Auditions for “The Sound of Music” and “A Christmas Carol”

Geddie holds a BFA in Musical Theatre, an MA in Arts Administration, and has performed on stages around the world. He has directed productions such as Once On This Island, Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar and Grill, Fences, Ain’t Misbehavin’, and Dreamgirls. Prior to his arrival in Venice, FL, he cruised the world as a Company Manager and Principal Singer for Jean Ann Ryan Productions on Norwegian Cruise Line. His theatre performance credits include Ragtime, Twelfth Night, Race, Intimate Apparel, Falsettos, the premiere of the one-man show Bert Williams, Broadway Star; Angels in America, Dreamgirls and the role of “Judas” in Jesus Christ Superstar.

In addition to Geddie’s duties at Venice Theatre, he serves on the Ambassador Circle for Embracing our Differences; the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Access+ committee for Southeastern Theatre Conference, is the treasurer of the Florida Theatre Conference, the Florida State community theatre representative, and is a Board Member of the Friends of the Venice Public Library, Suncoast Black Arts Collaborative, Squeaky Wheel Theatre Group, and President of the American Association of Community Theatre.

VANESSA RUSSO has been having an exciting professional Musical Theatre career as a Choreographer, Dancer and Performer. Born and raised in Sarasota, FL, some professional credits include: BILLY ELLIOT (First National Tour), BILLY ELLIOT (Amsterdam), WEST SIDE STORY (Asian/European Tour), OKLAHOMA! (First National Tour), Radio City Christmas Spectacular and Feature Film: (Across The Universe), among others. She has choreographed for the following: St. Pete Opera, MPAC, Sarasota Players, CANDance, and Sarasota Academy of the Arts.

Alyssa Goudy is thrilled to be returning to direct this wonderful show for Venice Theatre. Previous directing credits include co-director of VT’s 2023 production of A Christmas Carol and director of Moana JR., Rock of Ages MSE, Much Ado About Nothing, and more. Some previous VT stage management credits include Reefer Madness, Hamlet, and Hamlet POV (SETC Stage Management Award). She is the Special Events Production Manager for VT, coordinating the International Festival for 2026, and scheduling and calendaring for all productions.

Michelle Kasanofsky has been playing piano for almost 56 years and is a professional musician as well as a music educator. Michelle received a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston and studied jazz piano there as well as classical at Boston University. She has a B.A. cum laude from Dowling College, a Master of Science in Music Education from C. W. Post Long Island University and an Education Leadership Specialist degree from Nova Southeastern University.

Michelle is originally from New York and spent most of her life on Long Island. While in New York she music directed many off-Broadway productions which included Always, Patsy Cline and has performed all over the world in Europe, Japan and Korea. Since moving down to Florida in 1998, Michelle has taught chorus, drama and dual enrollment music classes. In 2014, she was selected as Charlotte County’s Teacher of the Year. Since 2000 Michelle has performed and music directed at Venice Theatre. Her productions have included Hair, Mamma Mia, Cabaret, Toxic Avenger and Dreamgirls to name a few. She has also Music Directed at Sarasota Players, Manatee Players, Charlotte Players and the Dingbat Theatre Project.

Michelle has played for national touring companies at venues such as Barbara B Mann and Ruth Eckerd Hall for shows including A Chorus Line, Legally Blonde and West Side Story as well as accompanying artists such as Bernadette Peters and The Irish Tenors. In 2021 Michelle became the resident music director at Venice Theatre.