Rosie Taravella

Originally from western New York and a former theater major at Nazareth College, Rosie Taravella spent 25 years in Los Angeles, acting, writing and producing. She started her career as a performer on radio, as a studio comedian and writer for the Rick Dees Weekly Top 40. This led to several appearances as an actor on situation comedies (Who's The Boss, Full House, Married with Children, Ellen, Almost Perfect, George an Leo), dramas (The Client, Brooklyn South, Roswell) and movies made for television (Are You Lonesome Tonight, Sinatra, and Norma Jean and Marilyn). Theatrical appearances included the title role in Dolores, directed by Charles Durning at the Tamarind Theatre, and performances in several of her own works produced in Los Angeles, including Rose's Bowl-O-Rama, The Wives (Directed by Charles Nelson Reilly), Pa's Funeral, and Hide and Freak.

In 1998 she wrote and starred in her own screenplay - Carlo's Wake - that ran the film festival circuit in 1999 and 2000. The film, based on her play Pa's Funeral, starred Oscar winners Martin Landau and Rita Moreno in a story about the death of an Italian-American patriarch and the effect it has on his colorful, dysfunctional extended family.

Shifting gears to a career in non-profit in 2001, Taravella turned to the arts, first as managing director of Interact Theatre Company (led by Tony winner John Rubinstein), where she grew their operating budget by 300% in two years. A position at Los Angeles Opera followed, where she worked alongside general director Plácido Domingo in securing the company's first NEA artistic grant for the world premiere opera Grendel, co-written and directed by Julie Taymor.