Board of Directors
2023-2024
Peter Powell
President
Peter has enjoyed being a part of RPP’s Hello, Dolly!, Guys & Dolls, and My Fair Lady. Performing onstage, singing in glee club, and theater management were treasured parts of growing up. After graduating from Rollins College in Winter Park, FL, he returned to his hometown of Kansas City to build a business in, of all things, salt and sand. He is thrilled to return to his youth by joining the great team at RPP. He and his wife Cappy are residents in Boca Grande, enjoying golfing, beaching, and time with family.
Bill Whitney
Vice President
Bill and his wife Nancy have been coming to Boca Grande since 2009 after they retired from jobs in financial services in the Boston area. Bill served on the RPP finance committee before joining the Board in 2019. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and has been involved in a wide range of banking activities. Bill has enjoyed being involved with RPP because of his love of musical theater and playing drums/percussion. Bill has helped to produce the last five RPP musicals and also played “in the pit” for each one of them. He is very pleased to be part of the RPP and Boca Grande communities.
Jim Grant
Treasurer
Jim and his wife Lynda have wintered in the Boca Grande Community for over 20 years. Jim graduated from Northwestern University and received an MBA from the University of Michigan. He spent his business career in marketing roles within the financial services industry. Jim is a new member of our board and previously served on the boards of the Barrier Islands Park Society and the Friends of Boca Grande Community Center. He got “conned” into a small role in Godspell years ago and never looked back. He since has performed in over a dozen RPP comedies and musicals. His real life revolves around travel, a golf course, fishing our local waters, and gourmet cooking.
Elaine Skypala
Recording Secretary
Elaine was lucky enough to land a job at a major Philadelphia TV station right after college. She produced several live TV shows and appeared on the children’s show. Eventually her love of animals lured her away to work for the Society For the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for 30 years. When she moved to Boca Grande she saw that the animals here were in paradise. She returned to having fun entertaining people. She has appeared in many RPP productions, and her husband Ed always tells her she is good, because he is a wise husband. This is her first year on the Board.
Alice Court
Director
Alice hails from Canada where she started her career as host and writer for a children’s television show. She then took her Masters of Business and worked in Marketing in Toronto, England and Boston. She and her husband, David came to Boca Grande for a one week vacation with their three children in 2004 and fell in love with this magical island. They purchased a home in 2005 but for some reason she waited 10 years to try out for a Royal Palm Players show. She had so much fun she has been involved every year since! Alice also enjoys playing mediocre golf and bridge, playing and visiting with her children and grandchildren, walking the beach and of course…sunsets! Alice is honored and grateful to work with this remarkably talented and fun board.
Erica Ress Martin
Director
Erica is widely credited with revitalizing Royal Palm Players in 2013 with a strategy based on FUN! With fun as her mantra, she rebooted the Kids’ Drama Club, produced 14 shows and starred in California Suite, Lend Me a Tenor, Oklahoma, Boca Girls and Guys & Dolls. Before retiring to Boca Grande, Erica was New York’s only award-winning copywriter/creative director who was also a member of the New York State Bar. To keep the joy in her life now, Erica serves on the Friends’ board, is the founder of Grande Glee and Spark Boca Grande. Her husband, Gary, is amazed at her passion for RPP and only wishes she was as passionate about fly fishing.
Julia Pierce
Marketing
New to the board, Julia brings her 30 years of graphic design experience to head up RPP’s marketing and publicity committee. Her involvement with RPP began with the female version of “The Odd Couple” and has since encompassed roles from a cockney flower girl to an amnesiac nun. When she’s not in front of an audience or computer Julia enjoys painting, time on the tennis court or looking for golf balls.
James Martin
Engagement & Development
James arrived on Boca Grande in the Fall of 2014 and immediately fulfilled one of his bucket list items after receiving a part in OKLAHOMA. Since that time, you may have seen him in MOON OVER BUFFALO, GUYS AND DOLLS, DUETS ,A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, AND A FUN LOVING NUN, IN NUNSENSE. James is a proud committe member of FRIENDS, The Great Adventures & Exploration Series and Sings with Grand Glee. When not performing: Family, golf, tennis, boating, fly fishing & travel occupy the remainder of his time.
Scott Wise
Governance
Scott and his wife Linden, both displaced New York lawyers, discovered Boca Grande and Royal Palm Players in 2017. Reliving his high school musical theater experience, Scott soon joined RPP as an assistant stage manager and since has appeared in My Fair Lady, Anything Goes, and Nunsense. He’s even (unexpectedly) taken up tap dancing! Scott joined the RPP Board in 2020 and couldn’t be more pleased to be part of such a vibrant, creative and fun-loving community.
Sarah McDonald
Director
Sarah has been a full time resident of Boca Grande for 3 years. She and her husband bought their house in 1998. A graduate of the University of Detroit, she was a Registered Medical Technologist until the birth of their first son. Her initial stage appearance was as Mother Goose in her first grade play. She has been a member of various RPP productions both onstage and behind the scenes since her extremely brief appearance in Guys and Dolls. Other activities include being the past president of the League of Women Voters of Lee County. She is also the president of her HOA here on the island. She is excited about the 23-24 RPP season.
Andrea Nielsen
Director
Andrea and her husband Chris first discovered Boca Grande in 2008. When the last of their three children headed off to college in 2012 they made Boca Grande their winter home. Andrea graduated from the University of New England with a BS in Elementary Education specializing in Special Education. She enjoyed teaching first grade and then moved on to working in the Resource Room to teach middle school age kids with special needs. In 2015 she was introduced to RPP and reluctantly volunteered to work as a stage hand for the production of Moon Over Buffalo. Since then she has participated in over ten productions joyfully working as a stage hand, A Hot Box Girl, an actress, assistant stage manager and stage manager. She enjoys, boating, yoga, walking and spending her summers in Maine with family and friends.
Terry Seitz
Director
Terry has been residing on Boca Grande for some time, purchasing his first property in 1979. He graduated from Florida State University with a double major in Marketing and Business Administration in 1969. He first got involved with RPP some 25 -30 years ago. He had been asked to perform for many years, and he finally told the Director that if she ever brought a play called “ The Wild Guys “ to Boca Grande then he would agree to participate. Well, lo and behold, Terry got a call the next year informing him that The Wild Guys was booked and the rest is history. The play was performed by Terry, Dennis Domres, Steve Seidensticker and Jim Grace and it was the first play on the island where the cast was asked to repeat it the next season! Terry’s favorite thing to do in his spare time is to ride his motorcycle all over the world.
Fred Allardyce
Director
Fred Allardyce gave up his regular day job in 2000 and moved full time to Watch Hill RI. With his wife, Bobbie, Fred began spending Winters in Boca Grande in the early 2000’s. His musical career began in high school as a sailor in HMS Pinafore, then he took the next 55 years off! Fred joined the St. Andrews Choir, sang in the Civil War event several years ago, and was a part of the chorus for Hello, Dolly!, a gambler in Guys and Dolls. Fred’s career background is in Finance, and he is happy to be able to use many of his talents in working with Royal Palm Players and The Board of Directors.
RPP Staff
Managing Director:
Jackie Allen
Box Office Manager:
April Miano
Technical Director:
Mike Hilton
