About Discovery Arts Cancer Programs

Discovery Arts was created in 1993 by a dedicated group of entertainment industry professionals who began volunteering their time and talents to bring music, dance, art and drama to children with cancer, serious blood disorders and life threatening illness while they are in the hospital receiving treatment.

In recognition of the powerful impact of the arts on these children, Discovery Arts was formally incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit agency in 1998 with a mission to expand the delivery of our “Arts Adventures” to many more children in many more hospitals. All of our programs and services are offered free of charge to the hospitals, patients and their families.

We began serving children in a small 14 bed unit at Jonathan Jaques Children’s Cancer Center. We are now honored to serve more than 3500 children and their families each year, doing 9 programs in 6 southern California hospitals.

 

Board of Directors

DON HARPER, Co-Founder, President
President and Co-Founder of Discovery Arts, Don Harper composes music for film, television and the stage. Don composed the score for Disney’s Lion King 1.5 DVD release and for the animated television series, The Legend of Tarzan. Don’s work can also be heard in feature films such as G-Force, National Treasure & National Treasure 2, The Guardian, Texas Rangers, Armageddon and The Rock; in the TV film Houdini; and in the series The Magnificent Seven. An accomplished orchestrator and conductor, Don has contributed to such films as Jack Frost, Twister, Speed and Disney’s animated feature, Tarzan. Don also arranges, composes and produces music for live venues worldwide, including Sight & Sound Theatre’s musical production, Joseph, Tokyo DisneySea’s Nighttime Halloween Parade and Disneyland’s fireworks spectacular Believe – There’s Magic in the Stars.

MARILYN CLEMENTS, Co-Founder, Vice President
Vice President, Executive Director, Co-founder of Discovery Arts. As Executive Director, Ms. Clements manages all day-to-day operations of the agency, as well as personally visiting the hospitals each week as one of the primary Discovery Arts Adventure artists. With more than thirty years of professional experience, she has choreographed and directed numerous special events and theatrical productions that include Pope John Paul II’s visit to Los Angeles at the LA Memorial Coliseum, the 10th Anniversary Production of Radio City Music Hall’s "Magnificent Christmas Spectacular and The Joe Gibbs Charity Event at Kennedy Center with special guests President and Mrs. Bush. She has worked extensively for the Disney Company, choreographing the N.A.R.M. Convention for the Disney Record and Video Divisions, to mention a few.

MARK PONCHER, Founding Board Member, Treasurer
Founding Board Member, Treasurer of Discovery Arts, Mr. Poncher is Vice President of FiveCurrents, a creative and production firm. Current projects include the Clinton Global Initiative conferences and LiveCity Vancouver for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Other recent projects include the new years eve fireworks show in Rio de Janeiro and the Opening Ceremonies of the 2007 Pan Am Games in Rio. Mark’s background also includes theatrical construction projects, namely the Orange County Performing Arts Center, The Bob Hope Cultural Center and the Los Angeles Theatre Center. He is co-chairman of the “Champions Run for Life” annual fundraiser to benefit Jonathan Jaques Children?s Cancer Center in Long Beach, California, a center that Discovery Arts services.

SCOTT ANDERSON, Board Member
Board Member of Discovery Arts, Mr. Anderson is the President and CEO of Zenith Specialty Bag Co., Inc., a manufacturing company, which produces paper products for the fast food, restaurant, bakery and retail packaging industries. He is a co-founder and board member of Theater Creations Unlimited, a non-profit organization, which produces Shakespeare programs and other educational theater vehicles for middle schools. He is also on the Executive Board of The Lincoln Club of Orange County.

TOM McCOY, Board Member
McCOY-RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT
(Tom McCoy & Cathy Rigby McCoy/Executive Producers) www.mccoyrigby.com Broadway: Peter Pan Starring Cathy Rigby 1990, 1998, 1999, and 2005. National Tours: Seussical The Musical starring Cathy Rigby; Jesus Christ Superstar; and Annie Get Your Gun starring Cathy Rigby, and in 2007 the national tour of Camelot starring Michael York. A & E Television Network Premiere of “Peter Pan,” Historic All Star Concert for Pope John Paul II; award winning documentary on “Balancing Wellness.” Since 1994 Executive Producer of the McCoy-Rigby Entertainment series at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. Many, many Emmy, Tony, and LA Theater Award nominations....some actual awards! McCoy Rigby Entertainment has just purchased McCoy Rigby Dance Academy in Yorba Linda California. With 550 students, McCoy Rigby Dance Academy is dedicated to teaching our youth excellence in dance.

CATHY RIGBY-McCOY, Spokesperson, Board Member
Spokesperson and Board Member for Discovery Arts, CATHY RIGBY - Earned a Tony nomination when she starred in the 35th Anniversary production of Peter Pan on Broadway. Subsequently, her multiple talents have been lauded on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre as the Cat-In-The-Hat in Seussical the Musical. Other National and Regional tours include Annie Get Your Gun, Meet Me In St. Louis, South Pacific, Paint Your Wagon, The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Cathy also starred in AR Gurneys Silvia, to rave reviews at the La Mirada Theater for the Performing Arts and Lil’ Abner at UCLA’s Reprise Theatre. Some of Rigby’s dramatic television movie credits include the “Perfect Body,” “Hard To Read,” “The Great Wallendas,” “Triathlon,” and the Emmy-nominated “Peter Pan” for A&E. A two-time Olympic gymnast, Cathy Rigby is the first American woman to win a medal in the World Gymnastics Competition and holds 12 international medals, eight of them gold. Cathy worked with ABC as a gymnastic commentator for 18 years. ABC-TV’s venerable “Wide World of Sports” named her one of America’s Most Influential Women in Sports. Cathy and her husband, Tom McCoy are Executive Producers of the McCoy Rigby Entertainment Series at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. Cathy and Tom also own and operate the McCoy Rigby Conservatory of the Arts in Yorba Linda, California with the goal of bringing the joy of acting, dancing and singing to their students.