ZACH Theatre Leadership

Producing Artistic Director Dave Steakley

Dave is dedicated to creating a place where our community gathers for a collective imaginative act. Now in his 19th season, he invites and celebrates the diversity of voices that make Our Town such a unique and energizing place to live. Dave believes theatre offers an arena in which we might be challenged to understand not just our own lives, but also the world in which we live, and is committed to creating plays and musicals that open meaningful conversations on topics that have resonance in our community. Dave has led ZACH to unprecedented audience growth with artistic and organizational excellence:

WORLD PREMIERES

• New plays by Anna Deavere Smith, Steven Dietz, Everett Quinton, John
  Walch, Allen Robertson & The Flaming Idiots
• 365 Plays/365 Days by Suzan-Lori Parks. ZACH served as the Austin hub and
  produced the opening & closing weeks of a nationwide, year-long festival
• Jesucristo Superestrella/Jesus Christ Superstar, ZACH created the first bi-lingual
  adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s landmark musical
• The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, a jazz and R&B reinvention featuring an all new score set in Katrina ravaged New Orleans, which received national acclaim from The New York Times and the Gershwin Estate

PRODUCER, DIRECTOR & CHOREOGRAPHER
ON OVER 250 ZACH PRODUCTIONS INCLUDING:
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Grapes of Wrath, Caroline, or Change, The Clean House, Take Me Out, Present Laughter, I Am My Own Wife, Urinetown, Crowns, Omnium-Gatherum, Hair, The Pavilion, The Laramie Project, Hedwig, Jelly’s Last Jam, Jouét, The America Play, The Who’s Tommy, Dreamgirls, The Rocky Horror Show starring Joe York, Full Gallop starring Karen Kuykendall, The Mystery of Irma Vep, Angels In America and Beehive

REGIONAL DIRECTING CREDITS
Actors Theatre of Louisville, New Stage Theatre, American Heartland Theatre, WaterTower Theatre, City Theatre and Downstairs Cabaret

PLAYWRIGHT 

• Rockin’ Christmas Party, ZACH’s annual holiday tradition that is also performed at theatres nationwide
• Keepin’ It Weird, a play about Austin’s unique character featured on CBS Sunday Morning, NPR, The Wall Street Journal and American Theatre

SERVICE TO THE THEATRE FIELD

• National Endowment for the Arts Theatre Panelist
• Texas Commission on the Arts Young Masters Program Panelist
• National Alliance for Musical Theatre New Works Committee
• The University of Texas, St. Edward’s University guest lecturer

RECOGNITION

• 2005 Austin Circle of Theaters Special Recognition Award for “Outstanding
  Contribution to Austin Theatre”
• City of Austin declares May 18, 2001 as “Dave Steakley Day” in recognition
  of his tremendous support of professional theatre in Central Texas
• Austin Chronicle “Best of Austin” Readers Poll “Best Stage Director” six times
• Multiple Austin Critics’ Table and B. Iden Payne Awards for Outstanding Musical, Drama, Comedy, Director, Actor, Choreographer and Design
• 2000 Austin Under 40 Outstanding Arts & Entertainment Award
• Austin Chronicle “10 Best Productions of the Decade” selected Dave’s productions
  of The Gospel At Colonus and Ruthless! The Musical

Managing Director Elisbeth Challener

Elisbeth joined ZACH Theatre as Managing Director in 2007 after having served as a non-profit consultant and the Executive Director of One World Theatre since moving to Austin. As ZACH’s Managing Director, Elisbeth is responsible for a $20M capital campaign towards the building of a new theatre as well as the management,  development and finances of the organization. Under her guidance ZACH has just completed a Five Year Strategic Plan that will move the organization into the next phase of its significant  expansion. Prior to Austin, she resided in the San Francisco bay area where she was Montalvo Arts Center’s Executive Director, spending nearly 20 years with the organization. As Executive Director, Elisbeth led Montalvo’s growth from a small, community-based organization into a major presenting venue and home to an internationally acclaimed artists’ residency program. Other  accomplishments during her tenure included increasing ticket sales from less than $500K to more than $4 million, expanding the patron base from 6,000 to 80,000, and raising more than $20  million for capital projects.

Earlier in her career, she served as Administrative Director for the San Francisco Boys Chorus, Education/Outreach Director of the Fairmount Theatre of the Deaf, and as department chair and faculty member of the performing arts department of The Purnell School in New Jersey. Elisbeth graduated from the Boston Conservatory of Music with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts in drama and musical theatre. She attended the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program, Center for Excellence in Nonprofit Management Leaders Institute in San Jose, Calif. and served in leadership roles for the American Leadership Forum, Silicon Valley, Saratoga Rotary Club, Junior League of San Jose and the Downtown Austin Alliance Parks Committee. She is currently serving on the National Alliance of Musical Theatre Festival Committee. Elisbeth has always had a  passion for the theatre and performed for many years in summer stock, dinner theatre, and  semi-professional productions on the east coast and in California.