Introducing OpenStage’s 53rd Season Directors
53rd Season Directors Highlight
OpenStage Theatre & Company is thrilled to feature such an outstanding team of directors for our 53rd Season. Learn more about all four directors below.
Misery
By William Goldman
Based on the novel by Stephen King
Directed by Jacob Offen
Jacob Offen, OpenStage’s Producing Artistic Director, actor, educator, and longtime company champion, directs at OST&C with the chilling thriller Misery this season!
Jacob Offen has played many roles at OpenStage Theatre & Company – actor, staff member, board member, and now director and Producing Artistic Director. Misery marks his directorial debut at OpenStage. Jacob taught Acting at the University of Houston during his tenure as an MFA candidate, and recently at the University of Northern Colorado. He designed a comprehensive curriculum rooted in Stanislavsky, Hagen, Meisner, Roy Heart and Cecily Berry, and coached actors in scene work/audition preparation. Further, Jacob has created acting, voice, and Shakespearean text workshops at the Texas Shakespeare Festival, Houston Shakespeare Festival, and for acting students of all ages. While he served as the Company Development Administrator (2011 – 2015), he produced and directed entertainment for OST&C’s spring fundraisers (Casino Royal: The Sting, Viva Las Vegas, Oceans 11, le Cirque Rouge!). He is thrilled to put his years of experience as a performer and teaching artist to work for Misery and for many future productions to come!
The Mousetrap
By Agatha Christie
Directed by Heather Ostberg Johnson
Heather, OpenStage’s Associate Artistic Director and a celebrated movement artist, returns after a Henry Award-winning season to bring her talents to the stage once again!
Heather Ostberg Johnson is honored to be working with OpenStage again and directing the legendary Agatha Christie play The Mousetrap. “The character in the play, Christopher Wren, says it best: ‘I think people are so madly interesting. They’re all interesting.’ I typically direct plays with wild movement or riotous laughter, but I’ve found myself called to explore the subtle curiosities we humans possess. Agatha Christie was an expert observer of human idiosyncrasies and gave us much to dig our teeth into with this play. I cannot wait to dive into this play with my production crew and actors. As the longest-running play in history, there is no shortage of tradition to honor, and yet, what each production brings is its fresh perspective on what makes humans tick and snap.”
The Cottage
By Sandy Rustin
Directed by Jessica Jackson
Jessica Jackson, an award-winning director, composer, and founder of Boomtown Improv, returns to OpenStage after helming last season’s hit The 39 Steps!
Jessica Jackson 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. 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 13-year-old daughter, Penny, and brilliant husband, Matt.
The Merry Wives of Windsor
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Kate Austin-Gröen
Kate Austin-Gröen, a versatile director whose work spans musicals, classics, and contemporary plays, brings her passion for creating vibrant, collaborative theatre to OpenStage this summer.
“I’m thrilled to join OpenStage Theatre & Company this summer to direct The Merry Wives of Windsor. My directing work has spanned musicals, classics, and contemporary plays, from The Wizard of Oz and Treasure Island to Tiny Beautiful Things and Ideation. I look forward to bringing this spirited comedy (the only one Shakespeare wrote about the domestic lives of middle-class women!) to life. In addition to directing, I’ve served as a Producer, Intimacy Director, and now as Board Member. I always strive to create collaborative, safe, and vibrant spaces for artists and audiences alike.”
