BARD
THEATRICALS
Who we are...
ANNETTE JOLLES
​Annette Jolles has created a diverse body of work as a director and producer for stage and television, receiving multiple Emmy Awards for the worldwide coverage of the 9/11 Memorial from Ground Zero and the 2015 NY Papal Visit, and for producing and writing Mitzi Gaynor: Razzle Dazzle. Television directing for Live from Lincoln Center includes the NY Philharmonic’s New Year’s Eve: La Vie Parisienne, Norm Lewis: Who Am I?, Patina Miller in Concert, Leslie Odom Jr. in Concert, Sutton Foster in Concert, 50 Years of Mostly Mozart, and three Richard Tucker Galas: From Bocelli to Barton, A New Century, and Richard Tucker at 100. Also for PBS, she directed two Michael Feinstein specials at the Rainbow Room. Television producing includes NY’s Celebrate Israel Parade, Greek Independence Day Parade, and Puerto Rican Day Parade, ticker tape victory parades for the NY Giants and NY Yankees, Egypt Week Live for the Discovery network, and multiple years of New Year’s Eve celebrations from Times Square. Her varied work as a stage director for theater, opera and special events has ranged from the Off-Broadway premieres of Little by Little, That Time of the Year, and Mark Felt Superstar to an original adaptation of Peter and the Wolf at BAM and Lincoln Center, Così fan tutte for the Mostly Mozart Festival, Restoring Honor on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and nationwide engagements of Marcus Luttrell’s (Lone Survivor) Patriot Tour. Theatrical concerts include co-producing and directing the annual Project Broadway festival at Symphony Space where she also directed ten seasons of New Voices Concerts, Wall to Wall Sondheim, Wall to Wall Schwartz, Wall to Wall Cabaret, Broadway and Beyond and Frank Sinatra at 100. She teaches musical theater performance at Yale.
LAURENCE HOLZMAN
​Laurence Holzman is a graduate of both Columbia College and Columbia Law School. He practiced law for several years as a litigation associate at a New York law firm before turning to theatre full time. He is a graduate of the BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop, a member of both ASCAP and the Dramatist’s Guild and a graduate of the Commercial Theatre Institute. Together with longtime collaborator, Felicia Needleman, Mr. Holzman won the prestigious Kleban Award for Most Promising Librettists, as well as ASCAP’s Sammy Cahn Award for Outstanding Lyricists. Their first musical, I Married a Witch, was presented in the ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop. Their next show was Suddenly Hope, an original musical comedy that played in Stamford, La Jolla and Denver. In 2005, Mr. Holzman co-produced a DVD their original holiday musical, That Time of the Year, recorded live in front of a studio audience. The next year, he was one of the producers of the Off-Broadway premiere of that show at the York Theatre Company. That Time of the Year has since been licensed by Theatrical Rights Worldwide and the original cast album is available on JAY Records. In the fall of 2008, Mr. Holzman co-produced the New York Musical Theatre Festival production of their musical comedy The Jerusalem Syndrome, which won the Theatre for the American Musical Prize for Most Promising Book Musical. Mr. Holzman is also one of the lead producers on Wallenberg, their musical drama about the renowned World War II hero, which was first presented at the White Plains Performing Arts Center. A regional production of their newest musical, One Night, is being planned for next season. In addition to his work in musical theatre, Mr. Holzman is the co-author the screenplays Fella and The Queen is in the Parlour.
DAVID STERN
​David Stern is a multiple Emmy Award, Telly Award, NY Film Festival Gold Medal, and Videographer Award of Excellence Winner, and is one of the few producer/directors to be recognized for his work in live special events, news, sports, and entertainment shows. Mr. Stern was the co-creator and director of the annual New Year’s Eve from Times Square show, including the 24-hour Millennium show. He was honored to produce and direct A Prayer for America, the Yankee Stadium 9/11 Memorial hosted by Oprah Winfrey, and featuring Bette Midler and Placido Domingo. He has produced and directed the 9/11 Memorial from Ground Zero for the past 16 years. Mr. Stern’s music specials range from Broadway to classical. He was the producer/director of Holiday in Bryant Park, the annual tree lighting show, as well as the concerts Broadway under the Stars and Broadway on Broadway from venues including Central Park, Bryant Park and Times Square. He has directed the holiday show by the Boston Pops. Mr. Stern’s work for the Discovery Channel had him traveling across the globe with such breathtaking live shows as Live from a Sharkcage (Bikini Atoll), Egypt Week Live (Bahariya Desert), Trading Spaces Live and Birth Day Live. Bard Entertainment has been the network pool producer/director for two Papal visits to New York, the Archbishop’s installation mass, and the Giants’ and Yankees’ victory parades in the Canyon of Heroes. Stern has been producer/director on many of the one night specials broadcast live into movie theaters nationwide. Included are "This American Life," Glenn Beck’s “The Christmas Sweater,” “A Prairie Home Companion,” and "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me."
LARA HOLZMAN
​Lara Holzman has been practicing law at major New York law firms for over 25 years. She is currently Counsel in the New York office of Alston & Bird LLP, practicing intellectual property law. Over the years, she has produced several showcases, benefit cabarets and staged readings of new works. Ms. Holzman was one of producers of the holiday musical revue That Time of the Year, which had a critically acclaimed run at the York Theatre in 2006. She was also one of the lead producers and general manager of the New York Musical Theatre production of The Jerusalem Syndrome and the White Plains Performing Arts Center’s production of Wallenberg. Ms. Holzman is a graduate of the Commercial Theater Institute, holds a B.S. from Brown University and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law. She was born and raised in the heart of Manhattan, in and around the Great White Way.
JIM VAN BERGEN
​Jim van Bergen’s production career began with sound design, production engineering, broadcast, and corporate events before moving into production management and producing. As a theatrical sound designer, his credits range from Broadway’s True West to national tours of Art, It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues, The Harlem Nutcracker, Blue Man Group (Chicago) and The Big Apple Circus. As a production sound engineer on Broadway, Mr. van Bergen mixed Cats, Chicago, Hair and Boys from Syracuse (Encores!), as well as The Pirates of Penzance and Candide at New York City Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera’s Summer Parks Concerts. For broadcast, he has mixed worldwide broadcasts for the Millennium New Year’s Eve in Times Square and the 9/11 Memorial, as well as live broadcast specials for NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, MTV, VH1, ESPN, Sirius and XM radio. Mr. van Bergen worked as a production mixer/recordist for three seasons of HBO’s Reverb. In the sports world, he has mixed basketball, celebrity boxing bouts, and alterative sports, and worked on three consecutive seasons of the three World Wrestling Entertainment shows, Sunday Night HEAT, Monday Night RAW, and Smackdown!, as well as countless Pay-Per-View specials for Titan Sports/WWE. In the world of themed entertainment, Mr. van Bergen designed KaTonga! at Busch Gardens Tampa and provides design, engineering and consultation for Nickelodeon, Eerie World Entertainment, and the three largest theme park organizations in the USA.
LINDA HAMIL ​
​Linda Hamil has had a diverse life in the theater. She graduated from the Webster College Theatre Conservatory in St. Louis, Mo and spent two summers at PCPA in Santa Maria, California. She appeared in regional productions across the country, as well as summer stock and Radio City Music Hall. After dancing for 25 years, Ms. Hamil went back to school to earn two Master’s Degrees, from the City College of New York, and the famed Bank Street Principal’s Institute. Ms. Hamil transitioned into teaching musical theatre, drama and voice, as well as producing school musicals. She then transferred into administration, first being selected as an Assistant Principal and then advancing to the job of Principal of Talent Unlimited High School in New York City. She retired after 8 years as Principal and is very proud of the school's 96% plus graduation rate.