CREW BIOS

Director – Tara Wray

Tara’s first film, an autobiographical documentary titled "Manhattan, Kansas", premiered at the 2006 SXSW Film Festival. It went on to screen at New York’s Lincoln Center, and at film festivals worldwide. "Manhattan, Kansas" received funding from the Jerome Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts and the Anthony Radziwill Documentary Fund and is a sponsored project of the New York Foundation for the Arts. It is available on DVD through Documentary Educational Resources.

The idea to make CARTOON COLLEGE was born from Tara’s love of comics and her interest in the survival and sustainability of rural America.

Producer – Alan Oxman

Alan's editing credits include “Welcome to the Dollhouse,” “Happiness,” “Storytelling” and “The Pleasure of Your Company.” He was supervising editor and co-producer of “Control Room,” and the co-editor of “Unzipped,” which won the A.C.E. Award for Best Documentary Editing. Other co-producing credits include “Assisted Living,” winner at the 2002 Slamdance Film Festival, and “Children Underground,” which won the Special Jury Prize at Sundance in 2001, and Best Documentary at the IFP Gotham Awards that same year. Most recently he produced “An American Soldier,” an official selection of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

Producer – Arne Johnson

Arne is currently doing the festival circuit with his feature documentary "Girl's Rock!", which will be theatrically distributed in 2008 by Shadow Distribution. He’s also worked as an editor on the feature documentary “Out of the Poison Tree,” and writes a column about self-distribution for Release Print magazine.

Producer – Josh Melrod

Josh graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in creative writing and attended the MFA program for creative writing at Washington University in St. Louis. He is editor of the Land-Grant College Review, the award-winning literary journal he founded, and earns his living as a fiction writer. Josh was associate producer of “Manhattan, Kansas.”

Producer – Byron Hathorn

Byron is a real estate investor and developer with 30 years experience in the Upper Valley market. Most recently he has focused on investment in commercial real estate projects from the Upper Valley to Boston. He has been an active part of the community serving on the Board of Northern Stage and as a member of the Vermont Transportation Authority. In addition, Byron is a master alpine competitor.

Advisor – Joe Bookchin

DAN ARCHER

ANDREW ARNOLD

SAM CARBAUGH

JP COOVERT

COLLEEN FRAKES & JON-MIKEL GATES

SEAN FORD

ALEXIS FREDERICK-FROST

JASPER FRIEND

PENINA GAL

SAM GASKIN

LUCY KNISLEY

JOSEPH LAMBERT

DANE MARTIN

JEFF MUMM

LAUREN O'CONNELL

JONATHAN PEKIN

LIZA PETRUZZO

MORGAN PIELLI

STEVE SECK

DENIS ST. JOHN

ADAM STAFFARONI

BRYAN STONE

ROSS WOOD STUDLAR

MARK THISSE

CHRIS WARREN

JOSIE WHITMORE

Also...

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VERMONT, population 2569: comics, cartoonists, rural revitalization, the creative process, education, historic preservation, creative economy, art, community development, the American Legion Hall, Tip Top Media Arts Building, transients, Hotel Coolidge, Than Wheeler's Pub, Colodny Surprise Department Store, Revolution Vintage, Main Street Museum (!!!), Schulz Library, verdant hillsides, the terraces, the Red House, Hundredth Monkey Bookstore (RIP), Lampscapes (WTF!), Twin State Typewriter, C & S Pizza, Polka Dot Diner, Elixir Bar and Restaurant, Provisions International, Chelsea Green Publishing, Como Va Restaurant (RIP), Best New York Bagel Shop, Northern Stage Theater, Two Rivers Printmaking Studio, Cooler Gallery, Tip Top Pottery, Northstar Canoe Rentals, New England Transportation Museum, White River Indie Films, Miller Automotive (RIP), White River Flyer Green/Mountain Railroad, the Vermonter, Verizon Building, Glory Days of the Railroad, Briggs Opera House, Rio Blanco Social Club Glory Daze Halloween Parade & Dance Party, White River Junction VA Medical Center, Turning Point Club, Junction Frame Shop, Upper Valley Food Coop, Filling Station...