After four years with the Festival as both actor and director in various productions, Jim Helsinger was enthusiastically appointed artistic director by the Board of Directors in the fall of 1995. A veteran of TV, film and off-Broadway, he has directed or appeared in over thirty regional productions of Shakespeare's plays. In past seasons with the Festival, his favorite roles include Antipholus, Benvolio, Orlando, Francis Flute, Don John and Hamlet. Last spring he directed the highly acclaimed "riverboat" production of THE TAMING OF THE SHREW. Additionally, Helsinger has appeared in or directed classics at numerous theatres throughout North America including the Nebraska Repertory Theatre, Worcester Foothills Theatre, Cape May Stage, and the Alabama, Pennsylvania, Utah, Hudson Valley and Riverside Shakespeare Festivals. Most recently, he captivated Orlando audiences as both a playwright and actor with the world premiere of his one-man show, DRACULA: THE JOURNAL OF JONATHON HARKER. A graduate of Miami University (the one in Ohio), Helsinger holds an MFA from the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Always focused on the future, he is currently preparing to direct an innovative 1950's production of THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA and leading the Festival into a period of dynamic and vital growth.

A twenty-year veteran of the Orlando performing arts scene, Mary Ann Dean joined the Festival in 1994 as executive director. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Agnes Scott College, she brings her extensive and diversified experience in regional theatre to the Festival. For 18 years, Dean served on the staff of The Civic Theatre of Central Florida, primarily as general manager, where she played a major role in elevating the organization from a small, local institution to one of the largest community theatre companies in the nation. In addition, as an acknowledged expert on the structure and operation of cultural organizations, Dean has provided consulting assistance to arts groups throughout the state. She has served on numerous civic and cultural boards, and is a frequent participant on grant panels and task forces conducted by the Florida Arts Council and the state Division of Cultural Affairs. Dean has received awards for "Outstanding Achievement in Arts and Culture" from the Orlando Women's Executive Council and for "Distinguished Career in Theatre" from the Florida Theatre Conference. Her expertise and dedication will guide the Festival during this exciting period of rapid growth while maintaining a strong fiscal foundation.

Catherine Guin joined the Festival in the fall of 1995 after eight years with the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center where she served as Director of Marketing from 1993-1995. At the Center, a four-venue complex with the fifth largest operating budget in the nation, Guin created and executed marketing campaigns in a multitude of entertainment disciplines which included world premieres, blockbuster Broadway tours, top name concert performances, and cutting edge alternative theatre. Guin directed the marketing campaign for the tenth top-grossing act in the U.S. and the Center's Festival Hall was the top grossing venue under 3000 seats in the U.S. in 1994. Guin is the recipient of the American Marketing Association's 1993 Marketer of the Year (Tampa Bay Chapter, non-profit category). A graduate of Florida State University, her personal enthusiasm for Shakespearean theatre enhances her commitment to the development and growth of Central Florida's premiere classical theatre.

Anne Franklin-Peiper, a graduate of the University of Central Florida, has been with the Festival since 1993 as Development Coordinator. She is responsible for writing grant proposals to local, state and national funding sources and working with the Festival's Board of Directors to solicit individual and corporate donations. Franklin-Peiper has had extensive experience in writing proposals and coordinating special events. Prior to joining the Festival, she was a project assistant at the Center of Education. Franklin-Peiper is excited by the challenge of searching out new funding sources, providing on-going support for the Festival.

Laureen Buckner became involved with the Festival in 1992 through the University of Central Florida. She was hired as an administrative assistant and is now the Festival's office manager. Buckner is responsible for database management, accounting, community service and administrative support. She is a former resident of California, where she became interested in the theatre as a result of her behind-the-scenes work in plays presented by a local youth group. Buckner enjoys the diversity she finds in her work at the Festival along with the camaraderie of colleagues who share her love of the theatre.

Stuart E. Omans, Ph.D., is the founding artistic director of the Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival, past Chairman of the Department of English and Professor of English at the University of Central Florida. Much of his career has been spent teaching, writing about, directing, or acting in Shakespeare's plays in formal academic environments as well as less formal ones; Simply Shakespeare, the Elderhostel Program, and OSF's Young Company. The Young Company was, in fact, Omans' own conception, born of his concern for the young people of our community and his love of the Bard's works. He has twice been awarded directorships by the National Endowment for the Humanities, Danforth and Newberry Fellowships and has been Master Artist at the Atlantic Center for the Arts. Omans is the visionary force behind the creation of the Orlando Shakespeare Festival eight years ago that has since grown into an internationally acclaimed festival. Omans continues to bring the dream to reality as associate director of The Young Company.

Judith Rubinger, who earned an undergraduate degree in Drama and English from Brown University, an M.A. in Theater Arts from UCLA, and completed a fellowship in directing at Berkeley, has directed The Young Company since its inception in 1991. Ten years of experience teaching and directing theatre for children and young adults from low and middle income families prepared her for the task of leading the Festival's student theatre troupe. She has founded two community theatres and has taught at the secondary and post-secondary levels. The Young Company provides high school students of culturally and economically diverse backgrounds with a nuturing environment which encourages positive self-expression through their active involvement in classical drama. Under Rubinger's guidance, The Young Company has won several major grants and contributions from The Dr. P. Phillips Foundation, American Express Company, The Orlando Magic Youth Foundation, and the federally-funded substance abuse prevention program, Orlando Fights Back. Her spirit of dedication and perserverance continues to inspire and provide guidance to active and alumni members of The Young Company.