August: Osage County

About the Company

ELLIE ARCHER (Karen) – joins ZACH Theatre for the first time. REGIONAL THEATRE: Icarus’ Mother, The Dining Room, Split, Do Not Miss the Attraction, Day, Getting Out.  OTHER CREDITS:  Archer has also appeared in numerous national network commercials, and worked as a stunt horseback rider/double in the film Flesh and Bone.  She is a member of the Los Angeles-based Actor's Lab, headed by Richard Greene, and is working on a screenplay based on the life of photographer Evelyn Cameron.

JANELLE BUCHANAN* (Mattie Fae) – AT ZACH: Our Town, The Grapes of Wrath, Doubt, Omnium-Gatherum, The Laramie Project, Abundance, The Last Night of Ballyhoo. REGIONAL THEATRE: Man and Superman and An Ideal Husband with Austin Shakespeare; Ah! Wilderness at St. Edward’s University; Laughing Wild, A Delicate Balance, Dancing at Lughnasa, Death and the Maiden, Marie and Bruce, Sonny’s Last Shot, and the world premiere of Tennessee Williams’ newly discovered Spring Storm, to name only a few. Buchanan was a founder of Big State Productions and co-writer and performer in the company’s long-running hit, In the West, which played almost every venue in Austin, many across Texas and at the Kennedy Center.  Janelle is a veteran Austin actress with dozens of stage productions to her credit, as well as numerous film, commercial, industrial and print projects. AWARDS: The recipient of many B. Iden Payne and Austin Critics’ Table nominations and awards for both comedy and drama.

GREG BAGLIA* (Steve) – joins ZACH Theatre for the first time.  REGIONAL THEATRE: Private Lives (Elyot) with Playhouse West (CA); Why Marry? (Ernest) and the title role of Fortinbras with Theatre Neo (CA); The Pavilion (Peter), Miss Golden Dreams (Joe Dimaggio), Hunger (Adam), The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa (Conley) at The Contemporary American Theatre Festival (Shepherdstown, WV); and Cabaret (Cliff).  OFF- and OFF-OFF BROADWAY: the title role in An Evening with Jesse James, A Wedding Album (Emmit), Comedy of Errors (Dromio) and Much Ado About Nothing (Claudio) with Riverside Shakespeare Company; and Detective Story (Joe). TELEVISION: Criminal Minds, Dave Chappelle's Show, All My Children, One Life to Live, As the World Turns, Guiding Light.  FILM: The Mark, The Association, Uptown Girls, Abuelo, Dozers, Murder By Numbers.  Baglia has also contributed voice effects to more than 100 feature films and television programs, including True Grit, Secretariat, The Big Year, Limitless, Yogi Bear and HBO's Mildred Pierce.

LANA DIETERICH (Violet) – is a 30-plus year veteran Austin actor. AT ZACH: Our Town (twice), plus The Grapes of Wrath, Inspecting Carol, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You, The Quotable Dorothy Parker (the second show on ZACH’s Whisenhunt stage), The Philadelphia Story, Picnic, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, Who’s Life Is It Anyway? FILM/TV: Fast Food Nation, Teeth and Lovers of Hate; Friday Night Lights (Opening episode, season 3). OTHER:  Dietrerich received the 2003 Critics’ Table Award as “Best Actress in a Comedy.”  She is also a four-time B. Iden Payne Award winner and a company member of Hyde Park Theatre. In 1995, Lana was selected by The Austin Chronicle’s critic’s pick as the “Best Name to See in a Theatre Program.”

CHRIS GIBSON (Bill) – AT ZACH: Becky’s New Car. REGIONAL THEATRE: G.B. Shaw’s Misalliance at The Austin Playhouse, Jason Neulander’s The Intergalactic Nemesis, RoHo Theatre Co.’s La Putain avec les Fleurs, Da! Collective's Leave it to Beverly!

ROBERT GOMES* (Understudy, Bill) – AT ZACH: Fiction. BROADWAY: The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Racing Demon (Lincoln Center Theater). OFF-BROADWAY: Only You, As Is, Twelfth Night, The Diviners (Circle Repertory Company); The Temperamentals; A Quiet End; Shmulnik’s Waltz. REGIONAL THEATRE: The Winter’s Tale, Private Lives, The Play’s the Thing, Cymbeline (Shakespeare Theatre of NJ); Brooklyn Boy (Florida Studio Theater); Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and Perestroika (Dallas Theater Center); The Substance of Fire (Seattle Rep); Dancing at Lughnasa and The Three Sisters (Pittsburgh Public Theatre); Another Country (Long Wharf Theatre); The American Clock (Huntington Theater); A Stone Carver (GeVa); Childe Byron and Fifth of July (Circle Rep); The Glass Menagerie (Fulton Opera House); 1918 (Delaware Theater Company); Mrs. Warren’s Profession (George Street Playhouse); We Were There (Other Side Productions). FILM: An Englishman in New York, the award winning Body/Antibody, Daddy (HBO Pictures). TV: Ed, Sex & the City, Law & Order, All My Children, As the World Turns.  Mr. Gomes is a graduate of N.Y.U. and a member of the Bruised Fruits, a comedy improv group in New York City. As a producer, he is currently in pre-production for the film Deflated; as a screenwriter, he is adapting the plays Certainty and We Were There for the screen.  www.robertgomes.com.

MICHAEL HOLMES* (Beverly) – joins ZACH Theatre for the first time. BROADWAY: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Horatio/Hamlet). REGIONAL THEATRE: Alley Theatre, Margo Jones Theatre ‘58 and others; American Shakespeare Festival and other Shakespeare.  GUEST ARTIST: Skidmore College, Clarke University. FILM: Seven features, working with actors such as Sean Penn, James Franco, Robert Forster and many others. TELEVISION: The Young and the Restless, General Hospital. OTHER: As George Holmes at the University of Texas, many leads from Shaw to Sophocles; on the crew for B. Iden Payne’s Lear.  In Los Angeles, taught, wrote, produced and directed for 25 years at the Chandler Studio, winning many awards; was the only acting teacher recommended by the legendary Uta Hagen; taught acting several years at UCLA. Regularly performs his entertaining one-person show, Keep a Goin’.

THOMAS FAUSTIN HUISKING (Sheriff) – joins ZACH Theatre for the first time.  REGIONAL THEATRE: Best Christmas Pageant Ever, A Christmas Carol.  TELEVISION: Meet Jane (Lifetime), Framed (IFC), Guiding Light (CBS).  FILM:  Factory Girl (George Hickenlooper), American Roulette (Alex Murphy). ADDITIONAL CREDITS: B.A. from Southwestern University in Georgetown.

LAUREN LANE* (Barbara) – was last seen at ZACH Theatre starring in Becky's New Car, earning a B. Iden Payne Award nomination.  She also starred in The Clean House, for which she received a B. Iden Payne nomination for “Best Actress in a Drama.”  In 2009, she won the B. Iden Payne Award for “Best Actress in a Comedy” for her work as “Sue” in House of Several Stories. She has worked  extensively in regional theatre, most recently appearing in the critically acclaimed A Writers Vision(s) for FronteraFest as well as joining the New York cast for the Austin production tour of Celebrity Autobiography.  For six years, Lauren was a company member of Tim Robbins’ award winning Los Angeles-based theatre company - The Actors Gang - where she won a Drama-Logue award for her work in Electra directed by Oskar Eustis.  She has also worked at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, The Mark Taper Forum, The American Conservatory Theatre and The Dallas Theatre Center, among others. For six seasons, she played “C.C. Babcock” on the television show, The Nanny.  She also played the female lead, “Chris Novak,” on the TV detective show Hunter, as well as a recurring role on L.A. LAW.  Last April, Lauren was seen at The Kennedy Center in Nebraska at Noon and Two Socks Discuss Loss as part of the acting company of The American College Theatre Festival. Lauren graduated from the MFA program at The American Conservatory Theatre.  She is an Assistant Professor at Texas State University and lives with her daughter Kate in Austin.  Lauren is represented by Collier Talent.

KENDRA PEREZ (Johnna) – joins ZACH Theatre for the first time.  REGIONAL THEATRE: The Imaginary Invalid and Eurydice with Mary Moody Northen Theatre, plus leading roles in Sound of Music, Auntie Mame, Harvey, Oliver!, Lucky, Stiff, Beauty and the Beast, West Side Story, The Trojan Women. Kendra is currently a sophomore pursuing her B.A. in Theater Arts with an emphasis in performance at St. Edward's University.

CORLEY PILLSBURY (Jean) – joins ZACH Theatre for the first time. REGIONAL THEATRE: The Importance of Being Earnest, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well..., A Funny Thing Happened..., The Threepenny Opera, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and The Mystery of Edwin Drood at Austin Playhouse; Melancholy Play with Palindrome Theatre; Evil Dead: The Musical (B. Iden Payne and Critics’ Table nomination – “Best Actress in a Musical”) with Doctuh/Mistah Productions; Bat Boy: The Musical with Summerstock Austin; The Secret Garden (Austin Critics’ Table nomination – “Best Actress in a Musical”) with Zilker Hillside Theatre. COLLEGE THEATRE: Betrayal, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well..., Oklahoma!, Tartuffe and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. OTHER CREDITS: Corley holds a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre from the Webster Conservatory of Theatre Arts. She is also a singer/songwriter; you can hear her music at www.corleypillsbury.com.

MICHAEL STUART* (Charlie) – AT ZACH: Bleacher Bums, Glengarry, Glen Ross, The Boys Next Door and The Illusion. As the artistic director of ONSTAGE Theatre Company (1996-2007), he directed and/or acted in more than 40 shows in Austin and small tours around Texas. For the last seven years, Mr. Stuart has been a member of the Austin Playhouse Acting Company.  You may have also seen him at the LBJ Presidential Library, where he portrayed “Senator Johnson” in an interactive exhibit giving speeches and answering questions from museum visitors about his time as Senate Majority Leader.  REGIONAL THEATRE: Frank in Educating Rita for Sidetrack Productions, The 39 Steps (Clown 2), Frost/Nixon (Nixon), The Importance of Being Earnest (Dr Chasuble,) A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (Pseudolus), Stones In His Pockets (Charlie), The Dead Presidents Club (LBJ), Kiss Me Kate (Gangster), The Mousetrap (Major Metcalf), Misalliance (Lord Summerhays), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Gooper) and The Odd Couple (Oscar) at Austin Playhouse; Harvey (Elwood P. Dowd), True West (Lee), Tweflth Night (Malvolio), Arsenic and Old Lace (Jonathan) and Lone Star (Ray) for ONSTAGE Theatre Co.; The Drawer Boy at Hyde Park Theatre, A Midsummer Nights Dream for Austin Shakespeare, A Christmas Carol (Scrooge) at the Stafford Opera House. OTHER CREDITS: Michael has received numerous awards and nominations from the B.Iden Payne Awards Committee and the Austin Critics’ Table.  He has twice received the Partners in the Humanities Award from the Austin City Council for his efforts in support of theater in Austin.

JONATHAN SHULTZ* (Little Charles) – joins ZACH Theatre for the first time.  A native Texan, Jonathan recently returned home after stays in Las Vegas, New York City, and Los Angeles.  REGIONAL THEATRE: The Property Known as Garland (Off-Broadway), The Human Show (The Kennedy Center), Oyedipo at Kolhuni (directed by Wole Soyinka), The Musical Drama TEXAS, Tartuffe (title role), Angels In America, Pt. 1, Hamlet, Cabaret, Fuddy Meers,  A View From the Bridge, How I Learned to Drive, The Comedy of Errors. ADDITIONAL CREDITS: Shultz has been featured in numerous short films, television spots, commercials, and web videos. He holds an MFA in Acting from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is a member of AEA and AFTRA, and is   eligible for SAG membership.  Jonathan currently teaches at The State Theatre School of Acting and Austin Community College, and is a certified Registered Yoga Teacher.

IRENE WHITE (Ivy) – makes her ZACH Theatre debut.  REGIONAL THEATRE: The All-Female Bonanza at Live Bait Theatre and Chamber Music at the Transient Theatre in Chicago. Los Angeles theatre credits include Blue Window, The Women, The Red Coat and her one-woman show Open to the Public. TELEVISION:  Brothers & Sisters, Friends, Will & Grace, Scrubs, Frasier, Gilmore Girls, Carpoolers (recurring) and several pilots.  FILM:  Green Hornet, Spy Kids 4, Fun with Dick & Jane. COMMERCIALS: A whole bunch. ADDITIONAL CREDITS:  B.F.A. from University of Texas at Austin, graduate of Second City Training Center in Chicago and IO West in Los Angeles, current teacher and performer of long-form improvisation. www.irenewhite.com.

*=Member Actors’ Equity Association

About the Artistic Staff

DAVE STEAKLEY (Producing Artistic Director) – Now in his 20th season, Dave is dedicated to creating a place where our community gathers for a collective imaginative act. Dave believes theatre offers an arena in which we might be challenged to understand not just our own lives, but also the world in which we live, and is committed to creating plays and musicals that open meaningful conversations on topics that have resonance in our community. Under Dave’s leadership:

WORLD PREMIERES: New plays by Anna Deavere Smith, Steven Dietz, Everett Quinton, John Walch, Allen Robertson & The Flaming Idiots; 365 Plays/365 Days by Suzan-Lori Parks. ZACH served as the Austin hub of a nationwide, year-long festival; Jesucristo Superestrella – ZACH created the first bi-lingual adaptation of Webber and Rice’s landmark musical; The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, a jazz/R&B reinvention set in Katrina ravaged New Orleans, which received national acclaim from The New York Times and the Gershwin Estate.

PRODUCER, DIRECTOR & CHOREOGRAPHER ON OVER 250 ZACH PRODUCTIONS INCLUDING: Rent, Metamorphoses, Our Town, The Grapes of Wrath, Caroline, or Change, The Clean House, Take Me Out, I Am My Own Wife, Urinetown, Crowns, Omnium-Gatherum, Hair, The Laramie Project, Hedwig, Jelly’s Last Jam, The America Play, Dreamgirls, The Mystery of Irma Vep, Angels In America and Beehive

REGIONAL DIRECTING CREDITS: Actors Theatre of Louisville, New Stage Theatre, American Heartland Theatre, WaterTower Theatre, City Theatre and Downstairs Cabaret

PLAYWRIGHT: Rockin’ Christmas Party, Keepin’ It Weird, a play about Austin’s unique character featured on CBS Sunday Morning, NPR, The Wall Street Journal and American Theatre

SERVICE TO THE THEATRE FIELD: National Endowment for the Arts Theatre and Musical Theatre Panelist • Texas Commission on the Arts Young Masters Program Panelist • National Alliance for Musical Theatre New Works Committee

RECOGNITION: 2010 Spike Gillespie Kick Ass Award; 2009 Austin Dancing with the Stars Champion; 2005 Austin Circle of Theaters’ Special Recognition Award for “Outstanding Contribution to Austin Theatre”; City of Austin declares May 18, 2001 as “Dave Steakley Day”; Austin Chronicle “Best of Austin” Readers Poll “Best Stage Director” six times; Multiple Austin Critics’ Table and B. Iden Payne Awards for Outstanding Director, Choreographer; 2000 Austin Under 40 Outstanding Arts & Entertainment Award.

ELISBETH CHALLENER (Managing Director) – joined ZACH Theatre as Managing Director in 2007 after having served as a non-profit consultant and the Executive Director of One World Theatre since moving to Austin. As ZACH’s Managing Director, Elisbeth is responsible for a $22M     capital campaign towards the building of a new theatre as well as the management, development and finances of the organization. Under her guidance ZACH completed a Five Year Strategic Plan that will move the organization into the next phase of its significant expansion. Prior to Austin, she resided in the San Francisco bay area where she was Montalvo Arts Center’s Executive Director, spending nearly 20 years with the organization.  As Executive Director, Elisbeth led Montalvo’s growth from a small, community-based organization into a major presenting venue and home to an internationally acclaimed artists’ residency program.  Other accomplishments during her tenure included increasing ticket sales from less than $500K to more than $4 million, expanding the patron base from 6,000 to 80,000, and raising more than $20 million for capital projects. Earlier in her career, she served as Administrative Director for the San Francisco Boys Chorus, Education/Outreach Director of the Fairmount Theatre of the Deaf, and as department chair and faculty member of the  performing arts department of The Purnell School in New Jersey. Elisbeth graduated from the Boston Conservatory of Music with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts in drama and musical theatre.  She attended the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program, Center for Excellence in Nonprofit Management Leaders Institute in San Jose, Calif. and served in leadership roles for the American Leadership Forum, Silicon Valley, Saratoga Rotary Club and Arts Council of Silicon Valley. She is currently serving on the National Alliance of Musical Theatre’s Festival of New Musicals Committee. Elisbeth has always had a passion for the theatre and performed for many years in summer stock, dinner theatre, and semi-professional productions on the east coast and in California.

MICHAEL RAIFORD (Set Design) - is a freelance scenic and costume designer based in Austin. Michael has been a resident designer at ZACH Theatre for almost 20 years, where he has designed more than 100 productions.  Recent ZACH projects include Rent, The Drowsy Chaperone, Becky’s New Car, Let Me Down Easy, Love Janis, Shooting Star, Caroline or Change and The Clean House.  Michael has also designed more versions of Rockin’ Christmas Party than we can count! Michael is in his fifth season designing for the Humana Festival of New American Plays at The Actors Theater of Louisville. This season includes Elemeno Pea by Molly Smith Metzler and Bob by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb.  Previous Humana projects at ATL include Sirens by Debra Zoe Laufer, Fissures by Dominique Serrand, Phoenix by Scott Organ and Absalom by Zoe Kazan. Other projects at ATL include Jouét, Shipwrecked, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and The Kite Runner.  Other favorite regional productions include Well, The Chosen, and Inherit The Wind at Cleveland Playhouse; The Young Lady from Rwanda at Kansas City Repertory Theatre; Guys and Dolls and Tin Types at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Florida; The Bartered Bride at Opera Boston; The Fantastiks at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC; and What Goes Up at New Victory Theatre, NYC.  Other Austin productions include Rigoletto for Austin Lyric Opera, Big Love and Tesla for The Rude Mechanicals and When Something Wonderful Ends for our own Barbara Chisholm.  Upcoming designs this season include Carmen at Central City Opera and The Magic Flute for Ballet Austin.  Michael received his M.F.A. from the University of Texas, where he subsequently taught for 10 years, and he is a member of United Scenic Artists.

JASON AMATO (Resident Lighting Design) – Jason’s career has spanned 18 years, designing over 500 local and international shows.  In addition to designing at ZACH for 10 years, he is the resident lighting designer for Austin Shakespeare, Blue Lapis Light and the Vortex.  Recent shows at ZACH: Red Hot Patriot, Rent, Metamorphoses, Becky’s New Car, Our Town, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Grapes of Wrath, Shooting Star, Beehive and Caroline, or Change.  The Austin Critics’ Table Awards has honored Jason for outstanding lighting in 25 shows.  He has also received B. Iden Payne Awards for his lighting of Troades, Trickster, The Exonerated, Omnium-Gatherum, Triskelion, Panoptikon, Despair’s Book of Dreams and The Deluge. In 2008, Jason received the “Outstanding Contribution to Austin Theater” award from Austin Circle of Theaters.  You can view his work at www.jasonamato.com.

ALLEN ROBERTSON (Composer/Sound Design) – Allen is an Emmy Award®-winning co-creator of the PBS children’s show The Biscuit Brothers, as well as a co-producer, performer,  writer and composer for the show. Allen is an award-winning musical director, playwright, actor, director, sound designer and musician, and has worked on hundreds of productions from Chicago to Japan and just about everywhere in between. Additionally, he is a composer with credits including the documentary film Beyond Black Rock, the musical Jouet and the ballet Secret Garden.

SUSAN BRANCH TOWNE (Costume Design) – Previous ZACH designs: The Drowsy Chaperone, Our Town,The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Clean House, Jesus Christ Superstar/Jesucristo Superestrella, Present Laughter, Bad Dates, Urinetown, Aida, Cabaret, It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues, Always...Patsy Cline, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, The Laramie Project and Jelly’s Last Jam. Other Austin credits include The Bat for Austin Lyric Opera; and The Music Man, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Annie Get Your Gun, The Secret Garden and Crazy For You for Zilker Theatre Productions. Favorite regional engagements include King Lear, The Diary of Anne Frank, and A Flea In Her Ear at the Denver Center Theatre Company; Crowns, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Twelfth Night, and The Taming of the Shrew at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival; My Fair Lady, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Chicago, Julius Caesar, Tartuffe, Richard III and Sophisticated Ladies at Pioneer Theatre in Salt Lake City; and The Producers, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd and Forum for Milwaukee’s Skylight Opera Theatre.  In New York, Susan designed for New York City Opera and numerous Off-Broadway productions.  Susan is a graduate of Carnegie-Mellon University and the Yale School of Drama, and is a 24-year member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829.

BLAKE REEVES (Properties Design) – AT ZACH:  Fiction, Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins, Rent.  Blake has also worked with ZACH’s production team in numerous facets for The Santaland Diaries, The Drowsy Chaperone, Metamorphoses, Becky’s New Car, Our Town and The Flaming Idiots.  In addition to production work, he performed with the award-winning cast of Our Town. Blake attended Baylor University and, during his time as a student, he designed, choreographed and performed in a number of productions. He later returned to serve as the Coordinator of Special Performances for the university, producing and designing several shows.

ELIOT HAYNES (Sound Engineer) – produces sound and video. Recent ZACH Theatre design credits include video for Red Hot Patriot, Rent and Rockin’ Christmas Party, as well as sound for The Santaland Diaries and Doubt. He enjoys being part of the ZACH Theatre production team, having served as carpenter, Scene Shop Foreman and as the Interim Assistant Technical Director. Other video credits include The Assumption (Refraction Arts), I Witness (Tutto Theatre), A Series with a Chair and an 11-Foot Line (Forklift Dance), Dance Carousel (Spank Dance) and The E Word (Sharon Sparlin). He is also the Technical Director for Austin’s annual FuseBox Festival.

TINA GRAMANN (Fight Choreographer) – Tina choreographed fights for The Grapes of Wrath, Porgy and Bess, Take Me Out, Cabaret, Omnium Gatherum, Misery, bee-luther-hatchee, As You Like It, Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and more. Tina’s weapon specializations include single sword, broadsword, rapier and dagger, and hand to hand combat. Four-times recognized by the Society of American Fight Directors, Tina received her MFA from the University of Houston School of Theatre. Tina is also the Director of ZACH’s Education Department, which serves more than 60,000 students a year ages three and up through a variety of classes and performances for children.

WILLA KAYE WARREN (Wig Design) – has designed hair for ZACH’s productions of Red Hot Patriot, The Drowsy Chaperone, Caroline, or Change, Keepin’ It Weird, Hank Williams: Lost Highway, Aida, Cabaret, Always...Patsy Cline, Beehive, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Dirty Blonde, Hair, Little Shop of Horrors, Jelly’s Last Jam, Master Class, Jouét, A Streetcar Named Desire, Evita, The Rocky Horror Show, The Mystery of Irma Vep, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Angels in America, Tommy, Blues in the Night, The Taffetas, The Piano Lesson, Jack and Jill, Ruthless! The Musical, A Christmas Carol, Beehive (‘95-‘2003), Rockin’ Christmas Party (‘95-’05), Avenue X and Das Barbecü.  She has been working and volunteering in the Austin art community for more than 25 years.

PAUL FLINT (Director of Production) – joined ZACH Theatre in 2008. He earned his B.F.A. from Shorter College and M.F.A. from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, with a focus on Technical Direction, Scenic Design and Arts Management.  He has more than ten years experience in  technical theatre and has worked as a Technical Director for eight years.  His theatre  credits include the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Ga., Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, New York, Vitalist Theatre Company in Chicago, Ill., and he is a founding member of Seaside Repertory Theatre in Seaside, Florida.  Paul is the author of Managing the Creative Mind: A Technical Director’s Process.

BLAIR HURRY (Costume Shop Manager) – grew up in Austin and studied Costume Design & Technology at the University of Texas. Her costume design works at ZACH Theatre include Metamorphoses, Shooting Star (2009-2010 Season), Farm to Market and Call It Courage (Zach’s Performing Arts School). Other local designs include Vampyress (Vortex Theatre), Parade: A Musical (St. Edward’s University), The Famous Rio Grande, The Trojan Women and Cabaret (University of Texas). Prior to ZACH, she built costumes for the Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Ohio Light Opera Company and STAGES: St. Louis. She also worked as Head of Wardrobe and Make-up for the national tour of Playhouse Disney’s The Doodlebops LIVE! and the 2008 National tour of The Moscow Ballet’s The Great Russian Nutcracker.  She is   currently an active member of the local 205 IATSE union.

LILY WILLIAMS (Company Manager) – A fresh face to both Austin and ZACH Theatre, Lily brings a great deal of enthusiasm to her position as the Company Manager.  She graduated from Montana State University with degrees in Media & Theatre Arts and Spanish Language & Literature.  During her time in Montana, Lily served as the producer and stage manager for numerous university productions, including The Last Acts and Allen Ball’s Five Women Wearing the Same Dress.  She has vast experience in the film, event management and visual art worlds.

LISA GOERING* (Stage Manager) – At ZACH: Stage Manager for Rent, The Drowsy Chaperone, Our Town, The Flaming Idiots, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Jesus Christ Superstar/Jesucristo Superestrella and Keepin' It Weird, among others.  She stage managed An Ideal Husband for Austin Shakespeare, and keeps busy working as a dresser, sound board operator and freelance seamstress/stitcher, as well as traveling regionally to work in costume shops including two summers for the Shakespeare Festival at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego.  She has appeared onstage in Carousel and A Christmas Carol at ZACH and The Snow Queen with Second Youth.

JESSIE DOUGLAS (Assistant Stage Manager) – AT ZACH:  Assistant Stage Manager and in the ensemble for Rent, the Assistant Stage Manager for Our Town, and running crew for Grapes of Wrath.  Jessie spent a year in Juneau, Alaska working for Perseverance Theatre as the Company/Stage Management Fellow.  OTHER CREDITS: Stage Manager for Barefoot in the Park at Unity Theater located in Brenham, Texas; Proof, produced by Thunder Mountain Theater Project in Juneau, Alaska.  She is a graduate from Texas State University, San Marcos, where she earned her B.A. in Theater with a Business minor.

TRACY LETTS (Playwright) – is the author of the plays Killer Joe and Man from Nebraska (named one of Time Magazine’s “Top Ten Plays of 2003”). He is an ensemble member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, where his appearances include Homebody/Kabal, The Dazzle, Glengarry Glen Ross, Three Days of Rain and Picasso at the Lapin Agile.  Film appearances include Guinevere, U.S. Marshal and Chicago Cab. Television appearances include The District, Profiler, The Drew Carey Show, Home Improvement and Seinfeld. He recently made his directing debut at the Lookingglass Theatre with Glen Berger’s play Great Men of Science Nos. 21 & 22.

*=Member Actors’ Equity Association