Company One

Production Manager

Shawn LaCount Artistic Director	Sarah Shampnois Managing Director	Mark Abby VanDerzee Educational Director
Summer L. Williams Director of Public Relations	Ilana M. Brownstein Dir. of New Work	Sarah Cohan Production Supervisor
Kate Shanahan Audience Development Coordinator	Karthik Subramanian Production Manager	Phil Berman Literary Manager
Corianna Moffatt Artistic Associate	Tyler Monroe Artistic Associate	Freya McCaie Education Associate
Katherine Clanton Asst. Production Manager	Kevin Parker Asst. Production Manager	George Luke Webmaster

Artistic Director: Shawn LaCount

SHAWN LACOUNT (Artistic Director): Shawn is a co-founder of Company One, a resident theatre company at the Boston Center for the Arts. Recent directorial credits include the Boston premieres of Rajiv Joseph's BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO; Kris Diaz's THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY; Annie Baker's THE ALIENS (Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director and Outstanding Production), the world premiere of GRIMM (IRNE Award nominee for Best New Play), the Boston premiere of THE OVERWHELMING by JT Rogers (Elliot Norton Award nominee for Outstanding Drama, Fringe); the Boston premiere of Haruki Murakami’s AFTER THE QUAKE (Elliot Norton Award nominee for Outstanding Drama, Fringe); Stephen Sondheim’s ASSASSINS (IRNE nomination for Best Director and Best Musical); the Boston premiere of Noah Haidle’s MR. MARMALADE (Elliot Norton Award nominee for Outstanding Director/Outstanding Drama); the Boston premiere of AFTER ASHLEY by Gina Gionfriddo; and Anthony Burgess’ A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (featuring The Dresden Dolls). Shawn also directed Adam Rapp's PARAFFIN and NURSING at Emerson Stage. Shawn holds an MA Ed in theatre Education from Clark University and an MFA in Directing from The University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has taught at the Boston Arts Academy, Huntington Theatre Company, Tufts University, Stage One and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Managing Director: Sarah Shampnois

Sarah is a founding member of Company One. She holds a Masters of Public Administration (MPA) in Nonprofit Management from the Sawyer Business School at Suffolk University and a BA from Clark University. Sarah has worked for several non-profit agencies including AmeriCorps, New Jersey Community Water Watch, MassPIRG and the President's Council on Sustainable Development under President Clinton. She also served as the Educational Team Leader for NJWW and has taught environmental education and the arts in the Camden, NJ and Worcester, MA school systems. She has received training and has extensive experience in Community Organizing, Private and Corporate Fund Raising, Internship Supervision, and Media Relations.

Educational Director: Mark Abby VanDerzee

Mark, a co-founder of Company One attended Clark University where he received his B.A. in Theatre Performance and dual certification in Elementary Education and K-12 Performing Arts, and recently received his MA Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Phoenix. Stage One: Theatrical Training, Company One’s Dramatic Education Program, is under Mark’s helm. He has developed the curriculum for several different branches of the program, including Stage One’s summer camp, a series of intensive after-school theatre courses, an educational tour of ARTiculation, and professional development for actors. a Stage One professional apprenticeship program. Most recently, Mark has launched a school day poetry/theater class in four Boston Public Schools and a new Saturday morning theater class for teens, as well as a professional apprenticeship program. Under Mark’s guidance, Company One’s Stage One program has now begun to educate people from the ages of 4 to 40 (and beyond) with quality artistic programming. Mark began his public school teaching career in the Worcester Public Schools, and currently teaches Technical Theater, Design for the Stage and Improv at Brookline High School. Proudly, Mark is also an educator for Stage One.

Director of Public Relations: Summer L. Williams

Ms. Williams has been with Company One since its inception in 1998. An active member of the Board of Directors, Summer is a producer, director and educator for Company One. Her most recent professional directing credits include the controversial NEIGHBORS and the world premiere of GRIMM. In 2009, Ms. Williams won the Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director. Other regional credits include THE GOOD NEGRO, VOYEURS DE VENUS (Elliot Norton Award nominated), THE BLUEST EYE (IRNE and Elliot Norton Award nominated), THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT, SPELL #7 (IRNE nominated), JESUS HOPPED THE ‘A’ TRAIN (2004 Elliot Norton Award for Best Fringe Production) TWILIGHT: LOS ANGELES, 1992 (IRNE nominated). Ms. Williams has also directed for the BU Playwrights Theatre, Brandeis University, Clark University, The Theater Offensive and Huntington Theatre Company. She is also a teacher of drama and director at Brookline High School and holds a B.A. in Theatre and well as a MA. Ed. in Urban Education. Ms. Williams serves as a member of the Board of Directors of both Stage Source and The Coolidge Corner Theatre.

Director of New Play Development: Ilana M. Brownstein

Ilana M. Brownstein is a dramaturg and director who teaches on the faculty of Boston University's School of Theatre. She is the former Literary Manager and dramaturg at the Huntington Theatre Company under Nicholas Martin. While there, she created and ran the Huntington Playwriting Fellows (HPF) program and the Breaking Ground Festival, for which she won the 2008 Elliot Hayes Award, granted each year by Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas for excellence in dramaturgy. Her dramaturgy credits include the Broadway and Huntington productions of "Mauritius" by Theresa Rebeck; the development and premiere of HPF plays including Melinda Lopez's "Sonia Flew," and Ronan Noone's "The Atheist"; season productions at the Huntington 2003-2008; as well as productions at Boston Playwrights' Theatre, Company One, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Yale Rep, and Yale Cabaret, among others. Playwrights with whom she has developed commissioned scripts include Mat Smart, Daniel Goldstein and Michael Friedman, Lydia Diamond, John Shea, and Naomi Iizuka. Ms. Brownstein has adjudicated dramaturgy and playwriting residencies and awards for the Kennedy Center's American College Theatre Festival, Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA), the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference, and the New Play Institute at Arena Stage. Her articles have been published in "TheatreForum," "Theatre," "Slavic and East European Performance," and Oregon Shakespeare Festival's "Prologue" and "Illuminations," among others. She is a former regional and executive vice president of LMDA, and serves as Arts Advisor to Jake Zimmerman, Missouri State Representative of the 83rd District. She holds an M.F.A. in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism from the Yale School of Drama, and a B.A. in Directing from The College of Wooster.

Production Manager: Karthik Subramanian

Karthik joined Company One in the Spring of 2009 as an Assistant Stage Manager for THE EMANCIPATION OF MANDY AND MIZ ELLIE. Past credits have included THE ALIENS, NEIGHBORS, THE BOOK OF GRACE, 1001 (Asst. Production Manager), GRIMM (Production Assistant) & THE EMANCIPATION OF MANDY AND MIZ ELLIE (Asst. Stage Manager). Over the course of two seasons, he has moved on from being an Asst. Stage Manager to a Production Manager for Second Stage. Karthik also works as a lighting designer at the Dept. of Student Affairs at Northeastern University.

Production Supervisor: Sarah Cohan

Sarah holds a B.A. in Technical Theatre (Stage Management) from The University of Vermont. She joined Company One as a stage manager in 2004 for A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, and continued her work with the company on 103 WITHIN THE VEIL, THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT, and AFTER ASHLEY. She joined the full-time staff as Production Manager in 2007, and became Production Supervisor in 2011. Sarah began stage managing in 1996, and has additional experience in direction, performance, lighting design, and sound design. She currently works as the Vision Sciences Laboratory Manager in the Psychology Department at Harvard University.

Audience Development Coordinator: Kate Shanahan

Kate is excited to start her third year as a member of the C1 family. She served as House Manager for THE ALIENS, GRIMM, THE EMANCIPATION OF MANDY & MIZ ELLIE, and THE GOOD NEGRO. Kate holds a B.A. in Theatre and Film Studies from The George Washington University and was most recently seen on stage as Robin in THE HAT TRICK, a part of Holland Theatre Company's Inchworm Play Reading Series.

Artistic Associate: Corianna Moffatt

Corianna is a Boston based theatre artist originally from Nashville, TN. She has directed several short plays around the area as well as the full length shows THE LAST CONFESSION OF THE VIRGIN MARIA by Phillip Berman and THE INSIDE by Lydia R. Diamond, adapted by Tasia A. Jones. Other recent projects include touring New England with Ariel ArtistsÕ THE FOUR QUARTETS: VARIATIONS, an experimental physical and vocal meditation on the poems of the same name by T.S. Eliot. She is a founding member of Free Hands, a puppet troupe whose works include THE THREE BLESSED BROTHERS, a new Appalachian folktale, and THE FIRST PERSON TO CONSIDER THE SUN, a shadow puppet fable. Corianna is the Associate Producer for the playwright development company PlaywrightsÕ Commons, and has a BFA in Theatre Arts from Boston University. She is the New England Representative for the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas.

Artistic Associate: Tyler Monroe

Tyler is a dramaturg, educator, playwright/adaptor, and ne'er-do-well who is thrilled to be joining C1 as an artistic associate for season 14. He holds a BA in Theatre from Butler University and an MFA in Dramaturgy from the A.R.T./MXAT Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University. He comes to Boston from Chicago where he was a dramaturg or collaborator with About Face Theatre, New Leaf Theatre, Halcyon Theatre Company, Village Players Theatre, and Blank Linke Collective. His adaptation of The Snow Queen received its world premier at the American Repertory Theater in 2011, and in 2012 his adaptation of Tales of Poe was a part of New Rep Theatre's New Rep on Tour series.

Literary Manager: Phillip Berman

Phil is a Theatrical Hat-Wearer based in Somerville, MA. HeÕs worked as a Dramaturg with Underground Railway Theater on TI-JEAN AND HIS BROTHERS and on 1001, IN THE RED AND BROWN WATER (BROTHER/SISTER PLAYS PART I), NO ROOM FOR WISHING & SHE KILLS MONSTERS with Company One, where he works on staff as Literary Manager. He is a Co-Founder of Free Hands Puppet Theatre, where his Appalachian Puppet Folk Musical THE THREE BLESSED BROTHERS was developed last spring for the Cambridge River Festival. Phil hosts Puppet Showplace TheatreÕs bi-monthly Puppet Slam and is developing new programming with PST for infant/toddler audiences to debut in January 2013. He teaches guitar, singing and drama at Fletcher Maynard Community School in Cambridge, MA. Phil has acted in FLOYD COLLINS (Moonbox Productions), the summer workshop of Ginger LazarusÕ THE EMBRYOS (Fresh Ink), THE FIRST PERSON TO CONSIDER THE SUN, THE THREE BLESSED BROTHERS, THE FREE HANDS HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR (Free Hands), and the upcoming LUNAR LABYRINTH at Club Oberon (Liars and Believers). Phil was a participant in the 2012 FREEDOM ART RETREAT with Playwrights Commons and an intern on the 2011 retreat. His folk-pop-blues-cabaret album THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL will drop . . . oh . . . sometime soon. BFA Theatre Arts from Boston University.

Education Associate: Freya McCaie

Freya is a teacher, administrator, writer and performer. She graduated from Cambridge University, UK, with a degree in English Literature and a passion for all things literary. She organized and performed an adaptation of BEOWULF, which toured India and Nepal. Returning to the UK, she worked as a youth policy advisor/researcher for local government, before joining Shakespeare Schools Festival. There, she spent two years administering, fundraising and running training for the UK's largest youth drama festival as well as teaching Shakespeare in performance to students. Currently, she works as an administrator and teaching artist for Company One.

Assistant Production Manager: Katherine Clanton

Katherine Clanton is freelance stage manager and props designer who recently moved to Boston from Minneapolis, MN. Over the past year, Katherine has worked with Harvard Early Music Society (La Calisto), American Repertory Theatre (The Imaginary Invalid), New England Conservatory (Paul Bunyan) and Speakeasy Stage Company (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson). Katherine is thrilled to join Company One and is looking forward to a great year!

Assistant Production Manager: Kevin Parker

Kevin works as a stage manager with theatre companies in and around Boston, including Bad Habit Productions, Arts After Hours of Lynn, and numerous community theatres. His interest in educational theatre has brought him to production and design work with local school districts (Burlington, Wilmington) and summer theatre programs for kids (Burlington Educational Summer Theatre, Backyard Broadway). Kevin has also taken internships with Broadway in Boston and New Repertory Theatre. He studies Industrial Engineering and Theatre at Northeastern University, spending his days making the case to professors that theatre is a field necessitating engineered solutions just like any other.