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KAREN AZENBERG (Director/Choreographer) is thrilled to have the opportunity to direct her first production of Rent at PTC where previously she directed Miss Saigon and created the musical staging for the record-breaking 2007 production of Les Misérables. Recent projects include Peter Pan at Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and a reading of Doubletime, a new musical by John Walch and Nile Rodgers. Originally from New York, her work there includes Blocks (a collaboration with Jonathan Larson), Prom Queens Unchained, and choreography for Richard Greenberg’s The Dazzle (Roundabout). Other credits include national tours of Carousel and Brigadoon, Neil Simon’s Laughter on the 23^rd Floor (Regional Theatre Premiere at Geva), West Side Story (over 15 productions; Dramalogue Award for Outstanding Choreography) and Same Time Next Year (Indiana Repertory Theatre). Later this year she will be directing A Christmas Memory at Alabama Shakespeare Festival and returning to PTC to direct Next to Normal. Karen is on the board of the New York Musical Theatre Festival and is the President of the Society for Stage Directors and Choreographers.

HELEN GREGORY (Music Director) Credits include New York Theatre Workshop, The WPA, The Vineyard, La Mama E.T.C., Hudson Guild, Maltz-Jupiter Theatre (six Carbonell nominations), Asolo Theatre (winner Sarasota Magazine Best Musical Direction – Barnum), Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Paper Mill Playhouse, Riverside Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre and The Goodman Theatre. Tours include Oklahoma, Grease and Joseph... Industrials: American Movie Classics and Star Odyssey for the Stardust Hotel, Las Vegas. This is Helen’s first show for Pioneer Theatre Company and she wishes to thank the talented designers, crew, cast and great musicians for making Rent a joy. Special thanks to my friend, director Karen Azenberg, for taking me on this wild ride.

GEORGE MAXWELL (Set Designer) is the resident scenic designer for PTC. He recently designed Sunset Boulevard, White Chritmas, 42^nd Street, A Chorus Line and A Christmas Story. Favorite PTC designs include Chicago, Les Misérables, Metamorphoses, Enchanted April, The Importance of Being Earnest, West Side Story, Proof, Peter Pan, Noises Off, Man of La Mancha, Ain’t Misbehavin’, The Foreigner and Miss Saigon. He has designed the sets for Utah Opera Company’s The Coronation of Poppea and The Ballad of Baby Doe, and productions for the Utah Shakespeare Festival and Alabama Shakespeare Festival. George is a member of United Scenic Artists. To see more of his work visit www.xmission.com/~gmaxwell.

BRENDA VAN DER WIEL (Costume Designer) is happy to be designing again for PTC. As costume shop manager for the University of Utah’s Theatre Department, Brenda has designed several dozen shows for the Babcock Theatre and the Classical Greek Theatre Festival. Some favorites include designs for The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice and Libation Bearers. Other designs for PTC include The Foreigner, You Can’t Take It With You, Dancing at Lughnasa, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Art, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Copenhagen and The Real Thing. Brenda also frequently designs for Salt Lake Acting Company and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Before moving to Salt Lake City, Brenda worked with Seattle Opera, Santa Fe Opera and the Utah Shakespeare Festival.

MICHAEL GILLIAM (Lighting Designer) Broadway credits include: Brooklyn, Big River and Stand-Up Tragedy. The West End credits: Gershwin Alone. Off-Broadway: Striking 12, Blue, End of the World Party, Zooman and the Sign, and Menopause The Musical. National tours include Brooklyn, Guys and Dolls, and Big River. Regional: Arena Stage, The Globe Theatres, Mark Taper Forum, Seattle Repertory, The Goodman Theatre, The Guthrie Theater, The Pasadena Playhouse, The Geffen Playhouse, The Kennedy Center, Ford’s Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, The Prince Music Theatre, Denver Center and Arizona Theatre Company.  Awards: Los Angeles Ovation Award, Drama-Logue Award, Garland Award and the 1999 Career Achievement Award from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle.

MATTHEW TIBBS (Sound Designer) is Pioneer Theatre Company’s Resident Sound Designer and recently designed sound for White Christmas and IN. He has previously worked as a sound designer or engineer at Portland Center Stage, Artists Repertory Theatre, Salem Repertory Theatre and Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati. Some of his favorite past sound designs include Fat Pig, Proof and The Full Monty. He received his M.F.A. in Sound Design from University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) and his B.A. from George Fox University. Matthew has also been the sound designer on several award-winning films and video projects. Matthew is adjunct faculty at University of Utah teaching Sound Design and lives with his wife Beth and son Lucas in Salt Lake City.

AMANDA FRENCH (Hair and Makeup Designer) has been a Makeup and Hair Designer for over 20 years. She has worked for The Utah Shakespeare Festival, The Utah Opera, Egyptian Theatre Company and the University of Texas at Austin. She is a contributing writer in the tenth edition of Stage Makeup by Corson, Glavan and Norcross, and her work can also be seen in The Costume Technician’s Handbook by Ingham and Covey, and Wig Making and Styling: A Complete Guide for Theatre and Film by Ruskai and Lowery. She attended the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati where she studied with Hair and Makeup Designer Lenna Kaleva. She is a member of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) and a current University of Utah adjunct professor of wigs and makeup.