Roald Dahl was a spy, ace fighter pilot, chocolate historian, and medical inventor. His first moment of inspiration came when he was at boarding school when a local chocolate factory invited pupils to trial new chocolate bars - 35 years later, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was published.
He went on to write many more stories, including Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, and Fantastic Mr. Fox, all from a hut in his back garden in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire. By the time he published The Minpins, he had written a total of 16 stories for children, which have been translated into 68 languages and read all over the world. He remains one of the world's greatest storytellers.
The Roald Dahl Story Company protects and grows the cultural value of Roald Dahl stories with their unique breadth of characters and worlds. With 300 million books sold, and one new book sold every 2.5 seconds, the Roald Dahl brand continues to grow in popularity globally, attracting new audiences with innovative developments in book, theatre, entertainment, and beyond.
The Roald Dahl Story Company is committed to sharing the positive messages at the heart of all Roald Dahl stories - messages of the strength and potential of young people, and the power of kindness. (https://www.roalddahl.com; www.facebook.com/roalddahl; www.twitter.com/roald_dahl; www.instagram.com/roald_dahl)
Tim Minchin is an Australian musician, comedian, composer, actor, writer, and director. He has toured extensively in the US, UK, and Australia, performing solo, with bands, and with symphony orchestras. He's released five DVDs, the most recently recorded with the Heritage Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall. He is the composer lyricist of two hit West End / Broadway musicals, Matilda and Groundhog Day, both of which won the Olivier Award for Best West End Musical and garnered nominations for Best Score and Best Musical in Broadway's Tony Awards. Minchin wrote, produced, and starred in the Sky Atlantic / Foxtel TV series, Upright, in 2019. Other screen-acting credits include Atticus Fetch in Season 6 of Californication, a Logie Award-winning Smasher Sullivan in ABC's Secret River, and Friar Tuck in Lionsgate's Robin Hood reboot. Stage highlights include Judas in the UK / Australian Arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar in 2012, and Rosencrantz in the Sydney Theatre Company's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead the following year. He has published two books: the graphic novel, "Storm", and the illustrated children's book, "When I Grow Up". He is a member of the Order of Australia, a philanthropist, and a mediocre juggler.
Dennis Kelly Work for theatre includes Debris, Osama the Hero, After the End, Love and Money, Taking Care of Baby, DNA, Orphans, The Gods Weep, and The Ritual Slaughter of Gorge Mastromas. He has written the book for the new musical of Pinocchio which opened at the National Theatre at the end of 2017, and in 2018 his new play Girls and Boys opened at the Royal Court. His plays have been performed worldwide and to date have been translated into nearly forty languages. For television, he co-wrote and co-created Pulling and wrote and created Utopia. For film, he wrote the screenplay for Black Sea, directed by Kevin MacDonald. He also wrote the book for the Olivier and Tony winning Matilda the Musical. In 2010, DNA became a set text on the GCSE English Literature syllabus.
Stuart Younse (Artistic Director) serves as Director of Theatre at Simsbury High School where he teaches four levels of theatre and a technical theatre class, directs the annual musical and spring play, and guides student directors in the annual SHS One Act Play Festival. Dr. Younse received a Bachelors of Music Education from the University of North Texas, a Master of Arts in Vocal Pedagogy from the Texas Woman’s University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education from the University of North Texas. Dr. Younse was named Outstanding High School Music Educator in 2008 by the Connecticut Music Educators Association, as Choral Director of the Year in 2011 by the Connecticut Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association, and as Simsbury Public School’s Teacher of the Year in 2012.
