Our Staff
EXECUTIVE STAFF
Producing Artistic Director, CEO | Richard Hopkins
50+ years professional theatre experience | 42 years at Florida Studio Theatre
Acted in and directed over two hundred plays
Mr. Hopkins is the Producing Artistic Director of Florida Studio Theatre. He has fostered the development of FST’s Mainstage and Cabaret productions. His many Mainstage directing credits include: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Honor Killing, Inspired Lunacy, The Best of Enemies, Next to Normal, Race, Ruined, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Boleros for the Disenchanted, Permanent Collection, and Metamorphoses. Mr. Hopkins has led the development of numerous FST Cabaret productions, including The Wanderers, Outlaws & Angels, Guitar Girls, Mack the Knife: The Bobby Darin Songbook, Older Than Dirt, Piano Men, and The Prima Donnettes. He also serves as FST’s Chief Executive Officer, which involves overseeing the creation and implementation of FST’s Mainstage, Cabaret, Stage III, Children’s Theatre, The FST School, FST Improv, and New Play Development programming. Since his arrival at FST in 1980, Mr. Hopkins has guided the theatre from a small touring company to a nationally recognized regional theatre which impacts over 230,000 adults and children annually. He created FST’s New Play Development program, Cabaret Series, and co-created the award-winning WRITE A PLAY program. He has also directed the design and renovation of FST’s theatres. Mr. Hopkins is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Richard G. Fallon Award for Artistic Excellence from the Florida Professional Theatres Association, and the Arts Leadership Award and 2012 Cultural Champion Award from the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County. In 2016, Richard Hopkins was awarded the Luminaire Award by the Fine Arts Society of Sarasota, honoring those who have made a significant impact on the local arts community through creativity, philanthropy, or advocacy. In 2017, he was awarded the Florida Theatre Conference Lifetime Achievement Award for contributing to the rich cultural fabric of the Sarasota community, the state of Florida, and his dedication to developing future artists, educators, and advocates.
Managing Director | Rebecca Hopkins
29 years professional theatre experience | 24 years at Florida Studio Theatre
Rebecca Hopkins serves as Managing Director for Florida Studio Theatre, and as such, is the Chief Operations Officer. Mrs. Hopkins is responsible for oversight of the administrative side of FST, including the Business Office, Development, Marketing, Box Office, Front of House, and Restaurant departments, as well as maintaining the overall quality of FST’s internal management. She serves on the Board of Directors for the League of Resident Theatres and for the Theatre Communications Group. She is also the former President of the National New Play Network. Mrs. Hopkins has been actively involved in the development of FST’s Cabaret productions since her arrival in 1998. Previously, she was the Lead Developer on Friends in Low Places; Light My Fire; That’s Amoré!; The Wonder Years: The Music of the Baby Boomers; Unchained Melodies; Blue Suede Shoes; Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves; Yesterday; American Pie; and Poems, Prayers, and Promises. She has been the head writer on all six Laughing Matters shows. Some of her favorite shows she helped develop include Outlaws and Angels; Mack the Knife: The Bobby Darin Songbook; The Prima Donnettes; That’s Life; The Wanderers; My One and Only Gershwin; Hot and Cole; The British Invasion; and The Flip Side. In addition, she is the founder and producer of FST Improv and the Sarasota Improv Festival. In 2012, the Arts & Cultural Alliance awarded Mrs. Hopkins the Cultural Champion Award in recognition of her many years of accomplishment and growth with Florida Studio Theatre. In 2016, Mrs. Hopkins was awarded the Luminaire Award, honoring those who have made a significant impact on the local arts community through creativity, philanthropy, or advocacy.
PRODUCTION STAFF
Production Manager | Alex Price
Technical Director | Nathan Clark
Production Office Manager | Louis Vetter Torres
Associate Production Manager / Performance Supervisor | Allison Hannon
Production Stage Manager | Roy Johns
Costume Shop Manager | Mari Taylor Floyd
Costume Shop Assistant | Erin Barnett
Properties Supervisor | Danielle McKay
Sound Supervisor | Thom Korp
Resident Lighting Designer / Lighting Supervisor | Andrew Gray
Lead Carpenter | Casey Seiler
ARTISTIC STAFF
Associate Director At-Large | Kate Alexander
Casting and Hiring Coordinator | Alexa Vetter Torres
Associate Artist | Ellie Mooney
Associate Artist & Development Associate | Rachel Moulton
Associate Artist | Catherine Randazzo
Literary Associate | Helena Rankin
Assistant to the Producing Artistic Director | Doris Iemolo
Resident Pianist | Jim Prosser
Director of Improvisation | Will Luera
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
General Manager | Jill Zakrzewski
Director of IT | Clarke Weigle
Business Manager | Carmen Gonzalez
Associate Business Manager | Orville Cordero
Business Office Associate | David Wallace
Director of Finance | Jacinta Kavanaugh
Executive and Artistic Assistant to the Managing Director | Sarah Durham
General Management Associate | JT Priar
Director of Marketing | Becca Boyd
Public Relations Manager | Lydia Baxter
Events Coordinator and Digital Marketing Assistant | Franki Arroyo
Marketing Assistant | Destiny Jackson
Director of Individual Giving | Melody Mora-Shihadeh
Major Gifts Officer | Jay Lockaby
Development Associate & Associate Artist | Rachel Moulton
Major Gifts Officer | Jay Lockaby
Development Associate | Kristin Hartnett
Development Assistant | Claudio DeJesus Arteta
Company Manager | Andie Antonik
Facilities Manager | Justin Piccillo
Facilities Technician | Luke Johnson
Facilities Technician | Bernardo Hernandez
Facilities Technician | Agustin Garcia
Patron Services Manager | Kelsey Wehde Wilson
Restaurant Manager | Tom Curry
Asst. Restaurant Manager | Karen Kraster
Asst. Restaurant Manager | Pamela Dillon
Kitchen Manager | Steve Swan
Box Office Manager | Gigi Eckert-Delpero
Front of House Associate | Bo Smith
Asst. Box Office Manager | Bev Kippenhan
Asst. Box Office Manager | Seth Hilbert
Asst. Box Office Manager | Jordyn Davis
EDUCATION
Education Administrator | Pamela Smith
Director of Children's Theatre | Caroline Saldivar
Manager of Education & WRITE A PLAY | Shelby Lynhall
Teaching Artist | Kate Walsh
Teaching Artist | Genesis Perez-Padilla