Laguna Playhouse - Our People

Leadership/ Senior Staff

David Ellenstein, Artistic Director, Born into a theatrical family, David Ellenstein has worked in theatres across the country. After filling the role in an interim capacity since September 2022, In May 2023, David was named Artistic Director of Laguna Playhouse. In addition, David has been the Artistic Director of North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach, CA since 2003. He is the former Artistic Director of Los Angeles Repertory Company and Arizona Jewish Theatre. A veteran of over 300 theatrical productions, over nearly five decades, his credits include The Coconut Grove Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Alabama, Great Lakes, and California Shakespeare Festivals, Portland Stage, 59E59, The Meadowbrook Theatre, and Colony Theatre.

David's directorial credits at Laguna Playhouse include Eleanor, A View From The Bridge, Holmes And Watson, A Shayna Maidel, The Angel Next Door, Chapatti, Alexandros and, as an actor, playing "Einstein in Picasso At The Lapine Agile. Among the more than 60 productions directed at North Coast Rep, favorites include The Remarkable Mister Holmes, which he co-authored, An Iliad, Dr. Glas (Streaming), Becoming Cuba (World Premiere), The Father (West Coast Premiere), Travels with My Aunt, Words by Ira Gershwin (World Premiere), Freud’s Last Session, Becoming Dr. Ruth and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

At other venues memorable productions include The Glass Menagerie (Alabama Shakespeare), A Shayna Maidel (Gaslamp Quarter Theatre), The Chosen (Papermill Playhouse, The Coconut Grove Playhouse), Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Renaissance Theatre), Conversations with My Father (Portland Repertory Theatre), and Cyrano de Bergerac (Southwest Theatre Company).

Favorite roles as an actor include Andrey Botvinnik in A Walk in the Woods, Max Prince in Laughter on the 23rd Floor and Matt in Talley’s Folly at  North Coast Rep, title roles in Hamlet at Los Angeles Theatre Center and Los Angeles Repertory Company; Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof at Moonlight Stage, Richard III at California Shakespeare Festival; Einstein in Picasso at the Lapin Agile at Laguna Playhouse; Calisto in The Illusion and Harker in Dracula at the Arizona Theatre Company; Jonathan in Sight Unseen at North Coast Rep and Portland Repertory Theatre. David has appeared in more than two dozen roles in film and television, and has been guest faculty for several universities including California State Northridge and Cal Arts.

Denys Baker, General Manager, joined the Playhouse in 2017 following a six-year stint as the Administrative Project Manager at the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) where she is proud to have worked on the $34M conversion of the Strand Theater. Prior to her work at A.C.T., Denys spent 25 years in NYC managing Broadway productions including the Tony Award-winning production of CABARET at Studio 54. She holds an MFA in Performing Arts Management and first came to Southern California in 2010 as General Manager for threesixty Entertainment’s production of PETER PAN performed in a circus tent. Denys is thrilled to be in Laguna where she can pursue her love of hiking and backpacking and continue training to reach her goal of climbing to Everest Base Camp.

Tom Horvath, Director of Marketing, Communications, and Public Relations, is a marketing professional with over 15 years of experience in the theatre industry. He began his career as a performer, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Performance from Wagner College, followed by a Master of Arts in Arts and Culture Management with a marketing concentration from the University of Denver.

With a background that combines both on-stage and off-stage expertise, Tom has focused on adapting to post-COVID operations in his work. Most recently, he served as Director of Brand Development for a senior living community, where he enhanced brand identity and secured major partnerships with organizations such as Hoag and California State University Long Beach, strengthening the overall well-being of residents and providing an appropriate environment for them to age-in-place. Now, Tom is thrilled to apply his skills at the Laguna Playhouse, where his passion for the arts and marketing will help create impactful, community-driven initiatives.

In addition to his work at the Laguna Playhouse, Tom serves as a Board Member for the non-profit agency Professional Arts Education Center (PAEC) in Torrance, where he assists with marketing, fundraising campaigns, and creating opportunities for South Bay youth to achieve their dreams of becoming theatrical performers.

Joe Alanes, Director of Education & Outreach, has had the privilege of being the Director of Education & Outreach at Laguna Playhouse since October 2021, and it has been such a joy to be able to serve the community in this way, and to be a small part of Laguna Playhouse’s monumental legacy. He especially loves to direct the students in the Youth Theatre productions, in shows such as Wanda’s World and The Lightning Thief: the Percy Jackson musical. Joe is also a teaching artist at South Coast Repertory, where he performed in his first Actors Equity contract many years ago. Aside from acting and teaching, he has also directed there as the Junior Players Director for a number of years, directing plays such as The Jungle Book, and Riding the Wind: Story Plays of Old China. Joe was also Co-Artistic Director of Modjeska Playhouse, where he had directed and acted in a number of plays, including True West, She Kills Monsters, and The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (abridged), and many more. He has also taught at the Orange County School of the Arts, where he directed several plays including Spoon River Anthology, a collaboration between OCSA and Modjeska Playhouse, and several other shows. He taught many grade levels and many different subjects while there. He was also formerly Director of Theatre at Mater Dei, having directed shows such as All Shook Up, Little Shop of Horrors, You Can’t Take it With You, and Les Miserables, among many others. He enjoyed getting to do unique things there, like playing Lafayette from Hamilton in the Homecoming Rally and staging a surprise flash mob performance of One Day More at another rally (you can find it on YouTube, it’s hilarious). Joe has also toured the country with various productions as an actor, ASM, stage manager, and company manager, and was a director and program manager at Kaiser Permanente Educational Theatre. Joe graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre and is currently completing his MA in Education and CTE Credential in Performing Arts and Media. He is a proud member of Actors Equity Association, and a new member of The Parents-of-Kids-in-Out-of-State-College club.

Board of Trustees

Lisa Hale
Partner, Parallax Capital Partners, LLC
Chair

Justin Myers
Entrepreneur
Vice Chair

Harley Bassman
Managing Partner at Simplify Asset Management
Board Treasurer

Jeff Winston
Retired, Chief Technology Officer, Allergan, Inc.
Board Secretary

Jared K. Mathis
CEO, Moulton Company
Governance and Nominations

Heidi Miller
Owner, Tight Assets, The World Newstand
Executive Committee at Large

Heather Anne Chalmers

Torin J Cunningham
Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery

James Hale
Managing Partner, Parallax Capital Partners, LLC

Dr. Gary Jenkins
Retired Pediatrician

Barbara MacGillivray
Executive, MacGillivray Freeman Films

Xiaohong Rose
Entrepreneur

Ryan Smith
Attorney, Greenberg Traurig

Richard Thomas

Artistic Director
David Ellenstein

Emeritus Trustees

Glenn E. Gray

Joe Hanauer
Combined Investments, LLC.

Otis Healy
Sr Vice President and Western Regional Director, Smith Barney & Co (retired)

Ilona Martin
Artist

Melinda Masson
CEO, Masson Strategic Advisors LLC

Jim Mellor

Staff

Artistic Director, David Ellenstein

MANAGEMENT
General Manager, Denys Baker
Assistant General Manager/Company Manager, Rachel Garlington
Controller, Rae Metcalfe

PRODUCTION
Production Manager, Jordan Muller
Technical Director, Paul Rossi
Resident Sound Designer/Audio Engineer, Jesse Worley
Lighting Supervisor/Light Board Operator, Jeremy Plant
Wardrobe Supervisor, Stacey Nezda
Production Management Assistant, Devon Rieckhof

EDUCATION
Director of Education, Youth Theatre, Joe Alanes
Education and Outreach Coordinator, Nakisa Aschtiani
Teaching Artists, Jack Clark, Sabrina Harper, Anthony Kairouz, Corrine Mohr, Luzma Ortiz, Hillary Pearson, Toni Redman, Kelsey Redmond, Evan Troutt

FRONT OF HOUSE
Artistic & Audience Services Manager, Wally Ziegler
House Manager, Clara Bush
Assistant House Manager, Jane Sabarre
Parking Supervisor, Curtis Pebley
Bartender, Leanne Nolan

MARKETING AND TICKETING SERVICES
Director of Marketing, Communications and PR, Tom Horvath
Marketing Manager, Gracie Fleischman
Assistant Ticketing Services Manager, Morgan Leal
Ticketing Services Lead, Nikki Johnson
Outreach and Sales Coordinator, Nicole Armour
Marketing Assistant, Alexus Lombera
Ticket Service Representatives, Marlon Gomez-Smith, Olivia Mancillas

DEVELOPMENT
Interim Director of Development, Erin Simon
Development Manager, Mary Grant
Grants Writer, Annamarie Maricle

FACILITIES OPERATIONS
Facilities and IT Operations Manager, David Bryant
Facility Maintenance Technician, Brandon Sandoval

CONSULTANTS
Legal Services, Stephen Berry
Press Consultant, David Elzer, Demand PR
IT Services, Method Technologies
Graphic Designer, Teresa English
Website Consultant, Andrew Lombardi
Broadcast Consultant, Nancy Pank, Nancy's Media Buys
Special Event Services, Savannah Casey
Financial Services, Fohrman and Fohrman Inc.
Medical Provider, Caduceus Medical Group, Dr. Gregg deNicola