Staff

Catherine Kelly joined Stage West in the Ol’ Vic Café in the fall of 2009.  Her theatre experience includes two appearances on the high school stage, memorable only for the number of times she bumped into set pieces between scenes when the lights were down. Other more successful performance experience includes choral and solo singing throughout college. She has a B.A. in English from Williams College in Massachusetts and a master’s in English from Cambridge University, England.  When not at the Ol’ Vic, Catherine works for a nearby public relations firm.

Has worked with Stage West in various capacities for over ten years, including stage management and sound design. She is best known to audiences from her many memorable roles on our stage, including Our Town, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Misanthrope, The Shape of Things, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Season's Greetings, and, most recently, Dead Man's Cell Phone. She directed our recent production of Copenhagen, as well as The Sweetest Swing in Baseball and Nice People Dancing to Good Country Music. She also initiated and oversees the theatre's Texas Playwriting Competition and the Festival of the Kid.  Dana has a degree in Theatre Arts from Texas Wesleyan.

Returns to Stage West’s Ol’ Vic after a 1 ½ year break to focus on Culinary school and a personal business venture--she’s an expert in dyeing yarn for knitting.  Passionate about the art of cooking, her favorite cuisines are French and Chinese.  Denise expects to graduate from the Tarrant County College Culinary program in 2012.  She is the wife of metal artist Mike Timmons and the mother of a precocious little boy, Logan.

Is happy to return to Stage West after working on several sets as a stage carpenter during the 1980s. He has been working in technical theatre since 1977 when he began as an apprentice at Casa Manana while in high school. He is a 1982 graduate of Texas Wesleyan University. He currently serves as the Technical Director for Ballet Concerto and The Margo Dean School of Ballet, and Kids Who Care. Jason has been on the staff of The Fort Worth Opera, The Fort Worth Dallas Ballet, Shakespeare in the Park, Circle Theatre, The Fort Worth Theatre, and Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth. His design credits include work for Circle Theatre, Fort Worth Opera,various local high schools and churches.  He has designed the set for our productions of The  Spitfire Grill and Major Barbara.

Has a professional career encompassing more than a hundred stage roles and an equal number of directing credits over the past 25 years. As founder and producing director of Stage West, much of his work has been here, but he has also performed with Casa Manana, Dallas Repertory Theater, Shakespeare-in-the-Park, Contemporary Theatre of Dallas, Lyric Stage, The Dallas Theater Center and the Pittsburgh Public Theater. Significant roles include Tupolski in The Pillowman, El Gallo in The Fantasticks, Teach in American Buffalo, Lear in King Lear, George in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Common Man in A Man For All Seasons, Marquis de Sade in Quills, Roy Cohn in Angels In America, Part I & II, Mr. Green in Visiting Mr. Green, and The Stage Manager in Our Town. He also performs the one-man show, Clarence Darrow for the Defense. Recent credits include George Antrobus in The Skin of Our Teeth and Mr. Lockhart in The Seafarer and direction of acclaimed productions of The Spitfire Grill and Major Barbara. He also wrote and directed special adaptations of The Crucible and Romeo and Juliet for Performing Arts Fort Worth which played to 5,000 area students. Mr. Russell was recognized as Best Actor of 2005 by The Dallas Morning News and received the 2006 Best Actor award from the Dallas Theater League for his performance in Visiting Mr. Green.

Joined Stage West in its first season. He has most recently directed our productions of The 39 Steps, The Lonesome West, Good Things, and The Skin of Our Teeth, as well as our productions of Dead Man's Cell Phone, The Norman Conquests (Living Together), The Pillowman and The Immigrant, along with many other productions. He has designed costumes and sets for such productions as Dead Man's Cell Phone, The Norman Conquests, The Seafarer, The Clean House, Season's Greetings, Stones in His Pockets, Nice People Dancing to Good Country Music, Private Lives, and Jacques Brel...,  and is also the theatre's graphics designer. His many memorable appearances on our stage include The Seafarer, The Code of the Woosters, Port Authority, Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit, St. Nicholas, The Weir, I Hear the Rolling Thunder, Man of the Moment, and Travels with My Aunt.

Has been associated with Stage West since 1989, working originally in development and box office. She has provided props and set decoration for such memorable sets as Noises Off, Major Barbara, Private Lives, [sic], Comic Potential, Broadway Bound, Visiting Mr. Green, and Collected Stories, and is an antiques aficionado. She has a BA in English and an MA in Urban Affairs from UTA.

Has been the theatre's resident lighting designer for the past twenty-eight seasons.  Mr. O'Brien has held positions with Irving Arts Center, Lyric Stage, Eagle Audio & Lighting, Shakespeare in the Park, Fort Worth Theatre, Bill Fegan's National Tours, SHOWCO, Ft. Worth Stage Lighting, and the annual Christmas production of The Littlest Wiseman. He has also served as set designer for Stage West, designing the set for 1988's Housewives.

Joined Stage West as Stage Manager, and has since added Company Manager to her title. She stage managed most of the shows since her arrival at Stage West, and has assisted with costume design for several shows, including Copenhagen, A Don't Hug Me Christmas Carol, The Norman Conquests, The Seafarer, Private Lives, Johnny Guitar, and Jacques Brel. Prior to her move to Fort Worth, she stage managed, designed props, and assisted with costume design for many Metroplex theatres, including Theatre 3, Addison Centre Theatre, Dallas Shakespeare Festival, Lyric Stage, and the American Deaf Drama Festival. She is married to resident Lighting Designer Michael O'Brien.

Has been associated with Stage West from its beginning. She has served as actress, choreographer, light and sound operator, costume assistant, marketing assistant, and is now also handling daytime box office. She has a BS in Radio-TV-Film from the University of Texas, and is an avid student of Irish step dance. Her Stage West appearances have included Alfred Stieglitz Loves O'Keeffe, Dancing at Lughnasa, Man of the Moment, and Starry Night, among many others.