Elynmarie is a dedicated servant leader with a career spanning multiple disciplines in the arts. Her journey began unexpectedly when she fell into Stage Management while in college. Over the years, her career evolved from stage management to international touring, where she collaborated with prestigious institutions such as Great Lakes Shakespeare, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Stadsteater, Stockholm, along with Ohio and San Diego Opera Companies, Long Beach Classical Ballet, and many others. The international  experience eventually led her to serve as a cultural ambassador between Los Angeles and Stockholm through her connection with the Swedish Embassy, ultimately resulting in a residency for the Darling Desperados of Malmo, Sweden in a collaborative production with the Santa Monica Playhouse and Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC).

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Her career later shifted into fundraising and development, where she made a significant impact as the leader of Weathervane Playhouse. Under her guidance, the theater successfully completed two major capital campaigns, earning recognition from the Women’s Board of WCP in 2006 for her outstanding contributions.

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Currently, Elynmarie is serving as the Production Manager for the Human Race Theatre in Dayton, Ohio. Her vast experience across multiple facets of the performing arts industry has also allowed her to play an active role in the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) throughout her career. In addition to multiple terms on their board, she founded the Stage Management Mentor Program (SMMP), which has provided invaluable networking and training for hundreds of aspiring stage managers. Her 20+ years as a dedicated Scout Leader for Troop One, 7001, Cubs 3001, and the Venturing Crew (Scouting America) reflect her commitment to mentoring the next generation, guiding Scouts ages 11 to 21.

Elynmarie has received numerous accolades for her service, including being named a Fellow of USITT in 2007, inducted into Scouting's Order of the Arrow in 2011, Outstanding Theatre Artist in Akron 2024 and joining the National Theatre Conference in 2017. Her volunteerism with the Stage Managers’ Association (SMA) began in 1986, and after spending nine years on the AEA SM committee in Los Angeles, she became an active board member in 2013, ultimately serving as chair for eight years. As an original member of the Foundation for Stage Managers, she is currently the President of the board.

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She is deeply grateful to her husband, Mark, and their child for their unwavering support, which has made her diverse and rewarding career possible.

Bill Hare is retired from a long career in Stage and Production Management in nearly every kind of public presentation – on and off Broadway, touring,  and regional theater; New York and regional opera and dance, major and minor industrials, music  festivals, trade shows, international press  conferences, and in one case a Papal Mass. He was a founding committee chair of the SMA and in  recent years served on it’s Board. He is very pleased to be joining his esteemed colleagues in the Stage Managers’ Association Foundation.

James Latus has been stage managing professionally now for 42 years. His Broadway credits include The Collaboration, The Kite Runner, Oklahoma!, True West, Farinelli and the King, Time and the Conways, Indecent, Jitney, All The Way, A Time To Kill, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,  Clybourne Park, The Pee-Wee Herman Show, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Elaine Stritch At Liberty, Stones In His Pockets, Bells Are Ringing, The Capeman. He has worked Off-Broadway at The Public Theater (21 productions), Shakespeare in the Park (13 productions), Playwrights Horizons, BAM and others plus numerous regional and  international productions. He is delighted to be on the board of the SMAF.

John M Atherlay –On Broadway: Prelude to A Kiss, A Small Family Business, The Seagull with Tyne Daly, Jon Voight, Original company of Disney’s Beauty and The Beast, Fela, Xanadu. National Tours of Waves Jazz Dance Company, Moms, Stardust with Betty Buckley, All Most Like Being in Love with Diahann Carroll, The Producer’s, Little Shop of Horrors, !01 Dalmatians, The Musical, Fiddler on The Roof with Topol, Anything Goes, Fela, The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Blithe Spirit with Angela Lansbury, Cabaret, The Band’s Visit, A Soldier’s Play.

​Judy Martel has been a stage manager for around  50 years, a member of Actors’ Equity for more than 40 years, and a member of the Stage Managers' Association for nearly 40 years. She has 200+ shows to her credit in Illinois, New York, Connecticut, and, since 1985, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she was the Production Stage Manager at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre for 34 seasons. She also worked with many of the other theaters in the state. She studied theater, math, and linguistics at Cornell University, and ended up with a B.A. in theater. She also received an MFA in stage management from the Yale School of Drama. She is an avid theatergoer, seeking out productions wherever she goes. Judy joined the SMA in 1983, and has been an active member since then. In 2020, she was honored at the National Meeting with a Lifetime Professional Membership to the SMA. Judy has served on several Equity committees, including the Stage Managers committee, and she was a delegate to the first two national conventions. She is currently the leader of the AEA Milwaukee/Madison Community. Judy is also a freelance editor. She has two daughters and a grandson.

Franklin Caughron is a production manager, strategist, and former stage manager whose career spans Broadway, national tours, live events, and corporate roles. He began his career in stage management after college, working across theatre and events before transitioning into production management. As a Production Manager, Frank has overseen a wide range of projects—including, Hamilton (Broadway, North America, Disney+), CAMP at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New Year’s Eve Times Square Ball, and work for major theme parks, film/TV companies, corporate clients and most recently, Wicked (Broadway & North America).

Today, Frank is a Production Manager for major Broadway shows, as well as being the Director of Strategy & Production at HUDSON, where he leads complex projects, drives company-wide efficiency initiatives, and oversees strategic growth efforts. He holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson, where he focused on media, entertainment, and strategy, and a BFA in Production & Design from NYU Tisch.

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Frank is passionate about stage managers as multi-talented professionals whose skills extend far beyond the traditional scope of the role. He is committed to creating pathways into the field for people from all backgrounds. Previously, Frank co-founded Until the Lights Come Up, a non-profit dedicated to supporting out-of-work theatre makers during the COVID-19 pandemic through fundraising and awareness campaigns.

Patreshettarlini Adams (she, her) ‘Pat’ is proud to be the resident Stage Manager at the Wilma Theater. She has been with the organization since the theater opened its new home on the Avenue of the Arts in 1996. She has been a member of Actor’s Equity for over 31 years. She is a 2020 recipient of the Del Hughes Award. Pat’s career encompasses work on over 100 productions, including the
Crossroads Theatre Company; Freedom Theatre; New Victory Theater; Ford’s Theater; The National Black Theater Festival and The National Black Arts Festival; the Standard Bank National Arts Festival,
Grahamstown, South Africa. She has also traveled with acclaimed dance company, Noche Flamenca! Thanks be to God!

Robert Sutherland-Cohen has been Production Stage Manager for: Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional productions, New York City Opera, Lincoln Center Festivals, and Entertainment Operations Manager - the Tropicana. For the SMA he was a founding member and frequent chairperson. Robert was instrumental in forming and mentoring USITT’s Stage Management Mentoring Project. He retired as Associate Professor (emeritus) Brooklyn College, Department of Theater. His books include: Tesla for Beginners & Introduction to Production:
Creating Theatre Onstage, Backstage & Offstage. He was been twice nominated by the Jazz Journalists Association for Career Excellence in Photography (2020 & 2022 ). He received the SMA Founders Award (2020).

Nikki Hyde (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of  Stage Management at University of North Carolina  School of the Arts. For over 15 years, she has  worked as a stage manager on productions ranging from staged readings of new work to  world-premiere operas to community musical  pageants with over 200 cast members. She is a  longtime ensemble member of Cornerstone  Theater Company. Nikki has stage managed all over the country, including at the Kennedy Center,  LA Opera, San Diego Opera, the Hollywood Bowl,  the Public Theater, South Coast Repertory, Wallis  Annenberg Center, Ojai Playwrights Conference,  Pasadena Playhouse, and Center Theatre Group.  She proudly serves on the Board of Directors of  Notch Theatre Company and the Stage Managers’  Association Foundation. Nikki has taught at  California Institute of the Arts and University of  California San Diego. She is a graduate of the  University of Southern California.

A 38-year career includes shows on Broadway: Fosse, The Best Man, and Holiday. National Tours: Fosse, ....Spelling Bee, Will Rogers Follies with Larry Gatlin, and Off-Broadway: Head of Passes with Phylicia Rashad (The Public Theater), Julie Taymor’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (TFANA), MCC Theater, Vineyard Theatre, Signature Theatre, Shakespeare in the Park, Roundabout Theatre Company, Playwrights Horizons, Second Stage Theater, Minetta Lane Theatre, NYTW, NYSAF. mShe has worked on over 60 productions in Regional Theater at: The Guthrie, Children's Theater Company, Ford’s Theatre, Ordway, Hartford Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, McCarter Theatre Center, Alley Theatre, Trinity Rep, KCRep and Papermill Playhouse. She worked in OPERA at: MN Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Opera Memphis, and 2 seasons with New York City Opera as well as many events. She received her B.A. and B.S. from Bemidji State University. 

J. Jason Daunter is a member of the Actors’ Equity Association with over 20 years of professional management experience.  Broadway: To Kill a Mockingbird starring Jeff Daniels, Meteor Shower starring Amy Schumer, A Doll’s House, Part 2 starring Laurie Metcalf, Cyrano De Bergerac starring Kevin Kline, Shuffle Along, Glory Days, and Wicked. National Tours include: A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Chicago, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, A Christmas Carol and Wicked. Internationally Jason served as the Production Supervisor on Lonny Price’s World Tour of West Side Story. Regional credits include: The Geffen Playhouse (Production Supervisor), The Muny, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, Stages St. Louis, The Kennedy Center and Chita Rivera: Nowadays at Carnegie Hall. On the national level of Educational Theatre Jason is the recipient of The Educational Theatre Association’s President & Founders Awards. Jason’s philanthropic work includes creating/producing benefits for The Educational Theatre Foundation, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and the American Theatre Wing. He serves on the Board for California Thespians.  Jason is currently the Executive Producer for Brite Ideas, Complete Technical Solutions in California overseeing large scale events worldwide.

Bob hails from Flint Michigan. He is a graduate of Central Michigan University and The University of Michigan. He served in Thailand with the U.S. Army. He taught high school English, Journalism and  Theater in New York and Bangkok. Among his credits as a Stage Manager and Administrator
are: RSC Nicholas Nickleby, Peter Brook’s The Cherry Orchard. Broadway: Time Stands Still, Bent, I Love My Wife, Dancing At Lughnasa, Nick & Nora, Awake and Sing!, American Buffalo, Desire Under The Elms, The Coast of Utopia, Stick Fly, The Trip To Bountiful and The Lyons. Tours: La Cage Aux
Folles, Grey Gardens, Sugar Babies, Evita, My Fat Friend, Grease, Shenandoah, Guys and Dolls. OB: Los Otros, Incident At Vichy, Inner Voices, Curse Of The Starving Class, Young Man From Atlanta. Bay Street Theatre, Berkshire Theatre. Tony Nominated Managing Director The Rose Tattoo, Assoc Artistic Director National Music Theater Conference. General Manager BAM. Vice-President Stage Operations Radio City Music Hall.

Sam Caughron grew up outside Chicago and in Las Vegas. While in Vegas she fell in love with theater through her high school theater clubs and the ever-growing Las Vegas community theater scene. She went to college at the University of South Dakota and from there did small summer tours and summer stocks. After college she moved to New York with her best friends, and the “South Dakota Mafia” kept her busy with projects at various small companies until she landed her first job with Spiegelworld for their first Broadway-adjacent show. That show led to a brief contract with Cirque du Soleil in Australia and then quickly back to Spiegelworld for their first Australian tour. After 18 months touring Australia she returned to Vegas for another Spiegelworld creation, followed by the creation of Steve Wynn’s ShowStoppers, created by Steve Wynn and Phil McKinley. After that rewarding experience, she joined her partner on a European tour with Cirque du Soleil. In 2017 she joined Le Rêve (“The Dream”), which was home until it shuttered in 2020 due to the pandemic. During her tenure at Le Rêve, she helped launch their first community outreach project and their first benefit show. Post-pandemic led to two dream jobs: deck manager with the Usher Residency, working with 90+ special guests, and show caller for Gwen Stefani for her post-pandemic make-up shows.

Since the closing of the Usher Residency, Sam has been working for productions like RuPaul’s Drag Race Live, Piff the Magic Dragon, and Wayne Newton, and doing technical management and labor coordination, as well as living her best mom life in whatever moments are left in the day. The best gig is always the gig where her daughter gets to experience the joy that brings us all together in this crazy business. Sam’s been lucky enough to immerse herself in a world of like-minded people who want to bring up the next generation.