THE SHOTGUN PLAYERS
STAFF
Daniel Alley
Associate Box Office Manager
Daniel is a music director, conductor, and vocal coach specializing in opera and musical theater. Favorite Shotgun productions include Caught, The Flick, Kill Move Paradise, & The Cassandra Sessions: Recording This World
Gracie Brakeman
Production Manager
Gracie Brakeman (any/all pronouns) is a creative producer based in Oakland. She's glad to be back at Shotgun after Production Managing GREAT COMET in 2022! Gracie has worked with American Conservatory Theater, American Repertory Theater, Shotgun Players, Z Space, Atlantic Theater Company, Victory Gardens, and her alma mater Northwestern University. Other favorite theatre credits include COMING SOON (Associate Producer & Casting Director); COLLECTIVE RAGE (Director); THE DONKEY SHOW (Co-Director and Choreographer). Gracie manages projects and musicians including Rachel Lark through Reciprocal Arts Management. In her free time, Gracie loves partner acrobatics, contact improv dance, sing alongs, and community organizing. graciebrakeman.com
Kristi Deprin
Marketing Director
Kristi Deprin is a singer and music educator turned communications professional with a passion for storytelling through social media. She loves to give audiences a taste of what's to come... A proud graduate of Northwestern University, she thanks the Midwest for introducing her to her partner and the South (where she was born and raised) for teaching her the art of hospitality. Throughout her many lives, she has performed with the Chicago Summer Opera and The San Francisco Opera Guild among others, and she has published several children's books. When she isn't crafting marketing copy, she is probably at home reading with her husband, pup, and toddler.
Patrick Dooley
Founding Artistic Director
Patrick started Shotgun Players in 1992 in the basement of a pizza parlor with a few friends and a desire to make great theatre that was also affordable. Before that he received a B.A. in English from James Madison University, in Virginia. While there, he cut his theatre teeth as a founding member of the American Shakespeare Center. Since then, Patrick has directed over 40 plays and overseen the production of nearly 100 others. In 2007, he led an effort to make the Ashby Stage the first 100% solar-powered theater in America. He is married and has three beautiful daughters.
Liz Hitchcock Lisle
Managing Director
Liz has worked as an arts administrator and creator in Bay Area theatre since 2000. For the past twenty years, she has served as managing director for Shotgun Players, running administration and operations of the theater with a weather eye for smart organizational and artistic growth. Her personal interest lies in putting up plays that articulate an unusual perspective and alternative narrative structure. She serves on the executive board of the Lorin Business Association, and for a time was the associate artistic director of Mugwumpin.
Joanie McBrien
Development Director
Joanie has been an artistic company member since 2001 and has served as Shotgun’s director of development since 2004. Over the years, she has worked to significantly to increase contributed income, directed several productions including Grand Concourse, The Three Musketeers, and Cyrano de Bergerac, and delved deeply into many plays, such as The Coast of Utopia trilogy, as a dramaturg. “Life’s bounty is in its flow. Later is too late.”
Salim Razawi
Casting Director
Salim Razawi is a theatre maker who is thrilled to be at Shotgun. He majored in theatre arts in college with an emphasis in acting and a minor in communications. Having been involved in numerous theatrical productions, Salim is no stranger to the theatre. He has been on a two-year collegiate competitive speaking team where he was internationally recognized and awarded. When not performing, Salim spends his time teaching theatre arts, directing, and coaching private students through various companies in the bay area and is passionate about DEI work. One of his proudest accomplishments is Co-Founding T.E.A.M Theatre, a youth arts program in the tri-valley.
Alejandra Maria Rivas
Company Associate
(MAD Program Coordinator, Champagne Staged Reading Series Production Manager, Studio Rentals)
Alejandra Maria Rivas (Alé/they/elle) is a theater artist based in Saclan Miwok land, hailing from Tongva land. They're stoked to be back at Shotgun after performing in (TRANS)FORMADA in 2023! Alejandra has worked with American Conservatory Theater, Shotgun Players, Z Space, Berkeley Rep, Z Space, Cal Shakes, Crowded Fire, Town Hall Theater, and the Bay Area Women's Theater Festival. Other favorite theatre credits include: AMÉMONOS (Performer); LIMÃO Y SAL (Performer); CABARET (Performer); INKED BABY (Asst. Director); IN THE HEIGHTS (Performer). Alejandra loves project management admin tasks, QTBIPOC-centered art, and getting philosophical. In their free time, Alé loves eating, reading, video games, karaoke, protesting, being a hype-man, and being with time as it moves along. alejandramrivas.com
Molly Van Der Molen
Company Associate
Molly is a newcomer to the Shotgun Players team and is delighted to be here! She's a playwright, director, creative producer and ice cream enthusiast hopping between NYC and the Bay Area. Molly is grateful to have recently created and helped facilitate new work with The Ground Floor at Berkeley Rep, New Dramatists, Breaking & Entering Theatre Collective, the Greenwich Odeum and The Tank, NYC. She’s a graduate of Marymount Manhattan College.
