LEAD TEACHING ARTIST & VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR

Zachary Austin is a born-and-raised Tucson local and can be found enjoying good company and basking in the entertainment Tucson has to offer. He began his foray into Tucson theatre after graduation from the University of Arizona in 2020.

Some of his past credits include: Mephistopheles in Faustus, Ensemble in Citizen: An American Lyric and Sir Andrew in Twelfth Night. Beyond acting, he was also the magic coordinator for the University of Arizona’s production of Pippin.

CO-FOUNDER & PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Bryan is an award-winning director (MFA Directing, Western Illinois, 2001) and tech entrepreneur with a passion for both education and building and scaling successful organizations.

At the S&S Bryan has directed Book of Will, Brontë, Ada and the Engine, It is Magic, Cloud Tectonics, Blood Wedding, My Life in Sports, Two Plays for Lost Souls: The Love Talker & The Yellow Wallpaper, Oscar Wilde's Salomé, There is a Happiness That Morning Is (Best Play, 2018 Arizona Daily Star Mac Award) and A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney, for which he won the 2017 Arizona Daily Star Mac Award for Best Director.

Bryan served as Artistic Director for two Indiana-based theatre companies, New World Arts and the Backporch Theatre Company. In Tucson, Bryan has directed at The Rogue Theatre, including The New Electric Ballroom and Awake and Sing. He was recognized as Best Director (2012 Arizona Daily Star Mac Award) for the show The Night Heron.

Bryan serves as co-director to Tucson Meet Yourself, a folklife festival that is celebrating its 51st anniversary in 2024 .

TEACHING ARTIST & FRONT OF HOUSE

Alexandra joined the S&S teaching team in fall 2024. She is a recent graduate of the University of Arizona. In addition to UA she has performed at various theaters across Tucson including Live Theater Workshop, Roadrunner Theater and as an understudy at Arizona Theater Company.

DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION & DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

Betsy Labiner holds a PhD in English literature from the University of Arizona; her dissertation focuses on English drama from the 16th and 17th centuries. Betsy has over a decade of experience in education at both the K-12 and university level, and is a passionate advocate for education in the humanities and arts in the classroom as well as in the community. Along with her academic work in stories, drama, and the arts, Betsy is devoted to the development of performing arts, increasing access to and inclusivity in the arts, and fostering community engagement with local theaters.

SCENIC PROJECT MANAGER AND FACILITIES HOST

Marty is a new resident of Tucson and is excited and blessed to be living in such a wonderful and beautiful area. He started working in stage while going to college in the early eighties.

As a stagehand, he provided technical support for a local musical theater group in San Bernardino, CA. As a stage technician, he developed skills in lighting control, lighting design, sound board operation and stage grip duties. Marty is looking forward to new challenges and working side-by-side with fellow theatre associates to provide an exceptional work experience. He says the Scoundrel and Scamp Theatre staff are wonderfully gifted and skilled and he is truly happy and blessed to be a part of this wonderful organization.

PRODUCTION AND RESiDENT STAGE MANAGER

Annika received her BFA in Theatre Production/Design with an emphasis in Stage Management from the University of Arizona in 2020. Some of her previous stage management credits include: The Two Gentlemen of Verona (SM), The Last Night of Ballyhoo (SM), Sinkers: An Original Work of Physical Theatre (SM), The Addams Family (ASM), and Sister Act (ASM). Annika would like to thank everyone at Scoundrel & Scamp for being so amazing to work with. Lastly, she wants to thank her parents, family, friends, and Zac for their constant love and support.

RESIDENT MOUSE MANAGER

Leigh joined The Scoundrel & Scamp team in their 2017 inaugural season and is excited to be a part of the theatre’s creative team, crafting a space that lights up and delights imagination.

She is an artist for fun, a writer professionally, and a helper compulsively. Leigh is a passionate activist and Tucson enthusiast and enjoys doing the work that makes Tucson and the world a better place for everyone. She is a proud pet parent, a planner, and possibly the worst vegan ever.

Leigh got a BA in History with a minor in Linguistics from the University of Arizona. So far that has mostly garnered her friends and colleagues stories about the War of 1812 they never wanted to hear.

LEAD LIBRARIAN

Dianne oversees the care of the Angell Lindhorn library at the Scoundrel and Scamp, which houses collections from Joanne Tongret, Barclay Goldsmith, Howard Allen, and Dennis O’Dell.

BOARD VICE-PRESIDENT

Shawn Burke is owner of The Historic Y, a 45,000-sf Spanish Colonial building that was originally built to house the Tucson YWCA but now is marketed as The Historic Y Center for the Arts, Education, Human Rights and Social and Environmental Justice. It is home to The Scoundrel and Scamp and The Rogue Theatres, the Bennett Theatre Lab, the Paulo Freire Freedom School and about 45 mostly non-profit organizations working in the above fields. .

Shawn has over 30 years experience in building design, planning, construction and management, working variously as an architect, planner, project engineer, construction manager and property owner. He established Wildwind Realty LLC in July 2014 when he purchased The Historic Y and as its sole member, has for over 14 years, been renovating, nurturing and stewarding The Historic Y from a neglected, under-tenanted property into a beautifully restored and thriving community of passionate, talented and dedicated artists, educators, activists and professionals.

Prior to this, Shawn owned, operated and renovated various single and multi-unit residential properties in California and Arizona. He has also worked in the telecommunications industry overseeing the development of cell-sites for wireless carriers, as a planner for the cities of Oakland, New York and New Haven and as an architect for Law Engineering in Los Angeles, Cesar Pelli in New Haven, Connecticut, and the successor firm of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in Chicago. An avid world traveler and cyclist, Shawn has visited over 45 countries and completed many cycling tours, including a 2200-mile ride from Vancouver, British Columbia to the Mexican Border that he planned in celebration of his 50th birthday. Shawn earned a B.A. from Yale College and an M. Arch from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He primarily lives in Oakland, California but maintains a secondary residence in Tucson and typically visits often enough to see 75-90% of the theatrical productions at The Historic Y.

BOARD MEMBER

Melanie’s diverse career portfolio reflects her long held faith in the unlimited powers of human enrichment to unlock potential and the unique role of art as the conduit. She is a certified Montessori teacher and has also held professional roles with animation company, Synchromic Studios, public relations company, Hill + Knowlton - Hawaii and the Maui Film Office, to name a few. Melanie is an accomplished photographer, having been recognized in exhibition and print. Her goal continues to be following her personal “true north” so that people from all walks of life have the opportunity to experience the beauty and power of performance and visual arts. She is excited to be a member of the Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre Board to foster its vision of using performance to make positive impact on our local community and the world.

BOARD PRESIDENT AND CO-FOUNDER

Elizabeth is a poet, musician, and teacher with a passion for hybrid form and mixed media. She received her MFA in poetry from the University of Arizona in 2011, where she studied under poets Laynie Browne and Steve Orlen.

She has had work accepted at places like The Adroit Journal, Drunken Boat, and Mid-American Review. Elizabeth also has a passion for teaching. She has taught writing residencies and developed curricula for the University of Arizona Poetry Center.

She teaches at Tucson Waldorf School as a grades teacher.

BOARD MEMBER

Tyler Meier is the Executive Director of The University of Arizona's Poetry Center. Prior to coming to the Poetry Center, he served as managing editor at The Kenyon Review and co-director of the Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop. He received an MFA from the University of Washington, and his poetry and nonfiction have appeared in At Length, AGNI (online), Laurel Review, Bat City Review, jubilat, Washington Square, Thermos, Forklift, Ohio, and elsewhere.

BOARD MEMBER

Kerryn Negus is the Director of Advancement and External Relations at the University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film & Television. She brings global experience in film and theatre to her role.

In the film industry, Kerryn has worked in acquisition, development, and marketing and PR. As Vice President of the Los Angeles office of PR agency DDA, her client roster included Miramax Films, New Line Films and Summit International and she regularly represented films, including the Academy Award-winning documentary Bowling for Columbine and the biopic Pollock, at the Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Berlin and Sundance Film Festivals.

Under her banner SpoonTree Productions, a partnership with the physical theatre creator Wolfe Bowart, she has produced more than fifty tours of original physical theatre works to some 20 countries. A recent highlight was a national tour of France, including dates at the Festival Effervescence alongside works by Philippe Genty, Daniele Finzi Pasca and James Thiérrée. The company's tours of Australia have twice been honored with Helpmann Award nominations (the Australian Tony Awards) in the categories of Best Touring Production and Best Visual/Physical Theatre Production.

In 2015, Kerryn co-produced the Tucson Festival of Films, working with the city’s tourism and film offices, and securing the participation of Martin Scorsese, Ellen Burstyn and Diane Ladd among others.

SECRETARY / TREASURER

Clay has been an avid supporter and regular audience member at the S&S since 2014 and a Board Member since 2019. His first play seen at the S&S was Two Plays for Lost Souls (dir. by Bryan Rafael Falcón), the inaugural production of the theatre.

Before joining the Board, since its inception Clay has served as a volunteer usher at the S&S. When not at the S&S, Clay works as a clinical speech-language pathologist. Clay evaluates and treats mostly pediatric clients for language disorders, speech sound disorders, fluency disorders and voice disorders among other things.

In addition to volunteering at the Scoundrel and Scamp, Clay likes to go hiking, play the piano, read and play board and trivia games with friends. He also serves on the board of the Rogue Theatre.