CLAYTON PHILLIPS

(Director)

Has directed over 300 plays and musicals worldwide. He served as Harold Prince’s Assistant for 5 years and worked on Kiss Of The Spider Woman (directing two productions in Japan), Candide and Parade.  As Artistic Director for The Barnstormers Theatre in NH, he is the recipient of 5 NH Theatre Awards. 

Recent productions:  Into The Woods and Our Town (a modern interpretation), Private Lives and Murder For Two, where he also directed Chicago (11 N\H Theatre Awards including best director and best production) and Cabaret (NH theatre awards for Best Direction), La Cage Aux Folles at Arizona Broadway Theatre, where he has directed 5 previous shows and  Dirty Rotten Scoundrels in the spring of 2023.  Clayton is thrilled to be a part of this collaboration.

VAN DEAN

(Executive Producer)

 Is a Tony and Grammy Award-winning producer whose credits include The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Anastasia, Jagged Little Pill, Matilda, Evita, and Big Fish. He also produced the 2022 production of Bonnie & Clyde in London’s West End.

Van is president and co-founder of Broadway Records, which has released more than 300 albums including the Grammy Award-winning The Color Purple 2015 revival. Van has executive produced/released solos albums from many notable Broadway artists including Patti LuPone, Annaleigh Ashford, Marin Mazzie, Norbert Leo Butz, Carmen Cusack, Aaron Tveit, Laura Benanti, Sierra Boggess, and Bebe Neuwirth. Van is a

member of The Broadway League, the Dramatist Guild, and Theater Resources Unlimited. Van is a graduate of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

HIROSHI MISAGO

(VP of Japanese Theatrical Production)

Graduate of Rose Bruford College in SE London, Hiroshi has over 40 years of live theatrical production experience. He assisted at the Shiki Theatre Company in Tokyo on the Japanese premiere productions of Evita, Cats, and The Phantom of the Opera.

He was appointed by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs to research Broadway musical production under the supervision of the legendary Hal Prince. As production director of the Tokyo Globe Theatre, he managed productions from The Royal Shakespeare Company, London's Globe Theatre, and Young Vic.

He also served as Associate Creative Director of Entertainment for Tokyo Disney Sea. Hiroshi is currently the Executive Producer of Tsumura Kogei Inc (tsumura-kogei) and regularly lectures at Osaka University of Arts and at the Performing Arts Academy in Tokyo.

MIDORIKO IIDA

(Japanese Music Director/Arranger)

Is a highly prolific and talented musician, conductor, arranger, musical director, and composer. She is a regular in the orchestra at the SHIKI Theater (The Phantom of the Opera, Lion King, Wicked, Sound of Music, Mamma Mia!, An American in Paris, and Frozen), and has worked as a pianist and conductor for live performances produced by Toho Co., Ltd., Horipro Co., Ltd., and Amuse Co., Ltd., among many others.

In the musical world, she has worked with Stephen Oremus, Martin Koch, Brad Gardner, Sam Mendes, and Jerry Mitchell. Midoriko has also composed original works and acted as music director for shows like Double Flat, The Happy Prince, Uncle Tom, and many other Japanese original productions. 

NICHOLAS CONNORS

(New York Music Director)

is a composer/lyricist, Broadway conductor and
orchestrator. He recently was the Assistant Music Director of ALMOST
FAMOUS on Broadway and past credits include Kristin Chenoweth's FOR
THE GIRLS (Assoc. Music Director, Orchestrator,) Tina Fey’s MEAN GIRLS
(Pianist,) and Kristin Bell's ENCORE! on Disney+ (Associate Music
Director).
Nicholas was a finalist for the Fred Ebb Award for musical theatre songwriting and is a 2022-23 Dramatists Guild Fellow. His music has been performed by acclaimed artists across the United States. Nicholas has also orchestrated or arranged music for Kristin Chenoweth, Betsy Wolfe, Jessica Vosk, Gavin Creel, and Karen Olivo. His orchestrations have been performed at Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Opera, The Muny, on PBS, and by many of America's premier orchestras.

‍

DOMINICK AMENDUM‍

(Music Consultant)

Served for nearly a decade as Associate Music Supervisor of the International Mega-Hit musical, Wicked.

Additionally, Dominick was the Arranger and Music Supervisor for the Broadway musical, First Date (Starring Zachary Levi). As part of his continuing collaboration with Stephen Schwartz, Dominick was the Arranger and Music Supervisor of, The Prince of Egypt, which ran in London’s West End.

Dominick received a Grammy nomination for The Prince of Egypt Original Cast Recording. He also produced the First Date Broadway Cast Recording and Studio Cast Album of the world premiere musical, Secondhand Lions.

Dominick is the Smart-Tillman Artist-in-Residence at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro where he serves as Coordinator of the Musical Theatre Program, Professor of Musical Theatre Performance, and resident Music Director. 

MEG SORENSEN

(VP Admin/Global communications)

Is A language and communication expert who specializes in intercultural collaboration, teacher training, and instructional design. A native speaker of English, Meg is proficient in Japanese and has studied 5 other languages, and she used her linguistic education to help establish a new method of teaching English in Japan, which has now been running for over 15 years.

In addition to being a mother of two boys, Meg continues her own studies in neuroscience, behavioral and organizational psychology, and digital tools to enhance the learning process. She currently runs her own private coaching and consulting business where she combines her experience with her growing knowledge base to deliver personalized learning solutions for clients in eastern Asia looking to advance their education or business ventures.