Board of Directors

Dragon would like to honor the memory of a very dear friend and Advisor Carl Cookson.

Carl Cookson’s knowledge spans 45 years in the Title Insurance business, including 21 years as Owner and Chair of Santa Clara Land Title Co. He served as President of the California Land Title Association, and President of the California Escrow Association and remains active in both organizations. Cookson was a founding Board member of Cupertino National Bank and currently is on the board of San Jose National Bank. In the non-profit sector, Cookson has been President or Chair of the San Jose Symphony, Children’s Discovery Museum, Silicon Valley Arts Council, Symphony Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County Boy Scouts, and is the current Chair of City Lights Theater. He has served as Chair of the San Jose Chamber of Commerce, Community Partnership, Fairgrounds Management Committee, and is the Founding Co-Chair of the Silicon Valley Capital Club. Cookson is a graduate of San Jose State University.

Katie Miller, Board President
A recent transplant from Seattle, Katie finds herself in the Bay Area again after over 20 years away at university, graduate school, and building a career in the biotech/pharmaceutical industry. Her past board experience includes serving on the boards of two non-profits and a corporation, including multiple terms as officer. Despite being a biochemist by education and experience, she has always maintained a passionate interest in the arts, from creating a bespoke calligraphy business in grade school to earning double minors in Literature and Psychology at the University of California, San Diego. In 2012 she took her first foray into film production, becoming Executive Producer of The Reel Britain (an independent documentary), and has since earned an Associate Producer credit on Geek Cred (a web series) and is the Producer of Tea, an original short film (currently in post-production). She also has renewed an interest in theater established in childhood, becoming a supporter of The Donmar Warehouse, a non-profit, women-run theater in London, and is eager to get involved in the local theater scene. It was in large part the presence of the Dragon Theatre in Redwood City that drew her to establish her new home here.

Gennady Farber, Treasurer

We came to US in 1992 from Leningrad and my wife Masha found that her talents for working with kids are in high demand in the new country. This is how TheaterGames - a youth drama studio came to be in 1993. TheaterGames continues to be my major “non-profit” engagement. I helped to develop Studio structure, helped to set a business model and supported multiple productions in my wife’s. In 2009 I was instrumental in setting relations between Dragon Productions and TheaterGames. Dragon became TheaterGames non-profit fiscal sponsor in 2010. Those relations allowed TheaterGames to run fundraising, enhanced parent appreciation of the studio programs and provided a major learning opportunity to see first-hand the complexities of running small theater company. In my “for-profit” life, I am an engineer with Agilent Technologies. I work as a technical expert in the sales organization. Before Agilent I worked for Varian, Intel and couple of start-ups.

Dale Albright

Dale Albright is the managing artistic director of theatre Q and director of membership services at Theatre Bay Area. Dale has appeared as an actor at Dragon in Chekhov in Yalta (Stanislavski) and Heidi Chronicles (Peter), as well as Dragon's co-productions with theatre Q of Snakebit (Michael) and Cloud 9 (Betty/Gerry). Dale also directed Dragon's As Bees in Honey Drown, Side Man, After Ashley, The LIttle Dog Laughed, and Burn This as well as theatre Q's The Sum of Us, Torch Song Trilogy and My Strange Nation. Dale's first full length play, Keep the Yuletide Gay, was performed by theatre Q in 2006 and 2007. Other acting appearances have been with New Conservatory Theater Center (Tennessee Williams in Tennessee in the Summer), City Light Theater Company (Compleat Female Stage Beauty), Theatre Rhino, Town Hall Theatre of Lafayette and Thrillpeddlers

Carolyn Compton

Carolyn Compton has lived in the San Mateo area where she has performed in several theatres along the Peninsula and San Francisco. The Dragon Theatre has always held a special place in her heart and she has enjoyed watching this child grow from infancy into young adulthood and is looking forward to seeing the Dragon grow into a fire-breathing force of a theatre that will awe and inspire audiences throughout the years. Carolyn works as a floral designer and specializes in floral decor for weddings and special events.

Meredith Hagedorn Meredith Hagedorn, Founder and Executive Artistic Director (non-voting Board member)
Meredith is the founder and Executive Producer of Dragon Productions Theatre Company has been a professional actor and director in regional theatres across the country for over twenty years and an acting teacher for all ages in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and now in the Bay Area. She began producing theatre in college and has been an acting and directing member of multiple theatre troupes across the country. Along with the many hats worn at Dragon, she also teaches teens and adults professional acting, marketing, and producing with her private coaching work.

Hedvig Flores

Hedvig Flores has been a skilled, purposeful and trilingual actress-performer with extensive experience in theatre and film for more than 10 years. She founded the Teatro Surreal, an independent theatre ensemble in Hungary. She is new to the Bay Area and very excited to continue to build her career here. Hedvig loves the atmosphere of the Dragon Theatre and she is excited to begin the volunteering opportunity to become a board member and help with her work at the Dragon Theatre.

Jenny Hollingworth

Originally from the U.K., Jenny moved to the Bay Area in 2004 with her husband and two young sons. She has worked with several Bay Area theatre companies including San Jose Repertory Theatre, The Dragon Productions Theatre Company, City Lights Theatre Company, The Pear Theatre Company, The Tabard Theatre Company, Arclight Repertory Theatre and Santa Clara Players, as, variously, director, producer, associate artistic director, writer, dramaturg, acting coach, dialect coach and house manager. A long-time Harold Pinter aficionado, her production of Pinter’s Betrayal that played at the Dragon Theatre in Palo Alto was awarded the Silicon Valley Small Theatre Award for Standout Adult Contemporary Drama (2012), and her production of The Birthday Party that she produced in the first season for Dragon’s 2nd Stages Series in Redwood City led to her nomination for Best Director, Theatre Bay Area Awards, 2014. Jenny has a previous career in marketing for global snack brands such as Cheetos, and a current career in PR and communications for a global business consulting firm based in Menlo Park. She has also worked extensively as a freelance writer and editor. She believes passionately in the value and purpose of theatre, especially in turbulent times, and is excited at the prospect of being an ambassador for The Dragon!

Corinne Kason

Corinne has been a professional actress since moving to New York City in her twenties. Her first time on stage entertaining she was 2 years old and after getting the title role in "The Little Red Hen" in kindergarten... her fate was sealed. Besides her many acting credits on both coasts (NY and LA), Corinne was on the Board of the SAG Conservatory and the Film Society for the Screen Actor's Guild. For many years she taught a Commercial Workshop, Theatrical Video Workshop and an Improv Workshop for the Conservatory. Corinne is presently teaching Improv at the Dragon Theatre as well as the San Carlos Charter Learning Center. Born in San Francisco, her family moved to Redwood City when she was ten years old. She is happy to be back in her home town and to be an active supporter of Redwood City's very own Community Theatre... THE DRAGON!

Carolyn McDaniel

Carolyn McDaniel is excited to be a member of the Dragon Board of Directors! When she arrived in the Bay Area in the summer of 2015 (all the way from Tangier, Morocco!) she attended as many theater productions as she could and she felt overwhelmed and so encouraged when she finally stumbled upon Dragon Theater! This company produces work without ego, work that will speak to you, work that will challenge you and hopefully help you become a wiser, kinder, more compassionate human. Buy your tickets now! :-)

Board of Advisors

D. Michael Kastrop, AIA

Principal Architect

D. Michael Kastrop, AIA, has been a licensed architect for over 29 years. Prior to founding his own firm, Mike worked for four different Bay Area architectural firms over the course of 10 years, beginning as a Project Architect, then Associate Architect and finally a Partner.

He is certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards and is the former president of the Redwood City Downtown Business Group. He has extensive experience in retail, commercial, religious, industrial, recreational and residential projects. His designs combine technical functionality with artistic forms to create beautiful living and working environments. He consults on handicap accessibility issues and feng shui (the ancient art of design, promoting balance, harmony, and well-being). Mike has received awards in the fields of residential, retail and commercial design.

In his free time, Mike likes to play guitar and sing for his church music group. He is an avid sailor, and has won numerous regattas and awards with his Catalina 30 sailboat "Goose" on the San Francisco Bay.

Lorianna Kastrop

Vice President, Controller
Lorianna has over 30 years of financial analysis experience and also handles human resources and some marketing for The Kastrop Group, Inc., Architects. Her specialty is budget management and reporting, to keep projects on budget and within estimates. She has a B.A. in International Relations from Stanford University.

She is very active in community service and has served on several non-profit boards, including the California Council of Parent Participation Nursery Schools, the Sequoia YMCA, and Peninsula Sunrise Rotary Club, just to name a few. She is currently on the board of Stanford Professional Women. Lorianna received the prestigious Athena Businesswoman of the Year Award from the Redwood City/San Mateo County Chamber of Commerce in 2001. The Redwood City Council appointed her to the Port Commission in June of 2008, and reappointed her in 2012. She is the second woman to serve as a Commissioner in the history of the Port of Redwood City and the first woman to be elected chairperson. She established the award-winning annual Redwood City PortFest public festival and was a co-founder of the very popular Hometown Holidays winter festival in downtown Redwood City. She also co-founded the Redwood City Mothers Club, a social support network for mothers of young children. She served in elected office from 1997-2001 on the Redwood City School District Board of Trustees.

Lorianna is happy to be meeting people in the community on a constant basis. "I believe that participating in organizations that improve our community and our world is the best way to promote our business. If people know that we care about others, they will trust us to take care of them and their project."

Barbara Pierce

Barbara Pierce was appointed by the City Council of Redwood City to the Board of Directors of the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency. Redwood City provides water to all Redwood City residents and to some unincorporated portions of San Mateo County. Pierce was first elected to Redwood City Council in 1999 and was re-elected in 2003 and 2007. She served as Vice Mayor from 2003-2005 and Mayor from 2005-2007.

Jerry Pierce

Jerry Pierce currently is a consultant working in Digital Cinema. He was previously Senior Vice President, Technology, Universal Pictures. He joined Universal in 1995 and established the New Technology Department for Universal Pictures in 2000. He was responsible for the technical launch of DVD for Universal and was responsible for Digital Cinema activities for Universal. He was chairman of the SMPTE Digital Cinema Mastering group, a member of the Studio's Digital Cinema Consortium, was an associate member of the American Society of Cinematographers, is Vice President of the Hollywood Post Alliance, and was on the Board of USC's Entertainment Technology Center. He established the joint project with Universal and Panasonic for DVD disc authoring and High Definition Telecine Transfers. He was part of SRI International (Stanford Research Institute) for over 13 years. Jerry holds a MSEE degree from Stanford University and an BSEE from UC Berkeley.

Lessa Bouchard

Lessa Bouchard's credits in the midwest include work with Walk and Squawk Performance Project, the Planet Ant and Matrix Theatre in Detroit, where she also co-founded and was the artistic director for Pow! a feminist theatre company; also EP Theatre, StageLeft and Victory Gardens ACCESS program in Chicago. She has a BFA in theatre performance from the University of Detroit Mercy and an MFA in Interdisciplinary Art and Media from Columbia College Chicago. Now in the South bay, she is proud to have appeared as Vi in the Memory of Water at Dragon in 2009, directed Tongue of a Bird at Dragon in 2011, and produced and appeared in Arc:Hive Present: A Moment (Un)Bound, one of Dragon's inaugural 2nd Stages events.

Lane Pianta

Emeritus

Mary Lou Torre

Monica Cappuccini

Laura Jane Bailey

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