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Artistic Director, Producer, Actress
Gia was born in Torrance, CA at Little Company of Mary Hospital, just down the street from her current office. She was raised in San Pedro and has spent the majority of her life in and around the South Bay. She is a graduate of UCLA, and also spent many years involved in the Harbor College theatre department, where she co-authored an educational play about AIDS entitled "Don't Get Too Close" which toured for several years. She has always enjoyed working with young people, which she was able do to as an instructor and director in the College for Kids program at Harbor College, where wrote and directed plays and musicals for kids. She also enjoyed volunteering with a local Girl Scout troop here in Torrance; an amazing group of young woman who received their Gold Awards, which is no easy task!
Gia has worked for the City of Torrance since 1998, and in that time has produced over 40 productions for the Torrance Theatre Company, and it's earlier inceptions. Additionally, she works with StarLight Productions youth theatre program, Torrance Civic Chorale, Susan Mann and her Polynesian Revue, Regina Klenjoski Dance Company, and a host of performing arts instructors to produce a variety of concerts, showcases and recitals throughout the year. She was also in charge of the main stage at the City's annual "Old-Fashioned 4th of July Celebration" at Wilson Park until the event was cut in 2011. She works with the annual Shakespeare in the Park program presented by Shakespeare by the Sea, and sometimes she is also called upon to help with special events; including writing and directing shows featuring her fellow City of Torrance Employees for the City's annual Employee recognition dinner. In short, Gia is a busy girl. In her fourteen years in Torrance she has been recognized with Spot Awards, Staff Awards, Parks and Recreation Employee of the Year, NPRA Staff Member of the Year, and the Torrance Cultural Arts Commission's Excellence in Art Award for Drama.
She has two amazing, supportive, (and thankfully) artistic parents, who have enjoyed volunteering their time and talents to the TTC; and she loves being able to include them in what she does. She is married to Cary Jordahl, who will forever hold the title of the TTC's Greatest Volunteer, and who is currently the President of the Friends of Torrance Theatre Company non-profit organization, which he was instrumental in creating. The two have been an amazing team together, and they have joined forces on almost every show produced here in Torrance.
Gia has credits as a writer, director, choreographer, lyricist, actress, producer, and every single job in between. While the jobs are not always glamorous, she understands the importance of each of them, and what a valuable role every person plays in the creation of great theatre. Her greatest joy is being with people in this process, from the actors, to the creative team, to the patrons in the audience, all of those components together is what really makes the magic happen as far as she is concerned.
She enjoys playing with new friends on occasion and has been lucky enough to find a home away from home with Little Fish Theatre and Shakespeare by the Sea in San Pedro, which is exciting for her since its her hometown. She has directed Escanaba in da Moonlight (twice), Escanaba in Love, The Foursome, and The Sugar Bean Sisters for Little Fish Theatre; and The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged (twice) and Hamlet II: Better Than the Original for Shakespeare by the Sea.
Favorite roles onstage include Helena in Midsummer Night's Dream, Rosalind in As You Like It and Kate in Taming of the Shrew. She hopes to be back onstage somewhere down the line.
When she gets down time she enjoys spending time at Disneyland with her friends and family, playing poker (preferably in Vegas), and cooking. She hopes to manage a family, some Italian lessons, traveling, and a series of children's books in her future; but for now, she's happy to be a worker bee for the TTC and contribute to the arts in any way that she can. |
