In 1978, Ward founded NTC to deliver entertaining and engaging programs that motivate families, students and educators. For nearly 35 years, organisations have used NTC’s engagement strategies and tactics to enhance their reputations and visibility in the communities they serve. Ward has worked with clients in the energy, financial services, health, technology, environment, recycling and consumer products industries, among others, and is in the third year of producing a nationally broadcast TV series for tweens and teens called M@dAbout. Under Ward’s supervision, NTC has developed the art of teaching using live theatre into a science of its own. With a keen eye for talent, he has assembled a staff filled with knowledgeable, aware, creative, stimulating, fun, caring personalities, building NTC into the largest educational touring theatre company in the country. As founder and president, Ward Eames oversees all departments by keeping a finger on the pulse of the day-to-day operations of the organisation.

Patrick started working for NTC in August of 1998. He has traveled across the country performing in such shows as The Legend of Mongoose Mountain, The Further Adventures of Louie the Lightning Bug, Showdown at Dry Gulch, Alice in Waterland, Men In Plaid and Ranger Ted’s Excellent Safety Adventure. As the Vice President of Operations, Pat is responsible for all aspects of Production and Print Distribution of NTC programs including live events, television, video, digital media, social media and printed materials. As the Vice President of Operations, Pat is a member of the Executive Staff Leadership Team and responsible to create, develop and tour professional quality educational children’s theatre programs for clients all across the country. He is also responsible for overseeing the daily operations and all aspects of NTC Production, including but not limited to: budgets, directing, casting & hiring, actor training, troupe logistics, on-the-road tour management, travel, print/web development and leading weekly tactical staff meetings. Pat also had the pleasure of being the Producer for the nationally syndicated weekly TV show M@dAbout® Mr. Rowan has worked for several regional theatres including Peninsula Players in Door County, WI, Theatre L’Homme Dieu in Alexandria, MN, The Season’s Dinner Theatre, Hennepin Stages and St. Croix Valley Summer Theatre both as a performer and stage technician. Patrick lives in the Twin Cities with his lovely and talented wife, Jennifer, who enjoy being the proud parents of 3 children, identical twin girls and a boy.

After 15 years in the graphic arts industry, and two children, Margaret joined The National Theatre for Children. As a co-owner of NTC, the financial and human resources department seemed a natural fit. Over the past eight years she has taken control of the accounts receivable and payable, the company payroll and monthly financial statements. She also oversees the company’s employee benefits plan as well as the general office management.

Katie started working part-time with The National Theatre for Children in 1990 as the assistant to the President. In the fall of 1991 she became the Customer Service Manager and got a full-time desk and phone. Currently Katie is the Director of Client Services and is responsible for negotiating and executing contracts between NTC and its sponsors, PR, and newsletters. She also manages development of classroom curricula and works in conjunction with NTC senior management and production staff on new product development. Katie lives in Minneapolis.

Becoming a full time part of the NTC team in August 2009, Eddie has a unique perspective on NTC’s operations. A Marketing & Communications major and graduate from the University of St. Thomas and winner of the 2014 Rising Marketing Star Award on behalf of Association of National Advertisers (ANA), he analyzed the NTC business model and practices. Now as the Manager of Marketing and Client Services, Eddie is responsible for closing new and existing revenue opportunities and negotiating and executing contracts between NTC and its partners. He also is responsible for identifying, marketing, selling and creating relationships with corporate, governmental and non-profit organizations on a local, regional and national scale who want to actively engage their desired target audiences on important societal issues. Prior to this role, Eddie has spent time learning and executing projects in numerous areas of NTC ranging from Sales, Marketing and Customer Service departments as well as heading many social media projects that NTC has taken on. http://www.ana.net/content/show/id/32228

rank Maciel’s first paid acting gig was touring Los Angeles with Alice in Waterland for NTC in 1989. After moving to Minneapolis from his native California, he worked as a Tour Coordinator at NTC, writing scripts for the company on the side. Frank hosted Kids News, an NTC educational video project launched in the early 90’s, and worked as a staff writer for the TV show, M@d About. Recently, he supervised Acting Out! — NTC’s first peer to peer anti-bullying program, coaching student groups from four Minnesota high schools. Frank’s quirky resume includes improvising with Comedy Sportz in the Twin Cities & LosAngeles; hosting the afternoon kids’ show, Club Fun TV on KMSP Channel 9; startling guests at Disneyland as Sally Mae, the Ugliest Girl in Frontier land; appearing on television in improv and sketch comedy based programs; and one of his favorite jobs — behind the scenes work on a game show hosted by Dick Clark, getting the chance to chat up Betty White, Ed McMahon, Rip Taylor, Dawn Welles, and Adam West. He even helped push the original TV Bat mobile when it died unexpectedly outside the soundstage! Currently Frank’s duties as NTC’s Marketing Team Coordinator include work on marketing pieces, RFPs and grant applications while heading up the Business Development Call Center as well. He lives in the Loring Park area of Minneapolis and FINALLY has underground parking.

Jenny came to NTC with years of experience in Business Administration, Office Management, and Accounting. She started at NTC as a sales caller and is now the Sales & Marketing Coordinator. Jenny is the gate keeper of our client database, produces calling campaigns, helps to train incoming sales callers, registers NTC to qualify for RFP’s, researches grant applications and pitches in where ever needed. Jenny lives in Minneapolis with her family. She enjoys the arts, photography, and spending time outside.

Bill Turner began working for NTC in 1995 as an actor. He was instrumental in developing characters for such shows asWhere in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and 2Smart 2Smoke. As an artistic associate, Bill began directing and building shows. As Technical Director, Bill managed set design and construction, prop design, costume development, and production budgets. He also served as Technical Producer forShakespeare in the Park. Bill also served as Director of Production, and General Manager of The National Theatre for Children. Bill currently manages the technical infrastructure at NTC.

Ensuring that thousands of schools across the country successfully schedule performances each year is just one of John Trones’ responsibilities as the Director of School Marketing. Trones is responsible for a team of marketing experts that effectively and efficiently plan, map, and schedule each one of those performances to fulfill NTC’s client contracts. The School Marketing Department works closely with Sales & Marketing and Production to ensure that everyone from our actors to our clients enjoy a seamless and positive tour experience. Before joining the NTC team in early 2008, Trones enjoyed a twenty-plus year career in the airline industry holding a variety of positions within the customer service arena and inflight department, as well as positions within the internal inflight training department. Aside from his airline experience, John has an extensive professional background in the theatre, television and music industry as an actor, producer, writer and recording artist. John began his collegiate studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, and completed his degree work at the University of Minnesota graduating in 1985. Outside of NTC, John is well-known in the local and national music and theatre scene. He has recorded five albums and toured both nationally and internationally.

As a coordinator in the School Marketing department, MaryLynn is excited to bring NTC performances to schools and help out the teachers and administrators who call in to schedule. Since MaryLynn comes from a family full of teachers and artists, she is happy to join in with the wonderful mission of NTC and contribute to the education and livelihood of students across the country! Besides working at NTC, MaryLynn is a freelance theatre artist; she holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre and Music and she regularly acts, directs, sings, and teaches around the Twin Cities. MaryLynn also serves as a choir conductor at a Lutheran church in Bloomington, MN.

Jon serves as Artistic Director at The National Theatre for Children. He began working with NTC in 1992 as a freelance performer, writer and director. His NTC writing credits include The Prince of the Pyramid: The Poseidon Puzzle and Lights On for Louie. During the summer months, Jon has performed in and stage managed for Shakespeare in the Park. During his free time, Jon writes and performs with various theatres in the twin Cities. He has perfomed with Gaydar Productions, Outward Spiral and the Minneapolis-based comedy troupe HOT DISH!

Nate Metcalf has been one of the most active performers in NTC’s history. After 10 years on the road as a touring actor, Nate still holds the company records for most tours (over 50) and most performances (well over 4,000)! Even now that he’s in the office, he’s still a little hard to pin down. Serving as the Technical Director, Nate oversees the construction of all NTC’s props, costumes, and scenery. When not in the shop he can be found at his laptop working on the script for a new show, or staying in touch with his actors on the road. He has written (or co-written) 14 shows for NTC. Outside of the office, Nate can’t stop writing, turning his talents to scripting one-acts, ten-minute plays, and currently, his first full-length endeavor. He can also be found horsing around with several of the community theatres around town. A lover of all game shows and trivia contests, Nate had a moment in the sun when he went on the tv show Jeopardy! in 2007 and walked away with enough money to pay for his wedding to the Lovely Jolene. The two currently live at Fort Awesome, with their trusty guard dog, Spaghetti.

Growing up in the mean streets of Omaha, Dustin was plagued by polio as a young child. His dreams of playing Rugby in the Congo were dashed at an early age when Dustin fell victim to a run-away horse and cart. After losing most of the toes from his left foot, Dustin was told he would never dance again. “Nay.”, said Dustin, and after 7 years of living with Himalayan monks Dustin began his quest to win the Kumite. Dustin round house kicked his life into high gear after that, premiering in many European venues with the likes of Karol Brunett, Ed Axner, and “Taco Man” Randy Cabbage. In the mid 80’s Dustin grew tired of the European Back Yard wrestling circuit, which he found to be too commercial for his taste. He traveled to the Middle East where he studied puppetry with Bill Bixby. Still today, the name Dustin is synonymous with Bunraku theatre in Japan. Deciding that he had grown too powerful, Dustin sought out refuge in the Appalachian mountain range of Tennessee. There he mastered the Pan flute and wrote many books including; Cats are Better than Sweaters, Brian’s Lack of Oral Hygiene and Other Things We Should Not Discuss at Supper, and the infamous The Infamous. Dustin came out of reclusion in 2014 after being discovered in his hovel by a group of small children who had become lost while out for a day hike. Dustin led them to safety. They hoisted him to their tiny shoulders declaring him to be a god among humans. Dustin feasted in the glory and began devoting his life to teaching the youth of America all the knowledge he had acquired through his rewarding, yet tumultuous, life. And so began the era of Dustin working for the National Theatre for Children. At NTC, Dustin is responsible for casting and company management. He is also a talented writer, director and master prop builder and painter.

From small town treasures to some of the biggest names in retail, Jill Van Heel, NTC’s Print & Design Manager, has been thriving in the world of design for over eighteen years – and what a ride it’s been. Jill has worked for some of the top retail companies in North America as well numerous print shops, newspapers, travel agencies, etc and believes design is much more than aesthetics. It’s a science, a strategy. There’s a method to the madness. Jill holds a BS in Graphic Design, AAS in Multimedia Technologies and a diploma in Commercial Art & Design and has had her hand in just about every type of project. In addition to NTC, Jill also works as a makeup artist for MAC, is addicted to lip gloss and has an extreme love for 80’s hair bands, country music and just about everything in between. She loves to see live music (has been known to travel over eight hours to see a show), collecting obscure items from the 80’s, traveling anywhere that isn’t hot and humid, is serious about her Diet Coke and Vanilla Iced Nirvana from Dunn Bros., laughing for no reason, doing arts and crafts when time permits, playing old school Super Mario Bros with her nephews and embracing her crazy cat lady status.

Morgan works as NTC’s Digital Manager, working with web and multi-media materials. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Film Production and Mathematics. In addition to working at NTC, Morgan works as a videographer, filming and editing videos for companies and entering 48-hour film festivals with friends. She also enjoys cooking, playing pool and darts, and spending time on the water sailing.

Ellen DeYoung joined NTC as a Tour Coordinator, working to plan and oversee the performances that take place in schools across the country, as well as managing the school communication representatives. Ellen studied Theatre and English at Dordt College. She also works as a professional stage manager, and her recent credits include productions with Mission Theatre, Twin Cities Fringe Opera, Artistry, and The Minnesota Fringe Festival. In her spare time she tries to find every cat meme on the internet, and also enjoys coloring books for grownups.

As a School Marketing Coordinator with NTC, Kevin Albertson is in contact with schools – as well as the actors who will be performing for them – across the country. Kevin began working for NTC in March of 2013 as a School Marketing Representative, and interestingly enough made the jump to being an actor with NTC in October of that same year (though he’s told the inverse is usually what happens). He accepted his new position in May of 2014 & is thrilled to be on the cusp of discovering “how it all works.” Prior to NTC, Kevin started a non-profit website dedicated to showcasing Minneapolis arts & culture through video, titled MPLS.TV. As a teacher & performer of improvisational theatre at Brave New Workshop & HUGE Theater, he manages to keep busy doing what he loves post 9 to 5. Kevin graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison with degrees in Theatre & Film, and to this day he cannot believe how fortunate he is to work in his field of study.

Andy works as a Tour Coordinator, helping to schedule and finalize performances at schools across the country. He joined the National Theatre for Children back in 2011 as a touring actor, performing everywhere from Tennessee to Raleigh, North Carolina, and many great places in between. He holds a BFA in Creative and Professional Writing, and also works as a freelance writer, actor and director. Andy serves as Artistic Director for Ghost Light Theatre Company here in Minneapolis. His favorite things include rock and roll, eating sushi, reading comic books, going on road trips, and being outdoors with friends.