Players by the Sea would like to introduce and welcome three familiar faces to the Board of Directors: Joe Kemper, Harolyn Sharpe, and Daniel Dungan!
Joe Kemper: Joe is the Chair of the Theatre Department at DA, most recently directing Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812. In Fall 2016, he directed the national premiere of a new translation of Jean Genet’s The Maids at Flagler College (previous productions in Sydney and London), for which he was awarded the National Distinguished Director of a Play Award by the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and the Regional Excellence in Directing Award from the American College Theatre Festival. The production also received seven national honors, including Outstanding Production of a Play. His DA production of A Chorus Line won 17 Regional Applause Awards from the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando, including Outstanding Musical and Outstanding Director of a Musical. As an educator, Kemper is a former “Rookie Teacher of the Year” in St. John’s County, has been 11x recognized by the National YoungArts Foundation and received a spot on the 2020 US Presidential Scholar’s National Influential Teacher List, the only theatre teacher in the country to receive mention. He received his MFA from UCF.
Harolyn Sharpe: Harolyn has been meshing theatre and education for 40 years, having retired from Florida State College at Jacksonville as Professor of Public Speaking and Communication, where she created and directed three Readers Theatre Productions. Harolyn has performed and directed for professional and community theatres in Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana and Florida. Some favorite roles are Lady Bracknell in the Importance of Being Earnest and Grandma Kurnitz in Lost in Yonkers (Best Acting Award) – at Theatre Jacksonville; Love Letters at ABET; Ima Perry in The Immigrant at A Classic Theatre; Salome in Robber Bridegroom at Shelby County Community Theatre in Kentucky. Some favored directing credits in Northeast Florida are Foxfire at Limelight Theatre; The Immigrant at Players by the Sea; Pippin at Theatre Jacksonville, The Dining Room and Church& State for A Classic Theatre in St. Augustine. The rest of her calendar is filled with singing with Orange Park Chorale and coaching speakers for TEDxJacksonville.
Daniel Dungan: Daniel studied Acting at Douglas Anderson then left Jacksonville to study Theatre Arts at Boston University in 2002. After Boston he spent seven years in NYC where he was an Actor, Designer, and Technical Director Off Broadway and the Resident Lighting Designer and Technical Director for Irish Arts Center. Daniel moved to Lakeland where he headed the Lighting Dept for The Lakeland Center and the Polk Theatre. In 2015 Daniel returned to Jacksonville and was part of the Production Management team at SMG Jacksonville for the COJ venues. Then he ran the Audiovisual Dept at PRI Productions before starting his own design company and joining IATSE Local 115. Covid caused Daniel to pivot and since 2021 he has done Time and Labor Management software consultation for UKG Ready and UKG Dimensions/Pro WFM.