our founding members
oona
OONA HATTON (co-Artistic Director, she/her) has been making ensemble-driven theatre for more than twenty years. She was a director and dramaturg in Chicago (The Hypocrites, PlayMakers Lab, Strawdog, Factory Theatre, Collaboraction) and the Bay Area (BACT, Theatreworks, Crowded Fire, Theatre FIRST) before joining the faculty at San José State, where she teaches solo performance, devised theatre, and performance ethnography. Memorable recent projects include directing GYNECOLOGOS with Davis Rep and dramaturging 4TH & PINE by Nikki Yeboah with Seattle’s Sound Theatre. Oona’s play SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS, an adaptation of the letters and artwork of solitary confinement survivor Jack L. Morris, premiered at the Hammer Theatre in San José in 2019. Oona earned her Ph.D in Theatre and Drama at Northwestern University and is currently the chair of Arts Alliance Davis.
lucas
LUCAS HATTON (co-Artistic Director, he/him) has performed, directed, and willingly done bookkeeping for many theatre companies. In the Bay Area, he has performed with SF Playhouse, Just Theatre, Marin Shakespeare, and Livermore Shakespeare. In Chicago, he performed with Steppenwolf, The Hypocrites, The Gift, Dog & Pony, and Improv Olympic. Lucas directed several critically acclaimed productions in Chicago, including INCIDENT AT VICHY (Steep Theatre) and FOOLIN’ AROUND WITH INFINITY (Phalanx Theatre) and was the Artistic Director of the educational theatre company Playmakers Lab. Lucas has appeared in many video games and commercials. His one-person show about eco-terrorism, 1000 FLOWERS BLOOMING, appeared at the 2018 Edmonton Fringe Festival. Lucas holds an MFA in Dramatic Art from UC Davis, where he teaches Improv for Academics, a series of workshops designed to help graduate students communicate successfully about their research. He also teaches solo and ensemble performance and a social justice-themed service-learning course at San José State University.
margaret
MARGARET LAURENA KEMP (Consulting Producer, she/they) is a multi-disciplinary performing artist and theatre educator whose live work has been produced around the US and internationally. Her latest work, CITE, appeared in October at the Elaine Jacobs Gallery in Detroit, Michigan. Other recent projects include THE CHRISTIANS at Sacramento’s B Street Theatre. In 2019 Margaret received the Michael Chekhov Artist Scholar Award and the VASTA Featured Artist Award. She recently completed residencies at the Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga and The Marin Headlands, and has received funding from Australia’s Bundanon Trust. Margaret was a 2018 Mellon Public Scholar. That same year she adapted and co-directed a puppetry production of Lydia Diamond’s adaptation of Toni Morrison’s THE BLUEST EYE at UC Davis where she is Chair of the department of Theatre & Dance. The production earned four awards at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival including Outstanding Ensemble Performance, Costume Design, Puppet Design, and Directing.
our board
rose
ROSE L. KERSEY (Board Treasurer, she/her) hails originally from the Midwest and has resided in California for fifteen years. She holds both a Masters of Accountancy and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. While her family occupies most of her time, she loves listening to audiobooks, interior design, DIY remodel projects, and learning how to sew and to play piano. One of her greatest passions is getting out in her kayak and exploring new spaces. Although she might not say it herself, Rose is also a wizard-level cake baker and decorator.
britt
BRITT ANDERSON (Board Secretary, she/her) was raised in Davis but spent much of her adult life in San Diego and Connecticut. She returned with her family in 2021, drawn by the peaceful and welcoming Davis lifestyle. She is a scientist and writer by training, and excited to support performing arts in Davis.
peggy
PEGGY KAO ENDERLE (Board Member, she/her) considers herself a 1.5 generation Asian American (Chinese and Korean), having been born in Taiwan and moving to the US when she was 5. Her passions lie in training, coaching, and mentoring. She loves helping people reach the “aha” moment, whether it’s in acquiring a new skill or having an epiphany for personal growth. She loves listening to podcasts while doing chores, making the most of credit card points for travel, and hyperfocusing on whatever is fascinating her in the moment, from plant propagation to sociopaths to rock climbing. She resides in Davis with her husband and son.
juan carlos
JUAN CARLOS RUIZ GUAJARDO (Board Member, he/him) Dr. Juan Carlos Ruiz is passionate about fostering diversity and advocating for equity and social justice. He became a racial healing circle practitioner in 2018 after completing training from the Attitudinal Healing Connection Oakland and the Center for Reducing Health Disparities at UC Davis and in 2019 completed further training as a Belong circle practitioner with Sacramento ACT. He has actively participated and coordinated multiple community dialogues regarding race and reconciliation, religion-faith-spirituality, ethnic identity and social inclusion. Currently, as an aide at the Consulate General of Mexico in Sacramento, Dr. Ruiz is helping to develop stronger networks of collaborations that can foster equal opportunities in the arts and education, as well as to protect vulnerable communities, facilitate effective conversations among local and regional authorities, and construct bridges among migrants and human rights organizations across northern California. Juan is an evolutionary ecologist with a strong interest in understanding how species interactions structure ecological communities, and over the last decade, he worked in Europe, Africa, and the Americas, investigating various aspects of the evolution and ecology of mutualisms. Over the past 5 years, through his work Juan Carlos has attempted to apply this ecological knowledge to help create better-connected and more robust interactions within communities. Since 2022, he has served as a community ambassador helping the Neighboring Development Action Team of the City of Sacramento to communicate more effectively and better serve the Hispanic communities across the Sacramento region. His passion for acting and singing has moved Dr. Ruiz to collaborate with multiple artistic non-profits, cultural organizations, theatre companies and dancing companies seeking to establish art as a vehicle for education, inclusion, and to challenge negative stereotypes and discrimination.