Board of Directors

Robert Lowery, President

Robert has been involved in community theater leadership roles for more than ten years. He began as a box office volunteer for Theatre 7 in Decatur in 2010. His experience grew from there as he took on roles as the Box Office Manager, Producer, Vice President, and President of Theatre 7. Prior to volunteering with Theatre 7, Robert served on the board of GLAD (the Gay and Lesbian Association of Decatur) for 12 years with stints as the Newsletter Editor, Secretary, and Treasurer. The first Heartland performance Robert attended was End of the Tour in 2011, which was coincidently the first show his husband, John D. Poling performed in. Robert has always been impressed with Heartland Theatre Company’s ability to deliver plays that not only entertain but engage you on both an emotional and intellectual level. Currently, Robert works as an analyst in State Farm’s Corporate Responsibility department. He is proud to be part of an organization with a legacy of giving back to the community and honored to become more involved with Heartland Theatre Company which continues to do the same.

Lynda Rettick, Vice-President

Lynda renewed her love of acting after retiring in 2017 and finding Heartland Theatre. She has worked as an administrative assistant in the construction, janitorial, and education fields and as a business analyst, office manager, and development director. She created and chaired several fundraising events, including an annual gala and an annual appeal. She currently keeps the books for the family farm, serves as Secretary of the parish council at St. Mary’s Church, manages St. Joseph Cemetery and is a lector and minister of hospitality. As Chapter Coordinator for Project Linus, Lynda collects, organizes, and distributes blankets for children in need of comfort. She has served as magazine editor and writer for the Hearts at Home magazine in the past, and still helps friends write, edit and proofread important documents. Heartland Theatre holds a special place in Lynda’s heart. She has performed in THREE TALL WOMEN, STELLA AND LOU, the 2018 and 2022 1-Minute Play Festival, and TARTUFFE, as well as one season of Young at Heartland. When not on stage at Heartland, she’s designing props. She also enjoys helping keep the props organized downstairs (on the Site Committee), ushering, and helping in the box office. When not at the theatre, Lynda enjoys travelling, gardening, hiking, and cooking.

Kathi Davis, Secretary

Kathi grew up in Waterloo, Iowa, with parents who were active in and passionate about community theater. She watched her first stage drama (starring her dad) at age six and has been an appreciative audience member ever since. She retired from Delta Air Lines after a thirty-five-year career as a flight attendant, based for most of the time in Ft. Lauderdale.  After bucking the usual retirement trend by moving north, she worked as manager of BroMenn Thrift Shop for three years and as program director at Illinois Prairie Community Foundation for eight years. Currently she is assistant manager of the Cruisin’ with Lincoln on 66 Visitor’s Center at the McLean County Museum of History. She serves on the play selection committees for Heartland Theatre’s Mike Dobbins New Plays from the Heartland and 10-Minute Play Competition. Kathi enjoys writing, all kinds of music and, with her best friend, is co-producing a feature film.

Scott Witherell, Treasurer

Scott has decades of experience in the accounting field having worked 30 years in Payroll Accounting and Administration for major corporations.   In addition, he acted as the Treasurer for Holy Covenant United Methodist church in Chicago for 10 years.  In the theatre world he got his start at age 14 in Normal Parks and Recreation summer theatre program and that first summer was cast as Winthrop in The Music Man.  Scott spent high school in theatre. After college he became involved with Community Players with small roles in the early 1980’s.  Scott spent the next 36 years living in Los Angeles first and then Chicago, mostly playing the role of patron of many theatre productions. In 2020 he semi-retired and moved back to Bloomington-Normal and is currently working part-time as an Accounting Specialist for Gailey Eye Clinic.  Scott is very excited to return to active involvement in the theatre world and to bring his experience and knowledge as Treasurer for Heartland Theatre! 

Kathleen Kirk, Immediate Past President

Kathleen has extensive theatre experience in Chicago and the local community. She has served as an actor, director, assistant director, and dramaturge for productions at Heartland Theatre, and she writes scripts for the Evergreen Cemetery Walk and annual History Makers Gala for Illinois Voices Theatre. At Heartland, she appeared most recently as Marjorie in Marjorie Prime. She has served as Instructor for Young at Heartland and on the New Plays from the Heartland committee. In Chicago, she worked as an actor with Steppenwolf, Court Theatre, and the Free Shakespeare Company, among others, and directed in the New Plays Festival at Organic Theater. Kathleen is the poetry editor and background editor-in-chief for Escape Into Life, an online arts journal. She works part time at the Normal Public Library, where she also facilitates poetry programming and sets up displays for Heartland Theatre’s An Inside Look.

John Freese

John is a retired Circuit Court Judge in McLean County, having served as the Chief Judge of the 11th Judicial Circuit during his tenure. John and his wife, Marilyn, have been long time supporters of the
arts in McLean County. He has been involved in various leadership positions with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra over the past thirty years and is a life member of its board of directors. He and Marilyn are regular financial supporters of and audience members at productions of many arts programs in our communities, including The Illinois Symphony Orchestra, The Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Prairie Fire Theater, exhibitions at The McLean County Arts Center and fine arts productions at Illinois State University. John and Marilyn have attended Heartland Theatre for many years and have
been donors all of that time. They had the great pleasure of sponsoring THE REVOLUTIONISTS in 2022 and appreciate that Heartland Theatre is a venue for showcasing the abundant, creative theater talent in central Illinois. They have always enjoyed the variety of productions performed at Heartland in what they believe is a wonderful setting to enjoy live theatrical productions. Heartland Theatre is one of their “must attends” in our community each year.

Terry Noel

Terry currently serves as the Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Curriculum in the College of Business at Illinois State University. His non-academic background includes farming, business ownership, sales management, and consulting. He sometimes speaks to groups on the topics of creativity and improvisational leadership and is the author of the book Empty Nest Egg: Why You Must Start Your Own Business NOW and The Vigil. His experience in theatre includes eight years with a local improv troupe, a few plays with Sticky in the Sticks” at Firehouse Pub, and the part of Mr. Whiskers for Heartland Theatre Company’s 10-Minute Play Festival: Magic in 2018. He has also had two short plays produced by Nomad Theatre. A fan of Heartland Theatre since the first play he attended, he was floored that a small theater in this sized town could consistently put on such high-caliber productions. He is eager to bring his best efforts to sustaining and growing something that has added immeasurably to his life since moving to Bloomington-Normal.

Joe Strupek

Joe is a retired executive from State Farm Insurance where he led the public relations/community relations, digital communications, issues management, and executive customer service functions., as well as providing communications support to now retired CEO and Chairman, Ed Rust. During his career he also led the internal communications function as well as serving as the company’s Brand Director. Joe taught history at Lincoln University until its closing and is currently writing the biography of John Ehrlichman, President Nixon’s domestic policy advisor. He is the former chair of the Illinois Valley Public Telecommunications Corporation (WTVP-TV), past president of Wishbone Canine Rescue, and currently serves on the advisory board of the Bloomington Salvation Army and recently joined the Heartland Community College Foundation Board of Directors and has served as master of ceremonies for many local events. Joe has appeared in several community theatre productions including a Heartland 10-Minute Play, written two winning Heartland 10-Minute Plays, and a short play produced at St. Louis’s First Run Theatre. He holds a BA in Criminal Justice, and an MAH in American History.

Angela Yandel

Angela first became interested in theater at age 13 when she landed the role of Circe in her school’s production of Your Guests Are Ghosts (her first and only line: “Room Zero, Zero, Zero please”). After that she was hooked! She was looking to pursue a career in Theater Education when she came to Illinois State University in 1988but ultimately decided that a career in education wasn’t for her and transferred to Illinois Benedictine College in Lisle, Illinois. After earning her degree in Literature and Communication, Angela returned to Central Illinois to study creative writing in ISU’s English Department where she also worked for Dalkey Archive Press, a nonprofit literary publisher then located on campus. She stayed at the Press for 13 years performing a variety of roles (sales, grant writing, database design) before leaving in 2005. Since then, Angela has worked in the City of Bloomington’s IT department, currently as Enterprise Systems Manager. Aside from being an avid fan of Heartland, Angela has periodically volunteered for Heartland. She and her husband Dan often helped strike shows and helped Gail Dobbins proofread. In 2018 she Assistant-Directed For the Loyal for Director Kathleen Kirk. Angela serves on the Grants Committee.

Sandra Zielinski, Past President

Sandra is a Professor Emerita from the School of Theatre and Dance at ISU. She has served the field of theatre education for over forty-three years in secondary and collegiate teaching and directing. She was the Administrator of the Theatre Education Entitlement Program 6-12 in the School of Theatre and Dance. Sandra has directed numerous plays at Heartland, including FLOYD COLLINS, THE HOMECOMING, THE CLEAN HOUSE, MAURITIUS, THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL, THE DRAWER BOY and DINNER WITH FRIENDS, to name a few. Sandra’s credits also include directing in Chicago and acting in several independent Chicago films as well as directing for the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, the Idaho Repertory Theatre, Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theatre, Collaboraction Theatre in Chicago and the University of Illinois Studio Theatre in Urbana. She has received top honors from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Washington, DC.