Staff and Board

We’re great as individuals, but together we thrive.

Meet the people behind the scenes.

STAFF

  • Derek Charles Livingston

    Artistic Director

  • Gwen Watkins

    Managing Director

Derek Charles Livingston is thrilled and humbled to start his first season as artistic director of Stages.  Most recently, he spent four seasons at the Utah Shakespeare Festival (USF) as the Director of New Play Development.  During that time, he also served two seasons as the Interim Artistic Director; acted in the one-person play Thurgood, depicting the life of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall; and directed lauded productions of A Raisin in the Sun and Henry VIII as well as a reading of Polar Bears, Black Boys, and Prairie Fringed Orchids. As a new play developer, he managed USF’s Words Cubed program, which, in three seasons, produced four plays selected for professional productions at other theaters.  His new play development work in San Diego as part of Playwrights Project saw him lead four different new play development processes in partnership with multiple San Diego theaters.  Prior to his time in San Diego, Derek was a successful theater director and producer in Los Angeles, including serving over four years as the Managing Artistic Director of Celebration Theatre, the second oldest continuously operating LGBT theater in the United States. 

Selected work as a director: Six Degrees of Separation, Tru, Sweeney Todd (LA Scenie Awards – Best Musical, Best Director), M. Butterfly (LA Scenie Award – Best Director, LA Weekly Nomination, Best Director), Shakespeare’s R&J (Ovation Nomination – Best Director), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Ovation Award – Best Musical), Insurrection: Holding History (LA Weekly Nomination, Best Director), Naked Will (GLAAD/LA Nomination –  Best Play), Jesus Christ Superstar, Love!Valour!Compassion!As an actor, he’s played multiple lawyers: Pridamont (The Illusion), Jerome, et al (Merrily We Roll Along), Billy Flyn (Chicago), and Thurgood Marshall (Thurgood – twice!).  Some favorite roles include Simon (The Whipping Man), Hoke (Driving Miss Daisy – New Hampshire Drama Award, Best Actor), Tupolski (Pillowman), Jackson (Judy at the Stonewall Inn), Capulet (Romeo and Juliet). 

Derek earned his BA in Theatre at Brown University and his MFA in Filmmaking from UCLA’s School of Film and Television.  Separate from performing arts, his long social-justice history includes serving as a national co-chair of the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, & Bi Equal Rights and Liberation – the largest LGBT march on Washington in US History.  His portrait, taken at the Million Man March, is featured in the Smithsonian Museum of African American History. He makes his home in Houston in the historic Third Ward.

Gwen Watkins is a native Houstonian who has been working in Houston’s vibrant cultural sector for more than 15 years and possesses a passion to connect the community’s diverse audiences through the arts. She joined the Stages team this season as managing director, overseeing fundraising, marketing, finance, and operations teams. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Texas A&M University and an MBA from Rice University. Prior to joining Stages, she served as the Houston Symphony’s Chief Marketing & External Relations Officer. During her time with the Houston Symphony, Watkins spearheaded transformation within the marketing department, oversaw community engagement and education initiatives, and was a part of the leadership team that stewarded the organization through the pandemic. Before her time at the Symphony, Watkins served as Associate Head of Marketing & Communications at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) where she managed marketing initiatives in support of the many facets of the institution including its hundreds of thousands of square feet of gallery space, tens of thousands of art objects, art school, art house film program, cafes, shops, and more, as well as serving a key role in the communications and marketing plans for their $450MM capital campaign project. Earlier in her career, Gwen held marketing roles at the Houston Zoo and the Houston Galleria.

MANAGEMENT TEAM

Eboni Bell Darcy

Associate Artistic Director: Inclusion, Engagement and Training

Joel Burkholder

Technical Director

Mitchell Greco

Associate Artistic Director: Company and Literary Management

Yara Guest

Interim Development Director

Laura Hagen

Marketing Director

Todd Molesky

Operations Director

Debra Yeang

Finance and Administration Director

ARTISTIC AND PRODUCTION STAFF

Joseph Blanchard

Assistant Technical Director of Scenery Construction

Jodi Bobrovsky

Props Shop Supervisor

Sage Cantu

Production Mentor

Sophia Dao

Production Mentee

David Jezek

Costume Shop Associate

Kasi Love

Production Manager

Javier Moreno Bothwell

Lead Electrician

Corey Nance

Scenic Artist and Prop Shop Assistant

Peter Nguyen

Production Mentee

Coda Pariselli

Lead AV Technician

James Ponder

Assistant Technical Director of Scenery Logistics

Gisell Rubio

Wardrobe Supervisor

Destiny Raine

Lighting Technician and Programmer

Leah Smith

Costume Shop Manager

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

Ryan Bentsen

Administrative Coordinator

Irma M. Carrillo

Patron Systems and Benefits Manager

Tené Carter

Community Engagement Manager

Dino Hall

Facilites Operator

Jack Ivy

Marketing Manager

César Jáquez

Building and Events Coordinator

Jaalon Pratt

Graphic Design Lead

René P. Rodriguez

Finance and Administration Associate

Rachel Steidley

Institutional Giving Manager

Regine Gwenyth Templonuevo

Content Strategist

Tevyn Washington

Patron Experience Manager

PATRON EXPERIENCE STAFF

Edmundo Cardona

Patron Experience Lead

David Greiss

Patron Experience Associate

Leighla Henderson

Patron Experience Associate

Judith Igwilo

Patron Experience Associate

Mark Ivy

Patron Experience Associate

Jade Mpeye

Patron Experience Associate

Camryn Nunley

Patron Experience Associate

Drew Ritch

Patron Experience Associate

Charity Sells

Patron Experience Associate

PRESS AND MEDIA CONTACT

Like Minds Communications

stages@likemindstalk.com

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Steven Owsley

Chair


Partner
Owsley & Associates

George C. Lancaster

President & Chair Emeritus


Global Head of Marketing & Communications
Hines

Kay Brazelton Bruce

Secretary


Community Leader

Omar Al-Aidroos

Treasurer & Chair, Finance


Partner
KPMG

Kalinda Campbell

Chair, Nominating


Community Leader

Stacy L. Feltham

Chair, Development


VP Legal, General Counsel International, Legal
Woodside Energy

Luis Gomar

Chair, Governance


Partner, Corporate
Paul Hastings LLP

Alexander Lazar, MD, PhD

Chair, Strategic Planning


Professor
UT MD Anderson Cancer Center

Charles Walker

Chair, Audit


Head of IP Disputes, US
Norton Rose Fulbright

Ralph Burch

Member-at-Large


Deputy General Counsel (Retired), International
ConocoPhillips

Mike Dishberger

Member-at-Large


CEO & Co-Owner
Sandcastle Homes

Glenda Gordy

Member-at-Large


Vice President/Director
Gordy Oil Company

Myrtle Jones

Member-at-Large


Senior Vice President, Tax
Halliburton

DIRECTORS

  • Briana Conner

    Anchor/Reporter
    ABC13 Houston

  • Puja Detjen

    CEO & Co-Owner
    Patterson + Sheridan LLP

  • Duke Ensell

    President
    Admiral Transfer and Rigging

  • Jo Furr

    Community Leader

  • Alicia Gordy

    Founder/Owner
    The Breathing Room

  • Cynthia Guill

    Community Leader

  • Lauren Hagerich

    Senior Market Development Manager
    K&L Gates LLP

  • Joanna Handel

    Sales
    Tootsies

  • Neal Hirsch

    Managing Partner (Retired)
    Richard, Wayne and Roberts

  • Danny Klaes

    President
    Charlie Thomas Enterprises

  • Harriet C. Latimer

    Principal
    Harriet Latimer & Associates

  • Angela Lee

    Founder & Principal Designer
    Evolution by Design

  • Jim Nicklos

    President
    Nicklos Drilling Company

  • Angela Haraka Ramm

    Community Leader

  • Hans Roth

    Managing Director
    Russell Reynolds Associates

  • Jane Crowder Schmitt

    Community Leader

  • Phillip J. Vogelsang

    Executive Director
    Ernst & Young LLP




  • Emeritus Council

  • Ted Swindley

    Founding Artistic Director

  • Dominic Cellitti

  • Gary Chiles

  • Jim Cowan

  • Sally Edmundson

  • Ray Messer

  • Mary Moore

  • Amy Moss

  • Mauri Oliver

  • Tom Paul

  • Tara Simon

  • Randy Young