Objective:

To use my talents and experience in the arts to the fullest potential;

To bring not only expert professional management of human resources but to provide caring leadership that inspires and enables performers to achieve their highest level of excellence;

To bridge the gap between “show” and “business” in the world of show business, so that they weave together in a fashion that results in high statistics at all levels, both financial and artistic.  To provide art and entertainment that elevates the human spirit and lifts people from the mundane to a joyful exhilaration.

Summary of qualifications:

Experienced in the fields of music, theater, dance, and live show production, as well as television and video production.  Able to perform, direct, and produce award-winning shows that win highest artistic acclaim and generate high dollar grosses.  Expert knowledge of all areas of theatrical production, including pre-production budgeting, auditioning and hiring of personnel, daily on site management of talent, and maximization of audience satisfaction to the point of consistent enthusiastic standing ovations and return visits.

Professional experience:

1992 - 1999 — Country Tonite Las Vegas, Branson, Pigeon Forge, Biloxi, Japan

Producer/Director, Current Position

Hired to create and direct the first country-themed production show in Las Vegas. Performed in the show for the first four years as keyboard player, singer, and Musical Director. The show won “Best Live Country Show in America” for three years in a row from the CMAA and was installed in the CMOA Hall of Fame in 1996. Produced 13-week pilot for CBS, which won an “Emma” for Best TV Show in Nevada.

Promoted to Producer in May of ’95, retained all former duties in addition to producing all Country Tonite venues for Casino Resource Corporation (CRC). Won “Best Show of the Year” in Branson in 1995 and “Best Show of the Year” in Pigeon Forge in 1998. Along with husband and Business Manager, Duncan Guertin, Karen (better known as “KNB”) took Country Tonite to nineteen Japanese theaters on a wildly successful cultural exchange tour in the fall of 1997.

See www.countrytonite.com for more details.

1997 — Casino Resource Corporation

Produced and directed stage show called “Fame,” for casino property in Tunis, Tunisia.  Also co-produced oldies Rock & Roll show called “Twist” for the Palace Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. 

1992 - 1999 — Country Tonite Enterprises

Producer/Director of Multimedia Division

Created all of the video product associated with Country Tonite from its inception. Involved in every aspect of production, including pre-production planning and budgeting, scripting, hands-on shooting (Mini-DV to Beta-SP and DVC Pro), Technical Director on live show shoots, over 200 hours editing on Avid (not as operator), currently editing on Adobe Premier 5.0 (as operator). Directed thirteen episodes for local CBS station, also aired on 200 satellite stations, resulting in “Emma” for Best TV Show in Nevada. Produced and directed 11 different “Country Tonite Live” videos from 1995 through 1999, plus promotional ads and trailers. Currently in production on documentary of the phenomenon of Country Tonite, intended for broadcast, entitled “Country Tonite Up Close and Personal.” Also in pre-production of documentary on the Western arts of American style clogging, yodeling, and trick roping.

1991 - 1992 — Comedy Cabaret, Las Vegas

Musical Director

Duties included conducting the band, creating computer sequenced music to augment the show, playing keyboards and synthesizer, singing, plus filling in for featured host and female singers when necessary.

1990 - 1991 — Vegas Bayou, Las Vegas

Musical Director

Duties included conducting the band, playing keyboards and synthesizer, singing, hiring music personnel.

1989 - 1991 — Hallelujah Vegas, Las Vegas

Star and Co-Producer of Show

Co-created and starred (singing and dancing) in Las Vegas style revue that ran for one year at Vegas World, now known as the StratosphereTower.

1986 - 1997 — A.M., A Blast from the Past, Las Vegas, Atlantic City

Musical Director

Worked as Musical Director/Pianist/Singer in Anita Mann’s hit show “A.M., A Blast from the Past” for one year at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas and one year in the main room at Caesars in Atlantic City.

A Few Performing Career Highlights:

1967 - 1989 — Self Employed, “On the Road”

Musical Director, Pianist, Singer, Arranger, Writer

Performed all over the world in various areas of the field of music, dance, and theater.  Please see performing artist biography for details.

• Debuted with the Kansas City Philharmonic as piano soloist at age sixteen.
• Played cello and piano with “Kansas City Civic Orchestra” 5 years.
• Opened for Don Rickles at the Sahara Hotel in 1968.
• Toured with Paul Anka for two years as pianist and singer, 1973-74.
• Operated successful jazz fusion group that opened for such headliners as Herbie Hancock, Louie Bellson, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, and Al Jarreau.
• Recorded underground cult favorite album called “A Jazz Visit to the World of Disney.”
• Wrote and sang “Love Me One More Time,” listed in Joel Whitburn’s “Top Pop Singles,” on national charts for 11 weeks, Top Ten in numerous markets.
• Starred in Betty Francisco’s “Hallelujah Vegas” at Vegas World.
• Appeared numerous times on The Mike Douglas Show, The Merv Griffin Show, and Midnight Special.
• Wrote and recorded twelve albums, two of which were inspirational lullabies for unborn babies, for the moms to play while they are pregnant, called “Lullabye Baby Waiting” and “Lullabye Baby Sleeping.”
• Lived in Africa, South East Asia, and Scandinavia for several years touring as a popular concert artist.

See Artist Biography for more details.

Education:

1962 - 1966 — University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS

Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Bachelor of Music in Music Theory

• Studied classical piano with Richard Canterbury and Richard Perry.
• Studied Classical cello with Raymond Stuhl.
• Studied jazz composition with Rogers Worthington.
• Studied acting with Joseph Behar, Las Vegas.
• Studied Dance (ballet, tap, jazz, adagio, acrobatics, and Tai Chi) with         Gerald Gardner, Susan Abbott Doskocil, Betty Francisco, Donnie Rae Evans, and Mfundishi Tayari Casel.
• Studied voice with Seth Riggs, teacher to the stars in Hollywood, CA

Awards received:

Won an “Emma,” little sister of the Emmy, for Country Tonite, “Best TV Show in Nevada, 1993.”

Inducted in the Country Music Organizations of America Hall of Fame in 1996. Other awards listed under “Country Tonite Award History.”

Won top awards at the Yamaha World Popular Song Festival, 1975 and 1976, with songs called “Please Write a Song Called Marilyn” and “Between Hello and Goodbye,” (which later became a hit song for a Japanese artist).

Publications, Scripts, Copyrights:

Owns hundreds of copyrights of songs, some of which have been big sellers for other artists (see Artist Biography).

Co-wrote “Sight Reading for the Professional Drummer.”

Wrote numerous stage shows and screen plays, including 17 separate editions of “Country Tonite,” 12 editions of “Country Tonite Christmas,” 13 episodes of “Country Tonite – the TV Show” for CBS,  “Fame” (for Tunisia), “PartyZone MegaBlast (Countdown 2000),”  “Dance America,”  “Late Night with Madame B,” “Line 20 Home,” “700 Days,” “The Phantom of the Opry,” and “Little Annie’s Smoky Mountain Miracle.”

Additional professional activities:

Teaching “Music Reading for the Professional Musician” (developed a system to teach people to read music in a very easy way, in a very short period of time.

Currently researching and videotaping the western arts of clogging, trick roping, yodeling, and country dancing for a filmed documentary.  Also producing a documentary on non-surgical intervention and cure of Scoliosis.

Turned the status of serious amateur photographer into professional, shooting most of Country Tonite’s promotional photographs

Drug, alcohol, and smoke free; however, probably a “workaholic”

Professional memberships:

American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), Screen Actors Guild (SAG), NARAS (Grammy Award Voting Academy), American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA), American Federation of Musicians (AfofM)

Languages:

English, Spanish, Swedish, German, some Japanese.  Also able to sing in the aforementioned languages, plus Italian, French, and Papamiento (the language of Curacao)

Community activities:

Teaching Stage Fright Workshops for Beginners and Professionals

Campaigning for a drug free America