Staff & Creative Team

ADMINISTRATION, CREATIVE TEAM MEMBERS AND FACULTY

KAREN WIESE • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/PRODUCER

Karen is a seasoned professional with 38 years’ experience in business management and consulting, successfully opening and serving as president and chief executive officer of five hospitals. She has a bachelor degree in Business Management and an MBA in Statistics

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and has been a featured speaker before Congress as well as at national professional conferences. Serving as the Arts Express Theatre Executive Director since 2008, Karen has demonstrably grown the organization’s market reach 12-fold, produced over 95 shows, and developed collaborative relationships with Broadway in Tucson, Fox Tucson Theatre and others. She has valuable lessons to share, by having “been there - done that” in all stages of company development from start-up to expansion, merger, acquisition and sale. With a specialty in community development, Karen applies her skills to reach all of Southern Arizona with “the Power of the Performing Arts.”

BEN WIESE • MANAGING DIRECTOR/ASSISTANT PRODUCER

Growing up in Tucson, Ben has a love for the community and giving back through a commitment to quality arts. This extends to an artistic passion both on and off the stage: working tirelessly
Read More!in theatre, music, and film as an avid performer, cinematographer, writer, graphic/website designer, technician, creator, producer, etc.. After graduating from the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management in 2017, Ben furthered his tenure with Arts Express – having been a core member of the administrative team since 2011. By fusing innovative business practices with creative aspirations; he has always strived to bring new ideas and charisma to the arts - a field necessitating industry change through creativity and strong leadership. Moreover, Ben hopes to use his artistic involvement to be an inspiration, providing individuals with the tools take in the breadth of human potential. Though art may seem surreal, its powers to stir emotions and provoke thought are very real and motivate humans to act, change, give, hope or love. By unlocking a person’s emotions, the arts act as a highway to the mind, overcoming obstacles and uncovering true opportunities. In this way, art is one of the most powerful change agents available to mankind.

JENNIFER CAMPMAN • MUSIC DIRECTOR

Jennifer Campman(Master of Music, Music Education; Bachelor of Music, Vocal Performance and Choral Music Education) is a Tucson native and two-time graduate of the University of Arizona.

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She was the 2014 recipient of the UA School of Music Creative Achievement Award and was named the 2017 UA School of Music Distinguished Master’s Candidate. She was also chosen as Arizona Choral Educators’ Outstanding New Choral Educator in 2019. In her four years of teaching choir at Flowing Wells High School, her choirs have received Superior ratings at the NAU Jazz Madrigal Festival. She also won the 2019 Monte Award (Southern Arizona High School Musical Theatre) for Best Music Direction for her work as the vocal director of FWHS’s production of Newsies. Her performance experience includes roles in four U of A operas and a variety of local community and professional musical theatre credits, including Emily in Arts Express’s 2016 and 2017 productions of A Christmas Carol. Jenny lives in northwest Tucson with her husband Tyler and their dog Lacey.

JONATHON CRIDER • DIRECTOR

Dr Jonathon Scott Crider is a two-time graduate of the University of Arizona with a BA in Theatre Arts with an emphasis in Nonprofit Management and an MA in Theatre Studies with an emphasis in Directing.  A long time Southern Arizona resident,

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he has a passion for the performing arts and the positive impact that it can have on our community.  He currently lives in Oro Valley with his wife and young son, and works hard to support a number of organizations around town.  He serves as the Executive Director of the Tucson Pops Orchestra and the Director of Special Projects for the FOX Tucson Theatre.  As a member of the Emerging Leaders Council through the Tucson Metro Chamber, he’s developed a deep-rooted love and connection with our region.  With Arts Express, he looks forward to continuing to strengthen the organization’s commitment to education and the performing arts for everyone in our community.

NANCY DAVIS BOOTH • DIRECTOR

Hailed by the Arizona Daily Star as “Tucson’s pre-eminent soprano,” Nancy is a nationally acclaimed singer, teacher and director with a career that spans 45 years.
Read More!Singing for Presidents, Governors, Senators and Congressmen, her guest appearances have included The White House, Arlington Cemetery, Annapolis Chapel, The Bravo Colorado Festival, The Oregon Britt Festival, The Redlands Bowl, the Copper Bowl half time and the symphonies and opera companies of Detroit, St. Louis, Rochester, Nashville, Colorado, Las Vegas, Virginia, Greenville, San Antonio, Chattanooga and Tucson. Musical Theatre, cruise ships, cabaret, recital and corporate clientele have rounded out her busy career.

While on the faculty of Concordia College in Minnesota, she taught voice and conducted the Women’s Chorus. She then served as Associate Professor of Music on the faculty of Butler University in Indianapolis where she was recruited to conceive, write and implement a musical theatre program. She was also a clinician and judge for the Michael Feinstein Great American Songbook Competition. Returning to Tucson she joined the faculty of Pima Community College where she taught acting, voice, musical theater and directed mainstage and black box productions. During her years in Tucson, Nancy also served as the Assistant Director and Director of Residential Services at Casa de los Ninos Crisis Shelter and was a founding member of the Southern Arizona Children’s Advocacy Center. She has an MFA in Acting and Directing as well as a Master of Science in Child Development and Family Studies from the University of Arizona.

BRIAN DOIG • DIRECTOR & ACTOR

Brian Doig has over 40 years of experience in the theatre. Directing, performing and producing shows of all kinds, from Opera to Shakespeare, large scale musicals to intimate stage readings.
Read More!His career has taken him all across the country where he's been involved in virtually every kind of theatre from educational to professional (and everything in between). Now residing in Tucson, he hopes to bring his years of experience to the directors chair once again. Some of his past directorial credits include, Into the Woods, Jesus Christ Superstar, Big River, The Secret Garden, The Boys Next Door and AACT award winning--Forever Plaid.

SHANNON DOOLING-CAIN • CHOREOGRAPHER

Shannon Dooling-Cain, MFA, was born in New Mexico, spent much of her life dancing in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and now calls Tucson, Arizona home after six years in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
Read More!She is a choreographer, educator, writer, and advocate for dance. Her choreography has been presented at the Tucson Museum of Art, Glendale Community College, and Tempe Center for the Arts in Arizona, as well as venues in New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. She is on faculty at Ballet Rincon in Southeast Tucson and frequently works with Movement Source Dance Company in Phoenix. www.shannondoolingdances.com

MATT DENNEY • INTIMACY DIRECTOR & CONSULTANT

Matt Denney is a mixed race Filipino-American Intimacy Director, Director, and Educator.

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Matt is a previous High School Drama Teacher currently located in Tucson, AZ and is the Resident Intimacy Director & Consultant for Arts Express Theatre. He has been noted as a “trailblazer” for his work in education and has worked at East West Players, Shakespeare Theatre Company, and was a guest artist at the Ottawa School of Theatre. He currently is a Teaching Artist and Curriculum Developer for Intimacy Directors and Coordinators (IDC) while studying for his PhD in Higher Education emphasizing in “Theatre for Social Change” at the University of Arizona where he is also the Recruiter for the College of Fine Arts. Matt also co-founded Consent Creatives of Arizona which works towards safety, consent, and healing for rehearsal rooms and the community all across Arizona. Matt has served as a Grant Committee Member for the National Endowment for the Arts and is also the recipient of The Field NYC’s Fiscal Sponsorship for Social Justice Practitioners.

MICHAEL DUNN • TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

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MATTHEW HOLTER • DIRECTOR & ACTOR

Matthew Holter, originally from Fargo, North Dakota, has a performing and directing résumé that spans the concert stage to the sound stage.
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With degrees from The University of Arizona and Washington State University, Mr. Holter teaches with OMA in TUSD and is also the Mentor Teacher of Choral Music. He continues to maintain an extremely active performing career at home and abroad with groups such as True Concord and The 4GENTS. Matthew lives in Tucson and enjoys his time with his wife, Victoria, and their five children.

TIFF JENSEN • FACULTY, COSTUMES, ACTOR

Tiffany Jensen was grateful to be cast as Mrs. Lovett in her first performance experience for Arts Express in October 2020 and as Mrs. Smythe the same Christmas.

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She is excited to return to the musical theater realm where she has portrayed the roles of Ariel (Footloose), Winnifred (Once Upon A Mattress), Sandy (Grease), and the Wicked Witch (Wizard of Oz). As former Entertainment Theatrical Manager & Wardrobe Manager of Old Tucson, she has written, directed, and designed 17 original musical productions as well as performed over 50 musical and stunt roles during her time there. Tiffany would like to express her gratitude to Karen for her artistic perseverance during this pandemic. She would like to dedicate this performance to her husband and family, and to anyone who has experienced any type of loss this year. May your emptiness be filled with love, creativity, and may we all forge a new path together.

ROB JENSEN • SET CARPENTER, SHOP MANAGER

Rob Jensen is a SAG-AFTRA actor, stuntman, and stunt coordinator with over 30 years experience in the industry.

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He worked at Old Tucson Company for 23 years, was Entertainment Production and Film Manager before the recent closure, and is a founding member of the Trail Dust Town stunt performers. He has been Stunt Coordinator and Armourer on numerous films and has worked with name actors such as Kix Brooks, William Shockley, Sheree J. Wilson, Jeff Fahey, Gary Busey, Adrianne Barbeau, Robert Patrick, Frankie Muniz, and Jeremy Sumpter. 

SIMONE JOLIVET-MANUEL • CHOREOGRAPHER & DIRECTOR

Simone Jolivet-Manuel, a member of that rare breed of Tucsonans actually born in Tucson. She received her BA from Northern Arizona University and her M.Ed in Elementary Education.
Read More!Simone began dancing at the age of 7, she continued training over the years with workshops and conventions across the country with high-end choreographers - Savion Glover, Mandy Moore, Paula Abdul, JT Hornstein, Denise Leitner and many others. Currently Simone is in her 13th year at Salpointe Catholic High School and 5th year choreographing for Arts Express. Simone’s professional achievements include work with Salpointe Pomline, Dance Force-1 Productions, Gaslight Theater and Danswest Productions and the 2001, 2005 and 2009 Link Cotillions. She thanks her husband Scot, children Lincoln and Maxine and her mother, for their support and love.

DANA MILNE • DIRECTOR

Dana Milne has a BA in acting in from the University of Washington. She performed in numerous productions with the Live Oak Theatre Company in Austin Texas.
Read More!Later, she became the drama teacher at Salpointe Catholic High School; passing her experience in stagecraft to the next generation, directing many popular and critically acclaimed productions along the way. She accrued numerous personal accolades, including Southern Arizona Drama Teacher of the Year in 2012, the National High School Musical Theater Awards Southern Arizona Best Director and Best Show in 2014, and Best Show in 2016. Working with Arts Express, she hopes to move to another stage in her career: broadening her outreach to the larger community, with productions that build bridges, foster empathy, and perhaps create a little magic.

MICKEY NUGENT • CHOREOGRAPHER

Mickey Nugent has directed and choreographed over 130 plays and musicals from NY to California in his 40 years of professional and educational service.

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A member of Actor’s Equity Mr Nugent has performed in the National Tours of Cat’s, Grease and Godspell and has played regionally in Forever Plaid,Oklahoma, Anything Goes, 42nd St to name a few. He has starred as Bobby Child In Crazy For you at Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Playhouse,George M at the Grandbury Opera House in TX and Bill Snibson in Richmond VA’s The Mill Theater.
He currently resides here in Tucson and is an adjunct Instructor at Pima College Fine Arts Dept teaching Movement and Dance for actors.
Most recently his work was seen in the award winning Cabaret this past Fall at PCC. His next project will be directing Into The Woods this coming Summer at the QJTT in New York’s The Hampton’s.

KATHY ODENKIRK • COSTUME SHOP MANAGER & DESIGNER

Kathy has been designing costumes for theatrical productions in Southern Arizona for almost 20 years,
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KATIE POPIEL • BOX OFFICE MANAGER AND VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR

Katie Popiel brings a mixture of corporate and nonprofit experience to her roles as Box Office Manager and Volunteer Coordinator...

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... having been a medical software upgrade coordinator, a real estate transaction manager, and the Programs and Volunteer Coordinator at the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance (SAACA). Her first career aspiration as a child was to be Dorothy Gale so becoming part of the Arts Express family felt like the culmination of a journey. She loves getting onstage in AET productions, typically performing in three to four productions per season and sometimes getting to use some of her performance specialties including clog dancing, Irish dance, and puppetry. Her artistic passions include choreographing and teaching clog dancing and musical theatre routines, directing two clogging exhibition troupes, and costuming. She is thrilled to help support musical theater in Tucson, and grateful to have the opportunity to be both onstage and behind the scenes at Arts Express Theatre.

MICHAEL SORENSEN • LIGHTING DESIGNER

Michael Sorensen has been working in theatre, music and corporate shows for over 30 years.
Read More! He is currently the resident lighting designer for Arts Express. His lighting designs have been seen for the Arts Express productions of Tuck Everlasting, A Christmas Carol, She Loves Me, Carousel, and Sweeney Todd. He is also the resident lighting designer for Ballet Rincon and Desert Christian High School. He lives in Tucson with his wife, 2 children, and 4 cats.

LIZ SPENCER • MUSIC DIRECTOR

Originally from Chicago, Illinois (BS in Music Education from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana),
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she spent 30 years in Tucson (working at the University of Arizona - ART, the Arizona Theatre Company (“Emma”, “Xanadu”, “The Music Man” and music directing many productions for SOS – their summer youth theatre program), Arizona Onstage Productions and the Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus, among others) before moving to Phoenix 5 years ago. While in Phoenix, she performed with Arizona Broadway Theatre, Phoenix Theatre and other area theatre companies, as well as music directing productions at the Hale Theatre, Desert Stages Theatre and the Black Theatre Troupe. She has played for the National Tours of “Wicked”, “West Side Story”, “Legally Blonde”, “The Wizard of Oz”, “Annie”, “Beautiful”, “An American In Paris” and “The Little Mermaid”. She is very excited to be returning to the Tucson theatre community.

SUSAN STOKES • DIRECTOR & ACTRESS

Versatile, joyful, multi-talented Susan Lane Stokes brings enthusiasm and expertise to her performing, teaching and directing careers.
Read More!As a singer, Susan’s appearances in over 40 opera, operetta, musical theater and orchestral works across the US have garnered both critical acclaim and popular appeal for her warm, lovely voice, effortless singing and immediate believability. Favorite roles include Violeta in La Traviata, Mim in La Boheme , Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Lady Shayne in Noel Coward’s Bittersweet, and Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus. One highlight among many was her appearance as a  part of San Francisco Opera’s 75th Anniversary Celebrations. She brings this extensive experience to her voice studio, imparting solid vocal technique, dramatic ability, languages, and musical skills. Susan works with students of all levels. Locally, Susan directed the successful Opera on the Streetcar for the Opera Guild of Southern Arizona, including a popular first time flash mob opera chorus on Tucson’s Streetcar. She has written, produced, and directed several children’s shows. She also produced ‘Sounds of hope, a benefit concert boasting over 140 musicians from The University of Arizona, Tucson Boys Chorus, members of the  Tucson Symphony and chorus which benefited Habitat for Humanity‘s work in Sri Lanka after the tsunami of 2004. Susan has appeared with Arts Express as Mrs. Fezziwig in ‘The Christmas Carol’ for the past three years. She is happy to join the Arts Express directing staff for the upcoming Let Freedom Sing concert at the Fox Theater on July 4th.

CHRIS WILL • DIRECTOR, FACULTY, & ACTOR

Chris Will has been directing, teaching and performing musicals all around the world for the past 20 years, including two Off-Broadway shows (Time Being and The Jungle Queen Debutante).
Read More!He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Wyoming in Theatre & Dance and continued his education in the United Kingdom, earning his Masters of Performance in Musical Theatre from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and received an MFA in directing form the University of Idaho. Chris Will loves teaching and is a theater professor at Pima Community College. He starred as Neville in the Arts Express production of A Secret Garden and is the resident director for the company's Monte Awards program.