Meet the Education Team

Sandy received an M.A. in Theatre History and Criticism from State University of New York and an MFA in Directing at FAU. She finds great joy in watching the students – both children and adults – grow in confidence and communication as they move through the classes at VT.

“As our area grows and expands with new faces and families, it is vital that Venice Theatre continues to bring the beauty of the arts to everyone. Whether you are already an avid theatre goer, newcomer, young, or young at heart, we welcome you to connect with us. Be on the lookout for future events that bring VT and our community together in fresh and exciting ways!”

Tarah first stepped onto the VT stage at 8 years old and has been involved in many productions over the years. After receiving a degree in Elementary Education, Tarah returned to the Sarasota area and has spent the last 12 years in the classroom teaching students from Kindergarten through 8th grade. She is very excited to bring her love for the arts and education together!

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.

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 Vice President of the American Association of Community Theatre.

Murray Chase served as Venice Theatre’s Executive Director since 1995. As of June 2023, he is now focused on overseeing the restoration of the theatre after it sustained severe damage from Hurricane Ian.

He has been an active participant — and former board member — of Florida Theatre Conference and Southeastern Theatre Conference. He has served as President of the American Association of Community Theatre, and currently works with the organization as a member of the national Festival Commission. He has been a frequent grant review panelist for both the Florida Arts Council and the Mississippi Arts Commission. Recently he represented the United States as a delegation member to the World Congress of the International Amateur Theatre Association. Under his leadership, Venice Theatre has hosted the international theatre festival, actWORLDFEST, four consecutive times. Chase is also a former chair of the CEC for Sarasota County Arts Council and a former president of Venice MainStreet.

Actor/Director Credits: Besides the daily aspects of his job here, directing credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I Never Saw Another Butterfly, Mary Poppins, Our Town and the award-winning productions of The Pillowman, The School For Wives, The Good Woman of Setzuan, Tartuffe and Fool For Love. He has also played a few roles on the VT stage, including Johnny in Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Stuart in the Award-winning Boom Town, and George in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? all with wife Lori

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.

Nate is the Resident Sound Designer at Venice Theatre, designing, mixing, and composing for our shows since 2019. Some of Nate’s favorites include: To Kill a Mockingbird; Almost, Maine; Young Frankenstein; Ain’t Misbehavin’; and God’s Country. Nate also runs sound for some of our Concert Series, favorites include: Norm Lewis, The Rocket Man Show, and Back Home Again. See and hear Nate’s work at nateblaweiss.com.

Brian is Venice Theatre’s Assistant Technical Director. He has designed many sets over the years, including last season’s Willy Wonka Jr., The Bikinis, and Gulf View Drive. He has been interested in building ever since he picked up his first Lego block and has a degree from Savannah College of Art and Design.

Christine has been dancing since the age of 4. She graduated from the “Fame” school, Fiorello LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts, in New York City as a Dance Major and received a two-year scholarship from the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, also in NYC. Christine and her husband and five children have been in Venice since 2003. She has been teaching Zumba for 15 years and she has never stopped dancing.

Becky was the director of Venice Theatre’s annual Loveland show, and is an actor and choreographer. She has taught Creative Dramatics for many years at VT and has been teaching dance for decades. She is also a NIA fitness instructor.

Liz, a Salt Lake City native, has been teaching performing arts for the last ten years across the country. She toured with Missoula Children’s Theatre, then landed locally where she teaches theatre and a variety of other subjects at The Mangrove School and Saltmeadow School. She also teaches a variety of acting classes at Florida Studio Theatre, Venice Theatre and holds a certificate in Expressive Arts. Liz most enjoys facilitating other’s creative discoveries and explorations.

Spencer grew up in the Tampa Bay Area, and first got his start in Improv his freshman year of high school. Since then he has performed in well over a hundred shows in the Tampa Bay area, and had the opportunity to teach hundreds of students. He currently owns his own Improv business, Spencer Cross Improv, where he teaches both Drop-In classes and various leveled courses out of St. Petersburg. Improv is his passion, and he strongly advocates not just how it translates on stage, but also for how it improves every other aspect of life!

Scott Keys is a professional actor, director, choreographer and a published playwright and lyricist. He spent the last 21 years as head of the renowned Booker High School Visual and Performing Arts Theatre program, directing over 50 plays, musicals and original works.

Scott has a BFA in Musical Theatre performance from Syracuse University, an MFA from NYU, a teaching degree from Eckerd College and is
certified in Meisner Acting Technique. Keys has current and graduated students from some of the top theatre programs in the country including FSU, UF, Carnegie Mellon Univ., Montclair Univ., Pace University, Manhattan School of Music and many others. He is on the board of the Florida Theatre Conference and has over 150 productions to his credit, including Venice Theatre, FST, Manatee Players and Sarasota Players, as well as Weathervane Playhouse where he served as Artistic Director for seven years.

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.

Emily Uritz is an alumni of Penn State. Having earned her BFA in Acting she traveled 20+ hours  south to settle in Venice, FL where she currently resides. During high school Emily served on the  Pennsylvania State Thespian Board where her passion for educational theatre was ignited.  Throughout college she ran a theatre company, developed a student-run play festival, and was an  active member of the School of Theatre’s Diversity Committee. Following her graduation she  had an eye opening experience as an artistic intern at People’s Light Theatre where she  understudied their children’s theatre and helped run summer camp. Her time at People’s Light  illuminated a path of teaching artistry that she so gratefully has been able to pursue here at Venice Theatre.

William is an award-winning Music Director who  has provided local music direction for Little Shop of Horrors, Mame, Jekyll and Hyde, Assassins, Nine, Baby, Annie Jr., Seussical Jr., My Way, The Andrews Brothers, and the World Premiere productions of Boynton Beach Club and Practically Perfect.

He earned a BS in Environmental Sciences from Purdue University, and did undergraduate work in piano performance from the University of Tennessee. He also holds a Master of Arts degree in piano performance from Middle Tennessee State University and did post graduate study in Pedagogy and Performance at the University of Oklahoma.

Pamela’s career has been diverse, beginning with receiving a Bachelor of Arts from Hendrix College followed by achieving a Master of Music degree at the College -Conservatory of Music /University of Cincinnati. Her roles as a musician include piano teacher, organist, accompanist and vocal/general music teacher in public and private schools in Ohio and Florida. She served on the state board of the Ohio Music Education Association and the Ohio Arts Education Advisory Committee.

Christine has been dancing since the age of 4. She graduated from the “Fame” school, Fiorello LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts, in New York City as a Dance Major and received a two-year scholarship from the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, also in NYC. Christine and her husband and five children have been in Venice since 2003. She has been teaching Zumba for 15 years and she has never stopped dancing.