THE VENUE THEATRE
The Venue Theatre Company, founded in 2013 as an educational 501c3 nonprofit, provides enriching performing arts education for the youth of the greater Denver and Foothills area. With highly trained, Broadway experienced educators, The Venue meets all children at the level they are currently at and encourages them to develop their skills both as performers and as individuals.
Here at The Venue Theatre Company, we are deeply invested in the magic of art and performance. We believe in opening hearts and minds by giving youth the tools to share their songs and stories. The Venue is more than just a nonprofit theatre—it's a safe haven comprised of students, volunteers, and instructors all working toward one common goal: creating the best environment for children and young adults to become all that they can be.
The Venue Theatre is committed to being a diverse, inclusive, and safe space for authentic expression and creative collaboration. All students, crew members, and volunteers, whatever their race, ethnicity, national origin, age, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation or identity, biology, education, neurodiversity, or physical ability, will be honored, integrated, and respected.
OUR TEAM
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Stephanie Faatz Murry
EXECUTIVE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR- Director/Choreographer- Six: Teen Edition, A Christmas Line, Bunny Ears, Into the Woods Sr., Into the Woods
Stephanie is a native (Upstate!) New Yorker with over 20 years of professional theatre experience! She is the Founder and Producing Artistic Director for North Dakota Shakespeare Festival and spends her summers in ND! She holds an M.F.A. in Acting from the University of Arkansas, a B.F.A in Musical Theatre/Dance Minor from SUNY Fredonia and a certificate in Classical Acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (L.A.M.D.A.). She has worked across the country with companies such as Playhouse on the Square, Charleston Stage Company, Black Hills Playhouse, Nebraska Theatre Caravan and more! She also served as Head Teacher of the Edutainer program at Gyeonggi English Village in Paju, South Korea! Prior to moving to Colorado, she served as a Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Theatre at the University of North Dakota and Ouachita Baptist University. Here in Colorado, she teaches at Montessori School of Evergreen as well as Adjunct work with Red Rocks Community College (RRCC) Dept. of Theatre! Locally, she has directed with RRCC, MSU Denver, Ovation West, Vintage Theatre, Rocky Mountain Theatre for Kids and Evergreen Children's Chorale. She has performed with Town Hall Arts Center, Performance Now and Shakespeare in the Wild. She is thrilled to spend the 2025-2026 school year touring with Colorado Shakespeare Festival, playing Hamlet/Laertes (Hamlet) and Prospero/Trinculo/Alonso (The Tempest) for their Shakespeare and Violence Prevention Tour. Aside from theatre, her greatest loves in life are her husband Matthew and their fur baby, Chuggie!
Amy Fletcher
ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR- Director/Choreographer: JTF, Choreographer: Anything Goes
Amy is a native New Yorker with 35 years of experience in professional theatre. After performing on Broadway and in numerous touring productions, Amy began pursuing a career as an educator and mentor. She has worked at several high schools, as a professor of Theatre and Dance at Five Towns College and achieved her MFA in interdisciplinary arts and theatre education from Goddard College. She was thrilled to join the Venue Theatre, after relocating to Colorado with her amazing husband Michael and son Matthew. Venue director and/or choreographer credits include: Thoroughly Modern Millie, Bye Bye Birdie, Guys and Dolls, Urinetown, Anything Goes, Newsies, Venue on Broadway and Venue Through the Years.
Biz Schaugaard
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Biz Schaugaard grew up in Evergreen and got her start with the Evergreen Players. She currently teaches at the Logan School for Creative Learning and coaches theater at Cherry Creek High School. Biz has designed and built sets for multiple Venue shows including Beetlejuice, The Drowsy Chaperone, 13 Jr., Six: Teen Edition and Into the Woods!
Lyz Rand
RESIDENT LIGHTING DESIGNER- Macbeth, 13 Jr., A Christmas Line, Six: Teen Edition, Into the Woods, Into the Woods Sr., Anything Goes Youth Edition, High School Musical Jr.
Lyz discovered stage lighting design in high school. She has since designed lights for over 100 shows. She was also a Theatre Manager for 9 years; 7 in high school theatres which hosted around 100 events annually, 1 university theatre, and 1 professional theatre. Prior to that she was a high school Resident Lighting Designer for 5 years. Lyz is passionate about inspiring and empowering youth, and has taught hundreds of students the theory and practice of stage lighting, as well as stage management skills, all of which sets kids up with competency for whatever profession they later choose. She also runs a business helping tech theatre students discover what it’s like to work in theatres on cruise ships. And she is a published author with 8 books on lighting and high school theatre management. In addition, she has consulted on the construction, and equipment upgrades, of several school and community theatres. Lyz has a BA in Stage Lighting, an MS in Entertainment Business Management, and held a Theatre Arts teaching certificate. Originally from England, and having lived in California, Washington State, and Australia, in 2024 Lyz fortuitously made her way to Conifer - and The Venue Theatre(!), where she has been designing the lighting since “MacBeth” in 2025. She is blessed with 3 kids, 3 kids-in-law, and her feline kid, Chester. When not working inside a black box full of electricity she enjoys hiking, rock climbing, X-C skiing, ice dancing, line dancing, cruising on ships, cruising in her camper van, and visiting family and friends in England.
Dr. John Boggs
MUSIC DIRECTOR- 13 Jr, Six & JTF
Dr. John Boggs is a music director, vocalist, pianist and private instructor based in the Boulder/Denver area. He is an active music director for CenterStage Theater Company (since 2017) and Tapestry (since 2018) - recent shows include Chicago: Teen, Descendants, Godspell Jr., Elf Jr., and Bright Star. He’s also music directed for Monarch High School (Shrek ’25, Matilda ’24), and the Performing Arts Academy. He holds a DMA in Composition from CU Boulder, a MM in Composition from the University of Michigan, and a BFA from Bard College. He teaches piano and voice privately through his studio, Breakthrough Studio.
Atlas Drake-
DIRECTOR/CHOREOGRAPHER- 13 Jr. & High School Musical Jr.
Atlas is a theatre artist based in Denver, with recent performance credits including Ragtime, Dance Nation, and In the Heights. They recently Assistant Directed Ride the Cyclone and are a graduate of MSU Denver's BFA Musical Theatre program. Atlas is also a Level 2 combatant with Dueling Arts International and has taught with AAPA and RMTK for four years!
Annie Dwyer-
DIRECTOR- Anything Goes Youth Edition & Into the Woods
Annie Dwyer is a Denver! After graduating with a BFA in Musical Theatre from Loretto Heights College, she was immediately cast downtown at StageWest in the Galleria from 1988 to 1991. Then went on to her home away from home at The Heritage Square Music Hall for the next 24 years of her life. It was there that she honed her comedic skills as an actress, but also was fortunate enough to write, direct, choreograph, artistic director, teach, and numerous other jobs, that were the best spent years of her life! After that, Annie has been fortunate enough to work at BDT Stage, Candlelight, Littleton Town Hall Arts Center, Performance Now, and Miners Alley, to name a few. For so many years, this award winning actress ran a youth program that she called Rising Stars Productions, which she has missed and couldn’t be happier to be joining the crew at The Venue!
Beau Fisher
DIRECTOR- Macbeth
Beau Fisher is a Denver-based actor, dancer, educator and playwright. He holds his BA in theatre from Plymouth State University and writes, acts and produces for the immersive experience company, Opia House. Beau has acted in numerous productions in the greater Denver area with companies like Shakespeare in the Wild, Littleton Town Hall Arts, and JK-Co Dance. He directed and taught for the New Hampshire youth theatre, Peacock Players, for four years, and has traveled across the country to teach and act with companies such as Montana Shakespeare, Omaha Shakespeare Company, and the Bluebarn Theatre. He is a multiple disciplinary artist with heavy stage experience in puppeteering and stage combat, as well as devising original theatrical plays and immersive experiences. www.beaufisher.com
Karin Plow
Instructor: Adult Improv, Elementary Conservatory, MS/HS Conservatory: Acting Unit
Karin received her B.A. in Theatre at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She attended the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre where she studied clown, Comedia Dell’Arte, mask performance, and corporeal mime. Before moving to the Colorado area Karin was a performer and instructor at the award-winning Made Up Theatre in the SF Bay Area. She has trained with Second City Chicago and has been an attendee of Camp Improv Utopia where she has worked with members of IO West and The Upright Citizens Brigade. Karin is a current member of the improv troupe EPIC (Evergreen Player Improv Comedy).
Caleb Wenger
MUSIC DIRECTOR/Voice Teacher- Into the Woods, Anything Goes Youth Edition, High School Musical Jr.
Caleb Wenger is a local Actor, Music Director, and Musician in the greater Denver area. Recently, he has music directed and accompanied “Follies, in Concert” at Vintage Theater, “Cannibal” at Town Hall Arts Center, and “Beauty and the Beast, Junior” at Center Stage Theater Company. You may have seen him in performances of “Lyle the Crocodile” in the ensemble at the Arvada Center, or the previous year’s “A Year with Frog and Toad” in the role of Snail. He was also recently seen as Bob Guadio in “Jersey Boys” at Town Hall Arts Center, “Pirates of Penzance” at Performance Now, and Joseph in “Joseph…Dreamcoat!” at The Candlelight.
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Brendan T. Cochran
DIRECTOR- Into the Woods
Brendan is thrilled to be joining The Venue Theatre Company for the first time! He has been creating in Colorado theatres for most of his life, and has spent the last ten years dedicated to professional work as a director, actor, designer, technician, and researcher. He recently received his Masters degree in theatre from Villanova University. While there, he worked as a graduate assistant, actor, and stage manager, produced and published research articles, and analyzed over 100 play scripts. His directing thesis explored the use of decolonized and care-based production practices. He currently works as production manager for Vintage Theatre in Aurora where he has helped produce 16 shows in the last 18 months! Outside the theatre, he enjoys woodworking, rafting, camping, and hiking with his wife Anna and son Ronan. Favorite directing credits include Rogue's Gallery, Oliver!, and Julia Taudevin's Move. www.btcochran.com
OUR FOUNDERS
Nelson Conway
FOUNDER
Nelson retired from a 25-year career teaching music and drama in 2007. He studied music under Dr. George Lynn at Loretto Heights College and Lynn Whitten at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He studied technical theater with Joseph Psuik, drama and musical theater under Richard Clark, Tom McNally and Jan Sullivan. Nelson started the choral and drama departments of Conifer High School in 1996 and has directed and produced countless shows. Nelson co-founded The Venue in 2013.
Joni Havens
FOUNDER
Joni, a certified K-12 teacher, found her interest in theater while performing in elementary and high school productions. In college, she became a professional pantomime and circus aerialist, performing on stages across the U.S. and on television. She has directed over 30 community theater productions and founded a performing drama club in a Colorado high school. She loved performing but her heart's delight is in directing children's theater. Joni is a co-founder of The Venue.
Deb Christensen
FOUNDER
After spending 23 years in Denmark where she delivered 1,300 babies as a certified midwife, Deb returned to Colorado with her Danish husband and thoroughly enjoys her career as a realtor with Keller Williams Foothills Realty in Conifer. She also has volunteered as a high school accompanist for The Venue and was an active member of the Board of Directors at The Venue. Newsies was her 30th show she collaborated on at The Venue. Deb is always supportive of the student here and is in awe of their talent and courage!
OUR BOARD
TJ Bartt
BOARD PRESIDENT
TJ Bartt currently works in the property insurance field, supporting the state of Colorado. When his family moved here, their interest in the theatre landed their family with “The Venue” family which has provided a safe and education environment for their children. The joy of being surrounded by such talented people and the caring approach to teaching the crafts associated with the theatre has been a bright light for he and his family in their mountain community.
Paul Liffengren
MEMBER AT LARGE
Paul brings 30 years of experience in the financial services industry to the board. Paul is currently a Financial Consultant with Fidelity Investments. Paul got involved with the Venue Theatre in 2013 and he helped with the building of the theatre. Paul is passionate about the mission of the Venue and the impact the theatre family has had on his own family and the community at large.
Jessica Forbes
Chad Scripps
RENTALS
Rent our theatre
From performances to conferences, recitals to celebrations, The Venue Theatre is the best place to host your event this season. With a seating capacity of over 100, there is more than enough room to spare. We are proud to offer our space to any member of the community for classes, services or events. Consider The Venue for your upcoming event or check on availability for weekly or monthly use. We are proud to offer competitive pricing and hosting if necessary.