Desert Foothills Theater announces new managing director

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Dec. 17, 2019 - PRLog -- The Desert Foothills Theater (DFT) announces the hiring of a new managing director and several productions for January/February 2020.

Terry Temple is the new managing director. His roots in the Valley are deep as an Arizona native, ASU alum and local business owner of Tempe Music and Performing Arts in Scottsdale. "Temple's previous 25-year career as a professional music and liturgy director for a large church gives him experience and a deep understanding of the workings of nonprofit organizations, specifically in volunteer management, community building and fundraising," says Jennifer Rosvall, executive director of Foothills Community Foundation.

Temple served as the national director of Survival School, an organization that trained leaders of large nonprofit organizations whose primary workforce were volunteers. He is a strong advocate of creating a safe, creative learning environment for children and was one of the original trainers of the country's first Safe Environment training programs.

As a musician and theater director, Temple has directed more than 40 shows over the last decade, most recently directing the very successful Pirates of Penzance Jr. at the Desert Foothills Theater.

Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" is opening Jan. 17. Christie published the world's best-selling mystery novel in 1939. "And Then There Were None" tells the story of ten people who were lured onto Indian Island by a man named U. N. Owen. Once all ten people were in the house on the island, the story picks up when someone is poisoned. Will they discover who it is or will everybody die before they can figure it out?

"And Then There Were None" plays Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. on Jan. 17-18 and Jan. 24-25, and on Sundays at 2 p.m. on Jan. 19 and 26. Performances will be held in the Cactus Shadows Fine Arts Center Blackbox Theater, 33606 N. 60th St., Scottsdale, 85266, and tickets are $25.

"Honk! Jr." is based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Ugly Duckling. The production tells the story of an odd looking baby duck, Ugly, and his quest to find his mother. Soon after Ugly is born, he is seduced away by a wily Cat who wants to eat Ugly for dinner.

Performances of "Honk! Jr." are Fridays and Saturdays, Feb. 14-15 and Feb. 21-22 at 7 p.m. and Sundays, Feb. 16 and 23, 2 p.m. in the Cactus Shadows Fine Arts Center Blackbox Theater.

"We are grateful to Phyllis and Peter Strupp, our season sponsors, and to Carefree Kiwanis as show sponsor for 'Honk, Jr.'," says  Rosvall.

The award-winning Desert Foothills Theater has been presenting live performances in the far north valley since 1975. For tickets and more information about upcoming events, visit www.DFTheater.org or call 480-488-1981.