CREATIVE TEAM BIOS

MELANIE SALMON-PETERSON (DIRECTOR)

AT STC: Recent credits include: What Do You Do With An Idea?, Buckets, Leo Lionni’s Inch by Inch, The Most Magnificent Thing, Stone Soup, Swimmy, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Bear Snores On, and at FAIR School Crystal James & the Giant Peach Jr & Lion King Jr.” Favorite Play or Musical at STC: Favorite I cannot pick, but several are special to me for a variety of reasons – Stone Soup for its dedication to community service and the wonderful opportunity to perform a the Ivey Awards. Swimmy-stunning design work and a wonderful ensemble with which to create, Dandelion Seed as our first TFVY, working with Jim & Nate & Abbee to create it; Zen Shorts for its zen-like process, so peaceful and beautiful to work on; Edward Tulane for its visual beauty; How I Became a Pirate – both here and on the tour to Bath, England; You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, beautiful, entertaining and so much talent. Wow, I better stop now. I could go on.

JEANNINE COULOMBE (PLAYWRIGHT) - Jeannine is an award-winning playwright and a passionate theatre artist, having worked as a director, costume designer, dramaturg, and producer throughout the Twin Cities. Her original full-length plays include Homegrown, The Mill, Hummingbirds, The Vacant Lot, Planting Shelly Anne and The Road to Santiago. She has also written countless shorter works for both adults and youth. Her stage adaptations of children’s literature (all for Stages Theatre Company) include Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and Starry River of the Sky, Zen Shorts and Zen Ties; Crenshaw; Fish in a Tree; and Iron-Hearted Violet. She also did the lyrics and book for the musical adaptations of Whoever You Are; One Dog Canoe; I Love You, Stinky Face; and Stone Soup. In addition to Stages her plays have been seen throughout the country, including Upright Citizens Brigade, Clubbed Thumb, New Georges, Manhattan Repertory, Synchronicity Theatre, Wheelock Family Theatre and Harwich Junior Theatre. Her work has been published by Dramatic Publishing, Smith & Kraus, and Heinemann. Ms. Coulombe received her MFA from the University of Iowa’s Playwrights Workshop and her BFA in Theatre and BA in History from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. In addition to playwriting, Ms. Coulombe was a founding member of the Workhaus Playwrights Collective in Minneapolis and the Twin Cities’ company Theatre Unbound. She also taught and trained young theatre artists for over two decades. They will always remain her biggest inspiration.

KATE DICAMILLIO (AUTHOR) - Kate DiCamillo is the author of many books for young readers. Her books have been awarded the Newbery Medal (Flora & Ulysses in 2014 and The Tale of Despereaux in 2004); the Newbery Honor (Because of Winn-Dixie, 2001), the Boston Globe Horn Book Award (The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, 2006), and the Theodor Geisel Medal and honor (Bink and Gollie, co-author Alison McGhee, 2011; Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride, 2007). She is a National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Emerita, appointed by the Library of Congress. A native of Florida, Kate now lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.