Stoneham Theatre Staff
Weylin Symes, Producing Artistic Director
Weylin assisted in the renovation of the Stoneham Theatre building and has been with the Theatre since its inception, starting as Associate Artistic Director in 2000 and becoming Artistic Director in 2001. Following on the heels of 2005's World Premiere adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, he penned last season's original adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula. As head of the Emerging Stages program at Stoneham Theatre, he directed the World Premieres of The Girl in the Frame by Jeremy Desmon, Israel Horowitz's adaptation of Edoardo Erba's Marathon and Illicit Conversations, an evening of his own one-act plays. In addition, he directed the critically acclaimed A Prayer for Owen Meany, Richard Greenberg's The Dazzle and The Violet Hour for Stoneham Theatre. Prior to coming to Stoneham Theatre, he directed several productions in the Boston area, including Henrik Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman and We Bombed in New Haven by Joseph Heller, and spent a year training law enforcement personnel through role-playing exercises in Albuquerque, NM. Weylin graduated from New York University and studied at the Experimental Theatre Wing of the Tisch School of the Arts.
Matt Chapuran, General Manager
Matt joined the Stoneham Theatre staff after three years monitoring the fiscal performance of a national portfolio of 80 affordable housing properties for Boston Capital. Previously, he was the managing director of The Nora Theatre Company, based in Cambridge. Recently, Matt concluded a month long project teaching improvisation to MBA candidates at Babson College. He regularly contributed articles on property management andinformation services to various industry publications.
Jon White-Spunner, Director of Community Development
Jon brings to Stoneham Theatre more than 25 years of experience managing professional theatre companies around the globe. This is Jon's third season with Stoneham Theatre. Prior to that he spent five years as Managing Director of the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble in Pennsylvania, and seven years in Los Angeles where he taught courses for the University of Southern California, served as Managing Director for the Pacific Resident Theatre Ensemble, and founded 24th Street Theatre. From 1977 to 1992, Jon worked for a number of organizations in South Africa, including His Majesty's Theatre, the University of Cape Town Little Theatre, and ten years with the prestigious Market Theatre Foundation in Johannesburg.
Artistic/Education
Caitlin Lowans, Artistic Associate/Director of Education
Last season has kept Caitlin busy directing four shows: Cole Porter's You Never Know and And The There Were None for the Mainstage, and Once Upon a Mattress and Trojan Women with the young co. During her four seasons here, she has successfully directed nine shows for the young co., 2005s holiday hit A Christmas Story, and the New England premiere of Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story (Irne nom. Best Musical, Best Director) for the Emerging Stages series. She is a graduate of Georgetown's School of Foreign Service and a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab. In the 2007-2008 season Caitlin will also be returning to school, to pursue an Arts in Education masters at Harvard.
Marketing and Development
Neil Reynolds, Director of Marketing & Public Relations
Neil joined Stoneham Theatre in Jan. 2008. Previously he worked as Manager of Public Relations for Kurzweil Technologies for two years, and has been designing marketing campaigns for local theater companies and comedy troupes since he moved to Boston in 2004. When not in Stoneham, Neil writes for screen and stage, and performs on ImprovBoston's main stage.
Liz O'Meara-Goldberg, Marketing & PR Manager
Audience Services
Vicky Doran, Audience Services Manager
Vicky has been a valuable member of the box office staff since 2005. Her experiences in the box office along with her communication and educational skills prepared her to transition into this managerial role. Though the duties of the Audience Services Manager are varied and many, Vicky has always enjoyed working with our thriving Guild of volunteers, and of course, our patrons. She can often be seen at the box office window as "the interaction with our patrons is half the fun." When not at the theatre, Vicky keeps herself busy in the community. As a La Leche League Leader, Vicky is passionate about helping babies and mothers get off to a good start by leading monthly breastfeeding support group meetings and taking helping calls at home. She also enjoys producing TV shows at our local cable access television studios. She is primarily involved in The Common Wealth, focusing on local issues and The Total Woman, a show produced by, for and about women. Most of all, Vicky has greatly enjoyed her years of homeschooling her children, and feels a sense of wonder as she watches them grow into responsible, fascinating young adults.
Mandi Ledwith, Audience Service Representative
Honey Lee, Audience Service Representative
Kelly Walsh , Group Sales Coordinator
Allison Russell, Audience Service Representative
Emily Sweet, Audience Service Representative
Deirdre Burke, Audience Service Representative
Production
Dave Brown, Production Manager
Dave is excited to begin his fourth season here at Stoneham Theatre. In the past, he has worked at Capital Center for the Arts in Concord, NH and at Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell, MA. as Production Manager. Before that, he was a Lighting Designer that worked in the Boston area for 10 years. Dave is married to Harriet Sheets, the General Manager of New Rep Theatre in Watertown, MA.