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.
David Schmitz
Interim Executive Director
Biography
David Schmitz is proud to be serving as Interim Executive Director alongside the incomparable Pam MacKinnon and ACT’s incredible Staff and Board. Schmitz is the lead advisor for Amplify Leadership Advisors, a consulting firm focused on creating success stories for arts organizations by providing interim Executive/Managing Director services, management coaching/thought partnership, and project execution that strategically evolves arts organizations in changing times. David has led organizations through leadership transitions, including as an Interim leader and as a project-based consultant. His leadership transition clients have included Stages Theatre in Houston, People’s Light, Kansas City Repertory, Geva Theatre, and Lookingglass Theatre Company. Other clients have included Center Theatre Group, Living Arts Detroit, Midwest Tennis Association, McCarter Theatre Center, National Housing Trust, Producers Association of Chicago Area Theatres, and TheatreSquared.
Before founding Amplify Leadership Advisors, David worked as the fourth Executive Director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF), where he helped usher the 86-year-old organization through the COVID pandemic and the Almeda wildfire. During the unprecedented pandemic crisis, he helped to found and steer the national Professional Nonprofit Theatre Coalition, which collaborated across various industry verticals to secure $16 billion in federal aid for the performing arts sector. Prior to working at OSF, David spent 15 years at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, serving in various capacities, including Director of Finance and Administration, General Manager, Managing Director, and, for the last five years, as Executive Director. David has Board experience at various organizations, including at The House Theatre of Chicago, Theatre Communications Group, Ashland and Lincoln Park Chambers of Commerce, Arts Alliance Illinois, the League of Chicago Theatres, Oregon Cultural Advocacy Coalition, and was a founding member of Enrich Chicago, a cohort of arts organizations working to end racism in Chicago arts.
Artistic Director Emerita, Carey Perloff
Producing Director Emeritus, James Haire
Conservatory Director Emerita, in memoriam, Melissa Smith
Young Conservatory Director Emeritus, Craig Slaight
Artistic
Andy Chan Donald, Associate Artistic Director
Joy Meads*, Director of Dramaturgy and New Works
Austin Riffelmacher, Literary Manager & Casting Associate
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 Manager
Sudeshana Karki, Audience Services Concessions Manager
Bernadette Fons, Audience Services Concessions Associate
Matthew Daly, 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
Reyka Bigfeather, Craig Burdsall, Matthew Daly, Sarah Dellinges, Clara Fulks, Dani Galvez, Bex Green, Chris Hayes, Stan Joe, Roxie Knight, Basil Parrott, Damian Samuel, Esther Shaibani, Yvonne Walden, Kyle Wang, Rowan Whitethorne, Kacey Wilson, Tygre Wolf, June Yee
Safety Services
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, Adam Chung, Myah DeStefans, Kathy Dere, John Doll, Katherine Dominguez, Christine Ford, Mileta Foster, Thea 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, Ophelia Starks, Melissa Stern, David Tavernas, May Yasui
Conservatory
Peter J. Kuo, Director of the Conservatory
Fran Astorga, Conservatory Manager
Katie Speer, Conservatory Marketing 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
Nora Wheaton, A.C.T.@Work Sales & Outreach Manager
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
Library Volunteers
Fran Astorga, Barbara Cohrssen, Marti Cooper, Kim Diehl, Ken Holsclaw, Meghan Jolliffe, Sonia Khachikians, Nelda Kilguss, Peter J. Kuo, Gail MacGowan, Jules Menyhart, 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
Young Conservatory Faculty
R. Tasi Alabastro, Andy Alabran, Claire Alexander, Kristy Aquino, Brenda Arellano, Kimberly Braun, Janel Chante, Meredith Joelle Charlson, Isa Chu, Gwynnevere Cristobal, Natalia Dominguez, DeAnna Driscoll, Gracyn Lei Garrett, Nancy Gold, Baily Hopkins, Larissa Kelloway, Jennifer Mitchell, Brennan Pickman Thoon, Becky Potter, Phaedra Tillery-Boughton, Leandra Ramm, Gary Stanford, Jr., Emily Steelhammer, Valerie Weak
Studio A.C.T. Faculty
Fontana Butterfield, Heidi Carlsen, Frances Epsen-Devlin, Paul Finocchiaro, Allison Gamlen, Margo Hall, Maya Herbsman, Baily Hopkins, Monique Jenkinson, Drew Khalouf, Peter J. Kuo, Dave Maier, Carolina Morones, Thaddeus Pinkston, Mark Rafael, Elyse Shafarman, Anna Marie Sharpe, Dee Dee Stephens, Jomar Tagatac, Valerie Weak
San Francisco Semester Faculty
Mark Jackson, Michael Mohammed, PhD, Dee Dee Stephens, Patrick Russell, Jack Sharrar, PhD
Summer Training Congress Faculty
Karina Fox, Natalie Green, Wes Guimarães, Mark Jackson, Jeremy Kahn, Larissa Kelloway, Jennifer King, Peter J. Kuo, Annelise Lawson, Pam MacKinnon, James Mercer II, Sara “Toby” Moore, Jenny Nguyen Nelson, Annie Potter, R. Real Vargas Alanis, Viera Whye
Development
Caitlin A. Quinn, Director of Development
Xavier Dzielski, Director of Institutional Giving
Bryan Pangilinan, Director of Individual Giving
Irma Ramirez, Director of Special Events
Derek Collard, Associate Director of Special Events
Will Gaines, Associate Director of Individual Giving
Kevin Dolan, Development Operations Specialist
Eirin Combs, Donor Engagement Officer
Malaika Kirkwood*, Development Associate
Katie Maggard, Development Researcher and Prospect Manager
Education & Community Programs
Natalie Greene*, Director of Education
Viera Whye, Associate Director of Community 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, Yari Cervas, Antwan Davis, DeAnna Driscoll, Callie Floor, Caela Fujii, Maica Folch, Josh Matthews, Dani O'Dea, Ely Sonny Orquiza, Brennan Pickman-Thoon, Hayley Sherwood, 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
Amy Dalba*, General Manager
Emma Penny, Associate General Manager
Thomas D. Powell, Company Manager
Nina Fay, Company Management Associate
Human Resources
Chrystal Ellis Sweazey*, Director of Human Resources and EDI
Emmanuel Sabaiz-Birdsill, Inclusion Manager
Serena Daniels, Human Resources & Payroll Manager
Audrey Thesing, Office Associate & HR Administrator
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
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
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.