Our Team

Founder Annette Trossbach

Annette Trossbach, Founder & Artistic Director

Annette Trossbach Classically trained at East 15 drama school in London, UK. She feels strongly about presenting complex works and making them widely accessible, especially those with ethical and social challenges. She has worked with the likes of Margaret Walker (Oh, What a Lovely War), Mike Loades, Alisdair Ramsey, Terry Johnson, and Steven Ditmyer. Annette embraces and continues the vision of the founders of her school: to teach theatrical skills to anyone interested in learning, no matter their background and training. 

Louise Wigglesworth, Co-Founder

Louise Wigglesworth studied theatre and playwriting at Catholic University in D. C. and later as a Fellow of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Program for Teachers and Playwrights where she had the opportunity to participate in workshops with Anne Bogart, Scott Ellis and Anna Strasberg. She has been an actor, director, playwright and teacher of those arts all her working life. In her home state of New Jersey she taught theater in high school and university for several decades. She is a founding member of The Laboratory Theater of Florida, Fort Myers, where she acted, directed, and served as playwright in residence for twelve years until moving to Maryland in 2019, where she now teaches an online play development class titled The Play Space.

Productions include Real Art and Anywhere from Here in New York City at the Sheen Art Center, Real Art again at the Adrienne Arsht Performing Art Center in Miami, and the full-length play Coercion by Playwrights Round Table, Orlando. Her adaptation for the stage of Albert Camus’ novel The Plague debuted at The Laboratory Theater of Florida. Other full-length plays which have had productions and staged readings include Seasonal Migrations, Drawing The Human Form, The Shade of Old Trees, and A Proper Good-bye. Short plays produced include Play Until You Win, Dance Life and Gulls In The Wind. Louise is a five-time winner in the Naples Players Etc…Company annual competitions with Penumbra, Anywhere From Here, Second Movement, Real Art and Lemon Twist, all subsequently presented at Sugden Theater, Naples. Three youth plays, Tides, Seeing Red and In My Brother’s Name have been produced in many schools and youth stages. She was the playwright-mentor on Laboratory Theater’s Rauschenberg Project Play, funded by the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, in which LGBTQ young people told their stories adapted for the stage. Louise’s plays are available to read on the National New Play Network at newplayexchange.org. She is a member of The Dramatists Guild. 

Nykkie Rizley, Co-Founder
Founding Member and Vice President @ The Laboratory Theater of Florida: Director of Operations @ Royal Shell Vacations: President @ FAVR: Adoring Mother of Two Magical Girls: Adorably Dedicated Partner: Feeder of 3 Crazy, Fuzzy Things: Proud Member of a Huge Extended Family: Active Community Member: Beach Enthusiast: Book Nerd: Lover of Great Beers: Affectionately referred to as “Blood Girl”

OUR TEAM

Paula Sisk, Director of Marketing & Education

Jonathan Johnson, Technical Director & Facility Manager

Kaci Davis, Stage Manager 

Jane Bowser, Box Office Manager

Todd Lyman, Production Manager

Daniel Sabiston, Front of House Coordinator