A.C.T. Staff
Staff
Pam MacKinnon
Artistic Director
Biography
Pam MacKinnon started with A.C.T. in the 2018/19 Season as the theater's fourth artistic director. She is a Tony, Drama Desk, Joe A. Callaway, and two-time Obie Award–winning director, having directed upwards of 80 productions around the country, off Broadway, on Broadway and in London. Her Broadway credits include Amélie: A New Musical (with Phillipa Soo), Beau Willimon’s The Parisian Woman (with Uma Thurman), David Mamet’s China Doll (with Al Pacino), Wendy Wasserstein’s The Heidi Chronicles (with Elisabeth Moss), Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance (with Glenn Close and John Lithgow), Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and Bruce Norris’s Clybourne Park. Other recent credits include Christopher Chen’s The Headlands and María Irene Fornés’s Fefu and Her Friends (A.C.T.), the world premiere of Downstate (Steppenwolf Theatre Company, London’s National Theatre, Playwrights Horizons; Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Direction, and The Joe A. Callaway Award for Direction); Lydia R. Diamond’s Toni Stone (Roundabout Theatre Company, A.C.T., and Arena Stage), Kate Attwell’s Testmatch (A.C.T.), Edward Albee’s Seascape (A.C.T.), and Christopher Chen’s Communion (A.C.T.). She has been recognized as among the 25 Most Influential San Franciscans of 2020 by San Francisco Magazine, along with Jennifer Bielstein. Pam is the most recent past president of SDC, the national union representing stage directors and choreographers.
Jennifer Bielstein
Executive Director
Biography
JENNIFER BIELSTEIN (Executive Director) joined A.C.T. in 2018. She serves on the board of TCG (Theatre Communications Group), is a member of the International Women’s Forum, the Advance SF Advisory Panel and the leadership team of the SF Arts Alliance, was part of Mayor Breed’s Economic Recovery Task Force, and is the immediate past-president of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT)—an organization that represents 80 theaters nationwide—having previously served as LORT’s vice president; chair of its Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee; secretary; and on multiple union negotiating teams. She has been recognized as among the 25 Most Influential San Franciscans of 2020 by San Francisco Magazine, along with Pam MacKinnon, and as one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business by the San Francisco Business Times in 2021. Before relocating to the Bay Area, Bielstein was the managing director of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, managing director of Actors Theatre of Louisville, and executive director of Writers Theatre in Chicago. She has also worked for Steppenwolf Theatre Company, About Face Theatre, Northlight Theatre, and the Lincoln Park Zoo, as well as served on the boards of the League of Chicago Theatres, the Arts and Cultural Attractions Council, and other civic boards. She has received the Center for Nonprofit Excellence’s Pyramid Award of Excellence in Leadership, has been recognized as one of Louisville’s Business First’s 40 Under 40, was named by Twin Cities Business as a Person to Know, and a Minnesota Business magazine Real Power 50 member. Bielstein is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, attended Stanford’s Graduate School of Business Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders in the Arts, and received an MBA from Bellarmine University, where she received the MBA Faculty Merit Award, was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, the honor society for business programs and in 2021 was recognized as a Distinguished Alumna.
Artistic Director Emerita, Carey Perloff
Producing Director Emeritus, James Haire
Conservatory Director Emerita, in memoriam, Melissa Smith
Young Conservatory Director Emeritus, Craig Slaight
Administration
Audrey Thesing, Office Associate
Xavier Dzielski, Executive Assistant
Artistic
Andy Chan Donald, Associate Artistic Director
Joy Meads*, Director of Dramaturgy and New Works
LeeAnn Dowd, Interim Casting Associate
Katie Craddock, Artistic Advisor
Commissioned Artists
David Adjmi & Will Butler; Ryan Nicole Austin, Beau Lewis, & Adesha Adefela; Christopher Chen; Eisa Davis; Aleshea Harris; Naomi Iizuka; Craig Lucas & David Zinn; Susan Soon He Stanton; Sarah Treem; Mfoniso Udofia; Anne Washburn; Lauren Yee; Karen Zacarías
Audience Services
Megan Murray*, Director of Audience Services
Jerry Chirip, Audience Services Associate
Sudeshana Karki, Audience Services Concessions Manager
Bernadette Fons, Audience Services Concessions Associate
Catherine Lange, House Manager
Sadie Li, House Manager
Kescha Mason, House Manager
Genevieve Pabon, House Manager
Basil Parrott, House Manager
Tuesday Ray, House Manager
Debra Selman, House Manager
Bartenders
Philip Aung, Syr Beker, Reyka Bigfeather, Bambi Bonhomme, Craig Burdsall, Matthew Daly, Sarah Dellinges, Clara Fulks, Dani Galvez, Chris Hayes, Stan Joe, Roxie Knight, Basil Parrott, Damian Samuel, Yvonne Walden, Kyle Wang, Adisorn Wannaviroj, Rowan Whitethorne, Kacey Wilson, Tygre Wolf, June Yee
Safety
Idriss Sow, Lead Ambassador
Jesse Nightchase, Lead Ambassador
Stephen Allen, Ambassador
David Gray, Ambassador
Loren Lewis, Ambassador
Thomas Lunsford, Ambassador
Ushers
Susan Allen, Rodney Anderson, Felix Bishop, Serena Broussard, Philip Carberry, Supha Changklueng, Adam Chung, Myah DeStefans, Kathy Dere, John Doll, Katherine Dominguez, Lindsey Drew, Christine Ford, Mileta Foster, Theo Franco, Gerry Garber, Claire Eugenia Gerndt Jr, Jaiyah Gordon, Carol Grace, Roosevelt Green, Aron Gruber, Laurel Jansen, Kathleen Keeler, Roxie Knight, Sharon Lee, Steven Lemay, John Light, Maria Markoff, Kescha Mason, Val Mason, Kenneth McKellar, Meechai McKellar, Susan Monson, Mary O’Connell, Nathaniel Paluga, Karisma Rodriguez, Alexandra Roth, Jack Sale, Melissa Stern, David Tavernas, May Yasui
Conservatory
Peter J. Kuo, Director of the Conservatory
Fran Astorga, Conservatory Manager
Jill MacLean, Young Conservatory Director
Mark Jackson, Director of Studio A.C.T. and Intensive Program Core Faculty
Jessica Holt, Director of the Summer Training Congress
J. Noble, A.C.T.@work Curriculum and Workshop Manager
Hana Kadoyama, Librarian
Emily Cooper, Young Conservatory Associate Programs Manager
Kelsey Tremewan, Conservatory Adult Programs Coordinator
Veronica Fealy, Conservatory Outreach and Young Conservatory Associate
Library Volunteers
Fran Astorga, Barbara Cohrssen, Marti Cooper, Natnael Getahun, Ken Holsclaw, Meghan Jolliffe, Emerald Keehan, Sonia Khachikians, Nelda Kilguss, Peter J. Kuo, Gail MacGowan, Claire Rand, Dana Rees, Dave Sikula, Roger Silver, Jane Taber, Joe Tally, Susan Torres, Annie Wang, Joyce Weissman
Accompanists
Robert Allen, Thaddeus Pinkston, Lindsay Rader, Katelyn Tan
Young Conservatory Faculty
Andy Alabran, Kristy Aquino, Bekah Broas, Janel Chante, Meredith Joelle Charlson, Gwynnevere Cristobal, Ruby Day, DeAnna Driscoll, Allison Gamlen, Gracyn Lei Garrett, Nancy Gold, Lore Gonzales, Jessica Holt, Baily Hopkins, Anna Ishida, Larissa Kelloway, Jenny Nguyen Nelson, Brennan Pickman Thoon, Leandra Ramm, Ely Sonny Orquiza, Ezra Reaves, Gary Stanford Jr., Emily Steelhammer, Leslie Waggoner, Valerie Weak
Studio A.C.T. Faculty
Fontana Butterfield, Heidi Carlsen, Frances Epsen-Devlin, Paul Finocchiaro, Margo Hall, Maya Herbsman, Baily Hopkins, Monique Jenkinson, Drew Khalouf, Peter J. Kuo, Dave Maier, James Mercer II, Carolina Morones, Thaddeus Pinkston, Mark Rafael, Elyse Shafarman, Anna Marie Sharpe, Dee Dee Stephens, Jomar Tagatac, Laura Wayth, Valerie Weak
San Francisco Semester Faculty
Mark Jackson, Michael Mohammed, PhD, Jenny Nguyen Nelson, Patrick Russell, Jack Sharrar, PhD
Summer Training Congress Faculty
Hernán Angulo, Mark Jackson, Larissa Kelloway, Francesca Fernandez McKenzie, James Mercer II, Sara “Toby” Moore, Jenny Nguyen Nelson, M. Graham Smith, Laura Wayth
Development
Caitlin A. Quinn, Director of Development
Nicole Chalas, Associate Director of Development
Irma Ramirez, Director of Special Events
Will Gaines, Associate Director of Individual Giving
Chloe Barg, Annual Fund Manager
Derek Collard, Special Events and Donor Engagement Manager
Eirin Combs, Donor Engagement Officer
Kevin Dolan, Development Operations Specialist
Malaika Kirkwood*, Development Associate
Katie Maggard, Development Researcher and Prospect Manager
Education & Community Programs
Natalie Greene*, Director of Education
Viera Whye, Associate Director of Engagement
Elizabeth Halperin, Student Matinee Coordinator
Anelisa Armijo Montoya, Education and Community Programs Manager
Rebecca J. Ennals, Community Connections Liaison
Sierra Gonzalez, Arts Educator in Residence
Adam Mendez, Education and Community Programs Coordinator
Teaching Artists
Andy Alabran, Olivia Brown, Yari Cervas, Antwan Davis, DeAnna Driscoll, Callie Floor, Maica Folch, Caela Fujii, Sierra Gonzalez, Josh Matthews, Peter Mills, Ely Sonny Orquiza, Brennan Pickman-Thoon, Faith von Minden, Maryssa Wanlass
Finance
Jim Sivori*, Chief Financial Officer
Ning Xiao, Controller
Eric Law, Senior Accountant
Yvonne Chen, Staff Accountant
General Management
Louisa Liska, Director of General Management & Operations
David Schmitz, Interim Director of General Management & Operations
Amy Dalba*, General Manager
Emma Penny, Associate General Manager
Thomas D. Powell, Company Manager
Sam L. Wong, Company Manager
Nina Fay, Company Management Associate
Human Resources
Chrystal Ellis Sweazey*, Director of Human Resources and EDI
Brianna Banks-Oliver, Human Resources and Payroll Manager
Information Technology
Thomas Morgan, Director
Joone Pajar, Network Administrator
Marketing & Public Relations
Adam Thurman, Director of Marketing & Communications
Syche Phillips, Deputy Director of Marketing
Kevin Kopjak/Prismatic Communications, Public Relations Counsel
Samantha Lomax, Senior Digital Manager
Sarah Sugg, Video Content Producer
Laura Clatterbuck, Lead Visual Designer
Dani Karonis, Graphic Designer
Nakia Gibbs, Digital Marketing Associate
Operations
Leopoldo Benavente, Manager of Facilities and Operations
Jeffrey Warren, Associate Facilities Manager
Matt Stewart, Senior Facilities Crew Member
Andrew Tebo, Rentals Producer
Production
Martin Barron, Director of Production
Jack Horton, Associate Director of Production
Michael Anderburg, Production Manager – Conservatory & Mainstage
Elizabeth Newton*, Production Manager – Events/Rentals & Mainstage
Megan McClintock, Resident Stage Manager
Kathryn Gubler, Assistant Production Manager
Kiki Hood, Scenic Design Associate
Mitchell Jakubka, Lighting Design Associate
Dan Holland, Sound & Video Design Associate
Costume, Hair, and Makeup
Jessie Amoroso, Costume Director
Kate Patrick, Costume Build Manager/Draper
Grace Robertson, Costume Shop Design Assistant
Aylin Martinez, Costume Shop Administrator
Kelly Koehn, Craft Artisan
Peter Gravener, First Hand
Sebastian Gray, Seamster
Jessica Carter, Wigs, Hair, and Makeup Manager
Crew (Local 16)
Stephanie Killian, Head Props
Shawn Annecston, Head Carpenter
Brandon Gage, Flyrail
Ian Roth, Head Sound
Eddie Masias, Head Electrician
Prop Shop
Abo Jose Greenwald, Prop Shop Supervisor
Wardrobe (Local 784)
Markus Fokken, Head Wardrobe
Lauren Cohen, Wardrobe Assistant
Ticket Services
Julie Gotsch, Director of Ticketing and Sales Operations
Jorena de Pedro-Viernes, Box Office Manager
Mark C. Peters, Subscriptions Manager
David Engelmann, Head Treasurer
Sienna Sherman, Head Treasurer
Elizabeth Halperin, Assistant Head Treasurer
Andy Alabran, Treasurer
Jane McKay, Treasurer
Christy Spence, Treasurer
*denotes a member of the Staff EDI Committee
A.C.T. is a constituent of Theatre Communications Group, the national organization for the nonprofit professional theater.
A.C.T. is a member of Theatre Bay Area, the Union Square Association, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, and the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau.
A.C.T. operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.
The directors and choreographers employed by A.C.T. at the American Conservatory Theater are members of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.
The scenic, costume, lighting, and sound designers in LORT theaters are represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE.
The scenic shop, prop shop, and stage crew are represented by Local 16 of the IATSE.
A.C.T. is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
A.C.T. is supported in part by a grant from the Grants for the Arts.