Emerald City Staff

Staff

Artistic & Production

  • Executive Director, Co-Founder Karen Cardarelli
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    Karen is the co-founder of Emerald City Theatre and serves as its Executive Director, spearheading its growth from "infancy" to its current $1.8 million dollar budget and audience reach of 100,000 annually.

    Karen grew up working with Akron Children’s Theatre in Ohio and went on to receive theatrical training from Carnegie-Mellon University, Indiana University, Piven Theatre Workshop and Second City Training Center. Before entering the theatre industry full-time, Karen worked in advertising on products like SpaghettiO's and Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Crackers. Karen has produced over 60 productions with Emerald City, 24 of which were world premieres. Most recently she worked with Broadway In Chicago to help form its first ongoing partnership with a professional theater for families resulting in Emerald City regularly performing at The Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place.

    In addition to serving on Ingenuity Incorporated’s Strategic Initiatives Advisory Panel, Karen has served on the City Arts Theatre Panel and currently serves on the Illinois Arts Council Theatre Panel.

  • Producing Artistic Director Ernie Nolan
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    For Emerald City, Ernie has written and directed If You Take a Mouse to School, The Adventures of Doctor Dolittle, A Fairy Tale Life,If You Give a Cat a Cupcake and Snow White. He’s written Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and directed The Jungle Book, Seussical, James and the Giant Peach, A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Wizard of Oz, and the smash hit Pinkalicious: The Musical. His play Beasts was recently published in The Bully Plays by Dramatic Publishing.

    Ernie is an Assistant Professor at The Theatre School at DePaul University and is the Vice President of the board of Theatre for Young Audiences/USA. Most recently one of his plays was selected by the Kennedy Center for its New Visions/New Voices program and recently his choreography appeared off-Broadway in Lucky Duck at the New Victory Theater.

  • Production Stage Manager Naví Afshar email
  • Artistic Associates Alyn Cardarelli, Steve Goers,
    Matthew Gunnels, Ernie Nolan

Operations

  • Managing Director Gillian Gorra
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    Gillian has worked professionally as an actor and theater educator with Great Lakes Theatre Festival, as a youth theater and dance instructor at Naperville School of Performing Arts, and as a freelance casting director for Paskal Rudnicke Casting in Chicago. In addition, she has extensive experience in retail management with companies such as The Limited Corporation and A Pea in the Pod, where she managed the Chicago flagship location. Gillian holds a Bachelors of Music with a concentration in Musical Theatre from the Baldwin Wallace College Conservatory of Music, and a Masters in Nonprofit Administration from North Park University. She is also a proud member of the Artistic-Technical team of the Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee.

  • Operations Manager Meg Lindsey email
  • Bookkeeper Beth Klein email

Audience Services

  • Associate Director of Audience Services Andy Sheagren email
  • Assistant Manager of Audience Services Beth Schmeski email
  • Patron Services Manager Michael Rashid email

Marketing

  • Associate Director of Marketing Eleanor Hyde email
  • Marketing and Events Manager Aileen McGroddy email
  • Graphic Designer and Webmaster Charles Riffenburg, Grab Bag Media

Education

  • Education Director Jacqueline Stone
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    Jaqueline is from Rocky Point, NY and holds a B.A. in Theatre from the Univ. of Maryland. Her other training credits include The Second City, Improv Olympic, The Annoyance, and Victory Gardens. For the past fifteen years, she has been acting, directing, teaching, and writing across the United States. She is proud to be a founding company member and Executive Director of TUTA Theatre Chicago, and has appeared in numerous productions. She is also a founding company member of the acclaimed all-women's improv group Sirens. Jacqueline is a faculty member at The Second City, Columbia College, TUTA Theatre, and Education Director for Emerald City Theatre Company. She has taught numerous acting and improv workshops across the country including the Chicago Improv Festival, Miami Improv Festival, Duke University and many more.

  • Education Manager Whitney Minarik email
  • Education Coordinator Rachel Sherman email
  • Faculty Manager Andy Lawfer email