EXECUTIVE TEAM

An extraordinarily experienced management team is assembled to ensure the strongest possible start for this Theater Festival.   The team is comprised of world-class artistic and theater management talent as well as strong local construction, development, and property management entities.

With their assistance, a complete management team will be developed. Many of our management members have multi-talents and serve in various capacities. All executives will serve as Board Members.

FESTIVAL ENTERPRISES, INC. - EXECUTIVE OFFICERS:

  • Louis Burke - President
  • Lonnie Chase - Vice President
  • John Chou - CFO
  • Jim Dwyer - CEO
  • Fred Frassinelli - Vice President - Construction and Development
  • Bram Lewis - Vice-President - Commercial Real Estate

FESTIVAL THEATER FOUNDATION (NON-PROFIT 501© 3) - EXECUTIVE OFFICERS:

  • Louis Burke - President and Artistic Director
  • Lonnie Chase - Vice President and Associate Director
  • John Chou - VP Finance/Foundation
  • Jim Dwyer - VP Image/Marketing Strategy
  • Bram Lewis - Executive Producer
  • Ed Malin - VP Educational programs

DEVELOPERS

  • John Infantino - President and CEO of Federal Development Corporation, one of the largest development organizations in America, who have already developed over 10 other Army Engine plants. We welcome their vast experience to our development, particularly as they have also recently completed the new Venice Airport in Italy, so their international experience is as far reaching.
  • The Shaw Group - environmental experts responsible for the clean up. Having them attached to our project is huge, as they are considered the top in their field. FEMA brought them in to assist in the clean up after Hurricane Katrina.
  • Fred Frassinelli, representing A.P. Construction Co., a division of the Ashforth Co., of Stamford, will serve as Project Executive and Construction Manager.
  • The Ashforth Company will provide deep construction experience and ongoing property management, having been involved in Lincoln Center and many other CT projects.
  • David Rockwell, representing The Rockwell Group, New York, will serve as lead architect. The Rockwell Group's portfolio includes designing the Kodak Theater, Los Angeles (site of the Academy Awards) and the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut. Recent Broadway shows he has designed include Hairspray, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Legally Blonde.
  • Alvin Holm, A. I. A. Architects - in charge of reconstructing The Rose Theater (see www.alvinholm.com)
  • Antinozzi & Associates, of Stratford, will serve as the local architects, with an emphasis on managing local application procedures
  • AltieriSeborWieber LLC, of Norwalk, Conn., will assist as consulting engineers

THE THEATER'S ARTISTIC AND MANAGEMENT TEAM will work closely with the construction team to meet the building and technical upgrade deadlines. The members of this team are:

  • Fred Frassinelli, Chairman of the Board, is the former head of E & F Construction of Connecticut. Mr. Frassinelli has managed many large projects in the state, including the 1-million-square-foot Sikorsky Aircraft plant in Stratford, the Legislative Building in Hartford and major projects at Fairfield University, Yale, and Wesleyan. He is currently associated with A.P. Construction Co.
  • Bram Lewis, Executive Producer, a senior mortgage specialist with Wall Street Equity Brokers in New York, worked with Theodore Mann at The Circle in the Square in New York. He founded the Phoenix Theater Company at SUNY-Purchase, producing and directing productions with stars like Julie Harris, Ellen Burstyn, George Grizzard and Timothy Jerome, and is a featured performer on TV and a Cleo Award-winning voice talent with over 45 credits.
  • Louis Burke, President & Artistic Director is a native of South Africa, and has produced and directed major theatrical productions on four continents. He founded Brickhill-Burke Productions with his wife Joan Brickhill, together running the most successful theatrical company in South Africa for 25 years, producing major musicals as well as many Shakespearean productions. Their African musical KwaZulu was nominated Best Musical in London and chosen for the Royal Commend Performance before the Queen. As Executive Producers for Sol Kerzner at Sun City, they produced multi-million dollar Extravaganzas, as well as bringing stars like Frank Sinatra to the 7,000-seat Superbowl. They co-produced, directed and choreographed the Broadway musical Meet Me in St. Louis at the Gershwin Theater, nominated for four Tony Awards. A member of the League of American Theaters and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Louis is Founder and Artistic Director of the Stratford Festival Theater. During the past decade, besides lecturing at the UNH, he has been training a Young Company in a classical tradition to support the many stars as Founding Members of the company.
  • L. Everett Chase, Vice President & Personal Assistant to Mr. Burke, is a dancer, choreographer, and make-up artist. He performed in the original Broadway production of Mame and toured with the show in the US, Canada, and Europe. He also danced with the Harkness and Joffrey ballet companies. Mr. Chase has been associated with Brickhill-Burke Productions since 1982.
  • Ed Malin - Chair of Education at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn., oversees the largest department at the University. A member of the school's Psychology Department since 1970, he also served as Associate Dean of Arts & Sciences, Acting Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, and, at various times, as chair of four other departments. Dr. Malin holds a Ph.D in experimental psychology from Fordham University, and will be the administrative head of the Academy, which will have a fully accredited MFA program.  
  • Jim Dwyer is a creative director and promoter, his strategic creative abilities successfully utilized for 35 years by clients such as National Geographic, Standard & Poors, numerous film/video studios and international corporations. He has been creative systems and identity advisor for municipalities such as Washington, DC, Tampa Florida and Philadelphia, PA.
  • John Chou is the financial officer of the company, with his own finance company involved in International Banking.   Besides providing the finances for the project for Festival Enterprises, he will be heading the Festival Foundation that he will manage for the non-profit entity, and creating an endowment for the educational program so that each Founding Member will have a scholarship created in their name for students attending the Academy.

KEY MANAGERS

  • Michael Lankester, Musical Director, conductor and composer will head the music department and create our own orchestra. Conductor of the Hartford Symphony for 13 years, he has toured the world conducting, and previously worked for Lord Olivier at the National Theater.
  • Ken Billington, lighting consultant and technical director, is a Tony Award-winning lighting designer. President of KB Associates of New York, Ken has over 80 Broadway and 60 Off-Broadway productions, and 60 operas worldwide to his credit. For twenty-six seasons, he has designed New York's Radio City Christmas Spectacular, and many architectural landmarks and restaurants nationally and internationally.
  • Peter Fitzgerald, sound designer, carries on an award-winning family business, Sound Associates Inc., founded by his father Thomas in 1946, who met Mr. Burke while providing the sound for Mack and Mabel on Broadway. He came to South Africa in 1974 to design and install the sound system at His Majesty's Theater in Johannesburg for Brickhill-Burke Productions. With his brother, T. Richard, Peter has accrued hundreds of Broadway, Off-Broadway and other live events. Sound Associates operates its Infrared division, influencing the installation of hearing-impaired systems in theaters in New York and around the country.
  • Dean Poniros, Controller, CPA, MS, has worked as a financial analyst for the investment banking division of UBS Bank and as manager, financial consultant and auditor for the firm of KPMG. His principal clients include People's Bank and GE Capital. He has a strong background in financial systems and controls as well as financial modeling.

A LARGE "STABLE" OF CONSULTANT AND FUNCTIONAL RESOURCES

  • Finance and Accounting
  • Legal
  • Advertising and Marketing
  • Public Relations
  • Insurance
  • Security
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As the Festival Enterprises, Inc. Project is a work in progress, contents and details of this site are subject to change.