Chris has served as the Producing Artistic Director for the Lake Dillon Theatre Company since 2002. Since that time the organization has grown from a $140,000 annual budget to just over $1,900,000. He has received numerous directing awards for his productions from the Denver Post Ovation Awards, Colorado Theatre Guild, CultureWest, and has been honored with “Outstanding Nonprofit Professional Philanthropy Award.” He is a former board member of the Colorado Theatre Guild, is a member of America for the Arts and currently serves on the musical selection committee for the 2019 Fall National Alliance for Musical Theatre Fall Conference and Festival. He is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographer’s Society. Chris holds an M.A. from Texas A&M, Commerce and was a Graduate Fellow at Texas Tech University.
Melissa is excited to be working with LDTC. She directed The Cake in March of 2019 and The Roommate in March of 2020, and Co-directed Madagascar Jr. in fall 2018 and Frozen Jr in fall 2019 for LDTC. Before moving to Summit County, Melissa co-founded a chick & a dude productions, a non-profit theatre company in Austin, and served as Co-Artistic Director for 13 years. She has directed over 30 professional productions and garnered several accolades, including Austin’s B. Iden Payne Award for Outstanding Direction of a Drama in 2003, and the 2013 Austin Lifestyle Magazine pick for Best Production of the Year. About a decade ago, she became aware of the severe lack of exposure to theatre for young children in Austin and developed a theater curriculum for children ages 3 to 8 years old. Melissa taught this curriculum for 7 years, sharing the joy of theatre with over 450 children. Melissa holds a BA in Theatre from St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX and an MFA in Directing from The University of California, Irvine. Melissa specializes in new plays and approaches her work with enthusiasm, passion, and an openness to learn from the process. She believes organization, collaboration, communication, respect, and the desire to “play” create the best art and strives to embody these qualities as a director and an artistic leader. Her artistic focus is on using theatre to facilitate change by amplifying awareness of social issues affecting American women. 970.513.1151 Ext 109 melissa@thesilco.org
Shawnna has been Director of Development for the Lake Dillon Theatre Company since 2014. For the seven years prior she was a key member of the Denver Film Society team, producers of the Denver Film Festival and Film on the Rocks at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. She was integral in developing such programmatic collaborations as the Sci-Fi Film Series with the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, the Tattered Cover Classic with KUNC, and DocNight, which explored diverse issues through documentary feature film and discussion. Shawnna was a part of the capital campaign for the Sie FilmCenter and the transition to the new theater space. When she moved back up to the mountains, she again found herself in a multi-million dollar capital campaign for the new Silverthorne Performing Arts Center. She graduated with a degree in Theatre from the University of California at Santa Cruz.
Ben served as Production Manager from 2010 to 2017. He moved into the role of Technical Director in 2018. Ben originally hails from the Southern US (born in Memphis, TN and growing up in Orlando, FL) but immediately felt at home in the Rocky Mountains as an actor in the 2006 LDTC Summer Season Company. Previously, Ben has worked in the publicity and advertising departments for Broadway’s SHREK! The Musical and The Seagull and he spent some time on the road as a Touring Crew Manager for the internationally-acclaimed David Dorfman Dance Company. An award-nominated Sound Designer, Ben designs many of the main season shows. Ben directed LDTC productions of Little Shop of Horrors and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, as well as Youth Theatre Workshop productions of Stuart Little, Aesop’s Fable Redux, Ugly Duckling. Ben graduated with a BFA from the University of Florida.
Shannon joined the staff of the Lake Dillon Theatre Company in July 2021. Shown early the joys of live
theatre and music from her parents, she then performed in high school productions and graduated from
Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH with a degree in Journalism/Electronic Media. Shannon happily used
her degree, and love of questioning everything, first as a Chief of Staff for a Cincinnati City Council
member, then with a long-running radio show and as a morning show host on the Resort Sports
Network, both in Dillon, CO. Shannon fell madly in love, married an entrepreneur, and became the
bookkeeper and customer service manager for the family restaurants.
Shannon is thrilled to be immersed in two of her passions every day- keeping tidy books and
entertainment and relishes in working with incredibly creative people!
Born in Venezuela, longtime Montrealer, polyglot, and travel lover, Sara first came to Summit County in the spring of 2020 as a teaching artist and is thrilled to be a part of the Theatre SilCo team and serve this wonderful community. She is passionate about new play development both as a director and dramaturg. Some directing highlights include SuperDogs the Musical (Montreal, Canada); Oklahoma Samovar (winner of the Jewish Plays Project 2021 New Plays Contest, NYC), and Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad (Irvine, California). As part of her firm belief in pedagogical accessibility, Sara has co-created a limited podcast series exploring the works of Homer and Aeschylus titled Odyssey & Chill, Oresteia & Chill, and Suppliants & Chill. Recently, she worked as a libretto dramaturg for a new opera based on James Joyce’s Ulysses at Lowell Opera House (Harvard University). Sara holds an MFA in directing from the University of California, Irvine.
My name is Jess Short and my family and I reside in the Cove. I feel very lucky to live here in Summit County and this amazing community. I love to spend my time with my family especially outside and being creative.
I could not be more excited to be joining this team. I am coming to SilCo from the tech world, most recently Atlassian, however I have a degree in Interior Design and Studio Art. Being creative and solving problems is my happy place and therefore I am excited to return to my roots in a creative field.
Kinsey Lahn(she/her) has served as the Development Associate since 2023. She joined the Theatre SilCo team in 2021 as a Teaching Artist, and served as the Seasonal Education Manager for the summer of 2022. Kinsey also has worked on many Theatre SilCo main stage shows as an Assistant Stage Manager, Actor, Puppeteer, and Props Designer. She is a founding member of SilCo’ improv troupe, Reply All. Before settling in Summit County, Kinsey explored the Seattle, Chicago, and San Diego theatre scenes, working with companies such as New Swan Shakespeare Festival, Backyard Renaissance Theatre, Barrens Theatre Co., Copious Love Productions, and House of Usher Productions. She is passionate about the impact of theatre in communities.
Graco Hernandez is excited to be in beautiful, snowy Colorado. He currently works as part of the Dual Language After School program for Summit County through The LDTC aka VIVO. Credits include: Living Out (Bobby), Much Ado About Nothing (Conrade), Culture Clash in America (Lover, Tom, Con #3), The Refugee Hotel (Condor Passes). Graco graduated from the University of California, Irvine.
Whitney was born and raised in the Coachella Valley, California. As a desert girl, Whitney never saw snow until she came to Summit County. She was introduced to Theatre Silco in 2019 as a stage manager just after she had received her MFA in Drama with an emphasis in Stage Management from the University of California, Irvine. Whitney also holds a BA in Theatre Arts from the University of Redlands. Whitney is thrilled to now call Summit County her home and is excited about working on the development of productions and theatre seasons in a whole new way. In her career, Whitney has worked with many theatrical companies around the Southern California area including: Center Theatre Group, The Old Globe, Cygnet Theatre, Lewis Family Playhouse, and Laguna Playhouse. Whitney is thrilled to be a part of this team and excited to continue her passion for storytelling.
