Gary W. Blackman
Founding Co-Director

Gary Blackman (Producer and Co-Founder of ArtsPower) co-founded ArtsPower in 1985 with his identical twin brother, Mark. In 1989, they became an Actors' Equity Association producer of musicals and dramas. Today, Gary serves as ArtsPower's managing director. Gary received his Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Columbia College, Columbia University and earned a Master's degree in Music Education from the School of Music at Florida State University. He is also a graduate of the Commercial Theatre Institute. Gary, his wife Amy, and their daughter Emma live in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.

Mark A. Blackman
Founding Co-Director

Mark Blackman (Producer and Co-Founder of ArtsPower) co-founded ArtsPower in 1985 with his twin brother, Gary, and currently serves as director of development. Mark is a graduate of Columbia College, Columbia University and received his Masters of Music Education degree from Florida State University's School of Music. He is also a graduate of the Commercial Theatre Institute. Mark is responsible for ArtsPower’s fundraising and marketing efforts. He has forged important alliances with major corporations and foundations including Colgate-Palmolive, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, The Shubert Foundation, The Edith Glick Shoolman Fund, The Righteous Persons Foundation, and the Lillian Pitkin Schenck Fund. In a former life, Mark was a jazz saxophone player who was recognized by Downbeat magazine with a “db Student Recording Award” while at FSU. In 1984, he was awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to study for a year with jazz recording artist Eddie Daniels. Mark lives in Montclair with his wife Leslie, daughter Alyssa, stepdaughter Kelly, and their dog Alex.

Greg Gunning
Artistic Director

Greg Gunning (Playwright and Lyricist) hails from Chicago, Illinois and is the man behind ArtsPower's on-stage magic. He has written and directed every ArtsPower production since 1989. He has written the lyrics to Anne of Green Gables, Terrifically Tilly, A Little Princess Christmas, Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, Hans Brinker & the Silver Skates, Anastasia Krupnik, Highlights for Children, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, The Rainbow Fish and Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon. Greg auditions and rehearses ArtsPower's theatre companies each semester in addition to creating two new productions each year. A graduate of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and a former actor, Greg has performed in 38 states across the country.

Karen Bibbo
Company & Production Manager

Karen Bibbo is a recent graduate of Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. While at Syracuse she majored in public relations and minored in marketing and psychology. She is very excited about working for ArtsPower and learning more about the theatre world. In her spare time, Karen can often be found spending time with her family and friends.

Kim Wood
Senior Booking Consultant

Kim Wood has over 20 years of experience in the fields of information technology and software sales support. Having worked for a variety of large corporations, Kim is thrilled to be able to offer her experience to such a worthwhile organization as ArtsPower. When she is not hard at work supporting the National Tour and Field Trip client bases, Kim loves to travel overseas and take long hikes with her Westie, Eli.