Our Staff &
Board of Trustees
Heather Provost
Producing Artistic Director
Heather 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) starring Thomas Sadoski, Piper Perabo, Marin Ireland, and Steven Pasquale, 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 and creator of Who Knew?…The In-the-Know Travel Show. She produced three seasons of the It’s Showtime series at The Colony Theatre and was the Creator/Camp Director of Camp C.R.E.A.T.E. at The Colony for which she was recognized by the California Legislature for her service. She also directed and produced Driving Miss Daisy at The Colony Theatre starring Donna Mills. Other producing credits include Page To The Stage, History of Musical Theater, Chix 6, series Penelope P.C.S.A. starring Dave Foley, and Associate Producer on the feature films To The Beat! and its sequel To The Beat! Back to School.
She recently co-wrote A Joyous Christmas starring Natalie Knepp, Michael Rady, and Bonnie Bedelia for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries as well as Hallmark’s hit Season for Love starring Autumn Reeser and Marc Blucas, which dominated the weekly cable ratings and became one of Hallmark’s most popular summer movies of all time. She is currently in active development on multiple projects for both Hallmark and Stargazer Films, respectively, as well as an upcoming rom/com feature film for MarVista Entertainment. She recently sold a rom/com series to a popular streaming app, and is currently in pre-production on the feature suspense/thriller Among which she co-wrote and will also co-direct, as well as the soon-to-be released crime drama podcast, Hope Haven. She is an avid crypto trader. founding partner at Provost Entertainment Inc., a proud graduate of The Florida State University, was on the faculty at The Commercial Theater Institute in New York City, and is the current Producing Artistic Director at The Colony Theatre in Burbank.
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.
Director of Operations
Brenda Ramirez-Kalcoff
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.
Artistic Director Emerita
Barbara Beckley
Julien Reneaud (Technical Manager). Julien has extensive experience in stage production, live sound, and lighting design having managed production for a wide variety of shows/events including corporate events, concerts, weddings, live theatre, musicals, plays, film shoots, and much more. His goal is to always provide the best experience possible and make sure all tech needs are met.
Kate Woerner (Assistant to Producing Artistic Director & Director of Operations). Katie graduated with honors from the University of the Pacific with a degree in Theatre Arts and Film Studies. She furthered her education at the Berkshire Theatre Festival as an acting apprentice and studied with the prestigious National Theatre Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center where she had the opportunity to take her education global and study with London’s top theatre company, Complicité. She has worked in LA’s 99 seat theatre community as an office manager, Producer’s Assistant, Associate Producer, and Stage Manager. Katie found her way to The Colony in 2017.
Ashley Erikson graduated from California State University of Northridge in English with an emphasis on Creative Writing. After college she started her own digital and social marketing business in Burbank, helping small businesses to build their brand. In 2014 she founded the Magnolia Park Merchants Association and was president for five years. She continues to plan large scale Burbank events, and has managed countless social media accounts and website designs. She continues her writing career as the Feature Editor for myBurbank News and is a podcast host, social media producer, and community activist.
Ashley Erikson
Digital Marketing Manager
Michael David Wadler (Board Chair) Michael 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.