Ern Messina has had more than fifty years of memorable experiences in the field of entertainment. He is a recent retiree from Walt Disney World where he was an Entertainment Manager at the Disney Institute, Magic Kingdom, Disney Hollywood Studio, and other Disney locations. He has been a member of the Theatre UCF Professional Advisory Board for the past eight years. Over the years, Ern has been involved in stage, television, and film as an actor, director, producer, writer, and technical support crew member. He has been involved in productions at the White House and the Watergate Theatre. Ern has owned and operated Dinner Theatres as well as a Television company, worked with Touring Companies, and has been an educator for K through University level students. He has performed in more than 270 Stage and Television/Film productions. His favorite role was the Wizard in the UCF production of The Wizard of Oz.
Ern earned his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Towson in Towson, Maryland and two Master Degrees in Television Production and Theatre from the University of Maryland.