About Us

The porchlight of an old house glows in the evening light. When we approach the door to ring the bell, what will happen next?  Will the door open? Will it  reveal  a warm welcome, a fearful sight or a view into the lives of our neighbors?

Our Vision

Porchlight Theatre Company is an ensemble inspired by world literature, nature and the human experience. We explore the power of the theatre experience to educate, unite and ignite positive social change.

Porchlight's main goal is to produce inspired Theatre while working with the Community and bringing together artists, musicians and all of those who are passionate about theatre.

Our Core Members

Ann Brebner (Vision Director) ann@porchlight.net

Ann’s unpublished book, “All My Mothers” was adapted as a stage play for the first major fundraiser for Porchlight Theatre.  Later, she  both directed and compiled from Oscar Wilde’s lesser known works an evening for four actors, A Wild Wilde Night,  also a fundraiser which Porchlight hopes to produce again in the future.. As a member of the Core Ensemble, Ann has been associated with the company since its inception.
She was born and educated in New Zealand.  As a stage director she trained at London’s famed Old Vic Theatre School.  She has directed Off Broadway and throughout the Bay area.
In the world of film she was an agent for actors, a  screen writer and a casting director. She has written three screen plays, and adapted, along with Laurel Graver, Anne Lamott’s book  “Hard Laughter”,  which was produced in San Rafael in 2008, and will be read in New York in 2009.
She has worked as a Casting Director and written a book for actors, “Setting Free the Actor”.

Candace Brown (Front of House Manager) candace@porchlight.net

Candace is a teacher and professional actor who has only recently returned to the stage. She has performed at the Marin Fringe Festival, College of Marin, Theater Rhinoceros and the Lesher Center for the Arts. Her favorite role was Maggie Mundy in Dancing at Lughnasa directed by Molly Noble and performed at the College of Marin. She was nominated for a Bay Area Theatre Critics Award for her performance in Condoms at the 2008 Marin Fringe Fall Festival. Other roles include Nurse Becky Hedges in Bad Habits and Mrs.Archer in the original production of Serenity in Central Park and will be appearing as Anfisa in Chekhov's Three Sisters in the upcoming 2009 Porchlight production. She has also done several television spots and some movie background work. Candace is proud to be represented by LOOK talent in San Francisco. Candace received her BA and Teaching Credential from Sonoma State University and has taught drama at Drake High School, Marin Catholic and is currently a teaching artist with Marin Theater Company. She directed many school productions, her favorites being The Music Man, The Fantastiks, The Crucible and Arsenic and Old Lace. She will be teaching a playwriting class for middle schoolers at Marin Theater Company this summer.

Jon Burnett* (Associate Artist) jon@porchlight.net

Jon is a teacher and professional actor and has performed in Seattle, Atlanta, New York City, around the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as in Hungary and Slovakia. He has appeared in Porchlight Theatre’s production of Chekhov’s Wild Honey, as Antony Wilding in the award winning ensemble for Enchanted April, and will be appearing as “Andre” in Chekhov’s Three Sisters in the summer of 2009.
Jon received an MFA in Performance from University of Tennessee’s International Actor Training Academy. Jon appeared on Seattle area stages in P. Birningham’s Rex at the 1998 Seattle Fringe Festival, as “Apollo” in Out of this World (Showtunes), “The Baker” in Into the Woods (Capital Playhouse), “Howe” in Eleanor and as a pirate in Pirates of Penzance (both at Village Theater). In addition to his cherished Porchlight appearances, he has also performed locally in La Luna Theatre’s Never in My Lifetime, and Cinnabar Theater’s The Philadelphia Story.
Jon has taught drama in Tennessee, Washington, and California, codirected productions of Les Miserables, Arthur Kopit’s Phantom, Pippin, Urinetown and Bat Boy at the Willows Theatre camp, and The Odyssey with the Berkeley Rep middle school performance ensemble. Jon currently teaches “Story Building” and “Play Creation” at the Berkeley Rep School of Theater, and is the Drama specialist for grades 3rd - 6th at the San Francisco Friends School.

Rebecca Castelli* (Company Manager) rebecca@porchlight.net

Rebecca Castelli first joined Porchlight Theatre Company as an associate artist in the fall of 2007. Several years prior, Rebecca made her California stage debut at the Marin Art & Garden Center in Porchlight’s production of Wild Honey (summer of 2003). Currently, she is working on the role of Natasha for Porchlight Theatre’s summer 2009 production of Chekhov’s Three Sisters.
Rebecca holds her MFA in Acting from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. At UT’s International Actor Training Academy, Rebecca had the opportunity to study and work with directors and teachers from Russia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Argentina, Korea, Bulgaria, and Belgium.
Rebecca is an experienced voice teacher, as well as professional actress and singer. Besides teaching out of her private voice studio in El Cerrito, she currently teaches musical theatre and voice at Berkeley Repertory School of Theatre. She holds a bachelor’s degree in voice and theatre along with her MFA and has studied voice for over fifteen years with teachers from Boston Conservatory, Peabody Conservatory, Oberlin College, Syracuse University, and Florida State University.
For her performance as Mabel in the operetta The Pirates of Penzance, she received a Seattle Times Footlight Award for “great performance in a musical”. She also had the honor of performing with Judy Kaye in Gypsy at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in Seattle. Rebecca is the author of a one-woman show, The Booby Trap, which she performed in the 1999 Seattle Fringe Festival. In the spring 2008, she was seen in Cinnabar Theatre’s hit production of Noel Coward’s Private Lives.

Thais Harris (Marketing & PR Diretor) thais@porchlight.net

Thais started acting in Brazil, where she is originally from. She studied acting and theatre production at CIC (Integrated Cultural Center of Florianopolis), Edson Nunes Academy and UFSC (Federal University of Santa Catarina). Her credits in the US include Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, The Good Doctor (nominated for the Anna Awards), and Deadwood Dick with Royal Palm Players (FL); Breaking Legs with Lemon Bay Playhouse (FL); A Few Good Man with Venice Little Theatre (FL); Hedda Gabler with Actor's Ensemble of Berkeley and the upcoming Three Sisters at Porchlight Theatre Company. Thais has acted in films, tv and commercials, and has experience behind the scenes as a set designer, director, graphic designer, and producer/fundraiser.
She has a Bachelor's Degree from CIIS in Interdisciplinary Studies, and works as a full-time graphic designer/marketing coordinator.
Thais is extremely blessed to be married to Nick Sholley, a fellow Porchlight core member.

J.P. Hitesman* (Development Manager) jp@porchlight.net

JP is a Massachusetts native and has been based in the Bay Area since 2008. He has been involved in theatre for many years, and trained at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, and the British American Drama Academy in London, England. While at Hampshire, JP directed multiple plays including The Shape of Thingsand Humble Boy. After graduating in 2006 with a B.A. in theatre and social change, JP worked at several theatres in Massachusetts, including the Chester Theatre Company, New Repertory Theatre, and the North Shore Music Theatre. JP also had a second stint in London, working at several fringe theatre companies and on the Hollywood blockbuster The Bourne Ultimatum. He later spent time on California’s central coast working at PCPA Theaterfest in Santa Maria and Solvang. Since moving to the Bay Area, JP has worked with Theatre Bay Area, Marin Theatre Company, TheatreWorks, Fringe of Marin, Solano College Theatre and Thick Description, among others. JP is currently a graduate student in the Drama Therapy program at California Institute of Integral Studies and continues to work at theatres across the Bay Area. He is honored to be involved with Porchlight.

Mary Beth Smith (Managing Director) marybeth@porchlight.net

Mary Beth Smith is an actor and marketing professional with more than 15 years of executive leadership experience in the non-profit arts. Currently Marketing Special Projects Director at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, she served most recently as Director of Marketing and Communications for Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Prior to that, she was Director of Marketing and Sales for TheatreWorks and Associate Director of Marketing for San Francisco's flagship American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.).

She has appeared at theaters throughout the Bay Area including A.C.T., Encore Theater Company, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, TheatreWorks, Eureka Theater, Ross Valley Players and California Conservatory Theater. Favorite roles include Rosie Pye in Humble Boy, Sasha in Chekhov’s Ivanov, Sophie Western in Tom Jones, and Greta in Steven Berkoff’s Metamorphosis—a hit production of the San Francisco Theater Project that was revived at the Magic Theater and then transferred to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Mary Beth was an Associate Artist with Rough and Tumble and served as an Artistic Director for Encore Theater Company.

Mary Beth holds an M.F.A. in acting from American Conservatory Theater, an M.B.A. from University of San Francisco, and a B.A. in English and Theater from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. She served on the Theater Services Committee for Theatre Bay Area, and is a regular visiting professor at The Colorado College in Colorado Springs where she teaches arts administration. Mary Beth provides consulting services to local arts organizations in the areas of arts marketing and strategic planning, and has led workshops and participated on panels for the Business Arts Council of San Francisco, The Management Center, the American Express Arts Marketing Initiative, the California Arts Council and the Commonwealth Club.

Ken Sonkin* (Production Manager) ken@porchlight.net

Ken Sonkin is an award-winning actor/director whose work has been seen at American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Rep, Magic Theater, Sonoma Rep (Associate Artist), Center REP, Marin Shakespeare Festival, Grove Shakespeare Festival, Pacific Alliance Stage Company, San Jose Stage Company, SF Playhouse, Sacramento Theater Company, The B Street Theatre, California Conservatory Theatre, AlterTheater, Pacific Resident Theater Ensemble, PlayGround (Company Member), Pennsylvania Centre Stage and The Denver Center Theatre Company. Ken has a BFA in acting from Ohio State University and holds an MFA from American Conservatory Theater.
Regional theater directing credits include: Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses, Angels in America: Perestroika, The Crucible, Twelfth Night, Tartuffe, The Country Wife, Humble Boy, The Subject Was Roses, Tape, and Summerland (world premiere).As a magician, Ken was voted #1 Street Performer in San Francisco, appeared in concert with Jay Leno, Red Skelton, Ellen De Generes, The Manhattan Transfer, toured all over the world, and performed for Queen Elizabeth II of England. He has taught and directed for The National Theatre Conservatory, Stanford University, Northwestern University, Solano College, and Cornell College. Currently a member of the faculty at The University of San Francisco, he is a recent recipient of a Jesuit Foundation Grant for his work in The Performing Arts and Social Justice Department. Ken and his lovely wife, Mary Beth Smith are thrilled to have recently joined Porchlight.

Associate Artists

Tara Blau* (Founding Associate Artist) tara@porchlight.net

Tara Blau’s credits include: Doris in Same Time Next Year, Amanda in The Glass Menagerie, Lois in Wonder of the World, and Lucy in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown all at Pacific Alliance Stage Co. At Cinnabar Theater Co, Tara has played Amanda in Private Lives, Mrs. Cheveley, in An Ideal Husband and directed The Clean House, by Sarah Ruhl (Outstanding Play 2007 - Bohemian). At Porchlight Tara has played,  Masha in The Seagull (Dean Goodman Award), Anna Petrovna in Wild Honey (Dean Goodman Award, and Bay Area Theatre Critics Award nomination for Outstanding Actress), and Lizavetta in A Month in the Country. Tara was the founder of PTC's Children's Touring Company bringing the poetry of Langston Hughes and the Black Arts Movement to over 10,000 children in the SF Bay Area. Other Bay Area credits include: La Luna Theatre Collective, Playhouse West, Sacramento Theatre Company, Aurora Theatre Company, TheatreWorks, Plaground, Berkeley Rep and The Willows Theatre Company. Regional credits include: Blue Rider Theatre Company, Bailiwick Theatre Company and Body Politic in Chicago, and Off-Broadway. She is co-founder of La Luna Theatre Collective and Porchlight Theatre Company and holds an MFA in Theatre from the National Theatre Conservatory in Denver. She wishes to thank her parents for all their support.

Craig Neibaur (Associate Artist) craig@porchlight.net

Craig is proud to be a core member of Porchlight Theater Company. He has acted, improvised and taught professionally in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 16 years. He has toured as far as South Australia with an Adaptation of Moby Dick. Craig’s Porchlight appearances include Hector Hushabye in Shaw’s Heartbreak House, Lord Goring in Wilde’s Ideal Husband, and Mr. Pugh and Sindbad Salors in Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood. Not only is Craig an actor, but by day a certified massage therapist. His latest adventure is his new business, “MASSAGE FOR THE ARTS,” where he donates 10% of all proceeds to non profit local theater.

Please visit his site: http://massageforthearts.com/

Molly Noble* (Founding Associate Artist) molly@porchlight.net

Molly Noble was born in San Francisco and raised in Marin.. She has acted regionally with theatre companies in Boston, New York and Chicago. Locally, she has performed with Word for Word, Pacific Alliance,Transparent, Cinnabar ETC, Upon These Boards and Playground. Favorite roles at Porchlight are Lotty in Enchanted April, Natalya in A Month In the Country, Paulina in The Seagull and Ariadne Utterword in Heartbreak House. Molly’s directing credits include; Dancing at Lughnasa (College of Marin), Isle of Dogs 2 (Best of Playground), Much Ado about Nothing and The Crucible (The American School London), The Wonderful Story of Zaal (Word for Word), Stories by Tobias Wolff (AD-Word for Word) and Good Morning, Langston Hughes (Porchlight School Tour). Molly is on the drama faculty at the College of Marin. Molly received her B.A. at Bowdoin College and trained at A.C.T., The Drama Studio, Shakespeare & Co. and at the Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York City.

Nick Sholley* (Associate Artist) nick@porchlight.net

Nick Sholley moved to San Francisco to study at ACT in 1996. Since that time, he has been a regular as an actor in the Bay Area, working with the Exit Theatre, SF Shakespeare, Marin Shakespeare, Shakespeare at Stinson, Playground, Magic Theatre, Center Rep, San Jose Stage, AlterTheater, Brava, among others. His favorite roles include Quentin in After the Fall, (AlterTheatre), Stephen in Long Christmas Ride Home (Magic Theatre), and Frederick in Enchanted April (Porchlight). He has written many short plays for Playground and was featured as an emerging playwright in 2001's Best of Playground. He has just finished his Master's degree in Psychology with a concentration in Somatics. You can view his website at www.nicksholley.com

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association.  

Our Board

Anne Flemming

Molly Noble

Ron Krempetz

David Wientjes

Wyolah Garden

Tracy Grant

Peter Donat (Honorary Board Member)