2021 will mark his 50th year in theater. 1st at South Dade Senior High teaching drama as the earth’s crust was still cooling, before moving on to study acting at the U. of Miami & Southern Methodist U., and then acting professionally, 1st at the Grove Playhouse and then NYC for 10 years, then on to Miami Springs to write professionally for “All My Children” & “The Guiding Light” before turning in 1999 to make wife Nancy Jones’ dream come true. A community theater in Miami Springs. 20 seasons and 100 plays later, the Pelican Playhouse still soars! And now it ZOOMS!

Nancy Jones Theater Manager In May 1974, during an interview with the local Miami Springs newspaper for winning the Silver Night in Drama, Nancy Jones said it was her dream to have a community theater in the heart of the City. Attending the University of Miami, and a meeting with Ralph Wakefield, took her one step closer to her dream. They lived in NYC for a ten years and then made it back to beautiful Miami Springs with a daughter in tow. A few years later, in 1999, the Pelican Playhouse was born. Dreams do come true….so keep believing! "Thanks for joining us. Now, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!"

Tabitha is behind the wonderful interpretive art of the cast in their character costumes seen both on the home page and cast page..

An accountant originally from Jamaica, she moved to the US in 2001. She has always enjoyed live theatre, especially Jr Theatre, where she watched her younger cousins perform. In 2016, she introduced her 5 year old son to the Pelican Playhouse and supported him for 2 years before Ralph Wakefield convinced her to join her son on stage! Since then, mother and son have performed together 4 times, including her favorite, The Dead Parrot. In 2019, Ralph again encouraged her to widen her horizons to take on the role of Stage Manager in Peter Pan, The British Musical.

Rick is known at the Pelican Playhouse as Batman. When we send up a bat signal for help with sound or set construction, he always answers the call. Rick’s Peter Pan pirate ship ranks among our favorites. Rick comes to us with years of experience in sound engineering and currently serves as Sound Design/AV Communications Specialist at UM’s famed Ring Theatre. Prior to joining the Ring Theatre he owned a business that built custom recording studios for the likes of Ricky Martin and Lenny Kravitz.

Mary is a graduate of the renowned FSU School of Theatre, however Mary took a detour into Corporate America where she served as a Project Manager for an ever developing and changing technology landscape. Joining the Pelicans in 2012 Mary soon discovered she could use her theatre and technical training together, heading up technical elements of many of our productions. Married to our Technical Batman and mom to actor son Tyler and artist Robin, they are truly a Pelican family.

Robin is a graduate of the University of Central Florida with a degree in illustration. Robin has lent her artistic talents to many of the Pelican productions, including The Hobbit,The Servant of Two Masters and Jolly Roger and the Pirate Queen. Robin enjoys taking digital art commissions and learning languages. Ask her to speak to Siri in Japanese sometime! Part of a very creative family, Robin is the daughter of Rick and Mary Reed and sister to actor Tyler.

Elary Wakefield was raised in the Pelican Playhouse. On stage or backstage, she was always ready and willing. She graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design with a degree in comic art. She currently lives and loves in Vienna, Austria, with her wife, Iza Suelli. She continues to create her art online (https://www.deviantart.com/elarywakefield) and is a writer like her father, on the cusp of being published. She is artistic director Ralph Wakefield and theater manager at Nancy Jones‘s favorite daughter.