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     Richard (Ricky) A. Vitanovec is the Founder and Executive Director of Crashbox Theatre Company. For the past 19 years, he has also been a Theatre Teacher, Director, and Designer for Talbot County Public Schools. Ricky holds a B.A. in Acting, a B.A. in Directing, an M.A. in Theatre Production, and the terminal degree in Practical Theatre-- an M.F.A. in Theatre Arts. He also holds Maryland and Florida Theatre/Drama Teaching Certificates.  

 

     Ricky moved to the Eastern Shore of Maryland in 2003 when he was hired to design and implement a theatre program at Easton Middle School. With the curriculum that he developed, he has taught theatre classes at both Easton Middle School and Easton High School in General/Intro to Theatre, Acting, Advanced Acting, Directing, Movement, Improvisation, Musical Theatre, Educational Theatre, Playwriting, Theatre Production, Stagecraft, Design, Stage Makeup, Dramatic Literature, and Theatre History.

 

     Seeing how important the Arts are for youth, teens, and adults in our community, he established a non-profit educational theatre group called Crashbox Theatre Company in 2012. Some of the opportunities that Crashbox has provided are summer theatre intensives with Actors' Equity Association (AEA) instructors, Masterclasses with AEA performers, professional instruction in acting, music, and dance, improvisation workshops and performances, community productions involving students from elementary school through college, collaboration with professionals such as William Berloni of Berloni Theatrical Animals, and educational excursions to NYC, Baltimore, Orlando, and Washington, D.C. to see professional theatre and receive professional instruction.

 

    Over the past nineteen years, Ricky has directed over 35 shows including Legally Blonde The Musical, West Side Story, Mary Poppins, Hello, Dolly!, Peter Pan, Kiss Me, Kate, and Romeo and Juliet. Locally, Ricky has been seen on stage in Little Shop of Horrors, Heart and Music— A revue benefiting “For All Seasons” the behavioral health and rape crisis center for Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Mary Poppins, Noises Off, Annie, Cabaret, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Godspell, Rocky Horror, Live!, and Sylvia.

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