Staff 

Barbara Beckley, (Artistic Director Emerita) grew up in New Rochelle, NY, attended Middlebury College in Vermont, and graduated from New York's Neighborhood Playhouse where she studied with Sanford Meisner. Shortly after relocating to Los Angeles, she co-founded The Colony Theatre in 1975, and has since produced most of the company's mainstage productions. In 1993 she received Women in Theatre's Outstanding Contribution Award, and was the keynote speaker at ShowBiz West's 1994 West Coast Theatre Expo. She has served on the Peer Review Committees of the Pasadena Arts Council and the L.A. County Arts Commission. For three years she served as President of the Board of Theatre LA (now L.A. Stage Alliance). In 1999 she received Theatre LA's James A. Doolittle Ovation Award for Leadership in L.A. Theatre. In 2000, she led The Colony to its new home, a 270-seat Equity theatre created for it by the City of Burbank. Starting in 2003, the company has appeared every year in the Encyclopedia Britannica Almanac on its list of "25 Notable U.S. Theatre Companies," and in 2006 was voted by the readers of LA Daily News "Best Live Theatre in Los Angeles." She is a board member of Burbank Arts for All and serves on Burbank’s Cultural Arts Commission.

Heather Provost (Producing Artistic Director) is a Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama League Award-nominated producer. Critically acclaimed hits on Broadway include Reasons To Be Pretty by Neil LaBute (three Tony nominations including Best Play), and the musical [title of show] (Tony Nomination for Best Book of a Musical). She produced the hugely successful Under My Skin segment of 'The Pink Campaign' on Broadway for which all proceeds went to the Susan G. Komen Foundation and she also produced and directed the California Theatre's acclaimed productions of Driving Miss Daisy and Love Letters. Provost produced the short film Harmony starring Jason Alexander and the feature film Racing Colt which she produced and co-directed. Provost was the creator and executive producer of the TV show Reality Check, creator of the new Who Knew?...The In-the-Know Travel Show, is an accomplished comedy writer and book doctor for live shows, and is in development on the edgy drama Lakeview. She is currently producing the Broadway-bound play Coffee Stains and the musical V-V-Voice. She also produced the It's Showtime series at The Colony Theatre this year and was the Creator/Camp Director of Camp C.R.E.A.T.E. at The Colony this summer for which she was recognized by the California Legislature for her service. This fall she directed and produced Driving Miss Daisy at The Colony Theatre starring Donna Mills. Current feature films include Among and Coffee Stains. Other credits include Penelope P.C.S.A., Page To The Stage, History of Musical Theater, Chix 6, and Associate Producer on the feature film To The Beat!. She and writing partner, Scott Damian had the Hallmark film, A Joyous Christmas, air this season and another in development airing this coming summer. She is founding partner at Provost Entertainment Inc., a proud graduate of The Florida State University, and was on the faculty at The Commercial Theater Institute in New York City.

Brenda Ramirez-Kalcoff (Operations Manager) comes to The Colony from a background in hospitality and transportation. At the Hilton Hotels Corporation and Hilton Garden Inn she supported the Senior Vice President of Brand Management, as well as the Vice Presidents of Marketing, Operations, and International Training and Brand Culture. Prior to that she worked for the Departments of Transportation of the cities of Pasadena and Los Angeles in a wide variety of positions. She is delighted now to be combining her love of the arts with the skills developed in those fields. A Los Angeles native, she lives in Burbank with her artist husband George, son Tomas, and daughters Penny and Paulina.

Brad Brown (Webmaster) has been working on computers and the internet since the dawn of the Computer Age, enabling him to develop the skills to create and manage websites including The Colony Theatre, high-end restaurants, and a number of wineries, among others. Along the way Brad also spent many years voicing and producing promotional radio spots for one of the prominent NPR stations in Los Angeles (when not also running board operations and fund drive pitching for dollars), as well as creating software for public and private entities, designing legal forms, and even practicing law.

BOARD CHAIR

Michael David Wadler (Board Chair) was a founding member of The Colony and technical consultant on the design of its 270-seat theatre in Burbank, when the company moved in 2000 from it 25-year home in Silver Lake.  He is currently Artistic Adviser, member of the Board of Trustees, and the company's videographer.

As a director, he staged the Colony productions of Incorruptible, Lost in Yonkers, The World of Ray Bradbury, To Culebra, To Forgive, Divine, On the Verge, Holy Ghosts (Drama-Logue Award), Talk Radio, A Day Out of Time, and Lenny (Drama-Logue Award). He also restaged the revival of The Martian Chronicles (3 LaWee Awards), as well as directing or co-directing The Odd Couple (Female Version), The Only Game in Town, Private Lives, Two Marriages, God's Favorite, and David’s Mother. Outside The Colony, he directed An Evening on Mars with Ray Bradbury at the Pasadena Playhouse, with an all-star cast including Charlton Heston, and Enter Laughing at the Cast Theatre, starring John Larroquette.

As a stage manager, he called the first three "Bradbury shows" (The Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451, and Dandelion Wine), and the award-winning Grapes of Wrath. In addition, Michael has stage-managed for The Bethune Ballet Company.

As a designer, he created the video projections and co-created the set for On the Verge (Drama-Logue Award), the lighting for Lenny, the sound for Peccadillo, The Front Page, Ring Round the Moon, Talk Radio, The Suicide, Lenny, and Waiting for the Parade, as well as the set for Black Comedy and The White Liars, and Enter Laughing. His latest design is his wife Jude’s web site, www.HeyJudeArt.com.

As an actor, he appeared as Charley in Death of a Salesman, in featured roles in The Grapes of Wrath, Galileo, Black Comedy, The Grass Harp, and Tarboosh!, and on the television series Law and Order, with Paul Sorvino.

As a writer, he contributed the lyrics for The Colony’s Tarboosh!, and has assisted over the years as dramaturge on a number of original productions, including Aftershocks, The World of Ray Bradbury, and Dandelion Wine. Michael is credited with one optioned screenplay, rewrites on four film scripts, and published humor of various sorts, including The Colony Chronicles a history of the first five seasons, which appeared in the Daily Variety Annual. Parody lyrics are his first love, having re-authored numerous songs, including the score to Square, The American Musical Yuppie Hairpiece. His latest work is the full-length play, An Accident of Blood, which is about free speech and celebrity justice in Colonial America.

Michael received his literary and dramatic training at Philadelphia’s Central High (National Merit Scholarship), Drexel University (Creative Writing Award), Temple University (with Paul Randall and Max Wylie), and the Hedgerow Theatre School (with Rose Schulman). He is a member of Actors' Equity Association and the Dramatists Guild.