Roller Derby Staff Bios

ROLLER DERBY

A Rocking Rolling New Musical

BARRY ARNOLD Book / Lyrics

At New York’s Public Theater Barry co-authored the musical PLAY ON THE TIMES, and the musical MONDAY MARCH ELEVEN at the Promenade. With Harold Wheeler, he has written the new musical HOT NUTS, currently in pre-production. Barry assisted director Joshua Logan on Broadway’s LOOK TO THE LILIES, and Producer Harry Rigby on NO, NO, NANETTE. In the late 90’s, he designed TIMES SQUARE'S NEW YEAR'S EVE CELEBRATIONS, and in 2002 he associate produced NEW YORK'S OFFICIAL 9/11 COMMEMORATIONS, also contributing designs in 2003. Mr. Arnold wrote the book for ANOTHER STAR IN THE SKY, which opened the Bangkok Cultural Center, as well as THE PEARL for Phuket Fantasea. As a lighting designer, among the original productions Barry designed are GODSPELL, JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, BUBBLING BROWN SUGAR, DIVERSIONS AND DELIGHTS, and TO BE YOUNG GIFTED AND BLACK. http://barryarnoldassociates.com

JOHN BRADEN Composer / Lyrics

John Braden created the scores for dozens of musicals, among them THE BEARD, SILVER QUEEN SALOON, GULLIVER’S TRAVELS, EMILY POST’S BOOK OF ETIQUETTE, the Obie Award winning WRITERS OPERA, and DOWNRIVER. John was a five time ASCAP Award winner in the Pop and Theatre categories. With three gold records to his credit, he wrote and produced children’s albums for projects as wide ranging as DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, CABBAGE PATCH KIDS, KNIGHT RIDER, TARZAN, BARBIE AND KEN, THE CARE BEARS, and the Arthur C. Clark film 2010. John had a long association with the La Mama Experimental Theatre Club and Theatre for the New City, as well as numerous other important companies involved in the development of the Off-Off Broadway Theatre movement. John Braden’s promising career was unfortunately cut short in the early days of the AIDS epidemic, to which he succumbed in his mid-thirties. This production of ROLLER DERBY is dedicated to his memory.

HAROLD WHEELER Composer / Orchestrator

As an orchestrator, Harold received a Drama Desk Award and a Tony nomination for HAIRSPRAY, as well as a Tony nomination for DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS. From the time he conducted the Broadway musical PROMISES, PROMISES to the year DREAMGIRLS won six Tony awards, Wheeler has been in the front ranks of entertainment as a conductor, composer, arranger and performer. Additional credits as an orchestrator and music supervisor include COCO, TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA, THE WIZ, LITTLE ME (Tony nomination), A CHORUS LINE, THE TAP DANCE KID, LENA HORNE: THE LADY AND HER MUSIC, FAME, THE LIFE (Tony nomination), SIDE SHOW, SWING! (Tony nomination), THE FULL MONTY and NEVER GONNA DANCE (Drama Desk nomination). He was musical director for the SUMMER OLYMPICS IN ATLANTA, the 2004 ACADEMY AWARDS and composed the score for the film LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION! Currently, he is the musical supervisor for the hit ABC television series DANCING WITH THE STARS. Harold is married to actress/singer Hattie Winston.

JERRY SELTZER Consultant

Attending Stanford University and obtaining his degree from Northwestern, Jerry served in the US Army 430th Counter Intelligence Corps in Austria. Following his service in the Army, he revived the sport of Roller Derby in 1959, establishing a video tape network with the Bombers as America’s team. The sport grew in popularity in the 60’s and 70’s, drawing record crowds in Madison Square Garden and other major venues across the nation (Record crowd: 50,200, White Sox Park, Chicago, September 1972.) For motion pictures, he produced the award-winning documentary DERBY in 1970. In 1973 he retired from Roller Derby, starting BASS Tickets with Hal Silen in 1974, which became the largest computerized ticket service in Northern California. In 1975, Jerry served as consultant to Bob Dylan’s ROLLING THUNDER REVIEW and in 1977 co-produced the infamous HOOKER’S BALL with Margot St. James at San Francisco’s Cow Palace. Seltzer joined Ticketmaster in 1983 as Vice President Sales and Marketing. Jerry is the son of Roller Derby’s founder, Leo Seltzer. Currently living in Sonoma, California, where he co-founded the Sonoma Valley Film Festival, Mr. Seltzer does not roller skate.

GARY POWERS Roller Derby Historian

Powers has been a fan of the banked track sport since 1967. From the moment Gary first saw skaters whizzing 'round the curved skating surface on TV, the color and excitement of the game, the competition and theatricality of it all, he was immediately hooked. Following the demise of the original Roller Derby in 1973, Powers has been dedicated to keeping the game alive, founding The National Roller Derby Hall of Fame and Museum. Through the Roller Derby Foundation, which he initiated, Gary, with the help of other fans, has been able to give tens of thousands of dollars to former skaters in the form of cash grants, plane tickets, parties, get-togethers, phone cards, or whatever it takes to improve the quality of the lives of these great stars of the Roller Derby. Because of his desire to preserve and protect the history of the Roller Derby, he has accumulated one of the largest collections of memorabilia in the country, which is professionally displayed and on view for all to see at his home in New York City.

BARON WOLMAN Roller Derby Photographer

In addition to his stint as Roller Derby’s official photographer, Baron Wolman is perhaps best known as Rolling Stone’s first photographer. During his fast-paced tenure at the magazine, Wolman's lens captured the royalty of the '60s pop and rock explosion: Janis Joplin, the Rolling Stones, Frank Zappa, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez, Iggy Pop, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, Phil Spector, Jim Morrison, Ike & Tina Turner, Timothy Leary, and the counter-culture of the times. After leaving Rolling Stone, Wolman started his own fashion magazine, Rags, housed in Rolling Stone's first San Francisco offices. When that venture, devoted to street couture and culture, folded after 13 issues, Wolman learned to fly, did aviation photography; started Squarebooks, his own publishing house; and has since continued to do projects for everyone from the Oakland Raiders to the adult-rock cable music channel VH1. Today Baron lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico and continues to stretch the boundaries of the arts of photography and photojournalism. His work can be viewed at www.fotobaron.com