Crane River Theater Company

Board of Directors

Brian Botsford ~ President

Brian is a 1995 graduate of Kearney High School and a 2000 graduate of University of Nebraska at Kearney with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education.  He now lives in Wahoo, Nebraska where he has served as the vocal music instructor, assistant instrumental instructor and drama director at Bishop Neumann High School for over ten years.  Brian is an active performer in the Lincoln and Omaha area participating in groups such as the Omaha Symphonic Chorus, Lincoln Community Concert Band, Lincoln Civic Orchestra, First Presbyterian Church of Wahoo as well as solo music performances.  Currently he is pursuing a Master of Music degree at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

Ann Bauer ~ Vice President

A native Kansan, Ann recently retired from teaching.  During her career of 40 years, she directed choirs and musicals in Missouri, Kansas, Arizona, South Dakota and Nebraska.  She is in demand as an accomplished accompanist, choral clinician, guest conductor and adjudicator in the Midwest.  She concluded her career teaching and directing the music program at Kearney High School in Nebraska.  She has traveled extensively throughout the world with her choirs.  Her experience includes 49 years playing the organ and accompanying ensembles and soloists in countless churches.  At the present time, she is the organist at Kearney First United Methodist Church.  Ann holds degrees from Ft. Hays State University, Arizona State University and Kearney State College.  Ann has also sung professionally with the Richard Dales Chorale.  She is a member of American Choral Directors Association, Music Educators National Conference, National Teachers Organization, FUMC Worship Committee and the campaign chair for the Kearney Concert Association.  Ann is currently enjoying time with her 14 grandchildren and 5 children.  In her spare time, she works for Tour Resource Consultants, is a substitute teacher, volunteer worker, an avid gardener and supporter of her husband, David, in his many endeavors.

Steve Barth ~ Treasurer

Steve was born and raised in Kearney.  He discovered his passion for music and theater performing on stages across the community, until he eventually took his love for arts to the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where he received his BA and MFA in Acting.  During that time, Steve had the opportunity to perform with many theaters throughout the Midwest, including the Nebraska Repertory Theater, Minnesota Repertory Theater and Illinois Music Theater.  He served as artistic director of Theatrix for two years overseeing many productions in multiple capacities: producer, director and designer.  He taught many classes at the University (Acting, Introduction to Theater, Arts Today) and served on numerous administrational committees (Academic Distinction and Awards, Curriculum, Grading Appeals, and Season Selection).  Once the years of studying came to an end, Steve set his sights on New York City, where he has resided for the last 6 years acting and directing.

Stephen Lewis ~ Secretary

Steve received his Bachelor of Arts from California State University-Sacramento with a double major in Theatre (Acting/Directing & Design/Lighting/Tech -1972).  He worked on a Masters in scenic design at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln but switched and graduated with an MBA from UN-L in 1984.  At the College of Business Administration he was a teaching assistant and awarded two fellowships.  He spent 14 years as a broadcast professional and 14 years in not-for-profit management, education and development including, responsibility for a seven state area for American Red Cross.  Steve is currently the President of the Kearney Concert Association and Treasurer of the Zion Lutheran School Foundation.  Steve has over 110 theater production program credits.  Born in Kearney he has lived in California, Hawaii, Missouri, Texas and 4 years in Japan, but upon reaching 51 he chose to return to and retire early in his hometown of Kearney.

Brooke Bradford

Brooke grew up in Kearney and graduated from Kearney High School in 1995. She attended Brigham Young University-Idaho, where she received her degree in Theater Performance. She met her husband, Steve Bradford, while doing repertory-theater at the Playmill Theater in West Yellowstone, Idaho, just outside Yellowstone National Park. She has appeared in a variety of local and regional productions as well as commercial, industrial and short films. Brooke and her husband own and operate Blue Media, a video production company based in Kearney since 2003. They reside in Kearney with their five children. Brooke was the driving force of the successful Crane River Explore Theater classes last summer which educated more than one hundred kids in the arts.

Yvonne Deyle

Yvonne has been with Barney Insurance, Inc. in Kearney, Nebraska for the past 47 years and is now the Account Executive and supervisor.  During this time she was the first woman president of Professional Insurance Agents of Nebraska.  She has served on various boards including PIA, Kearney Woman’s Club, Insurance Women of Mid-Nebraska, Buffalo County Board Envoys Chairman, Cancer Society and Central Nebraska Auto Club.  She has been a volunteer with many organizations including Kearney Community Theater and is a 20 year member of Rotary Club.

Bob Heiden

A Kearney native, Bob Heiden graduated from Kearney High School in 2002. With a passion for the Fine Arts, Bob started out performing in musicals at the high school and community theatre level where he discovered his niche: designing, building and painting scenery. He earned a BFA in Graphic Design and a minor in Technical Theater from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. During that time, he had the opportunity to work at Kearney High as the Drama Assistant for three years. Following college, Bob has designed and painted sets for many local organizations including Kearney High School Theatre and Choral departments, Zion Lutheran Church, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Kearney School of Dance and Gymnastics, Kearney Elementary Music departments, Kearney Children’s Museum, and Kearney Community Theatre. When he’s not painting, Bob channels his creativity as the Art Director for Buckle Inc. where he designs and manages the creative team for the online marketing channels.

Mary Henning

Mary graduated from Kearney State College, now the University of Nebraska at Kearney, with a Bachelor of Arts in Education.　 She taught second grade in Lincoln and Kearney, and has been a professional storyteller for the past 14 years. She currently serves on the Nebraska Humanities Council, Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation Board, Kearney Area Storytelling Festival Board, University of Nebraska Foundation Grants Committee, and now Crane River Theater’s Board of Directors. Mary is also a Hospice volunteer. In previous years she has served as President of PEO, Kearney Area Women’s Club, Kearney Literacy Council, Serendipity and a member of the Minden Opera House Board.

Trish Kenagy

Trish joins the Crane River Theater Board with experience in preschool, elementary, college and public education programs.  Retired from her work as a Professional Development Coordinator at Educational Service Unit 10, she previously taught in the College of Education at the University of Nebraska at Kearney where she also held various administrative positions.  Her prior teaching experience includes preschool, special education and elementary classrooms in Lincoln, Nebraska and Woodland Park, Colorado.  Trish received her B.A. in Education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and her M.S. in Counseling from Kearney State College.  Most recently, she was on the Board of Directors of R.E.S.P.E.C.T., an Omaha-based educational theater troupe, and conducted educational training on social issues and bullying prevention across the state of Nebraska.  She is actively involved with Kiwanis, the Kearney Area Children’s Museum, Royal Family Kids Camp and Friends of Pumpkin Patch Child Care Center.  Born and raised in Lincoln, NE, Trish, her husband, Bill and family moved to Kearney in 1983 after previously living in Holdrege, NE and Woodland Park, CO.

Joe Knispel

Joe is a 2004 graduate of Kearney High School and a 2009 graduate of the University of Nebraska at Kearney where he received his Bachelor of Music with an emphasis in Musical Theater.  As an actor, he has performed in countless productions with memorable roles including Curly in Oklahoma, Jesus in Godspell and Vershinin in Chekov’s Three Sisters. Most notably, he portrayed Whitney Galliard in the new musical Hunger, presented by the Theater Building Chicago’s New Musical Festival.  Joe has volunteered on many occasions with First Lutheran Church in Kearney to help coordinate staged productions of the Passion story during the Lenten season.  With a love for sports and kids, he is often found mentoring kids, as well as serving as a youth soccer coach for Kearney Park and Recreation.  Joe and his wife, Amy, moved to Chicago in 2011 where he has pursed a career in Acting.  Much of his time was dedicated to auditioning for shows and singing in the contemporary worship band at Chicago Luther Memorial Church.  He also worked as a volunteer for the Walk Out of Darkness campaign, a fundraiser and awareness outreach for suicide prevention.  It wasn’t long that Joe’s passion for music and theater led him to education.  He is now pursuing a Theater Education Degree at the University of Nebraska at Kearney with  hopes of exciting and encouraging kids in the arts.

Gay Longfellow

Gay received her Bachelors Degree from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in Home Economics.  A long time Kearney resident, she worked as real estate agent for Century 21 for twenty eight years. She has always had a love of clothes, sewing and art which morphed into costume design and construction.  She has designed costumes for more than forty productions at Kearney Community Theatre. She has also volunteered her time for countless productions at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, Omaha Community Playhouse, and touring productions at the Viero Event Center.  Most recently she designed the costumes for Godspell and Little Shop of Horrors produced by Crane River Theater.  Since retiring, she enjoys spending time with her family, playing bridge, reading, cooking and traveling.

Clayton Moyer

Clayton Moyer, director of choirs at Kearney High School, is currently in his eleventh year of teaching choral music. At Kearney High School, he directs six choral ensembles, including the Kearney High School Chorale, Varsity Women’s Chorus, Concert Choir, Girls’ Glee and two competitive show choirs: KHS Pops Choir and the Sapphire and Gold Singers. Clayton has had the opportunity to travel abroad with many choirs, including a recent trip to Spain where they performed in Toledo, Madrid, and Barcelona. He is frequently asked to serve as clinician and judge for music festivals around the state.

He also serves as the music director for the KHS musical theater program. Direction credits include Little Women, All Shook Up, The Wizard of Oz, Les Miserables, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Clayton has served as director of musical activities as the First Church of the Nazarene in Kearney and First Congregational Church in Ogallala, NE. He is a member of the American Choral Director’s Association, Nebraska Choral Director’s Association, National Association for Music Education and current board member for the Kearney Concert Association.

Bill Sinnard

Bill graduated from Kearney High School in 1996 and went on to study at Chadron State College and the University of Nebraska at Kearney. He currently owns Hability Solution Services which provides therapy services for nursing homes and hospitals across the state. Bill is the co – owner of Remember When Films and has directed two full length movies. In 2005 he made his directing debut with the Indie film, Virgina and followed it up in 2008 with a documentary, Haunted Nebraska. He is currently serving on the World Theatre Board of Directors. Bill enjoys spending time with his wife, Jennifer, and their son, Drew.

Ann Snider

Ann has lived in Kearney for the last 12 years.  As a child growing up San Diego, Ann often attended Shakespearean plays at the Old Globe Theatre and Cassius Carter Center Stage in Balboa Park.  She loved spending summer evenings at the Starlight Opera, where she grew to love all things “Broadway.”  Although never a stage performer herself she enjoys quality entertainment.  Ann found a love of debate and competed for San Diego State University on their speech and debate team.  Ann is a member of Lambda Delta Sigma. She is a graduate of the University of Utah with a BA degree in Family and Consumer Studies with an emphasis in Environmental Psychology.  She is currently pursuing a MA degree at University of Nebraska.  Ann is the wife to one; mother to four and a lover of life and loves to be heavily involved in the communities where she lives.  Presently she serves on the City of Kearney’s Park and Recreation Advisory Board and is actively involved with the Parent Teacher Organization at Kearney Public Schools.  She is excited to help the support the arts in Kearney and be involved with Crane River Theatre Company!

Lois Thalken

Lois Thalken and her husband Todd own and operate Kearney Floral Co. She has her degree in music education from UNK, and has been performing professionally as a vocalist in the jazz group Thalken, Tesdall & Thalken, for the past 20+ years. Involvement in area arts organizations include Kearney Area Arts Council (executive director, board member), Nebraska Arts Council (artist’s review panels), and Kearney Community Theatre ( numerous productions as a performer and/or musical director). Some of her other past volunteer efforts include Kearney Public Library Foundation, Kearney Public Schools Foundation, Kearney Community Concert Association, Frank House, Museum of Nebraska Art, and season judge for UNK theatre productions.

Mark Wethington

Mark is in his fifth year of teaching at the University of Nebraska at Kearney Theater Department.  His areas of emphasis are scenic and lighting design, stage management and technical theater.  In 2008, he won special recognition from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for Outstanding Scenic and Lightning Design for The Night of the Iguana.  Mark holds his Master of Fine Arts degree from Florida State University.  He has designed scenery or lighting for the Delaware Theatre Company, Contemporary American Theatre Festival (CATCO), New Venture Theatre, Bigfork Summer Playhouse, Columbus Children’s Theatre, Florida State University, Florida State Opera, and Bowling Green State University.

Annabell Zikmund

Dr. Zikmund is a professor emerita from the Department of Music and Dance at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where she taught private voice lessons and music education classes, and directed the UNK show choir, the Nebraskats. Under her direction, the Nebraskats performed statewide, in Colorado, Washington D.C., Arizona, and California, and in 10 foreign countries. In addition to several university-wide committees at UNK, Dr. Zikmund was a member of and served as president of the Faculty Senate. After her retirement in 2002 she was volunteer coordinator at the Great Platte River Road Archway for four years, and currently is an AmeriCorps member working with volunteers at Rowe Sanctuary. In 2007 she was co-chair of the Nebraska Humanities Council Chautauqua held in Kearney. Dr. Zikmund is a member of the Crane River Theater Board, Golden K Kiwanis, Delta Kappa Gamma, the Kearney Women’s Club, and the Kearney Chamber of Commerce Senior Coalition. She serves as chair of the Kearney Area Storytelling Festival Committee and the Retired Senior Volunteer Program Advisory Committee.