THE TEAM
KRISTIN MILLER
Artistic Director
Has developed and taught theatre and related programming for more than 30 years and managed various arts programs for ARTreach, Katy Visual and Performing Arts Center, Catholic Charities, and Mamie George Community Center. Kristin is the founding visionary of the Books Alive! concept, which has enjoyed over 12 years of success in various program incarnations until becoming the company you see today.
TAMARA GRISKO
Managing Director
Holds a B.A. in Acting/Directing from NIU. With over 30 years of directing credits in youth and adult productions, she is also the primary director for Books Alive! tours. Previous experience includes Performing Arts Director and Operations Administrator for Katy Visual & Performing Arts Center, President of Studio VII Theatre Company, Producer and Director for First Street Playhouse, and Systems Administrator and IT Professional with multiple small companies.
BOOKS ALIVE! WRITING TEAM
Donna Wheaton, Kristin Miller, Tamara Grisko,
Phil Pettey, Andrew Culley
Each an artist as an actor/director/writer/or musician who together are credited with adapting 12 books into original Books Alive! musicals, which have been performed on over 100 stages to more than 100,000 patrons. One year of development is required for each new musical to be ready for the touring roster. The writing team reviews suggestions of books for adaptation offered by teachers, staff members, librarians and the community at large. Once a book is selected, they work closely with the author(s) and the publishing house to obtain the rights necessary for the adaptation of the book into a performance piece. The team then spends 6 months developing a script and composing an original musical score with lyrics, resulting in the creation of an original 45 minute musical. After several more months of preparation, including auditions, production meetings and rehearsals, a new Books Alive! production is then ready to tour!
JESSICA RACK
Booking & Tour Manager