The 39 Steps

Jess is a director, composer, actor, writer, and rampant improviser. During her time as Artistic Director of Creede Repertory Theatre, this award-winning theatre produced 6 world premiere productions, 7 new play festivals, & 12 world-premiere commissions for young audiences. She founded Boomtown Improv Comedy and helmed the devised Pants on Fire: a totally made-up musical for kids. Some of her favorite projects: Socially distanced golf-cart odyssey The Rough (writer/director) & satirical musical Small Ball (director) with The Catamounts, Roe (director) and The Laramie Project (director) at Oklahoma City University, Colorado premieres of Miss Holmes (director) and William Shakespeare’s Land of the Dead (director), the world premiere of Sight Hound (director) by Pam Houston, Billy Hell (composer-Denver Post Ovation Award Best Original Music), and sundry original shows created with Jeff Carey (composer/director). She’s working on a new full-length musical, Singletrack, with Steven Cole Hughes and goofing around with her 12-year-old daughter, Penny, and brilliant husband, Matt.

MARISSA J. DIENSTAG is thrilled to be part of this amazing and hilarious production. While she debuted with OpenStage in Treasure Island, she has enjoyed becoming more involved and is excited to be joining this tremendous cast, crew and design team. Marissa has held the role of an Assistant Director/Stage Manager for Elf and Addams Family with FCCT. Prior to moving to Colorado she has directed, choreographed, stage managed, and acted with various Ohio community theatre groups. She enjoys traveling, spending time on the water, and experiencing new adventures. She truly appreciates her friends’ and family’s support and encouragement. Marissa would like to thank the community and hope they enjoy this exciting and utterly bonkers production.

HANNAH ARMSTRONG graduated from the University of Northern Colorado, where she received her degree in Stage Management. She has been actively and avidly working in theatre for many years with various companies in Fort Collins and Loveland. She is excited to be celebrating her 20th season with OpenStage. Most recently, Hannah worked with OpenStage as the Stage Manager for Murder on the Orient Express, Men on Boats, and Avenue Q. She has also been a Production Stage Manager with the William Inge Center for the Arts in Independence, KS since 2010. She has worked extensively behind the scenes in other capacities and received the OpenStage OPUS Award for Best Technical Support for several years. Hannah is the recipient of the 2019 OpenStage Founders’ Award, which is awarded annually for outstanding contributions to the Company.

MATTHEW SCHLIEF currently serves as the Theater Operations Manager at The Lincoln Center. He has designed scenery, lighting, sound, and projections for TUTS Underground, The Catamounts, Creede Repertory Theatre, Main Street Theatre, Houston Shakespeare Festival, Flatlands Dance Theatre, West Virginia Public Theatre, Virginia Musical Theatre, and Lubbock Moonlight Musicals, as well as the COCO Dance Festival in Trinidad. In 2012, Matt received the Houston Press Theatre Award for Best Lighting Design for Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, and in 2013 received the Broadway World Best of Houston Award for his Lighting Design of Sweeney Todd. He has designed, lectured, and provided master classes at the University of Houston, Rice University, Oklahoma City University, Texas Tech, Colorado Mesa University, Gonzaga University, and the National Academy for the Performing Arts in Trinidad. Over the past 16 years, Matt has designed more than 150 different productions, from a variety of theaters both nationally and internationally. This is Matt’s first production working with OpenStage.

REBECCA EVANS is delighted to join OpenStage for her debut production of Treasure Island. Rebecca is currently employed as the full-time Cutter/Draper in Colorado State University’s Costume Shop, which handles the costumes for the theatre, dance, and music departments at CSU. She is also enjoying her third year at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival in Boulder, CO, as a Costume Draper. Previously, Rebecca was a Draper at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida, where she worked on such productions as The Sound of Music, Ragtime, Sweeney Todd, and Evita. Rebecca has costume-designed over 30 theatrical productions in her career and is thrilled to lend her expertise to OpenStage.

VICTORIA VILLALOBOS has loved theatre since she was a child. She has worked extensively with OpenStage as a Sound Designer and Engineer, Makeup and Hair Designer and Stylist, Assistant Director, Stage Manager, Board Operator, Stagehand, and Dresser. Victoria also has worked with Fort Collins Children’s Theatre for the past 6 productions, most recently as the Makeup Designer and Stylist for Elf and James and the Giant Peach. Next on the list, she will be designing for FCCT’s production of The Addams Family in November of 2023. In addition, she has worked with companies such as Opera Fort Collins, The Cheyenne Little Theatre Players, and Pop Up Theatre. Victoria received her associate degree from Front Range Community College, where she was inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and was named to the President’s List, both for her academic achievements. Victoria wishes to thank her family and friends for all their love and support!

SUSAN ROGERS has worked in the Front Range theater community in various roles over the years. She has designed props for OpenStage and Fort Collins Children’s Theatre and has appeared in Children’s Theatre musicals and Opera Fort Collins productions. She has served as choreographer, music director, and assistant director in the Fort Collins Children’s Theatre summer program. She composed incidental music for Reasons: The House Burned Down, and OpenStage’s Stage Kiss. Favorite roles include Aunt Spiker in James and the Giant Peach, Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast, Mrs. Gloop in Willy Wonka, Mole in Wind in the Willows and Mother Superior in The Sound of Music. Susan studied vocal performance at the University of Colorado and Colorado State University and teaches singing. She performs vintage popular tunes with the Mont Alto Ragtime and Tango Orchestra, and with her dance band, The Exuberant Quartet. In the dark, cold months Susan is an adaptive ski instructor with Ignite Adaptive Sports at Eldora.

SYDNEY PARKS SMITH has worked with OpenStage since 1997 and serves as Producing Artistic Director for the Company. She received the 2019 OpenStage OPUS Award for Outstanding Director for Avenue Q; the OPUS for Outstanding Actress for her role as M’Lynn in Steel Magnolias; the 2018 OPUS for Outstanding Director for And Then There Were None; and the 2017 Colorado Theatre Guild’s Henry Award, a True West Award and the OPUS Award for Outstanding Actress for her role as Barbara in August: Osage County. Recent roles include Marie-Antoinette in The Revolutionists and Sir John Middleton in Sense and Sensibility. Recent directing credits include the upcoming Hedwig And The Angry Inch, Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood, and Every Brilliant Thing. Sydney has designed hair for several productions and received OPUS Awards for her designs for Macbeth and The Tempest. She received the 2016 Founders’ Award for her outstanding contributions to the Company.