Executive Director – Michael Spicer

During the 24 years that Michael Spicer has been Executive Director, SCT has been the National Winner of AACT-Fest 2001 with its production of Wit, and in 2019 SCT’s production of Silent Sky garnered 4 other national awards; also, SCT is the recipient of the Governor’s Arts Award for organizational excellence, and the Twink Lynch Award. Michael is the recipient of the AACT David C. Bryant Outstanding Service Award, and most recently, the Art Cole Lifetime Achievement Award. He earned his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Virginia. He has directed and acted for theaters across the United States, and has taught workshops in various aspects of theatre for the American Theatre Association, the American Association of Community Theatres, the Southeastern Theatre Conference, the Southwestern Theatre Conference, the Texas Non-Profit Theatre Association, and the Association of Kansas Theatres. Michael has twice served on the board of the American Association of Community Theatres.

Contact: michael@salinatheatre.com

Technical Director / Scenic Designer – J.R. Lidgett

J. R. was born in Charleston, South Carolina, promptly moved to Denver, Colorado, until he was 10, then spent the rest of his years growing up in Wichita. At Goddard High School he found a love for the theatre and pursued a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre at Sterling College with a minor in Psychology. After Sterling, he obtained a Master’s Degree in Theatre at Kansas State University. While studying at KSU, he took a summer internship at the Salina Community Theatre. After graduating, he started working full time at SCT and has been here ever since. He has received several awards from the American Association of Community Theatre for AACT Festivals, including Outstanding Achievement in Scenery & Lighting for the National Award Winning Wit in 2001. J. R. has a wife, Katie, and two daughters, Melissa and Dillen. You will most likely find him toiling away in the shop, playing in the booth, or feverishly searching the web for new lights he wants to buy.

Contact: jr@salinatheatre.com

Director of Operations – Elizabeth-Ali Schade (she/her/hers)

Elizabeth-Ali graduated from Salina High School Central and attended KWU, where she studied Theatre. She earned her certificate for Grant Proposal Writing from Fort Hays State University. She is a graduate of Kansas State University with a degree in Business Administration, a minor in Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies, and earned her Intercultural Competence Certificate. She currently attends the University of Oklahoma, where she is seeking her master’s in Arts Management.  She serves as the Kansas State Contact for the American Association of Community Theater. Elizabeth-Ali is an Intimacy Director and consultant whose focus is on introduction and education for a consent-forward environment. She earned her Consent Forward Artist certificate from Intimacy Directors and Coordinators and her MHFA Certificate from the National Association for Mental Wellbeing, and is a certified Drama Well-Being Practitioner. She is the Director of Stage Door 1, Music Theatre Company, and teaches at Center for Theatre Arts. She and her partner, Erich, have a son, Oliver, and are proud to be a part of such a rich arts culture in Salina.

Contact: ali@salinatheatre.com

Education Director – Maggie Spicer Brown (she/her/hers)

Maggie Spicer Brown grew up in the Salina area, was very active with Theatre Salina, and graduated from Salina South High School in 2010. Maggie went on to receive her Bachelor’s of Music from Oklahoma City University before moving to New York City, where she lived on and off for the better part of 7 years. During that time Maggie worked as a professional actor with favorite credits including Mamma Mia and Matilda at Casa Manana in Texas, Freaky Friday and A Little Night Music at Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma and the North American tour of The Wizard of Oz. Maggie has also been able to choreograph many musicals at Theatre Salina as well as pieces for the summer contemporary shows. In 2020, Maggie directed her first mainstage musical, Freaky Friday, and went on to direct 2021 Summer Stage production of Descendants, the 2021 fall opening musical of Fiddler on the Roof and Descendants at Casa Manana, a professional equity production house. Maggie has loved being a teacher for CTA and is very honored to be step into the role of Education Director!

Contact: maggie@salinatheatre.com

Office Manager – Daysha Sutton

Daysha was born and raised in rural Pratt County, while attending college at Washburn University in Topeka, she met her husband, Brad. She received her degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting in 1997, married Brad, and in late 1998, moved to Salina. She and her husband have two (almost adult) children, Treyton and Savannah, and live in rural Saline County by Assaria on some acreage with dogs, cats, chickens, guineas, and local wildlife. “We wouldn’t have it any other way!” In her free time, she loves watching KC Royals baseball, OU softball, and all things her children participate (choir, band, softball, and cross country). At Theatre Salina, she takes care of all things financial related and assists in the box office and enrollment for Center for Theatre Arts, in which she also takes tap and jazz classes for fun.

Contact: daysha@salinatheatre.com

Costume Designer – Jenn Morris

Jenn was born and raised in Emporia, KS and attended Emporia State University where she studied Theatre Design and Business Management and graduated in 2001.  Jenn has been Designing with Salina Community Theatre since 2009, where she started as a designer for the Summer Jr. CTA Shows.  She joined SCT’s full-time staff for the 2014-15 season and has been enjoying designing the season’s shows since then.  Jenn has 3 children with husband Josh and enjoys spending time with them and extended family in her free time.  She also enjoys visiting art and history museums and researching historical clothing.

Contact: jenn@salinatheatre.com

Director of Patron Services  – Jill M. French

Jill is a graduate of Fort Hays State University with a degree in Theatre & Communications and Minor in Music Performance. She is a native Kansan who, in 2008, moved back to Salina with her husband, Ross. She has many years of Theatre and Music performance experience under her belt. Her theatre experience started in middle school, performing as a Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz and continued through High School and College, performing in over 15 shows. She has performed in more than ten professional theatre shows spanning from Kansas to Ohio to Georgia to Alaska, giving her national tour experience. Jill and Ross welcomed their daughter, Larkin Rose, in April 2011 and two new fur babies in 2017, Doc and Odie.

Contact: jill@salinatheatre.com

Costume Shop Manager  – Robyn Hilt (she/her/hers)

Robyn grew up in Pittsburg, KS and spent most of her childhood at Pittsburg Community Theatre. She comes from a theatre family and has three sisters who have taught theatre in Kansas. She was previously the fashion/ interior design teacher and costume designer at Garden City High School for 12 years. She is a six-time Music Theatre of Wichita Jester Awards costume design winner and twelve-time nominee. She is a Fulbright and Fund for Teachers Fellow.  Her undergraduate degree was in English Education from Pittsburg State University and she received her MA in Theatre from the University of Houston in 2023 through which she received training from The Lincoln Center, Chicago Actor’s Studio, The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, & Shakespeare’s Globe. 

Contact: robyn@salinatheatre.com

Scenic Designer – Josh Morris

Joshua was born in Lexington, KY, but grew up in Salina, KS. After graduating from Salina South High School, he attended Emporia State University where he received his B.F.A in Theatre and minored in Art. Upon graduation, he attended the University of Florida where he received his M.F.A. in Set Design. Shortly after leaving Florida he moved to Denver, CO where he worked as a designer for Stickley Furniture and as a freelance set designer. Wanting to return to his roots in Salina, Josh took a job as Curator of Exhibits at the Smoky Hill Museum in 2007. Shortly after, he also began designing the MainStage musicals for SCT. Josh is the husband to Jenn Morris, the costume designer at SCT and the father of three kids. Throughout his career he has been lucky enough to tackle a host of odd and exciting projects and has enjoyed living up to the old set designer adage, “jack of all trades…”

Contact: setandexhibits@gmail.com

Prop Manager – Mandi Graber (She/Her/Hers)

Mandi Graber was born in Austin, TX and moved to Kansas in middle school. She began her theatre journey by tagging along with a friend to NYC, after her freshman year of high school, going on to join the tech theatre department at Newton High School, where she graduated in 2001. After high school, she attended University of Missouri – Kansas City, where she also had a job with the costume department of Missouri Repertory Theatre. After moving, she graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design from Wichita State University in 2005. In 2013, she answered a “volunteers needed” email from Jenn Morris, in the costume shop, and has been volunteering at Theatre Salina ever since – often (not) seen as a frequent mainstage stage manager or props manager, and most recently CTA After Dark director. In 2022, she started organizing the props inventory and never left! Mandi is an active volunteer with Center for Theatre Arts Booster Club, where her children, Andrew and Camille, have been attending dance and theatre classes since they were small. She and her husband, Christopher, met in the NHS theatre and have enjoyed getting to pass the “theatre gene” on to their kids, often making productions a family affair. When not at Theatre Salina, Mandi enjoys cooking with Christopher, traveling with her family, and reading. 

Contact: props@salinatheatre.com

Curator of Exhibits – Meghan Hessman

Meghan Hessman grew up just down the road in Clay Center, Kansas, where weekend trips to Salina felt like a big-city adventure. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Interior Design from Kansas State University in 2006—and it was on the very first day of drafting class that she met her future husband, Jake.

Her design journey took her from Naples, Florida to Austin, Texas, where she honed her artistic eye and deepened her love for design. In 2012, she returned to Kansas to marry Jake and start a family together. They moved to Salina in 2019 with their two children, and Theatre Salina was one of the first places they fell in love with.  As an artist herself, Meghan draws on her background in drafting and design to capture the beauty of Kansas architecture in her own artwork. 

Meghan enjoyed theater, forensics, and debate in High School.  Now she enjoys promoting the theater and local artists off stage. She and her family are continually inspired by Salina’s vibrant artistic spirit—a place that once felt like the big city and now, more than ever, feels like home.

Contact: art@salinatheatre.com