meet the stage left team & board of directors

Alana Shepherd is the founding principal of Intangible Light.  She has a MFA in Lighting Design from Carnegie Mellon University and a BA in Theatre from Eastern Washington University.  Alana spent 15 years in the New York City lighting world, working in design, project management, and sales.  

Notable accomplishments and projects include the W Hotel Times Square (IES Illumination Award; with BOLD, LLC), Thompson Hotel Miami Beach (IES Illumination Award; with BOLD, LLC), and the programming and control system design for the Times Square Ball (with Focus Lighting, Inc.).

She is the founder of the North American Coalition of Lighting Industry Queers, an explicitly transgender & non-binary inclusive organization providing advocacy and support for LGBTQIA+ lighting professionals.  She also works with the larger lighting justice community to achieve equity, justice, and belonging for all marginalized groups.

She enjoys the natural beauty of Eastern Washington, her birthplace and current home.  There she spends her free time baking and taking in nature.

For more on Alana Shepherd:

https://www.intangiblelight.com

Jeremy has been the Resident Designer for numerous theaters including The Public Theater of San Antonio, The Modern Theaters of Spokane/Cd’A, and Lake City Playhouse in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, but they have always loved the charm of small, intimate theaters. Jeremy's work in training the next generation of diverse creatives is his top priority.

Jeremy is the Program Director at Spokane Arts, a non-profit helping artists connect with other artists and with funding opportunities. He attended Ohio University from 1989 to 1992 majoring in Theater Production and graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2014 with his BFA in Graphic Design from Sanford Brown. 

In 2022, Jeremy was awarded the Governor's Arts & Heritage Luminary Award by Washington State Governor, Jay Inslee, for his tireless work in keeping the Arts alive during the pandemic. They were also recently named one of the Top 20 Emerging Leaders in the Inland Northwest by Trending NW.

Jeremy brings his varied artistic talents and their longstanding business acumen to Stage Left, where he will continue to promote diversity, inclusion, political discussion, and social justice both on stage and in our community.

Check out Jeremy’s website at www.JeremyCreates.com

 Patty Garegnani grew up in Spokane and lived in Seattle,  San Diego, and has returned back to Spokane in 2016. She developed her  love for theater at North Central with Drama Teacher Tom Armitage, where  her passion for storytelling first took root. For her, theater feels  like a family—a place where creativity and collaboration comes together  to create something magical. Through the design process and  collaborating with directors and actors, Patty pours her heart into  every stitch, bringing characters to life through costume design.

Patty began her career as a licensed hairdresser after  studying Cosmetology at San Diego City College. Her love for fashion  later led her to study Fashion Design at San Diego Mesa College, earning  the Rising Star Award at the 2008 Golden Scissors Fashion Show and the  top honors award in 2009. Her first theatre job working in the costume  department was at Lamb’s Player’s Theatre in San Diego, where she  discovered how much she loved theatrical costume design. 

After taking time off to raise her two daughters, Patty reconnected  with theater by volunteering for their CYT (Christian Youth Theater)  productions. Leading costume committees for casts of up to 85 kids  reignited her passion for costume design. Since then, she has worked  with Civic Theatre, Shakespeare in the Park, Lilac City Dinner Theatre  through Stage Left, small local films, and SFCC’s Spartan Theatre, where  she is pursuing an Associate of Fine Arts in Drama.

Patty believes that when actors feel confident in their costumes, it  elevates their performance and enhances the entire production. She is  inspired by Stage Left’s mission to challenge, inspire, and connect  people through storytelling. For her, community theater is about  creativity, connection, and celebrating diversity by creating spaces  where everyone feels represented. Being part of the Stage Left Theatre  family is a privilege, and Patty is honored to contribute to its mission  through costume design.

Misty Shipman is a writer, director, producer, and poet. She holds her PhD in Native American Literature with a specialty in film from Washington State University. 

An impassioned creator, she began winning national writing awards at the age of seventeen. Early laureates include the Barnes N’ Noble Katie Herzog Young Writer’s Award, the Kay Snow Award in Adult Fiction (First Place), the Grace Nixon Fellowship, the Hemingway Fellowship, and more. Misty began directing professionally in 2019.

For more on Dr. Shipman:

https://www.facebook.com/mermaidmotelmedia

Jess oversees the Box Office and Front of House operations at the Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center on Gonzaga University campus. She describes her work background as a “jack-of-all trades” experience that includes: communications and philanthropy work for local Spokane non-profits and San Diego arts organizations, human resources and administrative support, and over almost two decades of professional and volunteer experience for the Spokane and San Diego performing arts communities. 

A Spokane native, and former military brat, Jess graduated from Whitworth University with her BA in English (and yes, the Avenue Q song is accurate), a minor in Theatre, and anticipates graduating with her Master’s in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga in 2025. Jess has worked onstage, backstage, directing and stage managing, selling tickets in the box office as well as every front-of-house position available. Pairing her passion for theatre and her others-oriented leadership approach with her professional business experience, Jess is thrilled to join the Stage Left board and help support our little gem in the heart of downtown Spokane as it journeys forward into the unknown!

Aileen Luppert (she/her) has been a public librarian since 2009 when she returned to Spokane after 11 years in Seattle, WA. She belongs to several local boards, coalitions, and committees focused on resources for families and individuals in need. Aileen was recognized by the national publication Library Journal when it named her a Mover & Shaker for her advocacy work in 2020. 

Aileen would not step on a theater stage to perform for all the money in the world. She would, however, try to raise all the money in the world for opportunities for her kid to perform in theaters like Stage Left. Aileen comes to the Board after her teenager joined the cast of Fun Home in 2023. The experience as a parent of a young actor, where she saw the creation of safe spaces for performers, the creativity and dedication of staff, and the love and appreciation from audiences, inspired Aileen to volunteer her time and join the Stage Left team.

Dr. Hilda Caquias was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She is a clinical psychologist with 14 years of practice, moved to WA in 2017. Currently, is the lead behavioral health provider for CHAS in Cheney clinic. While living in Puerto Rico, 

Hilda started her career in arts in a community theater as a child and then moved into different roles as an actor, administrator, and board member of theater organizations. Hilda is married with a blended family of four adult children, two grandchildren, and a fur baby. 

Joe  Reilly has lived in Spokane for the past 25 years and been involved in  various non-profit organizations during that time, with a focus on  ending poverty and helping to provide opportunities for those most in  need. His goal at Stage Left Theater is to create progressive and  ethical systems that support the visions of artists in our community so  they can thrive and benefit our society as a whole.

Currently  he oversees a team providing energy assistance and other basic needs to  Spokane County at SNAP (Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners). Joe is  married with two adult offspring. He is active in the 2SLGBTQ+ community  and serves as chair of SNAP’s Staff Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion  (EDI) Council. 

A former USAF officer and aviator, Maeve Griffith is currently the Captain of Spokane Fire Station Number 3.  She has appeared in Spokane’s 2018 production of the Vagina Monologues and in the Quimby Oak Junior High High School's ground-breaking production of Li’l Abner.

Maeve is also a paramedic, artist, copy writer, novelist and poet. She has been in numerous local television commercials and has voiced many radio spots over the years. Ms Griffith is active in promoting LGBTQ rights in the local community, and has a loving wife, three beautiful sons and their spouses and three wonderful grandsons.

Audrey Overstreet’s career has been in journalism and PR – mostly in New York City as an investigative reporter at a national magazine– and in Austin, Texas, where she was Politics Editor for the city’s alternative weekly. She currently writes about the arts for the Spokesman-Review. 

While serving as Marketing Director for the Spokane Symphony and The Fox Theater in 2014, she helped create several collaborations with local artists, including the Symphony/Civic Theater production of Les Mis and the Symphony/Terrain launch of Uncharted. She has been active in many political and volunteer causes over the years, from the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) in the 1980s to a recent stint as President of the Hutton Elementary PTG.

Lisa Edwards earned her BA from Sarah Lawrence College with a concentration in Theatre and her Masters in Education with an emphasis in Theatre Arts from Seattle Pacific University. Inspired by a summer camp Shakespeare production when she was twelve years old, Lisa has made a career out of sharing her passion for the theatre with others, particularly children.

  Lisa has worked as an actor, director and educator in New York, Chicago and Seattle. Prior to moving to Spokane in 2017, Lisa spent twelve years as a teacher, director, and curriculum developer for drama programs in the greater Seattle area. Locally, she has been seen as Bananas in The House of Blue Leaves and Liz Essendine in Present Laughter, both at Spokane Civic Theatre. Lisa and her husband David are busy raising two daughters, Bella and Hadley.  

Susan Hardie has directed and appeared in scores of productions throughout Spokane, WA and the region over the past forty years. Directing is her passion, and recent projects include An Iliad and The Long Christmas Ride Home at Stage Left. She has served as adjudicator for the AACTFest Region IX Regional Festival in Coeur d’Alene, ID as well as a variety of student theatre festivals and competitions throughout the region. 

Susan has served on the Spokane Arts Commission, the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce Arts Committee and the Civic Theatre Artistic Committee, and received numerous awards including City of Spokane Arts awards for Individual Artist and Arts Community Leadership. She hails from New York, where she received her BA in Theatre and English at the State University of New York at Geneseo.

Tom Sanderson is the father of two amazing young adults, a professional in the building

trade, and a former business owner of a small plumbing company here in Spokane. Originally

from Brooklyn, New York, Tom moved to Seattle as a young man to create a new life for himself. There, he worked to receive his bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences from the University of Washington in 1999. He would later return to school in 2023 to expand on his education, attaining his Master’s in Public Administration from Easter Washington University. 

In 2013, after hearing an ad on the radio, Tom auditioned for a production of The Odd Couple. Since his role as Murray the Cop, Tom has committed himself to his passion for

theater. He has been in over a dozen productions around the community, delved into directing and stage managing, and has spent time as a member of the Board of Directors for Spokane Valley’s Ignite Theater. Tom’s goal while serving on the board is to identify and bring opportunities for the theater to prosper as an institution and as a vital part of the region’s arts community.

 Paul  J Watts, in his own words, was a thorn in the side of Stage Left  Theater, both on stage and behind the scenes, getting in the way of  performances by adding scenic painting, sound and light cues for both  festivals and season productions since 2017 when Texas ran him out of  town. Having pestered the Lone Star State with everything from Stage,  Screen, TV performances, photography, makeup and playwriting, they  finally had enough. Then he became Spokane's problem.

His  acting roles as Fred from Civic Theatre’s Present Laughter and Odysseus  in Stage Left’s Hecuba were particularly dangerous. Paul was the Sound  Technician for all of Stage Left’s streamed events during the pandemic,  and his hard work and dedication played an integral role in the survival  of the theater.

Following  his death in 2022, he was awarded the title of Board Member Emeritus,  in accordance with his desire to serve on the board of Stage Left  Theater forever.