AAPAE.com -:- American Alliance of Performing Arts Educators -:-

Who We Are

Linda Apperson

Stage Manager for all AAPAE productions, teaches in the Stanford University Theatre Department, Palo Alto, CA, and graduated from the School of Theatre, Florida State University, and has stage managed more than 3,000 performances of musicals, dramas, and operas. She is currently a guest lecturer in stage management at the Stanford University Drama department.

Her experience spans both coasts, including Orlando and Boca Raton, Florida, New York City, and the San Francisco area. Her credits include a veritable catalog of the craft: Elephant Man; Misalliance; Three Tall Women, 1776; No, No Nanette; Fiddler on the Roof, most of the Rogers and Hammerstein canon; Der Fliegende Hollander; Gianni Schicci, Pagliacci; Faust; Scapino; Twelfth Night, Merchant of Venice, The Robber Bridegroom; Godspell, Peter Pan; Into the Woods; and The Pirates of Penzance; plus many standards.

Her daughter, Jessica, now a college student, is an invaluable assistant backstage and was the first AAPAE intern.

Linda will also be Director of Productions and oversee the various venues and the corps of stage managers for the AAPAE 2012 London Invitational Series scheduled for July/August 2012.
Ms. Apperson is also the author of Stage Managing and Theatre Etiquette, published by Ivan R. Dee.

Carrie Straub

Director, was until recently Director of Educational Services of The Jacob School, a private, 501 (c) 3 nonprofit school, which works with creative, at-risk youth. The Jacob School is ranked as one of the top private schools in the state of Florida by Florida Monthly Magazine, based on its small class sizes and low student to teacher ratio. Carrie is currently a Doctoral Fellow at University of Central Florida.

Coming from a costuming and theater performance background, plus her role as Vice President of the Council of Educators, Inc. has guided Carrie in helping the AAPAE board shape its concept and implementation of the AAPAE mission ~ inexpensive access for all to world class venues as inspiration for artistic excellence.

Mark Jacob

Treasurer, is founder and Program Director of The Jacob School, a private school for at-risk, gifted youth Mark has an extensive background in planning and executing corporate expansion plans and has worked with both labor and management. He conceptualized and developed a value-based system used to motivate individuals to achieve their potential which was rated "Best Practice" by the State of Florida Bureau of Quality Assurance.

His lifelong love is to work with youth, having successfully implemented urban programs in New York and Vermont and rustic programs in Texas and finally the ground breaking StoneSoup School in Florida.

Mark’s forte is the Visual Arts. He is conservateur of the $1.8M Jacob School Bequethment of Modern Russian Art and representative for the $14M Aranda Collection.

Lorelei Straub

Director, Search Committee Head, grew up in the performing arts and even ran her own sizable gymnastics and dance studio while in college. She understands both performance and the business of a successful performing arts group. She has performed in such diverse places as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, college stages, a Broadway stage and Prague, plus onstage at Manhattan Center, Lincoln Center and mainstage at Carnegie Hall. As an administrator, her focus for AAPAE will continue to be international events. For the Sydney 2000 Olympics, she recruited, vetted and supervised the 25 groups (almost 1,000 people) for the American Young Artists Series held during the games. Most people are surprised to find she holds a B.S. in biology and is a published author focusing on the preservation of an endemic species of Florida lizard. She currently lives in Seattle and plans to enter the Masters of Public Health Genetics program at the University of Washington. In addition to being the AAPAE Search Committee Head, she supports University of Cincinnati on line Bachelor programs. Lorelei is excited to learn, meet, and exceed the needs of performing arts groups who wish to showcase their talents amid the excitement of the AAPAE London 2012 Invitational!

Lucie Straub

Office Manager, is currently working to complete her B.A. and juggles that committment with the responsibilities surrounding each AAPAE performance such as composing that production's Playbill, plus maintaining contacts with clients, vendors, accounts, press requests, and Kieffner Award applicants.

Her Performance Day duties include intern supervision, dressing room supervision, plus stage left responsibilities during tech and the actual performance. She is passionate about animals and was previously the Educational Administrator for Distinctive Dogs Pet Grooming School in Las Vegas and has published a how-to book and study guide on pet grooming, which serves as the textbook for that school and others.

Matthew Straub

Producer, has been a college instructor and administrator, has maintained an extensive private-studio teaching practice, and is a published author and a coauthor of Mime:Basics for Beginners, (PLAYS, INC., Boston).

Professional performance credits include flutist with the Florida Symphony Orchestra, Orlando; Walt Disney World, primary wind; 1966 Andy Warhol Plastic Exploding Inevitable; the Walt Disney and the 11th Pennsylvania (Gettysburg, PA) Fife & Drum Corps; and freelance flute work including product, improv and Baroque ensemble work; plus national touring with WindMime, a mime and flute duo with hundreds of appearances at conventions, trade shows, colleges, festivals, etc.

Producing credits include:

Carnegie Hall Instrumental and Vocal Festival, February, 1997; Carnegie Hall, NYC

The Winter Dance Festival with two performances, January, 1998; Carnegie Hall, NYC

The Autumn Dance Festival with two performances, October, 1998; Carnegie Hall, NYC

Broadway Dance Festival, January, 1999; Brooks Atkinson Theater, 47th St. at Times Square, NYC

The AAPAE Sixth Invitational Winter Choral Festival at Carnegie Hall, January, 1999; Carnegie Hall, NYC

The Nutcracker on Broadway Series, November 26th - December 5th, 1999; Manhattan Center, NYC

The Broadway Nutcracker Series, November 25-27, December 2nd, 2000; Manhattan Center, NYC

The Broadway Cinderella Series, March, 2001; Manhattan Center, NYC

9/11 Benefit January 2002; Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, NYC

First Annual AAPAE Winter Invitational, January 2006; Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, NYC

Second Annual AAPAE Winter Invitational, January 2007; Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, NYC

Third Annual AAPAE Winter Invitational, January 2008; Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, NYC

AAPAE Seventh Invitational at Carnegie Hall, February 2009; Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall, NYC

Fourth Annual AAPAE Invitational, April 2009; Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, NYC

The American Young Artist Series, 2000 Sydney Olympics, showcasing 25 performing arts groups from across the USA performing on

the Samsung Stage at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics.

The AAPAE Mission

The American Alliance of Performing Arts Educators, as a 501(c)3 nonprofit, provides major performance opportunities for pre-professional performing arts talent to appear in supportive, noncompetitive and major venues. By combining the resources of talented and qualified performing groups, AAPAE is able to access venues of world stature for groups of moderate means. These performance opportunities often include Master Classes with professionals who are currently active in their fields. AAPAE addresses the situations common to all performing arts educators, whether they are independent or affiliated with an educational institution.

AAPAE strives to educate performing groups on how to self-fund the opportunities presented them, allowing individual performing groups to become viable, independent businesses, whether profit or nonprofit. Our mission is to strengthen amateur performing arts groups by offering them inspiring and reasonably inexpensive access to world class venues.