Staff and Board

The 2022-2023 season marks Kenn McLaughlin’s seventeenth season as Stages’ artistic leader, following five successful years as the theater’s Managing Director. Kenn has produced more than 100 productions, including record-breaking hits like The Marvelous Wonderettes and Late Nite Catechism series; The Great American Trailer Park Musical and revivals of the theater’s landmark original musical Always…Patsy Cline; as well as pivotal world and U.S. premieres such as De Kus, Black Pearl Sings, An American Brat, Miss Teen, nine original Pantomime productions, and The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical. He has directed over 30 shows for Stages. Highlights include: Auntie Mame, Road Show, Grey Gardens, Full Gallop, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, Mack and Mabel, Speech and Debate, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Stupid Fucking Bird, The Blonde, The Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead and the world premiere of Miss Teen. He has also written the book for two of Stages’ hit musicals: Panto Mother Goose and A Midnight Clear both with music by composer David Nehls. Beyond Houston, Kenn’s musical, I’ll Be Home for Christmas (also written with David Nehls) received its World Premiere production at the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities in Denver and was nominated for a Henry Award for Best New Play/Musical. Outside of Houston, Kenn directed The Threepenny Opera for The Santa Fe University of Art and Design and Sexy Laundry for the renowned Peterborough Players. Prior to his arrival at Stages, Kenn spent eleven years at Great Lakes Theater Festival in Cleveland. At Great Lakes, Kenn helped to build the largest theater-based education program for a performing arts institution in the state of Ohio. He directed the company’s award-winning School Residency Program and commissioned several new theater works including Brother Can You Spare a Dime: The Social Conscience of the American Musical, The Way You Look Tonight, Straight on ‘til Morning, and a new adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry’s To Be Young, Gifted and Black. Kenn also co-founded The Wallpaper Project, an annual oral history performance program in rural Ohio. Kenn has taught workshops for the Center for Literature and Medicine and has twice presented workshops at the National Council of Teachers of English. In 2018 Kenn was guest speaker to the Academic Sympoisum of the Texas Educational Theatre Association. In Houston, Kenn has taught classes in creativity at Rice University and in directing at Sam Houston State University, as well as teaching diversity awareness to cadets at the Houston Police Academy and serving as a guest lecturer for Harris County’s Department of Education CASE program. He has served as chair of the capital campaign and of the stewardship committee of First Congregational Church of Houston where he has also served on the long-range planning and education committees. Kenn completed the Executive Non-Profit Leaders program through the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University and holds a BFA in acting from The Theatre School, DePaul University.

David Schmitz is thrilled to be working with Stages during this year of transition, helping the board, staff and community create a bridge between the organization today and where it is going through a purposeful, transformational, methodical and profound process. Schmitz is the lead advisor for Amplify Leadership Advisors, a consulting firm focused on creating success stories for arts organizations by providing interim Executive Director services, management coaching/thought partnership, and project execution that strategically evolves arts organizations in changing times. Prior to founding Amplify Leadership Advisors, David served as the Executive Director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF), where he partnered with Artistic Director Nataki Garrett towards ushering the 86-year-old organization through the COVID pandemic and the Almeda wildfire. Prior to joining OSF, David worked at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago for 15 years, serving in the role of Director of Finance and Administration, General Manager, Managing Director and for the last five years as Executive Director. His work ensured the world-famous ensemble had the resources and institutional support to achieve their creative ambitions in the present and the future. David has also served as the General Manager at Lookingglass Theatre Company, Associate Artistic Director of Stage Left Theatre and Business Manager at the entertainment agency Adair Performance. He serves as a board member of the Oregon Cultural Advocacy Coalition, is the former Vice President of the Board for The House Theatre of Chicago and has served on the boards of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), Ashland and Lincoln Park Chambers of Commerce, Arts Alliance Illinois, and the League of Chicago Theatres. Schmitz was a founding member of the Professional Nonprofit Theatre Coalition and Enrich Chicago, a cohort of arts organizations working to end racism in Chicago arts. He holds a BA in Theatre from the University of Northern Colorado, an MFA from the Theatre Conservatory at the Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University, a Certificate in Non-Profit Management from Roosevelt University, and completed the Chicago Management Institute, an executive education program through the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.