 | Steven C. Anderson Producing Director
sanderson@catco.org |
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| Steven C. Anderson has created plays for and with Central Ohio children for the past twenty-nine years, first at the Leo Yassenoff Jewish Center, then at Players Theatre Columbus and most recently at the Phoenix Theatre for Children which he founded twenty years ago. He is the recipient of the Ohio Theatre Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award, the Southside Settlement Arts Freedom Award, a Certificate of Achievement from the Community Center for the Deaf, and a Central Ohio Critics Circle Award for “a decade of respectful and exhilarating theatrical adaptations of works of literature from around the world and for using a diverse array of theatrical styles to challenge and delight children.” His work has been nominated five times for the prestigious Greater Columbus Arts Council’s Excellence in the Arts Award. His work as a director includes Candide and Hair at the Ohio State University Theatre Department; Love! Valour! Compassion! and The Taste of Sunrise at CATCO, Big River and Pippin for Actors Theatre; A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at New Harmony Theatre; and Greater Tuna; Little Shop of Horrors; and Assassins for the former Players Theatre Columbus where he served as Associate Producing Director. He is particularly proud of the 2006 collaboration with BalletMet of Alice in Wonderland, the 2007 collaboration with CAPA, and OperaColumbus of The Secret Garden that paired deaf and hearing actors on stage together, and the 2009 Phoenix production of The Miracle Worker that incorporated the talents of deaf and blind actors. |
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 | Joe Bishara Associate Producing Director
jbishara@catco.org |
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| Joe has worked at regional theatres across the Midwestern United States as an award-winning Actor, Director, and Producer. Previous Administrative stops include: Act Out Productions (Associate Producer - Columbus National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival), Wayside Theatre (Assistant Artistic Director), The Phoenix Theatre for Children (Production Coordinator), and CATCO-Phoenix (Associate Artistic Director). Working in conjunction with Columbus Recreation and Parks, Joe manages the day-to-day operations of the Columbus Performing Arts Center. He currently serves as President of Theatre Roundtable, a consortium of central Ohio theatres working to strengthen theatre throughout Ohio. Joe is a proud graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and a member of AEA. |
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 | Heather Burley Education Director
hburley@catco.org |
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| Heather is proud to be a part of the CATCO staff. She received her Bachelors degree in Theatre from The Ohio State University and went on to pursue her Masters degree in Drama Education. As Director of Education, Heather wishes to extend the benefits of theatre from the stage into the classroom. She has conducted various theatre workshops and residencies in diverse school communities throughout the state of Ohio. Her interest lies in creating new ways to integrate drama/ theatre into existing curricular areas of the classroom to help students better understand core subject material. In addition to her educational pursuits, Heather also enjoys performing on the CATCO is Kids stage. |
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 | Cheryl Ruschau Production Stage Manager cruschau@catco.org |
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| Cheryl grew up in Columbus and received a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Miami University. She served as CATCO’s Stage Management Fellow for the 2003-2004 season, and went on to work at Syracuse Stage in New York and Goodspeed Musicals in Connecticut. Cheryl returned to Columbus in 2007 to become CATCO’s Company Stage Manager. She is a proud member of Actors Equity and happy to be a member of the CATCO family. |
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 | Keya Myers-Alkire Master Electrician/Sound Engineer kalkire@catco.org |
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| Keya Myers-Alkire grew up in Athens, Ohio and earned her BFA in Theatre from Ohio University. She has worked at theaters in Maryland, Utah, and Columbus, and has been CATCO’s Master Electrician and Sound Engineer since 1997. Some of her favorite sound designs for CATCO have included The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine, A Tuna Christmas, Escanaba in da Moonlight, and Almost, Maine. |
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 | Joe Wolfle Jr. Technical Director jwolfle@catco.org |
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| After attending The University of Cincinnati for technical direction, Joe Wolfle set off for some grand adventures in New England. While in the Green Mountains of Vermont, he spent a summer working with the Bread and Puppet Theater. The following winter Joe was captured by the White Mountains of New Hampshire where he ran a team of Oxen, doing forestry work atop a foot of snow. Cheap living expenses and family ties brought him back to Ohio where he has been working as a local stagehand and continuing his growing work with theater. Joe is actively involved in organic farming and the local food movement. He is also a member of the Awarehouse artist collective and the Righteous Mothers bicycle club, both based in the Weinland Park neighborhood where he and his partner are currently renovating an old vacant house. He is excited about joining the CATCO staff to produce high quality theater with a great group of artists. |
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 | Whitney Thomas Eads Artist Educator wthomaseads@catco.org |
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| Since graduating Summa Cum Laude from Hope College (B.A. Theatre-Acting/Directing), Whitney Thomas Eads has had an active role in educational outreach through the arts. She has collaborated with such organizations as Junior Players (Dallas, TX), Theatre Action Project (Austin, TX), and Ohio Alliance for Arts Education (Columbus, OH), and worked as Assistant Director for Big Thought's Creative Solutions (Dallas, TX), a program designed to provide work experience through the arts to at-risk and on-probation teens. Whitney aids CATCO with developing new theatre arts curriculum, teaching residencies, and exploring new avenues of education through performance. |
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 | Geoffrey Nelson Artistic Director Emeritus
Geoffrey.C.Nelson@gmail.com |
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| Geoffrey Nelson founded CATCO in 1984 and led the company as its Artistic Director for 26 years. Among the shows he has directed are The Mystery of Irma Vep; The Grapes of Wrath; Blackbird; Almost, Maine; The Importance of Being Earnest; Of Mice and Men; A Tuna Christmas; The Homecoming; The Exonerated and A Christmas Memory. Under his leadership, CATCO has developed into Central Ohio's professional resident theatre company, renowned for its acting and adventurous play choices. CATCO has also taken an active role in producing new works, including the bi-annual Shorts Festival, and -- most recently -- the world premieres of You're My Boy and Pierce to the Soul. Under his leadership, CATCO offered touring productions and performance classes for many years. In 1997 CATCO won the Governor's Award for Arts Outreach. Nelson has also been the recipient of the Ohio Theatre Alliance "Encore" Award, an Ohioana Citation for Theatre, a Huntington Foundation Award for Arts Leadership, a Theatre Roundtable "Harold" Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Central Ohio Critics Circle. Nelson is also an actor and a member of Actors Equity. |
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 | Jonathan Baggs Technical Direction/Carpentry Apprentice jbaggs@catco.org |
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| This is Jon's first season working with CATCO. He is a recent graduate of The Ohio State University where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree with a focus in scenic design and technical direction. Before his departure from OSU he was the lead scenic designer for a Macbeth production that toured local school districts around central Ohio. With that said, Jon is looking forward to working with CATCO and all the shows in the upcoming season. |
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 | Kurt Heimbrock Technical Apprentice kheimbrock@catco.org |
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| Kurt is very excited to join the CATCO team as Technical Apprentice for the 2012-2013 season! He is a proud Buckeye and received his Bachelor of Arts in Theatre with a focus in Lighting and a minor in Psychology from The Ohio State University. He was a Production Electrician for several OSU shows including Aida and Summer and Smoke. He has already worked on several CATCO productions including The 39 Steps and Evil Dead: the Musical. He is looking forward to a great season! |
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 | ELISE RANDALL Acting Apprentice
erandall@catco.org |
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| Elise earned her BA from the University of Michigan, concentrating in English, Theatre, and Native American Studies. With The New Theatre Project she had the opportunity to act, write, direct, stage manage, costume design, and work as staff photographer. Favorite past projects include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Helena/Mustardseed), Closer (Alice), Alice in Wonderland (Mad Hatter/Humpty Dumpty), and the world premier of If You Start a Fire [Be Prepared to Burn] (Lucy). |
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 | CODY MICHAEL SHOPE Acting Apprentice cshope@catco.org |
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| Cody began performing in the 4th grade, and fell in love with singing and dancing. He played Rabbit in The House at Pooh Corner with CATCO-Phoenix last season, and was most recently seen in CATCO's production of Avenue Q. Some favorite credits include: Frank (The Rocky Horror Show), Seymour (Little Shop of Horrors), Jesus (Godspell). Cody is thrilled to begin a theatrical journey with CATCO, by becoming an apprentice for this season. Cody would like to thank his mom and dad for always believing in him, along with Joe and Steven for all their support. |
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 | BEN Sostrom Acting Apprentice bsostrom@catco.org |
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| Ben is pleased to be joining CATCO for the 2012-13 Season. Recent roles include John Calhoun in Available Light’s Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson!, Oswald in New Players Theater’s King Lear, The Sheriff in The Actors' Theatre’s Robin Hood, and Starbuck in Columbus Civic’s Moby Dick: Rehearsed. Additionally, he serves as Executive Producer for the Film Division of Offshoot Productions LLC, a local multimedia production company. He is a graduate of the OSU Theatre program. |
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 | Joanna Van Sickle Acting Apprentice jvansickle@catco.org |
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| Joanna is thrilled to join CATCO and make her return to Ohio. After graduating with a B.A. in Theatre from Ohio Wesleyan University, Joanna relocated to the D.C. area working with Educational Theatre Company, Arts on the Horizon, Mount Vernon Community Children's Theatre, and Encore Stage and Studio. She enjoyed teaching, writing, producing and directing children's theatre in D.C. and looks forward to new theatre adventures! |
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 | Lauren Yobbagy Stage Management Apprentice lyobbagy@catco.org |
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| Lauren is proud and excited to be joining CATCO as their Stage Management Apprentice for the 2012-2013 Season. She received a Bachelor of Arts from Ashland University with an emphasis in Stage Management and Direction. She has stage managed numerous shows including Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George and Miller's The Crucible as well as co-directed Jose Rivera's Marisol. She has also worked with Columbus' own MadLab as a stage manager, actor and director. Lauren is thrilled to be working with CATCO and looks forward to a wonderful season. |
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