MELINDA PFUNDSTEIN (Director) Previous directing credits include Silent Sky, The Book of Will, All’s Well That Ends Well, Merchant of Venice, The Virgin Queen and Her Fool (Words3), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (tour) for Utah Shakespeare Festival, where she has been a member of the creative company for over 25 years. Recent credits also include The Tempest, (University of Utah); and Every Brilliant Thing (Lake Dillon Theatre Company). Other credits include Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Skylight, and First Stage Children’s Theatre. Melinda is recipient of the Fred Adams Excellence in the Arts Award, currently serves as Executive Director of Community & Workforce Development, holds an M.A. in Arts Administration, and is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and Actors’ Equity Association.

TOM GRIFFIN (Musical Director/Conductor)  is a nationally recognized musical director and conductor. Recent productions: Bonnie & Clyde, Once On This Island, Oliver!, It Happened One Christmas, Peter & The Starcatcher, Elf – The Musical and A Christmas Carol: The Musical at Pioneer Theatre Company; Ragtime, 13 – The Musical, the West Coast and Los Angeles premieres of The Last Five Years, Sweet Charity, Sweeney Todd, and The Music Man; the West Coast premiere of Spitfire Grill; Annie, West Side Story, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Bye Bye Birdie; the national tour of My Fair Lady for Theatre of The Stars; and Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s productions of Disney’s Mary Poppins, A Christmas Carol: The Musical, Peter Pan and A Christmas Memory. Awards: Broadway revival of You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown (Los Angeles premiere), Garland Award Best Musical Direction; and Side Show (Los Angeles premiere), Los Angeles Drama Critics Award Best Musical Direction. Tom was the musical conductor of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast on two National Tours.

NATALIE MALOTKE (Choreographer) is delighted to be back at Pioneer! Past PTC: Sweet Charity, Fiddler, Newsies and Oliver! Other credits: Joy: A New True Musical (Off-Bway); Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Broadway and National Tour); Candide at Carnegie Hall; and I Married an Angel at City Center—all alongside Joshua Bergasse; Mystic Pizza at La Mirada; Little Dancer at Lincoln Center; and Really Rosie at City Center. Regional work at Theatre Aspen, New London Barn, Weston Theatre Company, Pittsburgh Music Theatre, Northern Stage, and the national tour of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Live. Industrial and corporate creation for Nickelodeon, CoComelon, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Target. TV Choreo: SNL. Faculty at Penn State University and Broadway Dance Center. Gratitude to Karen and Melinda and this Waitress family! @nataliemalotke 

YOON BAE (Scenic Design) Previous designs at PTC: The Messenger, Once, Scapin, Once On This Island, and The Lehman Trilogy. International highlights: Don Giovanni (Welsh National Opera), Candide (Tokyo), Three Thousand Troubled Threads (Edinburgh International Festival), Picasso’s Women (Ambassador Theatre Group), Running the Silk Road (Barbican Theatre), The Full Monty, Closer (Seoul Arts Center). USA highlights: A Little Night Music (Barrington Stage Company, Winner: BTCAA Outstanding Scenic Design), The Importance of Being Earnest (Arizona Theatre Company, winner AriZoni: Best Set and Costume), Disconnect (San Jose Rep, Winner: Bay Area Theatre Critics Award: Best Set Design), Actors Theatre of Louisville, TheatreSquared), La Mama, NYC, San Diego Rep, CA. Yoon is Associate Professor at UNCSA, and a member of United Scenic Artists Local USA 829, Wingspace Theatrical Design, Society of British Theatre Designers, and British Equity. yoonbae.com

PATRICK HOLT (Costume Design) Patrick’s costume design work has been seen on stages across the country including The Guthrie Theater, The Milwaukee Rep, The Kansas City Rep, Playmakers Rep, Pioneer Theater Company, The Arizona Repertory Theater, The Colorado Shakespeare Festival, The Alabama Shakespeare Festival, The Moscow State Theater, The Old Globe Theater, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and The American Dance Festival. He has also worked both on Broadway and Off-Broadway productions for the Public Theater and The John Houseman Theater in NYC. Film and Television works includes projects with HBO, CBS, The A&E Network, World of Wonder, and CBS. Holt is also a professor at the University of Arizona, where he heads the costume design program.

PAUL MILLER (Lighting Design) Previously at Pioneer: Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, In the Heights, A Few Good Men, Much Ado About Nothing, I Hate Hamlet, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Cagney, Mamma Mia, Sweeney Todd, Ass. Internationally, Paul’s work has been seen on stage at the Stratford Festival, London’s West End, Vienna, Teatro alla Scala (Milan), South Africa, China, Manila, Iceland and São Paulo. On Broadway, he has designed 5 musicals and been the Associate/Assistant on 22 others. 20+ designs Off Broadway and for City Center Encores, 19 National Tours (Hairspray currently). Regional: Pittsburgh CLO, Pittsburgh Ballet, Arizona Theatre Company, The Old Globe, Dallas Theatre Center, Chicago Shakespeare, Idaho Shakespeare, Asolo Rep, ACT, Cleveland Playhouse, Pasadena Playhouse, Goodspeed, and others. Television: Evil (CBS & Paramount+), Live from Lincoln Center, 23 Netflix specials, and the internationally televised New Year’s Eve Celebration from Times Square (for 25 years).

AARON HUBBARD (Sound Design) is enjoying his 17th season with Pioneer Theatre Company in sound mix and design. His favorite productions have been Sting’s The Last Ship, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Next to Normal, and One Man, Two Guvnors. Aaron teaches sound production and recording at Weber State University, and in his spare time he records and produces music. His favorite star is his wife, Melissa, who puts up with all the late theatre nights.

NATALIA CASTILLA (Hair & Makeup Design) is a proud SLC native and NYC-based designer and wigmaker. Broadway: Purpose (Assoc. Design). Off-Broadway/ Regional: The Shed, Northlight Theatre, Delaware Theatre Company, Majestic Repertory Theatre. Other artist credits include work for: Saturday Night Live, Cirque du Soleil, Lincoln Center Theater’s productions of McNeal, Uncle Vanya, and Flex, plus national tours of The Phantom of the Opera and To Kill a Mockingbird. She holds a BFA from SUU. www.natraqdesign.com

SARAH SHIPPOBOTHAM (Intimacy Choreographer) is an actor, dialect coach, intimacy consultant, and Professor in Acting, and Dialects at the University of Utah. Sarah trained as a Voice and Dialect Coach at The Central School of Speech and Drama in London. Sarah has been the Dialect Coach on innumerable productions for PTC and she has acted for the company in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and The Crucible. She has also acted in three seasons for Utah Shakespeare Festival. She is thrilled to be working with Melinda Pfundstein for the fourth time!

BOB CLINE (Casting) is the founder of Bob Cline Casting in New York. He has cast film, TV, commercials, over 75 national tours, and numerous regional theaters across the country and has been associated with the casting for PTC for many years. Cline is currently a proud faculty member in Pace University’s theatre program, in charge of the senior BFA musical theatre majors. He is the Associate Director of Broadway Artists Alliance, enjoys working with The Open Jar Institute, and often teaches through The Growing Studio and The Actor’s Loft.

JAMES O. HANSEN* (Production Stage Manager) is thrilled to be in his second season here at Pioneer Theatre Company! Other credits include: Joseph…Dreamcoat (starring David Archuleta), Mary Poppins, and Wonderland at Tuacahn Amphitheatre. Clue (starring Sally Struthers), The Wedding Singer, A Christmas Carol, and Flashdance (starring Julia Macchio) at The Gateway Playhouse. James earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts Management from Dean College. Special thanks to his Mom, Family, and Ostie for their love and support! DHH.

EMILY ROTH* (Stage Manager) is very excited to be joining Pioneer Theatre Company this season! Recent credits include: The Woman in Black US Tour (Pemberley Productions), Miss Saigon (White Plains Performing Arts Center), Dial M for Murder and Sea Monsters of the Deep (White Heron Theatre Company), Lesley Nicol’s How The Hell Did I Get Here? (Pemberley Productions), and Ajijaak on Turtle Island (IBEX Puppetry). She is the co-author of Stage Management Basics: A Primer for Performing Arts Stage Managers (Focal Press © 2017, 2nd ed © 2022).

ANNA RAINS* (Assistant Stage Manager) First show at Pioneer! Touring: Mrs. Doubtfire, Blue Man Group, The Phantom of the Opera, An American in Paris. Immersive: The Queen’s Ball: A Bridgerton Experience (Netflix/Shondaland). Las Vegas: Blue Man Group. Regional: The Muny, Tuacahn, North Carolina Theatre, Juilliard, Gateway, Virginia Rep. Proud NC State University alum. Love and thanks to Mom, Dad, and the dogs at home.

PIONEER THEATRE COMPANY (PTC)  Now celebrating its 63rd season, the award-winning PTC is Utah’s premiere professional theatre company and a leading arts organization of the West. Led by Artistic Director Karen Azenberg and Managing Director Adrian Budhu, PTC presents world-class productions that celebrate diversity in culture and society, and serve as the connecting bridge between art and scholarship as an affiliate of the University of Utah. Notable productions include the regional premieres of Les Misérables, Sting’s The Last Ship, and Frank Wildhorn’s The Count of Monte Cristo, as well as the world premieres of Shucked (the first-ever Broadway tryout in Utah), A Distinct Society by Kareem Fahmy, Alabama Story by Kenneth Jones, The Messenger by Jeff Talbott, and Ass by Ellen Simon. For more information, visit PioneerTheatre.org. 

ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION (AEA) Founded in 1933, AEA represents more than 51,000 professional Actors and Stage Managers nationwide. Equity seeks to foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of society and advances the careers of its members by negotiating wages, improving working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. Actor’s Equity is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. #equityworks

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States