Prior to joining the faculty at UNC, David served for six years as the Producing Artistic Director of the Tennessee Repertory Theatre a LORT C&D regional theatre located in Nashville, TN. There he produced 36 productions including three world premieres, established an “off-Broadway season” of contemporary plays, worked with numerous guest stars, expanded the Rep’s education department, forged new relationships with local academic and cultural institutions, initiated two co-productions with sister theatre Arkansas Rep and was the recipient of 8 “Tennie Awards” for Best Direction. David’s 2001 production of West Side Story featuring the late Kenneth Schermerhorn and the Nashville Symphony was recorded for Naxos International and has received numerous national and inter-national awards for excellence.

An award-winning director, actor and playwright, David has provided administrative, financial, and artistic leadership for a wide variety of theatrical institutions including two professional regional theatres, 3D productions - a commercial bus & truck touring company, two nationally recognized university theatre departments, a variety of summer stock companies, and a number of large professional not-for-profit regional and civic theatres. During his 29-year career in the theatre, David has produced over 800 major productions that span nearly every genre of dramatic literature. His work as a director (150+ productions) has been seen from coast to coast.

David is the creator/co-author (with Todd Olson) of four musical revues; My Way – A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra, Christmas My Way – A Sinatra Holiday Bash, Moon River – Johnny Mercer’s American Songbook, and I Left My Heart – A Salute to the Music of Tony Bennett, which have been performed at over 300 theatres world wide. His film noir play Dracula: The Case of the Silver Scream (with Robert Neblett) had its world premiere at TN Rep in 2003.

Born and raised in Parkersburg West Virginia, David is a graduate of the MFA Theatre Program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He is an active member of the Society of Stage Directors & Choreographers, the Dramatists Guild of America and Actors' Equity Association.

David’s recent guest directorial credits include productions for Denver Theatre Center Attractions, Asolo Theatre, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Seven Angels Theatre, American Stage Company, Barter Theatre, Flatrock Playhouse, Little Theatre on the Square, Muhlenburg Summer Theatre and Dollywood.

For UNC David’s directorial credits include: Candida, Dracula: The Case of the Silver Scream, Bleacher Bums, Rounding Third, The Tempest, Tuesday’s With Morrie, The Drawer Boy, Titanic – The Musical, God's Man in Texas, Bad Dates, and Heartbreak House.

David Grapes

Member, Actor’s Equity Association (AEA)
Member, Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SSD&C)
Member, The Dramatists Guild of America (DGA)

Vance Fulkerson (Co-Creator) serves as Professor of Theatre Arts and the Head of the Musical Theatre Program at the University of Northern Colorado. At UNC he teaches, musical theatre voice, acting, and directing.

At UNC’s professional company Little Theatre of the Rockies his production credits include: Chess, The Last Five Years, Evita, Bat Boy: The Musical, Urinetown: The Musical, Jekyll and Hyde, Forever Plaid, Camelot, Godspell, Guys and Dolls, Falstaff, Death of a Salesman, The Robber Bridegroom, Hello Dolly, Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up,? A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, South Pacific, The Music Man, The Sound of Music, Gypsy, Sweet Charity, A Few Good Men, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, House of Blue Leaves, The Front Page, and My Fair Lady.

His students have compiled an impressive list of credits including leading roles in the Broadway and National Tour productions of: Wicked ,Hairspray, Little Women, The Full Monty, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Mamma Mia, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Cats, Miss Saigon, A Chorus Line, Chess, Starlight Express, Falsettos, Grease, Aspects of Love, Victor, Victoria, Show Boat, Guys and Dolls, Passion, Beauty and the Beast, Jesus Christ Superstar, Christmas Carol, Annie Get Your Gun, Fosse, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and Carousel.

An active presenter at regional and national workshops, Professor Fulkerson previously taught at the University of Utah and Loretto Heights College before his 1990 UNC appointment. Professor Fulkerson was the featured guest artist on three national tours for the Educational Theatre Association presenting professional development seminars on “Directing and Coaching Musical Theatre.” He has been a featured guest artist at the EDTA International Theatre Convention in Washington DC. He is currently touring the country auditioning for a national production of Hairspray he will direct and choreograph to open the 2008 International Thespian Conference.

He has given musical theatre voice and performance workshops in over thirty states to academic and professional companies across the United States. In his professional workshops the participants learn how to effectively deal with the demands that contemporary musical theatre makes on the voice. He draws on many diverse disciplines in his approach to teaching musical theatre styles. Exercises strengthen the larynx, vocal chords, release the tongue and jaw, and yield increased ranges and flexibility. Having studied all aspects of musical theatre voice with the best-known teachers in the country, Jan Sullivan and Jo Estil, he has combined the most effective aspects from the top teachers into a “best of the best” technique.

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Andrew Philip Herron (Arranger) is the composer and co-librettist of the musicals The Top, Bonnie and Clyde, and American Storm; The Great Galveston Hurricane.  He wrote incidental music for Mikell Pinkney’s production of Orestes, additional music and lyrics for David Varquez’s adaptation of El Bluebird, and was the music director for the University of Florida’s nationally known Theatre Strike Force troupe, composing for their mainstage show for two years.  Mr. Herron’s work has been presented and read at such theatres as The Culture Project at 45 Bleecker, The Village Theatre (Seattle), and Constans Theatre (Florida).