We are happy to welcome returning guest director Ross Daniels. Ross previously directed several productions for Market House Theatre including award-winning festival productions of Proof and The Guys. Last year Ross directed the MHT production of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare – Abridged. When asked how he first heard of Market House, Ross said, “Being a community theatre director at Fort Knox we heard of MHT back in the mid 1980′s. It is one of the best community theatres in Kentucky and the region!”

Ross Daniels recently retired from the Federal Government after 25 years as Director of U.S. Army Entertainment Programs at Fort Knox, Kentucky and Vicenza, Italy. In 2001, the U.S. Army presented Ross with the James T. Martin Award for Distinguished Lifetime Achievement.

While at Fort Knox, Ross and his wife Bonnie established Army Community Theatre (ACT) and built one of the Army’s most decorated programs. He produced and directed plays that took top awards at state and regional AACT festivals and were honored at International Theatre Festivals in Aruba, England and Germany. Ross served as Kentucky Community Theatre Chair from 1995-97 and hosted the state theatre festival at Fort Knox in 1996.

Ross was an advocate for establishing AACT Region 10 which in 1998 recognized American overseas community theatre programs. In Vicenza, Italy, he produced Do Not Go Gentle, which won the AACT Region 10 Best Play Award. Soldiers’ Theatre of Vicenza became the first military theatre to qualify competitively and was an award recipient at the AACT National Theatre Festival in 1999 at Memphis, TN. In 2006, Ross produced the award-winning production of The Tolstoy Story Play which represented the US at the AACT International Theatre Festival in Midland, Texas.

I asked Ross how he first became interested in theatre. His response was, “An elementary school play about a boy and girl meeting someone from space.
I played the boy, never realizing this would someday prepare me to direct the extraterrestrial elements within Escanaba In Da Moonlight.”

Ross has produced, directed, and performed over 100 plays, musicals, and workshops. He has adapted many scripts from their literary sources including A Christmas Carol, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Hamlet. His original compiled scripts include material centered on Shakespeare: Billy Ball, African American Literature: Umbhiyozo, and the golden entertainment age: The Day of Vaudeville/A Night In Burlesque.

Since retiring, Ross has been active with US Army Theatre programs, adjudicating festivals and conducting workshops. When asked whether he had any interest in future festivals, Ross said, “Always, our bags are packed.”

Ross’s other interests include “Gardening, hiking, foraging, mushroom hunting, cooking, baseball, a little fishing, travelling of course…did I mention our bags are packed?”

I asked Ross if there was anything he wanted to add that I hadn’t asked. “I am glad you asked, eh. Come see Escanaba In Da Moonlight written by my kin, Jeff. Prepare to be amazed!!!”

(written by Denise Bristol)