Oliver Twist Team

Kara Minute & Michael Antico

Kara Minute

Kara is a Rochester NY native, holds a BFA in Peforming Arts from Adelphi University. She is delighted to join The Children Stage Adventures team!

Kara's most recent credits include performing in the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire season and Mt. Hope Estates A Dickens of a Christmas 2009. She completed 3 seasons with The Merry Go Round Playhouse Youth Tour, and performed in I Love You, You're Perfect Now Change, Water Coolers, and SHOUT! the Musical with The Downstairs Cabaret Theater. Kara has also been granted many opportunities to direct/teach theater to young adults and children. One of Kara's many goals is to help play a part in keeping the magic of theater alive!

Kara would like to thank God for his many blessings and her family and friends for their constant support!

Michael Antico

Michael is originally from Chicopee, Massachusetts. Although he holds a degree in Anthropology (UMass, '00), he has been fortunate enough to work as a professional actor for several years.

He comes to CSA after spending the 2009 summer season with the PA Renaissance Faire where he was a pirate! Michael also played Jacob Marley in PARF's "Dickens' Christmas". Prior to that, he spent three years with Merry Go Round Playhouse's Youth Tour where he performed for, and worked with, children from grades K - 8. He has also been an actor/musician for the Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre, played Cardinal Richelieu on a national tour and "The Three Musketeers", and performed in various singing and dance revues for Six Flags.

In his free time Michael enjoys reading, video games, playing guitar and drums, watching his favorite sports teams, and spending time with his cat, Roxy.  He wishes to thank his family and friends for their ongoing love and support.  Special thanks to his tour partner Kara for an amazing experience!

CSA's Founders

Lorrie and Rob Gray have been active in theatre for more than 20 years. Rob's first on-stage production credit was that of "Fancourt Babberly in "Charlie's Aunt", in 1983, at Keene State College. Lorrie started even sooner in several high school productions. She went to Western Illinois University where she earned a Bachelors Degree in recreation and parks administration with a minor in music.

Rob and Lorrie have extensive work histories in summer youth camps and the two met in 1984 while working at a Lutheran summer camp. They were married in 1988. Once they settled in the Monadnock area their theatre resumes grew quickly. They were very active in several community and semi-professional theatre groups both on stage and behind the scenes. Rob began directing plays in 1991. He has 9 directing credits and has acted in more than 20 stage productions. Lorrie has been featured in numerous roles in a variety of productions in the region.

One of their highlights working together came when they co-directed a children's play as part of Keene's First Night '95. "Eyefellgloffenhootenanniemerryberrycrunch" involved 12 children and was a big hit to the sold-out audiences and a great learning experience for the kids involved! After this undertaking Lorrie and Rob knew that they wanted to advance their skills working with children in a theatre environment.

They went on to become Actor/Directors for Missoula Children's Theatre, for two years, from Sept.'95 through May '97. They toured to 63 towns and cities in the USA and Canada. MCT was a great company to work for but they missed their home in New Hampshire. They wished to continue the fulfilling experience of working in children's theatre and established Children's Stage Adventures, Inc. to provide another high quality children's theatre program at a more affordable rate to venues in the eastern states.

Rob returned to Keene State College to complete a bachelor's degree in theatre. He earned 49 credits in a little over a year, maintaining a 4.0 GPA while working several jobs. At the same time Lorrie wrote CSA's first play, "The Sword Called Excalibur" and secured royalty rights to use wonderful children's songs by Grammy award winning musician and performer Tom Chapin.

CSA's second show is the musical-comedy "The Fisherman and His Wife", book and music by Don Kukla.

During the summer of 2001 Rob and Lorrie wrote CSA's third play, Androcles and The Lion. In September 2002, they completed a new adaptation of Dickens' classic Oliver Twist. 2003 saw CSA's 5th production, Shakespeare's Midsummer Dream, premiere to rave reviews.

In 2006 CSA commissioned Don Kukla to write a new musical adaptation of The Princess and the Pea. In Summer 2007, Lorrie Gray completed The Emperor's New Clothes. All productions have professionally designed costumes and original sets constructed by the multitalented Grays.

CSA has enjoyed more than 300 wonderfully successful residencies during the past nine years. Each group was unique and the productions were well received by classmates, teachers, parents and relatives of the young casts. Plans for continued growth include increasing bookings - up to 80 weeks in the upcoming school year - and the addition of an eighth production to the repertoire!