Meet the Board!

You may remember an earlier entry from this year where we mentioned some changes in our board. (And if you don't, here's a quick summary: at the end of 2018, matriarch Dolores Dowlin retired and actress/director Erin Berger stepped down from her position to focus on her growing family. Additionally, some of the officer roles changed.) However, even more changes have happened since then--and we'd like to give you the opportunity to meet the people who make our season happen behind the scenes!

Josh Antoon is now the President of the Bobcat Players. He is the head of the Tech committee and joined the board in 2016. Antoon will appear as Mitch in our fall production of Tennessee William's A Streetcar Named Desire and will be playing the role of Francis Henshall in Richard Bean's One Man, Two Guvnors, scheduled for 2020 now.

Jere Antonetti just stepped down from his role as Vice President at the end of 2018, after serving for two consecutive terms. An active board member since 2011, he has worn many hats with our group--as producer, set builder, actor, emcee, house manager, and much more.

Erin Bechdel just stepped down from her role as Recording Secretary at the end of 2018, after the position was combined with the role of Corresponding Secretary. She has served on the board since 2016, and is a member of both the Outreach and Publicity committees. Bechdel was one of the main driving forces behind the Young Playwright's Festival this year, and is in charge of the official program for each of our shows.

Heather Bixler has been a board member since 2011 and previously served as Recording Secretary for 4 years. Her skill set includes--but is certainly not limited to--acting, producing, house managing, and directing. Bixler is a member of the Playreading and Production committee.

Valerie Boyce was just voted onto the board of directors this year and we look forward to seeing all she will accomplish! You may remember her from her most recent role on our stage as Stella in last year's production of Leslie Sands' Something to Hide, though she has been performing with the group since 2016. Boyce also served as assistant director to Antoon on our 2018 season special, The Drawer Boy by Michael Healey.

This year, Shelly Cary stepped into the role of Secretary and is directing our Mainstage production at the Pittsburgh New Works Festival! A board member since 2015, she is the head of our Publicity committee and a member of the Outreach committee. Though she has been a longtime actor and director for our theatre, you may remember her as Rose from our season opener, Enchanted April by Matthew Barber.

Pat Depenhart joined the board of directors in 2007 and previously served as Corresponding Secretary. She is the head of the Production committee and can often be found house managing for our shows or performing in our outreach productions. Depenhart is also a member of the Publicity committee and most recently produced Enchanted April.

Tom Dowlin has been an active member of the Publicity committee since 2008, and this year, he became an official board member! For years, Tom has been designing and maintaining our website, as well as designing posters for shows and now some of our advertisements. He is also interested in the technical elements of theatre, which we are excited to share with him!

Brandon Fowler is the head of Set Construction for each of our shows and has been on the board since 2014. He is a member of the Tech committee and was a major player in the theatre upgrades we made over the last few years. Fowler has also performed onstage, most recently in our outreach productions, and has even worked as an assistant director.

Patty Hamilton continues on as Treasurer for the Bobcat Players, a role she has now carried for 8 years. She is one of our most sought-after stage managers and has also delved into assistant directing. Hamilton is known for her eye with set design and can be found onstage for our outreach productions. She has been a dedicated board member since 2004.

Andrew Mayle is the head of the Stage Management committee and has been acting with this group for over a decade. A board member since 2016, Mayle has worked as a producer, stage manager, builder, and house manager, as well as having run lights and sound. He has also just taken on a different kind of major role--as a new father!

Casey Novak has been performing with the Bobcat Players since 2014 and became a board member in 2016. She is an active member of the Outreach, Playreading, and Publicity committees, and formerly served as Corresponding Secretary. You will next see Novak on our stage as Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire.

Mary Romeo joins the board this year, but has been seen onstage with the Bobcat Players for many years now. You may recall her most recent performance on our stage in Enchanted April as Costanza. We look forward to seeing what Romeo will bring to the table!

Patti Ross has graced the Bobcat Players with her insight as our Artistic Director since 2010. She became a board member in 2004, and serves as head of the Outreach and Playreading committees. Ross has acted and directed countless productions for our theatre over the years; this fall, she tackles Tennessee Williams as director of our November production, A Streetcar Named Desire.

Beth Spence has been photographing for the Bobcat Players for over a decade. She faithfully takes headshots and performance stills for each production, and joined the board in 2017. Spence is a member of the Outreach and Tech committees.

Keith Zagorski has been a board member for the Bobcat Players since we were founded in 2002. He served as President for over a decade and stepped down into the role of Vice President this year. Through his tenure, Zagorski has worked tirelessly on our productions in many ways, including acting, directing, house managing, ticket selling, set building, and so much more. You can find him onstage in our season special production of Michael Hollinger's Red Herring this September.

We are so grateful for the dedication of these sixteen individuals who show up and work towards our mission! Without their hard work, our four-show season would not be possible and we hope that their commitment inspires you. In fact, we hope it pushes you to become involved. There are so many ways that we could use volunteers--and we don't just mean onstage! You may not know this, but we have multiple committees that include people who are not board members. Interested? Consider joining one of them! These open committees include Outreach, Production, Publicity, Set Construction, Stage Management, Tech, and Props. If you think you might enjoy one of these groups, feels free to contact us via our website or Facebook. We'd love to hear from you!