Executive Board Bios.

Stephanie Riddle – President
Stephanie Riddle is a senior majoring in Theatre Design and Technology with a focus in Sound Design. Penn State School of Theatre credits include work for The Rimers of Eldritch and Singing the Moon Up, mix engineer for Urinetown!, The Musical, and sound designer for Cinders, A Year with Frog and Toad, Five Women Wearing the Same Dress and Big River. She has worked on the core committee for Penn State’s Movin’ On festival in 2006 and 2007, as the sound designer/mix engineer for Gretna Theatre’s 2006 production of Big River, and also as a sound design intern with the Pittsburgh CLO 2006 Summer Season. Stephanie is the current USITT@PSU President as well as serving on the board of the USITT Ohio Valley Section and the Penn State School of Theatre Student Advisory Board.

Emily Gast – Vice President
Emily is a senior in the BFA Stage Management program from Allentown, PA. This is her second year serving as USITT@PSU Vice President and she's excited for what the year has to bring. Penn State School of Theatre credits include stage manager for Die Fledermaus, Big River, and Six Degrees of Separation. Assistant stage manager for Urinetown, Much Ado About Nothing, Cabaret, and The Manaechmi, and light board operator for Bat Boy. She not only enjoys Stage Management but also Scenic Design and Lighting Design. She was one of the lighting designers for the Spring 2007 Dance Concert and will be assistant lighting designer for Word Up! in the spring. This past summer she was company manager and assistant stage manager for the Pennsylvania Centre Stage 2007 season of Baby, Proof and Out of Line. She has been a member of the Penn State Student Chapter since Spring 2005, a member of USITT National since December 2005 and previously served as the 2005/2006 Chapter Historian. She was also a participant of the Stage Management Mentoring Project at the National Conference in Phoenix in 2007.

Rachel Harpham – Secretary
Rachel is a senior in the BFA Stage Management program from Downingtown, PA. Her Penn State School of Theatre credits include: Pentecost, Mother Courage, Blues for an Alabama Sky, Cinders, and the 2005 Dance Concert. Professionally, Rachel worked for Pennsylvania Centre Stage during their 2006 season, where she served as assistant stage manager on productions of Whose Life is it Anyway?, Rounding Third, and Sisters of Swing. This spring she will stage manage the School of Theatre's world premiere production of Push. Outside of the theatre, Rachel enjoys a variety of cheese products, celebrating her Canadian heritage and learning the choreography to High School Musical.

Katie Kudrick – Treasurer
Katie, a senior lighting designer in the B.F.A. Design and Production program, hails from the small town suburbs of Pittsburgh, PA. She has been a proud member of USITT at the Penn State and National levels since 2005 and served as the 2006-07 USITT@PSU Advertising & Marketing Director. For the Penn State School of Theatre, Katie is currently exploring the Forest of Arden as the Lighting Designer for the Fall 2007 production of As You Like It; additionally, she has served as the Lighting Designer of Six Degrees of Separation and the Repertory Light Plot Designer for Ritual Expressions 2007 Dance Concert. Through her years at Penn State, Katie has also worked on Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, Blues for an Alabama Sky, and Cinders for the School of Theatre. Professionally, Katie recently worked as the Master Electrician for Unto These Hills: A Retelling for the Cherokee Historical Association in Cherokee, NC, Assistant Lighting Designer for Talley's Folly for The Next Stage in State College, PA, and Lighting Designer for The Theatre Factory's The Melody Lingers On and A Night to Remember: A Tribute to Andrew Lloyd Weber in Trafford, PA. In the little spare time she has, Katie loves to read books, finish the daily crossword and sudoku puzzles, teach herself digital photography, and perfect her barista skills at the HUB.

John Jacobsen – Immediate Past President
John Jacobsen is a senior in the BFA Design & Technology program. Most recently, John was honored with the prestigious 2007 USITT Lighting Design Award for Young Designers & Technicians and the Penn State College of Arts & Architecture’s Golumbic Award for Design Achievement. Prior to coming to Penn State, John spent two years at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, where he was the lighting designer for Pterodactyls, Burn This, and The Illusion. He is the two-time winner of the UNL Theatrix Council’s “Best Lighting Design of the Season” award and his design for The Illusion was named “Best Lighting Design of the Year” by the Johnny Carson School of Theatre & Film. Penn State credits include assistant lighting designer for Cinders and Urinetown and lighting designer for Snakebit, The Big Friendly Giant, Blues for an Alabama Sky, Parade, and Big River. Other recent credits include assistant lighting designer and master electrician for the Unto These Hills outdoor drama in Cherokee, NC; associate lighting designer for String of Pearls and Rounding Third at the Asolo Theatre Company of Sarasota, FL; and Summer Sales Assistant for Electronic Theatre Controls in New York, NY. John has been a member of USITT since 2003 and his work for USITT@PSU includes serving as the 2006-2007 President, the 2006 Conference Delegation Chair, and Assistant Executive Producer for Breaks!: A Rave.

William Kenyon – Faculty Advisor
William C. Kenyon is the Head of the BFA Program in Design & Technology at Penn State University. His design specialties are in the areas of Lighting & Sound. He holds a B.F.A. with Honors from the University of Connecticut, and an M.F.A. from Brandeis University. Mr. Kenyon is a Co-Commissioner for Education for USITT, and is regularly involved in KC/ACTF as a Design Respondent. Mr. Kenyon is a member of United Scenic Artists Local #829, in both the Lighting and Sound Design Categories. When not working at the University, Mr. Kenyon continues to design and tour internationally. Mr. Kenyon is the Lighting Designer for the American Indian Dance Theatre, which maintains an active yearly tour schedule. His work has recently been seen in Palestine, Israel, France, Poland, Qatar, New York, & Washington, DC.

Greg Ryan – Programming Director
Greg is a Junior BFA Stage Manager at Penn State University. His credits include Stage Manager for Speaking in Tongues, Assistant Stage Manager for Parade, Pentecost, and Push. This summer he worked as an Assistant Stage Manager/Company Manager for the Pennsylvania Centre Stage on Baby, Proof, and Out of Line. Greg has been a member of USITT@PSU since fall of 2005 and a national member of USITT since January of 2006.

Justin Couchara – Advertising and Marketing Director
Bio not submitted

Josh Hackett – Fundraising Chair
Bio not submitted

Michelle Kokal – Philanthropy Chair
Michelle Kokal is a junior from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the Theatre Design and Technology program with an emphasis in Scenic Design and (hopefully) Sound Design. Her Penn State School of Theatre credits include charge assistant for Mother Courage and scenic designer for the production of Company this December. Other credits include charge assistant on this summer’s 1776 project and follow spot for the Pennsylvania Centre Stage musical, Baby. Aside from theatre, Michelle enjoys photography, singing, writing music, spending hours watching funny videos online, and - most importantly – catching up on sleep!

Patricia Cardona – Public Relations Director
Patricia Cardona is a junior in the BFA Design & Technology program and from Los Angeles, CA. Past Penn State credits include assistant sound designer for the Afghan Women and Pentecost, and sound designer for The Big Friendly Giant, Cloud Nine, Parade, and Push. Patricia was recently honored with the 2007 Oliver Smith Award for Excellence in Design and Production for sound design. Other recent credits include mix engineer for the musical Billy Bishop Goes to War at the Colony Theatre, and The Marvelous Wonderettes at the El Portal Theatre, and associate sound designer for Zanna Don’t! at the West Coast Ensemble Theatre, all in excessively sunny Los Angeles. Past USITT@PSU positions include Concessions Chair. She has been a member of USITT since 2004.

Adam Ciampi – Conference Delegation Chair
Bio not submitted

Justin Stasiw – Conference Delegation Chair
Justin Stasiw is a junior in the B.F.A. Design and Technology program with an emphasis in sound design. His previous credits include lead sound for the School of Theatre’s spring 2006 production of “The Boyfriend.” This fall he is the sound designer for Urinetown and will be lead sound for Mother Courage in the spring. Justin is currently serving as Historian for USITT Penn State Student Chapter, and he is also one of the Technical Directors for Movin’ On. Over the summer, Justin worked in Cherokee, NC as the mix engineer on a new production of Unto these Hills, the drama of the Cherokee Indian.

Eric Hendrickson – Education Outreach Chair
Eric Hendrickson is a senior Theater Design Technology major with an emphasis in Sound and Lighting Design. He is the Outreach Coordinator for the USITT Penn State Student Chapter. Eric worked on the television crew for Penn State’s Present Tense, and was a mix engineer for the musical “The Boy Friend” in Spring ’06. Eric has been the light board operator for “Urinetown,” and Lead Sound for “Frog and Toad” during Fall ’06. Eric was then Assistant Master Electrician for “Five Women Wearing the Same Dress,” and the Sound Designer for the Spring Dance Recital in Spring ’07. Outside the School of Theater Eric works at Eisenhower Auditorium backstage and is one of two Technical Directors for “Movin’ On.” Eric also worked at Camp Curtain Call as the Technical Theater Specialist, and this past summer was the mix engineer for the outdoor drama, “Unto These Hills,” in Cherokee North Carolina.

Randi Fields – Education Outreach Chair
Randi is a senior from Long Island majoring in something theatre related. Penn State School of Theatre credits include Assistant Charge Artist for The Big Friendly Giant, Props Master for Cloud Nine, and Charge Artist for Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Last summer she was the Production Management Intern for Manhattan Theatre Club and currently she is the Production Manager for the Pavilion Projects Series. Randi will be graduating in December and will be working for Richard Frankel Productions as the Company Management Intern on The New Mel Brooks Musical: Young Frankenstein!

Amy Radebaugh – Concessions Coordinator
Amy Radebaugh is a junior in the BFA Stage Management program from Northern Virginia. Her Penn State School of Theatre credits include assistant stage manager for Big River, Parade, and A Year with Frog and Toad. This past summer she worked for the Wolf Trap Opera Company, as a stage management intern, where she assistant stage managed Die Zauberflöte, Volpone, Carmen and Instant Opera. This spring she will be assistant stage managing, Word Up. Amy has been a member of USITT@PSU since 2006 and she served as the THON Chair last year.

Brian Kurtz – Webmaster
Brian "Red" Kurtz is a sophomore in Lighting Design and Technical Direction. This year, Brian will be Assistant Technical Director for Penetecost and Assistant Master Electrician for Die Fledermaus. His past credits include Master Electrician and Assistant Lighting Designer for Aida and Master Electrician for Summer Stage 2007 (consisting of four childrens shows and an evening performance of Oklahoma). He is very proud to hold the position of webmaster and looks forward to being a continuing part of USITT and the School of Theatre.

Josh Mansker – Historian
Josh Mansker is a senior at Pennsylvania State University in the Theatrical Design and Technology department, with an emphasis in lighting and sound. Recently he was the lighting designer for 2007’s Company, and the sound designer for 2007’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. In the near future he is the Integrations Designer for Push. Past Penn State design credits include LD/SD for Playing For Time, Co-LD/ALD/Draftsman for Ritual Expressions, and LD for A Year With Frog & Toad. This past summer he worked in Anaheim, California at Disneyland as a technician for the show Fantasmic! He is also the chapter historian for the Penn State student chapter of USITT, where he is currently overseeing the revamp of its website. He hopes to graduate in the spring and move on to graduate school for lighting design.

Meredith Walsh – Executive Assistant - Advertising and Marketing
Bio not submitted

Eric Christian – Executive Assistant - Programming
Eric Christian is a sophomore in the Theatre Design and Technology department, with an emphasis in Lighting. So far at Penn State he has been on the crew for three main stage shows: Frog and Toad, Mother Courage, and Pentecost. Other Penn State credits include A Charlie Brown Christmas, Six Degrees of Separation, and Movin’ On. When Eric is not at Penn State he returns to his native Brooklyn, where he stays busy free lancing at various theatres and other entertainment venues. Some of his recent New York credits include two seasons as the technical producer of the Piper Theatre Company, and lighting designs for both Target’s First Saturday’s at the Brooklyn Museum, and Indigenous Taino Productions. Some of Eric’s other recent lighting work includes Signature Theatre Company, Peccadillo Theatre Company, National Dance Institute, and Studio Maestro. He is looking forward to another fun year at Penn State, and is excited to be more involved in USITT this year as a member of the executive board.

Hanna Oravec - Executive Assistant - Education Outreach
Bio not submitted