Meet the 2021 Artistic Team

Laura Little recently produced All Is Calm off-Broadway and is Executive Producer of the PBS Special. She is co-producer of the Award winning Come From Away on Broadway, Toronto, London, Australia, and on national tour. Her other Broadway credits include: co-producer of the five time Tony Award winning Peter and the Starcatcher and First Date starring Zachary Levi. This is her 9th year producing Traditions of Christmas in Coeur d'Alene. She also produced Traditions of Christmas in Nampa in 2016 and 2017. Laura’s other local productions include the reading of The Giver featuring Patty Duke, and various concerts and cabarets. Laura is the past Executive Director of Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre and Executive/Artistic Director of CYT Spokane and founder of LLL Talent Agency (now MAM). Civic: She is a proud member of Rotary Club of Charlotte and past president of Coeur d'Alene Sunrise Rotary. She is an advisory board member for Charlotte PBS and executive board member and past president of Friends of Idaho Public. Laura has served on many theatre boards as well as the Kroc Center’s Advisory Board. She is a graduate of the Commercial Theatre Institute Producers Program, and a graduate of Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls leadership programs. She has three grown children and two beautiful grandsons.

Marie Hunt (Co-Producer) loves all things theater. She has been acting, writing, directing, and producing for theater for the past twenty years, and is the president of the Northwest Theater Arts and Education Foundation. Her greatest joy is in her family: her husband and best friend, Daniel, and children Juliet, Scarlet, Titus, and Estelle. She is delighted by Traditions of Christmas and is honored to be co-producing and directing this year's performances.

After a brief hiatus, Rick is thrilled to be back as Director of 2021 Traditions of Christmas Rick has been involved in music and theater since high school and been on and off the musical theater stage since 2004. He has worked with many theaters in the Spokane/Coeur d’ Alene area such as Laura Little Theatricals, Aspire, and Civic Theater in Spokane. Some of his favorite shows have been Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof, and of course Traditions of Christmas. Completing his BA in Communication from Corban College in Salem, OR, his “day job” is teaching theater at Northwest Christian in Colbert, WA. He is glad to be involved on the creative team for 2021. Thank you to Laura Little and Marie Hunt for giving this opportunity. Solo Dei Gloria!

Deborah Rambo Sinn (Music Director) is equally at home on the concert stage and working in musical theater. In addition to having played in over 600 professional musicals, she has also performed all five Beethoven concertos. She has written a book, has taught music at a number of universities, and is currently sorting out what she wants to be when she grows up. www.DeborahRamboSinn.com

Brianna White (Choreographer) has trained, danced, and taught at Expressions School of Performing Arts for a total of sixteen years. She is currently a physics and chemistry teacher at Coeur d’Alene High School. After taking some time off to start her school career, Brianna rediscovered her passion for performing through her involvement with Traditions of Christmas as a kickline dancer. Now that she has performed with the kickline for three consecutive years, she is honored and excited to work with the creative team as the Kickline Choreographer! ​

Trigger Weddle studied acting at Circle in the Square and holds a MA in Drama from the University of Arkansas. She is a choreographer/instructor at Northern Dance Acadmey and the Artistic Director for Aspire Community Theatre. Recent credits include 9 to 5 (Director-Aspire), Hunchback of Notre Dame (Choreographer-Aspire), Oklahoma (Choreographer-CDA Summer Theatre), Carousel (Dir/Choreo-Lake City Playhouse). Recent acting credit: Company (Joanne-LCP, 42nd Street (Maggie-Aspire), Guys & Dolls (Gen. Cartwright-CDA Summer Theatre), among others. Thank you for supporting the arts in your community!

Since the age of three, Brenda Blankenship (Choreographer) had a passion for dance, movement and choreographic projects. Originally from the Bay Area, she followed a choreography gig to North Idaho in 1997, which led her to open our studio, Expressions School of Performing Arts, a year later. Exploring the artistry of movement in nonconventional ways and choreographing for synchronized swimmers, bodybuilders, gymnasts, and her specialty, dancers.