THE SLIGHTLY OFF CENTER PLAYERS

FOUNDER / PRESIDENT MANDY SEYMORE-SENSAT is owner and artistic director of Center Stage, SOCP’s home. She danced with the SW Jazz Ballet Company for ten years and has worked with Chris Wilson’s, Theatre Under The Stars, APM Studios, Clear Creek Country Theatre, Pasadena Little Theatre, Theatre San Jacinto, Art Park Players, Center Stage, and SOCP. She has also been retained to choreograph numerous shows including Les Mis for Langham Creek High School plus Godspell, Little Shop of Horrors and Seussical: The Musical for Deer Park High School. She’s choreographed, directed and / or acted in over 100 productions. Mandy was the founder of SOCP’s award-winning Rhapsody Dance Team and The Harlequin Players, thrice named Texas’ most pro youth theatre troupe by Texas Nonprofit Theatres (TNT). She was awarded All Star Cast and choreographic recognition for SOCP’s internationally-travelled All in the Timing during AACTFest ’05 Quad, State and Region fests. Mandy is also a TNT past Quad IV Chairman and Board Member. She serves as education director for Ocala Civic Theatre in Ocala, Florida.

FOUNDER / ARTISTIC DIRECTOR JEFF SENSAT has 30+ years stage performance experience. Under his direction, SOCP was named one of the nation’s top ten non-equity theatre troupes during the 2005 American Association of Community Theatre AACTFest with SOCP’s award-winning production of David Ives’ comedy All in the Timing, which was invited to perform for the Southwest Theatre and Film Association and internationally in Heidelberg, Germany. He was also recognized as one of the top six most talented actors in the nation at AACTFest 2005 for his multiple roles in Timing. Musically, he is an arranger, composer, lyricist, singer, and vocal instructor. Theatrically, he is a director, actor, producer, technician and designer. He is an awarded graphic designer with two decades of experience creating professional publicity materials for print, mail, web, email, TV and newspaper. He’s worked as a reporter, cartoonist, photographer and layout artist at newspapers, design firms and in communication departments.

FOUNDER / TREASURER JANIE SEYMORE along with daughter Mandy was instrumental in Center Stage’s initial formation. It was due to her active involvement, counsel and personal contributions that Center Stage flourished and, subsequently, SOCP was created. Her essential support has been crucial to daily operations for both organizations. An independent businesswoman for nearly two decades, it was under Janie’s guidance and is because of her personal investment, generosity and philanthropy that SOCP has remained a thriving center for the arts. It is her principal role in all aspects of the studio that influences its continual evolution. Hardly any work title has escaped Janie. Outside of her usual business and financial-related CS/SOCP tasks, Janie has most notably and artistically served as a prolific and accomplished seamstress, costumer, and props mistress.

RECORDING AND CORRESPONDING SECRETARY BETH DEVER discovered Center Stage when daughter Nikki took her first SOCP summer drama camp in ’07. Since then, Beth has become a tireless SOCP worker, supporter, and volunteer. Her first foray into stagecraft was as costume designer and stagehand for The Miracle Worker (Sept. 2007). She consequently has assisted with every adult and youth production since in some capacity: props / costume mistress, stage manager, box office, reception, booster, promotions and in any role which requires tireless, selfless labor. Her background in bookkeeping and attention to detail has made her a valuable account rep and events coordinator. An accomplished seamstress and avid collector, her resourcefulness and helpful family (husband Will and mother Frances) have been instrumental in sheduling, operations, maintenance, advertising, and staffing. Since Mandy and Jeff’s departure, Beth’s loyal dedication and disciplined work ethic have been crucial in SOCP’s daily operations and continuance.

PLAYWRIGHT IN RESIDENCE DAVID J. LEMASTER PH.D. serves as a Faculty Fellow at San Jacinto College Central (SJCC). He has directed over thirty college, community, and pro plays including SOCP’s 2007 production of Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. He’s taught English and Drama at SJCC as well as speech at Centenary College of Louisiana. He holds a Masters degree in British and American Lit and a Ph.D. in Theatre from Texas Tech University. David has published short stories (with The Kennesaw Review, The Exquisite Corpse, REAL, A Journal of Fine Arts, Always-I Entertainment, and The Southern Anthology), plays, essays, and a novel (The Passers with LTD Books in Canada). He was the winner of the Southwest Theatre Association’s Coleman Jennings Award for Children’s Theatre and of the Three Genres Award for the One Act Play, and was guest playwright and lecturer at the State University of New York’s Oneonta campus. Other publication credits include work in The Journal of Popular Film and Television, Eclipse Literary Journal, The Southern Antholgoy and an upcoming anthology Am Able To. His play, The 11th had been produced in Utah, Connecticut, Virginia, Florida, and Nebraska. Visit David’s website.

RHAPSODY DANCE COMPANY & DANCE DIRECTOR JENNY CAMFIELD is director of SOCP’s dance program and award-winning Rhapsody Dance Company (RDC) competition team. She is a former member of the WNBA Houston Comets’ “Team NRG” and has been a Center Stage / SOCP teacher since 2006, instructing tap, hip hop, jazz and lyrical classes. Jenny began ballet and tap at age three and competitive performance at age nine, adding jazz and pointe to her repertoire. In high school, she studied hip hop at Center Stage under Reyana Wright and was one of the first members of RDC. She continued her dance training at both San Jacinto College Central and South campuses (where she also earned her cosmetology license), in NYC at Broadway Dance Center, and has elsewhere served as assistant, instructor and competition team leader. Jenny is a favorite workshop facilitator, having most recently taught hip hop to youth at Texas Nonprofit Theatres’ 2009 Annual Youth Conference.

HARLEQUIN PLAYERS DIRECTOR ASHLEY VAN PELT helms the award-winning HP — named the most pro Texas youth troupe three of the past five years by Texas Nonprofit Theatres — and teaches drama, musical theatre and private vocals while assistant directing the Encore Musical Theatre (ETC) troupe. She was an all-state choir honoree all four years of high school, has been a percussionist for seven, graduated from Orangefield High School and is currently obtaining an acting / theatre education bachelors degree and a masters degree in musical theatre. 2008 shows include SOCP’s Houston premiere of RENT (Joanne) and Lamar Port Arthur’s Footloose (Ariel Moore). Others: Oliver! (Nancy), Meet Me In St. Louis (Rose), Aida, Diary of Anne Frank, Zombie Prom (Mrs. Strict), and Miss Firecracker (Carnelle). Her passion is to ensure U.S. educational facilities like SOCP receive necessary tools to maintain well-developed fine arts programs. Musically, Ashley is statistically one of few people who have perfect pitch.

ENCORE THEATRE COMPANY DIRECTOR TRAVIS COOMBS is a Nederland High School grad who participated in every play while there and, during his senior year, garnered a Best Actor Award at Texas’ Thespian Convention for his portrayal of “The Boy” in NHS’s The Death and Life of Larry Benson. He first appeared with and garnered critical acclaim in The Slightly Off Center Players’ Houston-premiere production of RENT as Mark Cohen. Travis is a prolific songwriter and writer who is concurrently composing two in-progress musicals, one of which is scheduled for a 2010 workshop. (Sample excerpts of a mini-musical homage for SOCP founders Mandy and Jeff may be viewed here and here.) Select fave roles: Ren McCormack (Footloose), Brad Majors (The Rocky Horror Show), Troy Bolton (High School Musical). Travis plays guitar, piano, and ukelele and teaches guitar, piano, songwriting, and playwriting.