Meet the Cast and Crew of Kenmark
Lawrence M. Short
Mark Short opened Kenmark in 1980 with an empty warehouse and a background in music and accounting. Being a musician at heart, he gravitated toward musicals, industrials, and live theatre. Although Kenmark’s focus was always live theatre, we initially took on Corporate Special Events to build our inventory of props, lighting, and scenic backdrops, and of course for any young business, to SURVIVE! His music had to take a backseat to the rapidly expanding scenic backdrop rental business. Now he spends his time behind a desk working with our designers to create a versatile and creative inventory for our diverse customer base, as well as handling the accounting duties. Everyone needs a diversion from the stress of a deadline oriented business, and Mark enjoys his time away from the office in his “Man Cave”, restoring British Sports Cars.
Nancy Short
Nancy Short comes to us from the Video Duplication World, bringing with her years of overseeing customer requirements in the CD duplication arena, including how to utilize their services for targeted marketing programs, instructional presentations, and live performances. After 39 years in the Salt Lake City area, she joined the Kenmark team as Vice President of Accounts Receivable and production and restoration scheduling for our studios. Nancy’s love of theatre and in particular live performance have added tremendously to Kenmark’s focus on assisting directors and producers create the perfect package of scenic backdrops for their venues. Nancy is celebrating her 7th year at Kenmark
Leanne Kaldahl
Leanne is our newest customer service rep. Her sunny personality and sharp humor are sure to charm you when you call in. She's been married 24 years to husband Pat and they have two lovely girls Katie and Megan. Leanne finds her weekends full, watching Katie cheer and throw javelin and Megan cheer and play softball. She loves every minute of it! She also enjoys KU basketball, the Kansas City Chiefs and the World Series winning Royals.
David McClain
Davy, as he is affectionately called by the staff, is Kenmark's on-site scenic artist. He is responsible for making sure the drops always look their best. He is frequently touching up, restoring, repairing and renewing! He also does design work - such as our Lion King package, and our most popular Nutcracker Snow Forest He also paints new drops when needed. In his free time Davy is a portrait artist, spends time at the gym and loves to down a good burrito!
Brandy Schiller
After a brief departure, Brandy returns to Kenmark as the Office Manager. A customer favorite for over 14 years, Brandy knows her backdrops! The rest of the staff is always amazed that we can throw any drop number at her and she'll be able to tell us which drop it is! Her favorite backdrop is D211 (which she will quickly tell you is the Mediterranean Seaside Cafe) because she likes to imagine herself sitting there! When she's not busy helping clients find the perfect backdrop for their production, she loves to shop (you should see her fabulous shoe collection), enjoy Mexican food (and yes the margaritas might have something to do with that) and take care of her horses, husband Scott and son Alex.
Rick VanTuyl
Making sure that backdrop is delivered to the right place at the right time is one of the most critical roles at Kenmark. It takes a special person to keep track of the hundreds of backdrops being shipped and tracking their whereabouts each week and we're fortunate enough to have Rick to keep it all straight. With a background in shipping Rick has streamlined our shipping department and can tell you at anytime where any Kenmark backdrop is. When not dealing with FedEx, Rick is often playing with boats and cars! He spends many a weekend in the Ozarks enjoying his family's boat and he is the president of the local Jaguar club. He also enjoys a good movie and says his favorite is Hudson Hawk because it's chock full of one-liners - not unlike Rick himself!