Staff

Allen Austin

Allen, the newest member of our kitchen staff, is a long-time Fort Worth resident now living in Weatherford. A graduate of Eastern Hills High School and Texas State University, he taught elementary school and art for 20+ years. He has been in kitchens since his first job at O'Leary's Ice Cream Parlour and Restaurant years ago. He is currently working at Fuzzy's Taco Shop in Weatherford and manages the concessions at The Hip Pocket Theatre during their summer season.

Jim Covault

Artistic Director (jimcovault [at] stagewest [dot] org), joined Stage West in its first season. He has most recently directed our productions of Arms and the Man, Intimate Exchanges, Talking Pictures, and The Miser, as well as our productions of The 39 Steps, Good Things, The Skin of Our Teeth, Dead Man's Cell Phone, The Norman Conquests (Living Together), The Pillowman and The Immigrant, along with many other productions.

Jason Domm

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.

Catherine Kelly

Catherine Kelly joined Stage West in the Ol’ Vic Café in the fall of 2009, and is now the Cafe Manager.  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.

Peggy Kruger-O'Brien

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 This, Copenhagen, A Don't Hug Me Christmas Carol, The Norman Conquests, The Seafarer, Private Lives, Johnny Guitar, and Jacques Brel.

Suzi McLaughlin

has been associated with Stage West from its beginning. She has served as actress, choreographer, board operator, and costume assistant, and now works in marketing, website editing, and 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, Stepping Out, and Starry Night, among others. She is also the director of The Littlest Wiseman.

Michael O'Brien

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.

Justin Rhoads

is our Production Box Office manager; he first worked with Stage West in 2007 as a design assistant for three shows, and has worked as scenic painter on several shows last season. His theatre experience includes acting in plays throughout high school, and then several shows at TCC Northwest, including Deathtrap, Biloxi Blues, The Miss Firecracker Contest, The Diary of Anne Frank, To Kill a Mockingbird and many more.

Jerry Russell

Producing Director, 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.

Dana Schultes

Director of Development, Dana 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, RolePlay and the current Talking Pictures.

Sally Steele

joined Stage West last summer as an intern, most recently serving as Assistant Stage Manager and crew member for Jeeves in the Morning. Her theatre experience includes performing in shows through Amarillo Little Theatre, as well as at McMurry University, including House of Blue Leaves, Medea, Servant of Two Masters, A Fitting Confusion, A Funny Thing and many more. She received her BA degree in Theatre from McMurry University.

Denise Timmons

Returned 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.