About us > Staff
Staff
artistic director
managing director
general manager
artistic
Les Waters,
Associate Artistic Director (biography)
Amy Potozkin,
Artistic Associate & Casting Director
Madeleine Oldham,
Literary Manager / Dramaturg
Mina Morita,
Bret C. Harte Directing Fellow
Rachel Viola, Literary / Dramaturgy Fellow
David Adjmi, Artist Under Commission
Glen Berger, Artist Under Commission
Marcus Gardley, Artist Under Commission
Rinne Groff, Artist Under Commission
Jordan Harrison, Artist Under Commission
Naomi Iizuka, Artist Under Commission
Dan LeFranc, Artist Under Commission
Tarell McCraney, Artist Under Commission
Rita Moreno, Artist Under Commission
Dominic Orlando, Artist Under Commission
Stew / Heidi Rodewald, Artists Under Commission
production
Tom Pearl,
Production Manager
Amanda Williams O'Steen,
Associate Production Manager
Megan Wygant,
Company Manager
Katherine Wepler,
Production Management Fellow
Euphrates Dahout,
Company & General Management Fellow
stage management
Michael Suenkel,
Production Stage Manager
Liz Atkinson, Stage Manager
Karen Szpaller,
Stage Manager
Gerd Walter, Stage Manager
Megan McClintock,
Production Assistant
Leslie Radin,
Production Assistant
Emily Hartman,
Stage Management Fellow
stage operations
Julia Englehorn, Stage Supervisor
Overhire
Ross I. Copeland (American Idiot, Coming Home)
Alex Marshall (Coming Home)
Liza Wakeman (Coming Home)
prop shop
Ashley Dawn,
Properties Manager
Gretta Grazier,
Assistant Properties Manager
Jill Green,
Assistant Properties Manager
Anna Victoria Peralta,
Properties Fellow
Overhire
Sarah Lowe (American Idiot)
scene shop
Jim Smith,
Technical Director
Ryan O'Steen,
Associate Techincal Director
Sam McKnight, Shop Foreman
Colin Babcock, Master Carpenter
Stephanie Shipman, Carpenter
Seth Fly,
Shop Fellow
Overhire
Brett Banakis (American Idiot)
Lara Berggern (American Idiot, Coming Home)
Ed Coco (American Idiot)
Russell Facente (American Idiot, Tiny Kushner, Coming Home)
Edward Hazzard (American Idiot, Tiny Kushner, Coming Home)
Kimberley Jew (American Idiot, Tiny Kushner, Coming Home)
Andrew O’Keefe (American Idiot)
Jeff Palmer (American Idiot)
Damon Pelletier (American Idiot)
Jesse Rignall (American Idiot, Tiny Kushner, Coming Home)
Amy Rubin (American Idiot)
Liza Wakeman (Tiny Kushner)
scenic art
Lisa Lazar,
Charge Scenic Artist
Alexandra Friedman,
Scenic Art Fellow
Overhire
Sheri Earnhart (American Idiot, Coming Home)
Mike Fink (American Idiot)
Sophia Fong (American Idiot)
Abby Hanson (American Idiot)
Sierra Helvey (American Idiot)
Alexandra Kranyak (American Idiot)
Leticia Samonte (American Idiot)
Tania Seabock (American Idiot)
Gabrielle Wolodarski (American Idiot, Coming Home)
costumes
Maggi Yule,
Costume Shop Manager
Maggie Whitaker,
Assistant Costume Designer
Kitty Muntzel, Draper
Kathy Kellner Griffith, Tailor
Janet Conery, First Hand
Barbara Blair, Wardrobe Supervisor
Silvie Deutsch,
Costume Fellow
Overhire
Merria Dearman (American Idiot)
Lauren Fischer (American Idiot)
Nelly Flores (American Idiot)
Marcy Frank (American Idiot)
Paige Howie (Tiny Kushner)
Sarah Wakida (American Idiot)
Alex Zeek (American Idiot)
electrics
Frederick Geffken,
Master Electrician
Christine Cochrane,
Production Electrician
Zoltan DeWitt,
Production Electrician
Matthew Avery,
Electrics Fellow
Overhire
Franklin Brightwater (Coming Home)
Stephanie Erin Buchner (American Idiot, Coming Home)
Jeffrey Cady (American Idiot)
Ross I. Copeland (American Idiot)
Zahra Garrett (American Idiot, Coming Home)
Kelly Marie Kunaniec (American Idiot, Tiny Kushner, Coming Home)
Alex Marshall (American Idiot)
Corinne O’Sullivan (American Idiot, Tiny Kushner, Coming Home)
Andrea J. Schwartz (American Idiot, Tiny Kushner, Coming Home)
Victor Seastone (American Idiot)
Molly Stewart-Cohn (American Idiot, Coming Home)
Maria (Masha) Tsimring (Tiny Kushner, Coming Home)
Tirzah Tyler (American Idiot)
Audrey Wright (American Idiot, Tiny Kushner, Coming Home)
sound
Heather Bradley,
Sound Supervisor
James Ballen,
Sound Engineer
Beryl E. Baker,
Sound Fellow
Overhire
Randy Cohen (American Idiot)
Dave Dignazzio (American Idiot)
Cody Spencer (American Idiot)
administrative
Suzanne Pettigrew,
Controller
Gustav Davila,
Director of Technology
Andrew Susskind,
Executive Assistant
Eric Ipsen,
Human Resources Manager
Kristin Cato,
Bookkeeper
Laurel Leichter,
Human Resources Consultant
Diana Amezquita,
Database Manager
David F. Lorenc,
Management Intern
marketing and communications
Robert Sweibel,
Director of Marketing & Communications
Terence Keane,
Director of Public Relations /
Associate Director of Marketing & Communications
Cheshire Isaacs,
Art Director
Elissa Dunn,
Audience Development & Events Manager
Pauline Luppert,
Marketing & Multimedia Manager
Chad Jones,
Communications Manager
Christina Cone,
Webmaster
Nora Merecicky,
Graphic Design Fellow
Elana McKernan,
Marketing & Communications Fellow
Ellen Felker,
Program Advertising
development
Lynn Eve Komaromi,
Director of Development
Daria Hepps,
Director of Corporate & Leadership Gifts
Margo Chilless,
Special Events Manager
Laura Fichtenberg,
Individual Giving Manager
Amanda Margulies,
Institutional Grants Manager
Catrina Sheen,
Development Assistant
Jane Voytek,
Development Database Coordinator
Siobhan Doherty,
Gifts Entry Associate
Sarah Nowicki,
Development Fellow
box office
Christine Bond,
Ticket Services Director
Laurie Barnes,
Subscription Manager & Associate Sales Manager
Terry Goulette,
Box Office Supervisor
Mark Blank, Sales Agent
Crystal Chen, Sales Agent
Christina Cone, Sales Agent
Leah Kaplan, Sales Agent
Tom Toro, Sales Agent
Michael Woo, Sales Agent
patron services
John Gay,
Patron Services Manager
Katrena Jackson,
House Manager
Cayley Carroll,
Assistant House Manager
Octavia Driscoll,
Assistant House Manager
Aleta George,
Assistant House Manager
Kiki Poe, Assistant House Manager
Matthew Avery, Concessionaire
Beryl Baker, Concessionaire
Michelle R. Barron, Concessionaire
Euphrates Dahout, Concessionaire
Silvie Deutsch, Concessionaire
Alexandra Friedman, Concessionaire
Elizabeth Guzman, Concessionaire
Abigail Hanson, Concessionaire
Emily Hartman, Concessionaire
Kimberly Jew, Concessionaire
Zoe Kalionzes, Concessionaire
Devon LaBelle, Concessionaire
Ellen Maloney, Concessionaire
Elana McKernan, Concessionaire
Nora Merecicky, Concessionaire
Sarah Nowicki, Concessionaire
Viqui Peralta, Concessionaire
Jocelyn Thompson, Concessionaire
Katherine Wepler, Concessionaire
Marilyn Goodman, Usher Coordinator
Nelson Goodman, Usher Coordinator
operations
Christopher Dawe,
Facilities Director
Johnny Van Chang, Maintenance Technician
Kevin Barry, Facilities Assistant
Greg Hall, Facilities Assistant
Brittney Hooper, Facilities Assistant
Lamont Rodriguez, Facilities Assistant
berkeley rep school of theatre
Rachel L. Fink,
Associate General Manager & Director
MaryBeth Cavanaugh,
Associate Director
Dave Maier,
Jan & Howard Oringer Outreach Coordinator
Emika Abe,
School Administrator
Elizabeth Guzman,
Education Fellow
Kashara Robinson,
Education Fellow
tony taccone
is enjoying his 13th year as artistic director of Berkeley Repertory Theatre, where he has staged more than 35 shows—including world premieres by Culture Clash, Rinde Eckert, David Edgar, Danny Hoch, Geoff Hoyle, Quincy Long and Itamar Moses. Taccone made his Broadway debut with Bridge & Tunnel, which was universally lauded by the critics and won a Tony Award for its star, Sarah Jones. In 2009, he returned to Broadway to direct Carrie Fisher’s Wishful Drinking, which set box-office records at Berkeley Rep before enjoying a six-city national tour. Taccone commissioned Tony Kushner’s legendary Angels in America, co-directed its world premiere at the Mark Taper Forum and has collaborated with Kushner on seven projects. Their production of Brundibar featured designs by beloved children’s author Maurice Sendak; it debuted at Berkeley Rep and then traveled to Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven and the New Victory Theatre in New York, where it sold out its run and was nominated for two Drama Desk Awards. In 2004, his premiere of Continental Divide transferred to the Barbican in London after playing the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Rep, La Jolla Playhouse and England’s Birmingham Rep. Taccone often works in Ashland, where he has also directed Coriolanus, Othello, Pentecost and the American premiere of Seamus Heaney’s The Cure at Troy. His other regional credits include Actors Theatre of Louisville, Arena Stage, Arizona Repertory Theatre, Center Theatre Group, the Guthrie Theater, Hartford Stage, the Huntington Theatre Company, The Public Theater, San Jose Repertory Theatre and Seattle Repertory Theatre, as well as San Francisco’s Eureka Theatre where he served six years as artistic director before coming to Berkeley. Taccone has served on the faculty at UC Berkeley and the board of Theatre Communications Group, and acted as a regional representative for the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.
susan medak
has served as Berkeley Rep’s managing director since 1990, leading the administration and operations of the Theatre. She is president of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT), the management association that represents 75 of the nation’s largest nonprofit theatres. Medak has often served on program panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and chaired two panels for the Massachusetts Arts Council as well. She served two terms on the board of Theatre Communications Group, including three years as the organization’s treasurer. Closer to home, Medak chairs the Downtown Berkeley Business Improvement District. She is also a board member of the Downtown Berkeley Association and the founding chair of the Berkeley Arts in Education Steering Committee for Berkeley Unified School District and the Berkeley Cultural Trust. Medak serves on the faculty of Yale School of Drama and is a proud member of the Mont Blanc Ladies’ Literary Guild and Trekking Society. She lives in Berkeley with her husband and son.
les waters
has served as associate artistic director of Berkeley Repertory Theatre since 2003. In the last five years, his shows have ranked among the year’s best in The New Yorker, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Time Out New York, Time Magazine and USA Today. Waters has a history of collaborating with prominent playwrights like Caryl Churchill, Charles Mee and Wallace Shawn, and champions important new voices such as Will Eno, Jordan Harrison, Sarah Ruhl and Anne Washburn. In 2009, Waters and Ruhl made their Broadway debuts with In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), which began in Berkeley. Waters’ other credits at Berkeley Rep include the world premieres of Fêtes de la Nuit, Finn in the Underworld and To the Lighthouse; the American premiere of TRAGEDY: a tragedy; the West Coast premiere of Eurydice; and extended runs of The Glass Menagerie, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, The Pillowman and Yellowman. He won an Obie Award for Big Love, staging its premiere at the Humana Festival and subsequent runs at Berkeley Rep, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Goodman Theatre and Long Wharf Theatre. His New York credits also include Classic Stage Company, the Connelly Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival, Second Stage Theatre and Signature Theatre Company. Elsewhere in America, he has directed for ACT/Seattle, American Conservatory Theater, American Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, the Guthrie Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, the Mark Taper Forum, Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Yale Repertory Theatre. In his native England, Waters worked with the Bristol Old Vic, Hampstead Theatre Club, Joint Stock Theatre Group, National Theatre, Royal Court Theatre and Traverse Theatre Club. Waters led the M.F.A. directing program at UC San Diego and is an associate artist of The Civilians, a theatre group based in New York. His many honors include a Drama-Logue Award, an Edinburgh Fringe First Award, a KPBS Patte and several awards from critics’ circles in the Bay Area, Connecticut and Tokyo.