and properties for stage, dance and ballet productions.
