Interview: Dana Zell of Children’s Musical Theater San Jose

The Children’s Musical Theater San Jose (CMT) is a training and performance venue that has an incredible reputation nationwide.  Celebrating its 58th Season, it has been the longest thriving arts organization in Silicon Valley. We had the opportunity to interview Dana Zell who has served as the Managing Director of CMT for the past 10 years.

Under Dana’s leadership alongside Kevin Hauge, she has led a successful capital campaign which allowed CMT to renovate and open its first state-of-the-art Creative Arts Center in 2021 to serve its community for years to come.

Dana is a proud alumna of the organization and has had a rewarding career in the arts. Prior to becoming Managing Director in 2016, Dana spent over 15 years in theatrical management and Broadway marketing.

Her previous clients include the Broadway touring production of Wicked, Disney Theatrical Productions (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aida), Broadway touring productions of Hairspray and Contact, The Roundabout Theatre Company, and the Vineyard Theatre. She also served as Marketing Director for CMT from 2003 to 2005.

Dana holds a BA in Communications from University of California, San Diego and an MFA in Theater Management from Brooklyn College. She has participated in a leadership forum through Georgetown University and serves on the Board of Directors for Team San Jose.

We had the pleasure of meeting Dana at a "Visit San Jose" event in NYC.  She gave us some fascinating insights into her background, CMT, their exciting productions and the organization’s bright future.

When did you first realize that your future would be in the realm of theatre? 

My whole life has been shaped and inspired by musical theater. My parents always had music playing in our home and we had a subscription at our local theater company, San Jose Civic Light Opera for most of my life growing up. There were no touring shows coming through San Jose back in the 70’s and 80’s. The local CLO put on professional productions with Broadway stars alongside local performers. I was always drawn to the world of theater and eventually began to perform, train and pursue a dream of being on Broadway. 

We'd love to know a little more about your MFA in Theater Management from Brooklyn College and how it inspired your career.  

I had been living in NY for about 5 or 6 years, auditioning for shows and chasing the Broadway dream. I had done a few tours and regional productions but knew that Broadway probably wasn’t going to happen so I had started to look into other opportunities. I learned about the MFA program at Brooklyn College by chance when I was bar tending one night and met someone with similar experience and artistic journey. The MFA program in theater management seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to make a clean break from performing while staying close to the business. The program from BC had a great reputation of helping artists find a new path and career on the other side of the table. The Theater Management program at Brooklyn College was perfect for me… it was  a 2 year program focused on putting their students to work. I interned during the day and took classes at night. Classes were almost entirely taught by experts in the Broadway field and the program has an inspiring and active network. I gained experience in arts education working for the Vineyard Theatre and non-profit business management from the executive office at the Roundabout Theatre Company. Ultimately, during my second year, I got a job working at Disney Theatrical Productions in their touring department and that would set the course for the rest of my career. 

We are very impressed by the work of CMTSJ.  Why do you think the San Jose location is ideal for the organization?

San Jose is this small hamlet surrounded by opportunities from all kinds of industries. Of course, we’re surrounded by the tech world, but there’s also a great appreciation of art, good food, family, and life balance. Over the past 58 years, CMT has become an anchor in San Jose’s cultural landscape. We are the longest thriving arts organization in silicon valley. The true success story of this company however is thanks to the artistic vision and leadership of Artistic Director Kevin Hauge. He joined the company in 1996 as the first FT Artistic Director and over the next 30 years created a nationally acclaimed program that earned the organization over a dozen awards from the NEA for artistic excellence and helped develop some truly magnificent talent. Kevin’s vision of artistic and excellence, along with his brilliant artistic mind brought a level of innovation and production quality not often seen or expected from a youth theater company. Kevin just retired at the end of our 57th season but his legacy of artistic excellence will live on for generations to come. 

(Disney's Frozen-Photo by Itai Rom)

We know that CMTSJ has recently mounted a full-scale production of Frozen.  What were some of the challenges of such a big show?

Thanks to its reputation and our strong relationship with NY licensing companies, we’re often one of the first non-equity companies to get access to new titles like the full version of Disney’s Frozen. (Other similar titles and projects we’ve been privileged to mount first include: Billy Elliot, Miss Saigon, Rent, Les Miserable, and more) This season, we’re one of the first non-equity companies to have the rights to Dear Evan Hansen. But back to Frozen. I think the biggest challenges was working with the large puppets, building beautiful costumes, and of course, Elsa’s instant change into the ice queen. Frozen was Kevin’s final production before his retirement and he loves Disney so we really pulled out all the stops for this production. We rented puppets for Olaf and Sven from a company the Disney Company had worked with to design. We had one of our alums who had played Olaf on one of the Disney cruise lines come to work with our performers to help them learn how to bring the puppets to life. Our costume department worked tirelessly to perfect the Elsa change and the rest of the costumes for 2 casts of 50 performers were all beautiful. Also - there is a lot of innovative tech and magic that happens during the show. Kevin and our production team worked hand in hand to ensure that the snow would fall and ice castle would light up all as planned. 

Can you tell us about some of your other recent productions?

We produce 11 full-scale productions each season. 9 of those entirely feature kids and no one is ever turned away who wishes to participate. Two shows each season are called Marquee and feature alumni and emerging artists who return home as a benefit to the organization. We just completed a Marquee production of Finding Neverland (one of the first to present that title) and the second Marquee production this season will be Dear Evan Hansen. Last season in addition to Frozen, our Mainstage performers presented Hadestown (teen edition) which featured our Mainstage performers (ages 14 - 20), and Rock of Ages. We also had Marquee productions last season of Beautiful and Waitress.  I’m looking forward to Newsies this season (featuring rising stars ages 10 - 14) and Chess this spring.

We'd love to know a little about the training component of CMTSJ and how students grow through the program.

We offer a variety of training programs after school in dance, vocals and acting. But the main training really comes from being in our productions. Our shows rehearse for 8 weeks Tues - Fri and all day Saturday. Performers are cast either as named roles or in various ensemble groups, paired with others within their same skill range. You are only called for rehearsal when your parts are being rehearsed. This is especially beneficial for our less experienced performers. They come and learn their choreography or staging in a way that’s unique for them. But then when they’re called to a larger rehearsal or put into the larger part of the show their piece of the puzzle is just as important and one of the larger more complex dance numbers or scenes. Everyone works at a level of excellence that is collaborative and supportive towards a shared goal. Each production has an artistic team of a director, choreographer, and  musical director. Each are established in their own field and teach as they go, strengthening the skills of all performers. It’s really amazing to see how performers grow from the start of a production to the final curtain - especially in our younger cast experiences where many are making their debut. They may start off shy and unsure of themselves and what they’re capable of but once they’re in performances they truly go above and beyond their own expectations. 

Can you tell us a little about the team that you work with at CMTSJ?

As managing director, I share the leadership role with our artistic director. Our new AD is Kikau Alvaro. He just started this fall and is doing a wonderful job. Kikau is actually an alum of the organization but came to us through a national search. We have 15 full time employees including 4 members of a production team that build all our sets a 1 FT champion who oversees our costume department. We hire artistic teams for each individual show, along with set designers, costume designers, etc for all shows as well. Our internal team includes box office staff, development, marketing and education. I wish we could hire more! Each department is really a department of one! They’re all rockstars. 

Many of your trainees have gone on to have successful careers including those on Broadway.  Can you profile a few of them for us?

Yes!  The list is long. Right now, Isabella Esler is starring as Lydia in the revival of Beetlejuice (Through Jan 3). Two time tony nominee Alex Brightman originated the role of Beetlejuice and grew up in Our Studios since he was 10 years old. Another young rising Star is Maya Drake, She is currently leading the national tour of Hells Kitchen as Ali. We even have one of our younger performers currently featured as Julian in the new world premiere of Wonder at A.R.T in Boston (Broadway Bound?). Other notable alums who grew up in Our Studios include: Tony award winner Will Brill (Sterophonic), Ryan Vasquez (The Notebook, Hamilton), Aaron Albano (more than a dozen Bway credits including OBC of Newsies and Mary Poppins, Wicked, Hamilton and more), Rodd Cyrus (Currently playing Houdini at LCT), Chelsea Morgan Stock (Disney’s Little Mermaid OBC, understudy Ariel), Nick Spangler (OBC Book of Mormon, Cinderella, Tootsie), Cristina Sastre (How to Dance in Ohio),  and more coming up the ranks! 

In addition to pursuing careers in theatre, what have some of the other students of CMTSJ gone on to do in their careers and why do you think your training has helped them?

We love talking about all the amazing things our alumns do. We have kids that have gone on to become physicists and engineers, doctors, lawyers, film makers, and of course teachers. One thing I always hear from parents and alumns who come back to talk to us is that the life skills they learned at CMT have served them well. They’re great at public speaking, collaboration, conflict resolution, and more. CMT gives young people confidence to be their authentic selves. They know how to work in a group and how to be independently responsible for their actions. They know how to manage their time and work together to solve problems. 

Regardless of their path, I believe theater has served them well! 

The future is bright for CMTSJ.  What are some of your plans?

I’m excited to be working with a new partner as Kikau finds his footing as our new artistic director. He and I have found some time to start thinking of the future and finding ways to carry on the great work for which CMT is known, along with many CMT annual traditions that we can’t let go but to also think about new opportunities for the young people in this community. He has some great ideas that I think support Kevin Hauge’s CMT legacy and propel us into a future with endless possibilities. 

Children's Musical Theater San Jose is located at 1545 Parkmoor Ave. San Jose, CA 95128. 

For more information, please visit CMT San Jose - Children's Musical Theater San Jose and call 408-288-5437.

Photo Credit: Top photo of Dana Zell by Blue Arios

San Francisco / Bay Area Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. URINETOWN (Ghostlight Theatre Ensemble)

23.7% of votes

2. SWEENEY TODD (Cabrillo Stage)

6.7% of votes

3. THE DAY THE SKY TURNED ORANGE (San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company / Z Space)

6.3% of votes

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