PRODUCTION & STAFF BIOS (Alphabetically)
PRODUCTION BIOS
Betty Hart (she/her) – Director
Betty is delighted to work with Phamaly Theater Company! It is an honor and a privilege. Recent credits: Assistant director David Byrne & Mala Gaonkar’s Theater of the Mind (Denver Center’s Off-Center), Idris Goodwin’s Blackademics (Vintage Theatre), 2021-22 Local Lab, Local Theater Company’s annual new play festival, Once on this Island (Town Hall Arts Center), By the way, meet Vera Stark (Fine Arts Center at Colorado College), To the Moon and An Iliad (Creede Repertory Theatre), Polaroid Stories (Metropolitan State University), The Scottsboro Boys and Crowns (Vintage Theatre); Hooded, or Being Black for Dummies (Aurora Fox); Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill (DCPA Cabaret & Vintage Theatre). Betty has recently become one of the Co-directors of Local Theater Company. Betty is a Co-Artistic Director of Local Theater Company. Special/Awards/Training: 2018 & 2021 True West Award winner and 2021 BroadwayWorld Denver Award for Best direction of a stream for Creede Repertory’s online production of Beth Kander’s To the Moon.
Kia Heafner (she/her) – Stage Manager
This is Kia’s debut with Phamaly and she is so excited to join the crew! Kia is a graduate of MSU Denver with a BFA in technical theatre. In addition to stage management Kia is also the Production Manager at Rocky Mountain Theatre for Kids. Past credits include Ann, Lion King, Polaroid Stories, Chicago, and Twelfth Night. She would like to thank her family, friends, and fiancé for their continued support.
Emily Maddox (she/her) – Lighting Designer
This is Emily’s debut with Phamaly. Emily attended the University of Oklahoma where she received her BFA in drama in 2014. She has had the privilege of working in 47 different theatre and performance spaces throughout Colorado in her time here. Her recent designs include The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes (Chadron State College), As One, The Theatre Feathers, Company, & La Boheme (Opera Steamboat), The Piano Teacher & The Drowsy Chaperone (Vintage Theatre).
Krista Montoya (she/her) – Production Designer
Krista is proud to be working on her third production with Phamaly Theatre Company! Before moving back to Colorado in 2020, she spent 5 and a half years as a Set Decorator with Walt Disney Imagineering at Walt Disney World in Florida. Before becoming an Imagineer, she worked as the Prop Shop Supervisor at The Colorado Shakespeare Festival in 2015. She graduated with her BA in Design and Technology for the Theatre from the University of Northern Colorado.
Hannah Shepard (she/her) – Crew Lead ASM
After a brief intermission, Hannah is elated to be back working in theatre again. Hannah attended Denver School of the Arts where she majored in Stagecraft and Design and is incredibly grateful for the various opportunities she has had to live, learn, work, and grow in her hometown theatre community over the last decade. She has enjoyed working with Phamaly Theatre Company in the past as an Assistant Stage Manager for their 2019 production of 'Chicago', as well as assisting with other projects and productions on occasion. Hannah lives with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, ADHD, Dysautonomia, Keratoconus, and mental health conditions.
Daniel Traylor (any) – Assistant Director
Daniel Traylor's first PTC show was Mame in '97. Chicago was his first assistant directing opportunity, under Regan Linton's guidance, and went on to direct The Bad One in PTC's Come to Your Senses Play Festival. He's since assistant directed their Tokyo tour of Honk with the esteemed Stacey D’Angelo. He'd like to thank Betty, Ben, his mentor P.E.Z., and so many others, for the gift of association with the highest caliber of collaborators. He is hard of hearing and lives with a hip malformation.
Toby Yount (he/him) – Captions Designer/Operator
Toby is looking forward to helping with the production of Vox Vergere in a more behind the scenes role! He has acted with Phamaly before in their productions of Harvey, Chicago, Honk, and Theatre As Sanctuary. He hopes you enjoy these series of plays that tackle the idea of love and joy being transformational. Toby's disabilities are Autism and Bipolar Disorder.
STAFF BIOS
Erin Banta: (Operations Manager)
Erin is a Denver-based theatrical artist always searching for the next creative opportunity. By day she navigates the creation of stigma abolishing theatre with Phamaly Theatre Company, on staff since 2019, proudly working as the Operations Manager. By night she is trying to find time for everything else: performance, podcasting, costuming, design, directing, and learning to cook better than your mama can. Every day she is thankful for her supportive circle and partner in crime, Jeremy Althoff. Erin lives with Hashimoto’s Disease, Fibromyalgia, and Anxiety.
Sasha Hutchings: (Managing Director)
Sasha is thrilled to have been with Phamaly since 2018. She has devoted her career to the nonprofit and public service sectors because people and their stories are her passion. She has worked extensively with marginalized communities, survivors of interpersonal violence, and at-risk youth and their families, striving to empower and give voice to those who are so often silenced. Sasha’s career has included being the Director of the Denver Victim Services and Advocacy Network at the Denver District Attorney’s Office; the Executive Director of the Rocky Mountain Victim Law Center; the Assistant Director of Seeds of Hope Charitable Trust; teaching at an inner-city school in Boston, Massachusetts; and working at the Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic in Chicago, Illinois. She received her master’s degree from the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago and her bachelor’s degree from Fairfield University. When Sasha is not working, she can be found enjoying Colorado, spending gratuitous time in bookstores, laughing, or hanging out with her furry friends.
Annie Jacobs: (Technical Production Manager)
Annie joined Phamaly in December of 2019. She moved to Denver from Connecticut where she had been the Director of Production at ACT of Connecticut. Prior to that, she had spent over a decade production managing in New York theatres, including APAC, Queens Theatre, and Prospect Theatre Company. Her time in New York also included working at Showman Fabricators. While there, her projects included Broadway's Sweeney Todd, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Disney's The Little Mermaid, Disney World's American Idol Experience and NBC's The Late Show with Jimmy Fallon. Annie is an alumnus from the Theatre School at DePaul University and the School of Drama at Yale University.
Lauren Lynch-Eidson: (Marketing & Communications Manager)
Lauren (she/her) hails from Clarksville, TN and earned an MFA in Arts Administration from Texas Tech University. She has had a passion for accessibility in the arts for many years, spending the past three years volunteering in-person and virtually for A.B.L.E. Ensemble, a Chicago-based theatre for, with, and by individuals with developmental disabilities. Last year, she was a backstage volunteer for Phamaly Theatre Company’s Alice in Wonderland, where she fell in love with the organization and its mission, and is delighted to be a full-time staff member now. Lauren is also an Adjunct Professor in Arts and Culture Management at The University of Denver, and a newly published playwright. Previously, she had the privilege of working at Wonderbound Ballet, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center among others. When she's not at work, you can find her playing board games, singing with the Denver Women’s Chorus, or stealing cuddles from her dog, Harry Pupper, and her husband, Eric.
Darion Ramos: (Production Stage Manager)
Darion (she/her) is Phamaly’s Company Production Manager and has been with Phamaly for six years in various capacities. Her previous stage management credits at Phamaly include: James and the Giant Peach, Tiny Tim, Pygmalion, Romeo & Juliet, Harvey, Morph Masters, Phamaly’s 30th Anniversary Concert, Chicago, HONK!, and Alice in Wonderland. She has also worked at Colorado Shakespeare Festival and The Lake Dillon Theatre Company as an assistant stage manager. She lives with borderline personality disorder.
Ben Raanan: (Artistic Director)
Ben (he/him) is the Artistic Director at Phamaly Theatre Company. Ben is a disabled director whose work focuses on producing artistically rigorous theatre with, for, and about the disabled community. His favorite directing credits include: Mockingbird (Falcon Theatre), Antigone: born against, The 4th Graders Present an Unnamed Love Suicide, Crumble: Lay Me Down Justin Timberlake, Love & Information (Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati), Falling (DePaul). A special thank you to Sasha, Annie, Erin, Darion and Regan for their continual guidance and hard work as we navigate this post-pandemic world.