WHAT WE DO
Dictionary.com definitions:
The Arts: Imaginative, creative, and nonscientific branches of knowledge.
Science: Systematic knowledge of the physical world gained through observation and experimentation.
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At Arts & Science, we combine the two. Based on CDC recommendations, our faculty of medical, theatre, and live event professionals offer COVID Safety classes and CCO certificates. Whether your aim is to be engaged as the COVID Compliance Officer or you want to be educated as a responsible team member during this COVID age, Arts & Science is for you. Consulting services & group classes are also available.
WHO WE ARE
Lauren Class Schneider
Lauren has been producing, directing, and stage-managing theatre, television, and live events for over 30 years. For 15 seasons Lauren produced the Drama Desk Awards and continues to serve on numerous Tony, Grammy, Daytime Emmy, and Video Music Award telecasts. She has been the coordinating producer for Broadway Salutes, which honors professionals earning their living on Broadway for 25, 35, and 50 years. For the past 11 seasons, she has produced the Gala for the American Theatre Wing, which presents the Tony Awards® along with The Broadway League. Past performers at the Wing Gala include Hugh Jackman, Kristin Chenoweth, Audra McDonald, Harry Connick Jr., & Jennifer Hudson.
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Lauren has been a guest lecturer of the graduate theatre programs at NYU and Yale. As a member of the Broadway League, she has served on the Legislative Council, lobbying in Washington, D.C.​ Lauren also hosts an interview series at BroadwayRadio.com with actors, directors and writers from the current NY Theatre season. Through her company, Class Productions, Lauren has produced and directed plays that were presented for the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.​ She also has a rich history working with Dr. William L. Daley as a medical content consultant for these plays, beginning in 2006.
Dr. William L. Daley
Dr. Daley holds a Master of Public Health Degree in Health Policies and Management from Harvard University School of Public Health and a baccalaureate degree in Arts and Science from Boston University in addition to a Doctorate of Medicine from Boston University School of Medicine.
Among many awards and honors, Dr. Daley has been the recipient of the NIH Research Fellowship award and NIH Career Development Award. He has been a member of several organizations including the National Medical Association, American Heart Association, Clinical Cardiology Council, American Heart Association, and New York Academy of Sciences. He was also a member of the editorial board at Harvard School of Public Health Journal.
INSTRUCTORS & GUESTS
Additional Instructors & Guests to be announced
Dr. Larry Kaskel (Patron Safety & Theatre Production Classes)
Dr. Larry Kaskel is an internal medicine specialist on the teaching faculty at Northwestern Medical School. He has been in practice in the northern Chicago suburbs for 30 years and working at Lake Forest Northwestern Hospital since 2000. He is a graduate of Rush University Medical College. Being a theatre fan, Dr. Kaskel is pleased to share medical insight with theatre-makers.
Cody Renard Richard (Theatre Production Class)
Cody has worked in various live entertainment mediums. Career highlights include the Broadway productions of Freestyle Love Supreme and Hamilton, as well as the 2019 Tony Awards and 2019 & 2020 MTV Video Music Awards. Cody has also worked on live televised musicals for NBC (Jesus Christ Superstar Live!, Hairspray Live! & The Wiz Live!), various productions with Cirque du Soleil, Porgy and Bess at the Metropolitan Opera, and countless shows in Regional and Off-Broadway houses. In addition to other live events since the pandemic, Cody served as PSM for Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical.
As an advocate for change and equity, Cody has actively worked with numerous organizations including Broadway Advocacy Coalition, where he founded The Cody Renard Richard Scholarship Program for aspiring BIPOC theatre-makers. Out Magazine honored Cody as one of their 2020 OUT100 honorees. Cody was named one of Variety Magazine’s 2020 Broadway Players to Watch, making him the first stage manager to receive this honor.
Bonnie Panson (Theatre Production Class)
Already in previews, and scheduled to open the night of the Broadway shutdown, Bonnie is the production stage manager of the musical sensation: SIX. On the West End, SIX has been remounted using their COVID protocols, which she will share.
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On Broadway, Bonnie has also stage managed She Loves Me, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Starlight Express, Merlin, The Tempest, The Odd Couple, The Pirates of Penzance, and Tintypes. Off-Broadway, Bonnie has stage managed, Return to the Forbidden Planet, and New York Shakespeare Festival's productions of Romance in Hard Time, Richard III, and The Golem. Across the country, Bonnie has stage managed the national tours of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Starlight Express.
Molly Meg Legal (Theatre Production Class)
Molly Meg Legal is a proud board member of Weathervane Theatre in Whitefield, New Hampshire, where she began as and performer and company manager. In the summer of 2020, four months into the pandemic, Weathervane Theater presented two musicals in a live, indoor,
COVID-safe environment.
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Molly is also a Broadway stage manager. At the time of the Broadway shut-down she was the PSM of Ain't Too Proud on Broadway and spent the summer helping facilitate the Weathervane Theatre season. Other stage management credits include the national tour & Broadway productions of Jersey Boys; national tours of The Lion King, Mary Poppins, Billy Elliot, the 30th anniversary tour of Annie, Oliver!, and Love, Janis. She was also production stage manager for Broadway Center Stage's In the Heights at The Kennedy Center.
Valerie Simmons (Patron Safety Class)
Over the course of her career, Valerie has been responsible for front of house and facilities at a variety of venues. Early on, she was House Manager at the 92nd Street Y, later moved to The Joyce Theater, Theatre Manager at Manhattan Theatre Club's Biltmore Theatre, Director of Operations at Frederick P. Rose Hall at Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Director of Facility Operations for the Roundabout Theatre Company. Roundabout's venues include the Stephen Sondheim Theatre (1,018 seats), Studio 54 (1,000 seats), the American Airlines Theatre (700 seats), the Laura Pels Theatre (400 seats), and the Steinberg Center for Theatre's Blackbox (62 seats). Valerie is currently the Senior Director of Facility Operations at The Public Theater. Their venues include the Delacorte Theater / Shakespeare in the Park (1,800 seats), the Newman Theatre (299 seats), the Anspacher Theatre (275 seats), the Martinson Theater (199 seats), Joe's Pub (184 seats), and the Shiva Theater (99 seats). Adhering to COVID protocols, Joe's Pub has been used to tape live concerts to be streamed. Plans and protocols are being considered for all venues in accordance with government and union protocols. Valerie looks forward to the day when they'll all be operational again.
Jill Hurwitz (Patron Safety Class)
As Chief Marketing Officer for Chicago's Grant Park Music Festival, Jill Hurwitz oversees Front of House services for all concerts, films and events at the state-of-the-art Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. She is also responsible for developing and managing sales and marketing strategies to promote the Festival's classical summer music series and manage its membership program. She spent twelve years at the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs working in press and marketing, promoting the city as a cultural destination, and overseeing all media relations for Millennium Park. Jill was Director of Marketing for Chicago's Shubert Theatre, and worked in a number of Broadway producers' offices prior to her move to Chicago.
ENDORSEMENTS & PARTNERSHIPS
