JAMES BRENDLINGER
Owner/Producer
James Brendlinger is the Producer of the Central Florida Theater Festival, Chairman of Penguin Point Educational Theater, and the Owner of Penguin Point Productions at the Oviedo Mall. For 21 years he served as Chairman of Arts and Communication at Lake Howell High School, where he taught Acting, Directing and Stagecraft and produced over 160 plays and musicals. Prior to that, he taught theater classes at Wilson High School in his native Pennsylvania. He can be heard every Saturday night on WPRK 91.5fm as radio host Jimmy Popular.
James served as Chairman of Florida State Junior Thespians for 5 years, providing statewide leadership for all middle school Thespian activities in Florida, and hosting the annual FSJT Theater Festival for over 5000 students at the Orange County Convention Center. Previous to that, he spent eight years producing theater festivals for District 5 Thespians in Orlando and District 3 Thespians in Seminole, Volusia, Flagler, and Lake Counties.
In addition to his work as a producer and teacher, James has dedicated himself to providing costume, prop and set building resources to local schools, theaters and churches across the State of Florida. Through Penguin Point Productions, he has produced plays at the Orlando International Fringe Festival each year since 2006, including such titles as Mysterious Skin, Anne Frank Superstar, Bare: a Pop Opera, HOODIES: The Trayvon Martin Project, and Zanna, Don’t!
In the summer of 2014, James received a scholarship from the English-Speaking Union which enabled him to study at the Globe Theatre in London, where he performed as Brutus in a midnight production of Julius Caesar. In the summer of 2017, he received a scholarship to study Creative Writing at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
James has been the recipient of several awards in recent years, including LHHS Teacher of the Year, FATE-Florida Association of Theater Educators Outstanding Theatre Arts Educator 2014, Florida Theatrical Association Director’s Award, Orlando Fringe Veteran Producer Award 2013, Don Smith Community Service Award 2015, and The Spirit of the Fringe Award at the Orlando Fringe Festival 2015.
Sarah is an accomplished dancer, performer, and teacher. As a child, she received comprehensive dance training in the Vaganova Method in Sarasota, FL at the prestigious Florida Ballet Arts school. She continued her education and experience with an apprenticeship with the Sarasota Ballet of Florida in the 90’s. She took a short hiatus and graduated with a BA in English Literature from UCF in 1997. In 2004 she began teaching dance in Central Florida and we’re more than excited to welcome her and her 12 years of dance experience. Sarah’s passion for dance instruction spans the spectrum of teaching little ones the basics of ballet all the way up to the most advanced pointe students.
SARAH FANOK
Dance Instructor