12-09-14 Audio Interview

Carlo Thomas is a gift to anyone who wants to sing – or use their voice. He is not only a brilliant singer and teacher, but kind, generous and committed to helping everyone achieve their potential. And Carlo knows a great deal about achieving potential. Born and raised on a dairy farm where his first audiences were his family and the cows, he went on to a career which included Opera (City Opera, Canadian Opera, Berlin Opera, The Spoleto Music Festival, where he was directed by Gian Carlo Menotti), Broadway (1776, Phantom of the Opera), Concert (soloist at Radio City Music Hall), Recording with the Fred Waring band – and anything that required music. With his life partner Timothy Gray (who with Hugh Martin wrote the score for the musical High Spirits – based on the Noel Coward play Blithe Spirit, and many more), Carlo was enmeshed in the theater scene. Listen to this extraordinary man tell the charming, funny and sometimes outrageous stories of a life and career dedicated to the making of beautiful music. And come see the Manatee Community Theaters production of Gian Carlo Menotti’s opera Amahl and the Night Visitors which Carlo not only directed but in which he plays one of the Kings.

9-16-14 Audio Interview

As a young girl actor Erica Drezik, and the friends she coerced, used the garage door as the curtain for their homemade plays. But it wasn’t until she was living in Saudi Arabia, due to her husband’s work, that she got an opportunity to once again gather together interested folks and talk them into “putting on a play.” From then on she took every opportunity to pursue this passion. Currently she is in Mornings At Seven which will open at the Manatee Community Theater in Bradenton FL on Sept 18th. Directed by Pamela Wiley, Mornings at Seven won 4 Tony Awards and 7 Drama Desk Award when it was reproduced in 1980.