Our Board

PRESIDENT

Donna DeFant moved here 35 years ago from Massachusetts, where her theater experiences started at an early age, on stage, television and radio. She was acting, directing, costume designing, and producing; while she was a Certified Financial Planner for 32 years. Having retired from the financial industry, she devotes her time to theater arts. In Florida Donna started with Theatre Works and then got involved with The Sarasota Players as an actress, costumer, dresser, prop mistress, director, and assistant director and eventually on their Board of Trustees. At Players Donna served as their Chair of the Board of Trustees for many years. The past two years she was featured as Electa Lee, Manatee County’s very first school teacher, in The Ballad of Old Manatee with The Hat Theatre Collective at the Manatee Village Historical Park. She is frequently stage manager and sometimes actor for Theatre Odyssey’s Festivals, also representing the organization in regards to the Student Ten-Minute Playwriting Festival with the Sarasota County Arts Education Partnership through the Art & Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County. Donna is honored to be the Festival Coordinator for the 12th Annual Student Ten-Minute Playwriting Festival in May 2024.

VICE-PRESIDENT

Julee Breehne was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, and graduated with a degree in Mass Communications from Miami University. Shortly after arriving to Florida in the late 1990s, Julee volunteered for the Sarasota Film Festival the year they launched which led to a contract position at the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County assisting with preparations for the annual Arts Day event. She then spent two years in the education department at Florida Studio Theatre, first as a tour coordinator and then as a performer and teaching artist for their Write a Play program. Julee has been working in higher education since 2007 and is the K-12 coordinator for University of Florida Innovation Station. She had the privilege of performing in many Theatre Odyssey productions before joining the Board. In addition to a passion for theatre, she also enjoys writing, watching documentaries and reading nonfiction. She feels fortunate to live in a state where 50 is considered young and is honored to serve as secretary for Theatre Odyssey. 

SECRETARY

Tami Vaughan graduated from MJC and USF with a BA in Fine Arts. She worked for many years in New York City at an advertising agency where she also appeared in several Gilbert and Sullivan musicals with the Village Light Opera Group. You may have seen her around Bradenton and Anna Maria in many productions at the Riverfront Theatre and the Island Players. Her favorite role was as Guenevere in Camelot. She is very active in many of the Theatre Odyssey Festivals and creates most of promotional materials and all of the playbills. When she is not on stage, she is a bookkeeper for various clients and the editor of Parrish Village News, a 60-page local newspaper.

TREASURER

Jenny Aldrich Walker is a theatre addict, creating theatre since pre-school. She’s performed in all aspects of theatre on-, off- and backstage. As an actor she’s performed in eleven states, DC, and five countries. She’s been a producer with the joy of paying other actors, a teacher, a playwright a stage manager, prop master and director. Locally she’s performed at the Golden Apple Dinner Theatre, FST, Banyon, freeFall, American Stage, and Theatre Odyssey. This season she was proud to perform with the Asolo Conservatory and the Sarasota Jewish Theatre. Her original one-woman shows are her celebration of women, art and life: JennyAldrichPresents.com. Administratively, Jenny was Vice President of the Log Cabin Playhouse (NJ) where she was also director of the children’s theatre. She was a board member and director of the Chapel Players (VA). She was a Founding Director and Treasurer of Entirely Theatre Company (PA) and served as Treasurer and later Vice President, Finance for the Daytona Beach Playhouse. Outside the theater, she was Accounts Receivable Associate for the Arthritis Foundation (Sarasota). A longtime member of Actor’s Equity, Jenny recently retired so she could perform in community theatres and acknowledge and honor their impact on her life.

Eileen E. Price received a Bachelor of Arts in English/Speech-Theater Arts from Shippensburg University (of Pennsylvania); and has continued study completing a second undergraduate degree in Paralegal Studies from the University of Louisville as well as a Master’s Degree in Secondary English Education from the University of West Georgia. Her professional experience has included teaching in schools in Maryland and Georgia; teaching Classroom Management for teachers new to the Fayette County [Georgia] school system as well as a posting as a college registrar while living in Heidelberg, Germany. Eileen is a member of several professional organizations including The Golden Key National Honor Society, Pi Lambda Theta, the Georgia Association of Educators and Alpha Psi Omega.  She has been honored three times by inclusion in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers and is in her eighteenth year of teaching English at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School in Bradenton.

Directors Emeritus

Preston Boyd retired from teaching drama and music after 24 years and now fills his time as a freelance theatre director, actor, musician, and acting teacher. Before moving to Florida, he and his wife, Priscilla, worked for a number of regional theatres around the United States and Off-Broadway in New York. Their favorite productions are sons Dorian and Colin, and grandson Noah.

Tami Vaughan graduated from MJC and USF with a BA in Fine Arts. She worked for many years in New York City at an advertising agency where she also appeared in several Gilbert and Sullivan musicals with the Village Light Opera Group. You may have seen her around Bradenton and Anna Maria in many productions at the Riverfront Theatre and the Island Players. Her favorite role was as Guenevere in Camelot. She is very active in many of the Theatre Odyssey Festivals and creates most of promotional materials and all of the playbills. When she is not on stage, she is a bookkeeper for various clients and the editor of Parrish Village News, a 60-page local newspaper.

Dan Higgs graduated from Towson College in 1960, taught Jr/Sr High School for 14 years, became a television teacher on Maryland’s PBS Education Channel for two years, gained a Masters Degree and finished his 35 year career as Coordinator of Media Technology. Active in his local Union, he served in a myriad of positions including President. Dan was Chairman of the Anne Arundel County, Maryland Cable Commission for eight years. Dan was introduced to theatre when he was Shanghied into his college Senior Class Farewell Satire. He’s performed 200+ and directed 50+ plays in Equity, Community and Dinner Theatres, briefly functioned in most tech positions, and served in theatre administrations including President of three theatres. He’s dabbled in writing short plays and had three produced. He is honored to serve this unique and exciting theater organization. Dan, Shigemi and their daughter, Vera, moved from Annapolis to Sarasota in 1995.

Bob Trisolini has served as Vice President for Theatre Odyssey twice, served on the Governance Committee, as Chairman of Evening With a Playwright events, and as Chairman of “On The Road” events. He has directed and/or acted in every Theatre Odyssey festival for the past ten years. Bob has a long history of producing, directing and choreographing shows for Broadway, Off Broadway, cruise ships, theme parks, regional and community theaters as well as corporate America. He was the founder and CEO of The West Bank Creative Inc., a business theater agency in the metro New York City area. During his 23 years running the agency he worked with such celebrities as Sammy Davis Jr, Rita Rudner, David Brenner, Beth Fowler, Ray Romano, Howie Mandell and the casts of many Broadway shows. He was part of the creative and producing teams of the five-time Tony-nominated Broadway show “Romance/Romance” and the Drama Desk and Obie Award winner “Olympus On My Mind”. He directed six shows for Celebrity Cruise Lines and numerous shows for Walt Disney Entertainment, Disney Business Productions and Disney Special Events. At Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, he was show director for the development and opening of “Rhino Rally” and creative consultant for “Cast Away Critters”. Bob is part of the Acting Company Highlands Playhouse and Asolo Rep. Locally Bob has directed “Stop The World”, “Titanic”, “Amadeus”, “Greetings”, “Jekyll & Hyde”, “She Loves Me” and “Seussical” to name a few.