Welcome
Founded in 2018, Summit City Music Theatre is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that produces professional theatre in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
About Us
Gavin Thomas Drew
Artistic Director
Gavin Thomas Drew has been performing since he was five years old. He attended Oklahoma City University for Musical Theatre and Directing. He is a nationally recognized director and performer. His starring turn as Igor in the Fort Wayne Civic Theatre’s production of “Young Frankenstein” garnered him praises and an Anthony Award. He won a Broadway World Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Summit City Music Theatre’s “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” as Snoopy. He won another for Best Ensemble of a Play with Nina Raine’s “Tribes” at the University of Central Oklahoma. As a director, he has led casts to award-winning performances at AACT Festival and worked as the camp director for Stillwater Children’s Theatre for two summers, directing students through the MTI Junior Catalogue and original works. He has also worked and directed with Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma. He currently teaches Creative Drama at the Fort Wayne Youtheatre. As a profoundly deaf performer and director with cochlear implants, he takes pride in mentoring disabled/differently-abled casts and holding seminars on inclusion and accommodation for all talents. He has guest lectured on disability in theatre at the University of Central Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University. He is proud to be back in Fort Wayne and to lead this company into its next chapter.
Mindy Cox
Executive Director/ Co-Founder
A native Oklahoman, Mindy Cox received her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Oklahoma City University. She also studied voice at the Conservatory at University of Missouri- Kansas City. She has performed in numerous roles in musicals and operas across the country. Mindy has appeared with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and was a featured singer and dancer at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia, where she also served as Vocal Captain for one season (and where she met her husband, choreographer Jeff Cox). Since moving to Fort Wayne, she has appeared on the stages of the First Presbyterian Theater, the Fort Wayne Civic Theater, and the Embassy. Mindy was the invited community guest artist to play Marian in The Music Man at IPFW Department of Theater’s Summer Classics, and has also appeared with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and IPFW as Laurey in Oklahoma! at the Embassy Centre. At the Civic, she has received Anthony Awards for her performances as Maria in The Sound of Music, Sister Mary Amnesia in Nunsense, and Polly Baker in Crazy For You. She taught a Musical Theatre Performance class at IPFW, and served as the Music Director and conductor for their musicals for a decade. She was also the featured soloist with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic for their Holiday Pops community concerts. Mindy is the co-founder and music director of Summit City Music Theatre, a professional musical theatre company in Fort Wayne. Mindy's students have been seen in leading roles and as winners many performing arenas and competitions, including the Barn Theatre of Michigan, the Miss Indiana pageant system, Arena Dinner Theatre, the Fort Wayne Civic Theatre, Indiana State NATS auditions, and the William Schmidt vocal competition. She has former students who have gone on to pursue degrees in music at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, AMDA-New York, Anderson University, Wright State University, DePauw University, Ball State University, Elmhurst College, and Oklahoma City University, among others. Mindy is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and was honored with their Independent Teacher Award for the Great Lakes Region in 2018.
Christopher Spalding
Co-Founder
Christopher Spalding was born and raised in Virginia, where he received his BFA in Music Theatre from the prestigious Shenandoah Conservatory. After college he embarked on a successful theatre career that took him all over the US with regional theaters, national touring productions and Broadway. He then transitioned into the ballroom world where he met his wife and dance partner, Kelly Bartlett. Together they won 3 North American Titles and 1 World Title. In 2013 they opened their school, The Fort Wayne Ballroom Company, and have continuously won top teacher and top studio awards around the country and internationally. In 2018 he made his return to the theatre world when he co-founded Summit City Music Theatre.
Jeff Cox
Co-Founder
Jeff Cox is a choreographer, adjudicator, and clinician from Fort Wayne, IN. He has been choreographing high school and middle school show choirs for more than 20 years. His groups have consistently received Best Vocals, Best Choreography, and Grand Champion awards at competitions throughout the Midwest, including six ISSMA State Champions. Jeff was a three year member and Dance Captain for the internationally recognized Ball State University Singers. Jeff has performed professionally with Decatur Park Singers, Cedar Point, the National Tour of A Christmas Carol, and Busch Gardens Williamsburg, where he also served as Vocal Captain. Most recently he appeared as Uncle Fester in The Addams Family (Wells Community Theatre, SCMT), and as Sparky in Forever Plaid (SCMT.) Jeff is also a co-founder of Summit City Music Theatre, and enjoys spending time with his wife, Mindy, and their son, Caleb.
Kelly Bartlett
Co-Founder
Kelly Bartlett is originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She has a BA in the Performing Arts (Dance Composition/Performance and Acting/Directing) from Iowa State University and MFA in Acting from the University of Iowa. She was the 2002 Irene Ryan National Acting Award recipient from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Regional credits include: Twelfth Night, Shakespeare's Women, Fool for Love, Noises Off, Angels in America (Millennium Approaches) and Crimes of the Heart. Choreography credits include: Newsies, Oklahoma!, The Fantastiks, Romeo and Juliet among others. Dance credits include: The Hurly Dancers Company, Joel Hall Dancers and The Margolis Brown Movement Theatre Project. Kelly owns The Fort Wayne Ballroom Company with her husband, Christopher Spalding. She is DVIDA certified in all of the American and International styles of Ballroom dance. She is a 3-time North American Champion in the American Smooth Ballroom and Showdance divisions and a UCWDC Country Dance World finalist. She is also a 4-time Global Dancesport Top Female Professional.
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