Carole Sullivan to Direct Once Upon a Mattress
Carole, who has a B.S. and M.A. in Theatre from Northwestern University, is an experienced actress, director and playwright. She was co-founder of the Main Street Players of Galena, and was its artistic and managing director for ten years. Of the many plays she directed for Main Street Players, some of her favorites were Wait Until Dark, Noises Off, and Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?. In Dubuque she has directed eight musicals for the University of Dubuque, and the premiere production of Mothering Heights. As a performer, she spent two seasons at Timberlake Playhouse, playing roles which included Nancy in Oliver!, Abigail Adams in 1776, and Alma in Summer and Smoke. She has performed with the Smithsonian Theatre on the Mall in Washington, D.C., and several other theatres in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Locally, she has been seen in Here's to Dubuque and in many Main Street Players productions, including playing Prudie in Pump Boys and Dinettes and Agnes in I Do! I Do!

An accomplished playwright, she has written and produced eight plays, including last year's interactive comedy Uncle Jake's 90th. Theater runs in the family for Carole. Her husband, Jan Lavacek, is a freelance set designer, and her daughter, Deborah, works as a stage manager in Chicago. Carole is very much looking forward to working with the actors and technicians at the Grand Opera House in Once Upon a Mattress.