Meet The Company
Area Stage prides itself on our committed, passionate and artistically driven team. Our team members uphold our mission through their work in productions, administration and education to foster a love of the arts and propel our organization forward.
giancarlo rodaz
Artistic Director
Giancarlo has directed and designed productions at ASC for practically his whole life. His recent production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast won 4 Carbonell Awards including Outstanding Direction of a Musical and Outstanding Musical, as well as two Silver Palm Awards. He was nominated for a Carbonell in Best Lighting Design for The Nether. Professional acting credits: Snoopy! (Woodstock) and Dreams of Anne Frank (Peter). Other credits: Rise of the Titans in collaboration with the Miami Music Project at the Arsht Center (Playwright, Director), Masque performed at the University of Miami (Playwright, Director), Janis Matthews and The Dodo Scouts at Area Stage (Playwright, Director), Alice in Wonderland at Stringlight Theatre (Director, Ensemble), The Lone Wolf of Honeysuckle Valley (Playwright, Director), Don’t Fear the Rain at Microtheatre (Playwright, Director), Ride (Director), and Shrek the Musical (Director). Conservatory directing credits: The Wild Party, Heathers, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, My Son Pinocchio, Annie, The Little Mermaid, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. His musical Janis Matthews was produced by The Mile Square Theatre, Hoboken, NJ, was nominated by the Broadway World Awards for Best Family Show.
John Rodaz
Founder, Producing Director
John has produced and/or directed over 200 productions in So. Florida, becoming the first recipient of Carbonell (So. Florida Critics Association) nominations in the four major Play categories: Production, Directing, Acting, and Design. Directing credits include Brilliant Traces (first Carbonell Award to an intimate professional theatre: Best Director, Best Production); the world premiere of Neil’s Garden (first Carbonell Award for Best New Play); the celebrated world premiere of Passages (Carbonell Award, Best New Play; transferred to the Coconut Grove Playhouse, Main Stage); the Florida premiere of Rum and Coke (appeared on ABC’s Nightline); the world premiere of Sleepwalkers (Carbonell Award, Best New Play) produced at the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta; the SE premiere of The Lisbon Traviata (Carbonell Award, Best Director); the SE premiere of Kvetch (Carbonell Award, Best Director); the U.S. premiere of Kvetch El Arte De Quejarse (Best Comedy, 2003 El Nuevo Herald). Florida acting credits: Don Manuel/The Phantom Lady, Hispanic Theatre Festival (Best Actor Award); Eric/Falling Fidel (Coconut Grove Playhouse); Julio/A Bicycle Country (Coconut Grove Playhouse); Lenny/The Homecoming (Carbonell Award, Best Supporting Actor); and Detective Hallet/The Business of Murder (Carbonell Award Nomination, Best Supporting Actor) at ASC. Regional, stock, and Off-Broadway credits working with playwrights, directors, and actors such as Olympia Dukakis, Mac Wellman, Omar Shapli, and David Esbjornsen. John has also worked in the TV and film industries as a creative consultant. In 2011, January 29th was designated by the City of Coral Gables as “John Rodaz Day.” John trained at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts Professional Theatre Program. Additional training: Etienne Decroux and Marcel Marceau, Paris; Desmond Jones, London. Christine Dolen, Miami Herald Theatre Critic, says of John: “The Director who set high standards in South Florida Theatre” and most recently of his recent production of Cabaret, she said: “Rodaz, one of South Florida’s best and most creative directors since founding Area Stage in a tiny Lincoln Road space in 1989.”
maria banda-rodaz
Executive Director
Maria Banda-Rodaz, Executive Director. Born and raised in Ecuador, Maria moved to NYC in 1980 to continue her performing arts training at Columbia University and Kean University. After a career in production in Ecuador, she returned to the U.S. in 1989 as the Managing Director of the critically acclaimed Area Stage theatre company, where she worked with and later married, John Rodaz. Maria has also been involved with the TV and film industry, first as the Associate Producer of We Shoot 'Em, later independently, working for companies such as Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., Sony, 20th Century Fox, HBO, Disney, and NBC. This award-winning director graduated Summa Cum Laude from FIU's School of Modern Languages and holds certificates in Non-Profit Management (UM) and Arts in Education (Kennedy Center). To date, Maria is the only Hispanic woman to receive the Carbonell Award in the Best Director category. Other awards include the 2017 Woman of the Year in Public Service by the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce as well as the 2020 In the Company of Women Award from the Miami Dade County Parks Foundation.
