Cathy Bennett
Chair
 

Cathy Bennett is the Senior Director for Public Policy and Programs for the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce where she manages federal affairs, Kansas state affairs and government relations, international travel, and several special projects for Chamber and community leaders. 

Cathy has been a supporter of Theatre in the Park since 2005 when her son was cast in his first TTIP production, Guys and Dolls.  She also serves as a board member for Girl Scouts of Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri, and the Climate and Energy Project. 

Cathy has previously served on the Shawnee Mission Education Foundation and as PTA president or Shawnee Mission East and Westwood View Elementary school and has been a board member for CASA of Johnson County and has served on the Westwood Planning Commission. 

Sherman Botts
 

Sherman is a partner with the Lathrop & Gage law firm and is serving his third year on the TTIP Advisory Council.  In addition, he has appeared on stage in past TTIP productions of Titanic - the Musical, The Music Man and Seussical. He is an active musician in various jazz and church groups in the community.
 

Chip Buckner
 

Chip grew up in Kansas City before earning degrees from Williams College (Williamstown, MA) and the University of Kansas School of Law.  He left the private practice of law to join the Missouri Attorney General’s office, where he ran the state’s consumer fraud unit and represented the state everywhere from traffic court to the United States Supreme Court. He is currently counsel to Bartlett and Company, a Kansas City agribusiness.

Chip describes himself as being “a singing male who is unafraid of making a fool of himself in front of large numbers of people” - a characteristic that led to church choirs, Cub and Scout leadership positions and, perhaps naturally, theater.  He enjoys the stage because actors use the same skills as, but get more applause than, lawyers.  Over the past ten years, he has tried to do a show each year, except in those years in which he does three or four.  He sometimes shares a stage with his wife, Deborah, but not with his children, who figure that if their parents do it, it can't be cool.

Chip joined the TTIP Advisory Council in 2011.
 

Jill Geller
Supt. of Recreation JCPRD
 

Jill Is the Superintendent of Recreation for the Johnson County Park and Recreation District.  Employed at JCPRD since 1980, Jill previously served as Wellness Manager and Kansas City Corporate Challenge Executive Director. 

Jill has been a strong supporter of The Theatre in the Park since 2004, and has served on the Theatre Council since that time. 
 

Chris Halford









 

Chris has been a member of the Theatre Advisory Council since 2009 and served as Chair of the Council in 2011.  Along with the Theatre Advisory Council, he has served on the Ambassadors committee since 2004.  Besides volunteering on committees, Chris has been performing at the Theatre since 2003.  Some of his favorite roles at TTIP are Bela Zangler in Crazy For You, Skimbleshanks in Cats, Rev. Moore in Footloose, and Jim in All Shook Up. 

His daughter Courtney, who now resides as an actress in NYC, got her start in theatre on our stage in 2003. His wife, Terry, has served on the Ambassadors committee, and has assisted costumers in several shows out at the Park.

 

Robert Hingula
Ambassadors Chair

Robert has been actively involved with Theatre in the Park since 2006 as an actor, and has served as a Theatre in the Park Ambassador since 2010.  Robert has performed in several venues in Kansas City as an actor, as well as being an advocate for local arts support through involvement in local arts groups including formerly serving as Secretary of the Young Friends of Art and currently serving on the Board of Spinning Tree Theatre. 

When not performing, Robert spends his days practicing employment law as a Shareholder at Polsinelli Shughart, PC, and spending time with his loving wife, Melissa, and talented daughter, Darcie.

 

Tom O'Rourke
Past Chair
 

Tom is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, having received a Bachelor of Arts degree from John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio. 

After 27 years in residential real estate, he retired in December of 2007, as a Senior Vice President/Managing Broker.  During his career, he was President of the Johnson County Multiple Listing Service, President of the Johnson County Board of Realtors, and was awarded its "Realtor of the Year' in 1998.  He was a State Director, and served on the Design Committee to merge the Johnson County and Metropolitan KC Boards of Realtors into the KC Regional Assn. of Realtors in 2001.

After being a regular attendee at TTIP shows for many years, be began his on-stage career in 1996, appearing in the role of Welch in Damn Yankees.  Since then he has appeared in 13 TTIP shows, including earning a Demmi Award nomination for his portrayal of John Hancock in 1776, and will be seen again in this summer's Damn Yankees.  He has also appeared in multiple productions at CenterSeason at the Lewis & Shirley White Theatre.  In addition, he has organized charity golf events for many years, raising over a half million dollars for various organizations.

This is Tom's fifth year on the TTIP Council  and this year he will be serving as the Past Chair. He sees nothing but great things in the future for TTIP and will continue to stay involved.  Tom, his wife Jan, and daughters Laura and Julie, have been collectively involved in over 55 productions over the years here at TTIP.

Marshall Rimann
 

Marshall has been a member of the Theatre Advisory Council since 2011.  He is a native Kansas Citian, having grown up in Johnson County and graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School.  His involvement with Theatre in the Park began when he was cast as a member of the ensemble in the 2005 production of Singin' in the Rain.   He has appeared 5 other TTIP productions as well as in other community theatre venues in the area.  Marshall lives in Lenexa, and together with his wife Mary, is co-owner of Rimann Liquors in Prairie Village and Lenexa.
 

Jim Royer
Sertoma Club Rep.
 

Jim is a native “Kansan”, having been born in Topeka and raised in Johnson County.  He is a graduate of Shawnee Mission North High School and a graduate of Kansas State University.  After working in Idaho for three and one-half years in the Nuclear Engineering field, he came back to Kansas to do graduate work at Kansas State University and then started  a career with IBM in Kansas City.  In 1975, I became a member of the Shawnee Mission Sertoma Club and instigated the project to build a new outdoor theater in Shawnee Mission Park.  As chairman of the Theater Fund Raising Committee and with the help of my fellow Sertomans, he spent the next five years raising money to build the new theater. 

In 1979, IBM moved him to a job in St. Louis and he turned over the leadership of the theater project to a fellow Sertoman, Reuben Sell.  He completed the fundraising and worked with the Johnson County Park and Recreation District during the construction of what is now The Theatre in the Park.  During this time, Jim met and married his lovely wife, Donna Knoell and moved to Atlanta, Georgia.  Jim and Donna both missed their Kansas roots and moved back to Prairie Village in 1988.   Jim is currently retired from IBM and enjoying serving on the Theatre Advisory Council, working with his church, being involved with the Johnson County Sertoma Club and traveling.
 

George Schlagel
Commissioner, JCPRD
 

George is the senior founding member of the Schlagel Kinzer LLC law firm and has been practicing in Olathe since receiving his law degree in 1974.   George is a fourth generation resident of Johnson County and is an active member of the JCPRD Board of Commissioners.  He is the Board’s liaison to The Theatre in the Park’s Advisory Council.

 

Diana Wille
 

Diana is an area native and, along with her husband, Fred Spears, has called Johnson County home for the past 25 years.  Diana graduated from K-State with a BA in Journalism and from KU with an MBA and is recently retired after a 30-year career with Hallmark Cards.   While her own musical and theatre experience was limited to being in glee clubs, church choirs and in the chorus in high school musicals, Diana is a long term supporter of the performing arts and believes in their importance in enhancing the quality of our community. 

Diana has regularly attended and promoted, since its earliest days in Antioch Park, the outstanding productions offered by The Theatre in the Park.  She is also a subscriber to the Kansas City Symphony and the Kansas City Ballet.  This is Diana’s first year on the Theatre Advisory Council.
 

Adam Winsnieski
 

Adam Wisnieski has been actively involved at The Theatre in the Park since 2002 and has served as an Advisory Council member since 2011. His experience with the Theatre spans multiple disciplines, both on-stage roles and stage management positions through involvement with 12 productions. Day-to-day, Adam is a consultant with EMC Corporation in their strategic business services group and enjoys traveling. His favorite shows produced at Theatre in the Park include West Side Story and Footloose.   

Doug Allen
Lori Allen
Julianne Bell
Pam Blackburn
Scott Blackburn
Debbie Blinn
Dave Couch
Mike Forsythe
Janet Glassman
Marlis Grad
Mindy Gray
Chris Halford
Terry Halford
Judy Hiebert
Melissa Hingula

Robert Hingula, Chair
Becky Hulla
Nancy LaSala
Mickey Levey
Adam McAdoo
John Ras
Julia Ras
Drew Stein
Jennie Stein
Robert Stillwell
Celia Thompson
David Thompson
Matt Walberg

Arvin Zwick
Tammy Zwick