Zachary Andrews, Sommer Carbuccia
Paper Cut
Written by Andrew Rosendorf | Directed by Pesha Rudnick
Fall 2018
The Local Board of Directors provides fiscal oversight of Local Theater Company, and guides our nonprofit on our strategic growth, fiscal soundness, and theater pedagogy. We are grateful for their service, partnership and leadership.
Board of Directors
Board Chair
Dana K. Fields
Board Secretary
Lari Abraham
Board Treasurer
Dr. Ted Kawulok
Board Members
Misha S. Zimmerman (Executive Director)
Pesha Rudnick (Founding Artist Director)
Andrew Baird
Jennifer Cunningham
Kathy Duda Bowen
Lorenzo Gonzalez
GerRee Hinshaw
Emily Lawrence
Will Misko
Soo Rhee
Angelique Smith
Dana K Fields (Board Chair)
As an Executive Director at EY with a career deeply rooted in the technology sector, particularly within the HR software domain, Dana has had the privilege of contributing to and shaping the future of HR technology. Her professional journey has taken her across the globe, with stints in London and Tel Aviv, cities that have not only broadened her professionally but also enriched her personal experiences. While in London, her passion for the theater found a vibrant outlet in the West End, where she spent most weekends seeing live performances that further fueled her love for the arts. This passion for theater is just one facet of her diverse interests, which also include extensive travel, reading, spending time with friends and family and maintaining an active lifestyle with walking/hiking, yoga, and Pilates. She lives in Lafayette with her husband, Steven and has two young adult children, Mason and Madelyn.
Pesha Rudnick (Founding Artistic Director)
Pesha is the founding artistic director of Local Theater Company in Boulder, CO, where she pursues the company’s mission to discover and develop new American plays. For Local Theater Company, Pesha directed the world premiere productions of Elijah: An Adventure by Michael Mitnick (Colorado Theater Guild Nomination), Faith by James McLindon (Colorado Theater Guild nomination)) The Firestorm by Meridith Friedman (Colorado Theater Guild nomination) and Paper Cut (CTG 2019 Henry Award, Best New Play) by Andrew Rosendorf. Pesha also curates the annual new play festival, Local Lab.
Pesha was recently featured in Westward Magazine’s “100 Colorado Creatives.”
Nationally, Pesha has directed over 30 new works including the world premiere of O.P.C. by Eve Ensler at the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University. She previously collaborated with Ensler as associate director of the world premiere of Emotional Creature at Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Signature Theatre Center. She has also worked at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Creede Repertory Theater, Curious Theater Company, Florida Stage and The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Pesha is the former associate artistic director of Theater Master's National MFA Playwright's Festival (59E59, Atlantic Stage 2, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Wild Project, Theatre Row, and the Aspen Institute). For six years, she served as the associate director of education at Cornerstone Theater Company in Los Angeles. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree from New York University. Pesha is Drama League Directing Fellow and a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
Want to know more about Pesha’s passion for live theater? Watch her TEDx talk on “The Danger of Live Theater.”
Lari Abraham (Board Secretary) is a business writer, editor, and development professional whose experience spans a variety of sectors. From New York, she grew up in an arts-loving family, regularly attending theater productions from local stages to Broadway. Early experiences in theater involved performing in school plays and finding delight in working backstage crew. A mother of three, she and her family had been expats for two decades in Tokyo and London before relocating to the American West. Over the years, her engagement with the cultural arts has been a pathway to community connection. Upon discovering Colorado’s rich theater landscape, she jumped right in. Local Theater Company’s mission aligns with what she especially loves about theater— the way new play development invites artists and audiences to venture beyond the conventional. As board secretary, she helps keep Team Local on track gaining front-row access to the unique challenges facing theater companies today. A founder of the Village2Village Project, she supports vulnerable children in Uganda. Lari reengineered Boulder High’s parent newsletter and served on the faculty grant request committee. She engages in charitable activities for There With Care and JEWISHColorado. In London, she advocated for After Adoption helping drive policy reform in England and Wales, fundraised for St. John's Hospice, and led a global support group for adoptive families. She achieved distinction as a senior writer at EY in New York. At the American Banker she was a writer, book editor, and event coordinator. In Washington, D.C., she worked in corporate communications at James Madison Limited and organized national programs for the American Bankers Association. Lari looks back at her break-out role in second grade as a butterfly messenger in The Nutcracker as pivotal to her embrace of theater igniting a lifelong passion for the arts and arts education.
Jennifer Cunningham is an activist, business leader, and voice-over actor. Her experience includes over 20 years of product marketing work as the US & EU Global Marketing Director for Level 3. Five years ago, she broadened her passion for mental health advocacy to board work. She is a board member of the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) for Boulder County and the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Depression Center at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. In 2021 she founded JCVC, a company dedicated to supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs, specifically women-owned businesses and companies designing technology products for vulnerable populations. This spring, Jennifer will perform the lead role of Dani in the audiobook, Two Faced by Robin Carroll. Jennifer earned her degree in Political Science at Wesleyan University in CT.
Lorenzo Gonzalez most recently played Satanás in Su Teatros’s production of Luis Valdez’s La Pastorela in Denver. Other recent credits include: Rocks, Karma, Arrows at the Atlas Theatre in Boulder; Sicario/Macbeth, a story linking the lives of an assassin in the Mexican drug cartel and Shakespeare’s Macbeth at Naropa University, and the Local Lab presented at the Boulder Chautauqua. Among the various theatres he has worked are: The RED CAT and The Ahmanson Theatre in L.A., San Jose Repertory Theatre, Seattle Repertory, Arizona Theatre Company, six seasons at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, El Teatro Campesino, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, and is a regular guest at the Independent Shakespeare Company in Los Angeles and a member of Tim Robbin’s The Actor’s Gang. Lorenzo’s MFA is from PTTP at the University of Delaware and is a core faculty associate professor and head of the BFA in Performance of at Naropa University.
GerRee Hinshaw has been seen on Local Theater Company's stage, and is well-known to Colorado audiences who have seen her work at Buntport Theater, Curious Theatre, Denver Children’s Theater, The LIDA Project, Listen Productions, Stories on Stage, and Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret. She is the host of Freak Train, a zany “open stage” held the last Monday of every month at the Bug Theatre for nearly 20 years. A writer, actor, singer and producer, GerRee is also a creative director at a B2B consultancy in downtown Denver and a mom in Wheat Ridge, where she lives with her husband Lee and their son Manny.
Dr. Ted Kawulok (Board Treasurer) ’s interests lie in comprehensive dental rehabilitation focusing on cosmetic and reconstructive therapies. This includes cosmetic bonding and veneers (since 1986), aesthetic crowns and bridges, implant prosthetics including smile makeovers for denture wearers, a strong periodontal program including soft tissue management, and endodontics (painless root canal therapy).
Recognition of Dr. Kawulok’s professional achievement can be noted in the following awards and certifications:
Fellow, Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies
Fellow, International College of Dentists
Fellow, Academy of Dentistry International
Fellow, Academy of General Dentistry
Fellow, Pierre Fauchard Academy
Boulder County Dental Society;
President 1989
Trustee 1995-2004General Practice Residency in Hospital Dentistry, UCLA 1983-1984
Dr. Kawulok has been nearly a life-long resident of Boulder, moving here in 1966. He attended Sacred Heart School, and is a graduate of Boulder High School. Dr. Kawulok attended Northern Arizona University, graduating Cum Laude in Chemistry after 3 years. He played football at the university and was elected to the NAU sports hall of fame in 1998. Dr. Kawulok is a 1983 graduate of the University of Colorado School of Dentistry.
Emily Lawrence is an entrepreneur, educator and artist. She began her career in media—first at Food & Wine magazine and then in the programming division at CNN— before turning to the intersection of arts, media and education. She received the Presidential Fellowship at The Ohio State University for her MFA research bringing contemporary dance to public radio audiences and served as the Acting Director of Dance at Dickinson College (PA) and visiting dance faculty at Kenyon College (OH). Emily then joined the start-up world as an early employee at Craftsy, an online education company for makers. During her time at Craftsy, Emily served as Senior Vice President of Content and Production, working alongside her team to acquire, design and produce the organizations' 1300+ video-based online classes in 16 maker categories. Craftsy was acquired by NBCUniversal in 2017. She holds a BA in Religious Studies from Haverford College (PA) and an MFA in Contemporary Dance Documentation and Criticism from The Ohio State University. She’s also a nominee for Outstanding Women in Technology and 40 Under 40. She is passionate about empowering artists and created informed, critical and engaged audiences.
Will Misko is a Customer Success and Sales professional currently working on global wildfire science technology. Before that, he ran large-scale energy efficiency programs for North American utilities. He is also a wine importer through his company, Field Joys, based in Boulder.
After leaving the defense contracting space in Washington, DC, he took an extended road trip and wound up in Boulder to join the startup and software community. He holds a B.A. from Elon University in Environmental Studies. He is passionate about community engagement and is a mentor with the New Venture Challenge at CU Boulder. Food and wine, travel, the arts, and outdoor recreation are where his passions lie. When he's not at a Local show, you’ll find him rock climbing, mountain biking, skiing, or just getting outside with friends and family.
