Syncopation

Jared is thrilled to return to the stage at Venice Theatre for Syncopation. Raised in Port Charlotte and Sarasota, Jared pursued his passion for dance, eventually performing in Las Vegas productions like Vegas! The Show. Beyond performing, he explores his creativity through video editing and instructional design, where he develops engaging tutorial content. When not on stage, Jared enjoys spending time with family and friends, especially over a good board game.

Megan is happy to return to Venice Theatre, after previously appearing in The Spitfire Grill and God’s Country. Like Anna, she has absolutely no formal dance background, and she’s so grateful to Benny and Vanessa for this opportunity. Her past shows include Spreading It Around and Now and Then at the Lemon Bay Playhouse, and The Secret Garden and Electra with the Heritage Players in Pittsburgh, PA.

Benny Sato Ambush is a veteran professional director, institutional theatre leader, educator, published commentator, and consultant. He has been Artistic Director of TheatreVirginia (Richmond, VA), Oakland Ensemble Theatre (Oakland, CA), and Rites and Reason Theatre Company (Providence, RI). Previously, he was Associate Artistic Director of San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater; Co-Artistic Director of San Francisco Bay Area Playwrights Festival; PEW Charitable Trust/TCG Director-In-Residence for Manalapan, Florida’s Florida Stage; and Associate Artistic Director of Anna Deavere Smith’s Institute on the Arts & Civic Dialogue at Harvard University.

He has directed at numerous professional regional theatres and has taught and directed at many university training programs (partial list): Old Globe Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival-Portland, South Coast Rep, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, American Conservatory Theater, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Magic Theatre, Geva Theatre, Playwrights Horizon, Ford’s Theatre, Triad Stage, American Repertory Theater Institute, Philadelphia Festival Theatre for New Plays, Lincoln Center Theater Institute, Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Actors Guild of Lexington, KY, Alaska Theatre of Youth, International Theatre Festival of Chicago, Sacramento Theatre Company, National Black Theatre Festival, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre, Lyric Stage Company of Boston, Gloucester Stage Company, New Repertory Theatre, TheatreSquared, The Lost Colony, Underground Railway Theater, Tennessee Williams Theatre Festival, Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training, Circle in the Square Theatre School, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Brooklyn College.

Ambush has a BA in Theatre Arts and Dramatic Literature from Brown University and an MFA in Directing from the University of California, San Diego. In 2020, he was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American 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.