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Staff

P. Shane Mitchell, Artistic Director

Shane is the founding Artistic Director of TBA Theatre. He holds a Bachelors Degree from UAA and a Masters from Wichita State University. As a playwright his award-winning works have been performed in all fifty states and around the world. As a performer he has toured nationally and internationally including performing at the Olympics Arts Festival in Sydney Australia and at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. He is the recipient or two Patricia Neil acting awards, the Harper Service Award, and a UAA Alumnus of Distinction Award. He lives with his charming wife Erin and their mail order dog Cookie.

Erin Dagon Mitchell, Associate Artistic Director

A founding member of TBA Theatre, and award-winning actress and director, Erin earned her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from UAA and a Masters in Theatre/Communications (Magna cum Laude) from Wichita State University. She has directed over 200 productions at the community, college, and regional level and is especially proud to have directed Arlitia Jones's Grand Central and 42nd and Shane Mitchell's The Resurrection of Humpty Dumpty at the Samuel French Short Play Festival in New York City. Erin directed Alaska’s entry to the 2000 Sydney Olympic Arts Festival and several productions that toured to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, including TBA’s award winning production of The Death of Edgar Allan Poe. Anchorage credits include critically acclaimed productions of Sweeney Todd (Anchorage Concert Chorus), Bat Boy: The Musical (Eccentric Theatre Co.) The Boy Friend and Bark! (Cyrano's Theatre Company), Into The Woods (UAA), A Shayna Maidel and Little Women (ACT) and Hamlet, Fiddler on the Roof, and West Side Story (TBA). Favorite onstage roles include Glinda in The Wizard of Oz (TBA) and Rhetta Cupp in Pump Boys and Dinettes (ACT). Erin lives in Anchorage with her husband, actor/playwright P. Shane Mitchell, the Artistic Director of TBA Theatre and her frequent collaborator in life and art. 

D. Wayne Mitchell, Technical Director

Wayne Mitchell is a founding member of TBA Theatre. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from the University of Alaska, Anchorage. He later went on to earn a Master of Arts in Theatre Communication from Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas. In addition to his duties for TBA Theatre Company he is a frequent guest lecturer at Universities and Theater conferences on the subject of the New Vaudeville movement and physical comedy as well as serving as adjunct faculty for Alaska Pacific University's graduate level theater education program. He has won a number of awards and honors including two Last Frontier Theatre Conference Patricia Neal Acting Awards and the UAA Alumni Association’s Community Service Award. He is the author of several plays including “Soapy Smith’s Alaskana Extravaganza” which received international attention in 2000 at the Olympic Arts Festival in Sydney Australia and again in 2017 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Megan Bladow, Marketing Director

Founding member of TBA Theatre (full bio coming soon)

Dana Mitchell, Development Director

Dana Mitchell is a registered nurse and works as the Director of Quality for Providence Extended Care and Providence Transitional Care Centers.  She grew up in Denver, CO and graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a degree in Spanish, having also studied at the University of Sevilla in Spain.  Dana moved to Anchorage in 1994 to spend the summer with her brother and has been here ever since.  Shortly after moving to Alaska, she studied nursing and graduated from UAA in 1998.  She fell in love with theatre at a young age when she was cast as Bambi in second grade and has been performing ever since.  She and Wayne started dating after performing together in LUV and married 5 years later.  They have 2 wonderful kids, both of whom have grown up to love the arts. Having children rekindled Dana's love of photography and she has since become a talented photographer, now serving as TBA's company photographer as well as the Development Director. She still finds time for performing, often in TBA's Shakespeare performances (The Merry Wives of Windsor, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, A Comedy of Errors) or one of the Halloween shows.  She and her family had a transformative experience taking The Death of Edgar Allan Poe to the Edinburgh Fringe with TBA. She has occasionally directed for TBA and may consider that the next talent to truly hone.

Ryan Buen, Education Director

Ryan Buen is an Anchorage-based actor, director, playwright, and producer. He holds a BA in Theatre from the University of Alaska Anchorage and a Master’s in Acting from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in England. He has worked with numerous theatre companies in Alaska, including TBA Theatre, Blue Chair Productions (of which he is the co-founder), Three Wise Moose, Cyrano’s, UAA Theatre, Anchorage Opera, ACT, TossPot Productions, Out North, and PWSC. Most recent directing credits include Ugly Lies the Bone( Blue Chair Productions ) and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (TBA Theatre). Recently he performed the role of Ned in Bess Wohl’s Small Mouth Sounds (Blue Chair) and Uncle Billy in Its a Wonderful Life (TBA Theatre). Ryan serves as the Play Lab Coordinator for The Valdez Last Frontier Theatre Conference, directs and coordinates the annual Valdez Actor's Academy, and co-taught TBA's playwriting workshop with Shane Mitchell. He is engaged to fellow arts educator Stephanie Leigh.

Seth Eggleston, Director of Music

 Seth became the Associate Director of Music for TBA Theatre in 2019 where he works to coordinate music for productions during the season as well as teaches Voice For The Actor classes during our annual Summer Academy. Seth holds a B.A. in Music and Psychology from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. He is a stage manager, music director, sound designer, and performer, and is very excited to carry on unique artistic experiences during the current pandemic. He recently served as Music Director for productions such as The Pied Piper of Hamlin, the Merry Wives of Windsor, and many of TBA's past Musical Intensives. Seth's work in technical theatre spans a period of 10 years, with over 20 productions in stage management (TBA, CTC, Anchorage Opera) and sound design (TBA, Perseverance Theatre, CTC). When not at the theatre, Seth is usually found at his piano, hiking around Alaska, or spending time with his family. 

Amy Kropp, Business Manager

Amy is a solo practice family attorney and owner of Amy Kropp, Attorney at Law, LLC. She started her law career as a child advocate at Indiana Advocates for Children in Indianapolis, IN. Amy graduated from Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis in 1998,  Before going to law school, she studied Broadcast Journalism at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and received a B.S. degree in journalism in 1988. Her love of theatre began in high school, where she performed in many plays, and played the role of Babe in Pajama Game her senior year. She has two adult children, Kelly and Michael, who are proud TBA Kids. Amy has appeared in many TBA shows including Speakeasy and It's A Wonderful Life, She has stage-managed several TBA shows, served as tour manager for our 2018 Edinburgh Fringe tour, and has operated as TBA's business manager since 2016. Amy is also a regular performer with Scared Scriptless Improv. 

Kristin Fernandez, Administrative Assistant

Also seen on stage (full bio coming soon)

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