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 Jenni Rebecca Stephenson - Managing Director

 Jenni Rebecca Stephenson - Executive Director

A native of Houston, Jenni Rebecca Stephenson has been a student of dance and theatre, as well as vocal and instrumental music.  A summa cum laude graduate of the University of Houston, Jenni Rebecca studied vocal performance with Katherine Ciesinski and received her bachelors of music from the Moores School of Music.  She was a frequent soloist with the Moores Concert Chorale and performed such musical theatre/opera roles as Carla (Nine), Jenny Diver (Threepenny Opera), the Baroness (Barber’s Vanessa), and Arcetro (Peri’s Euridice with Ars Lyrica).  Jenni Rebecca later received her Masters of Fine Arts in Theatre Directing at UH, where she directed for the Stuart Ostrow Musical Theatre Collaboration and the Edward Albee New Playwrights Workshop, as well as three full-length operas at the Moores Opera Center: The Impresario, La finta giardiniera, and Die Fledermaus.  Additionally, she was assistant director of several productions for The Ebony Opera Guild at Miller Outdoor Theatre under Buck Ross, as well as the most recent production of Cats at Theatre Under The Stars.
 

In 2006, Jenni Rebecca co-founded Nova Arts Project, a nonprofit theatre company dedicated to recreating classics and inspiring new works in a fearlessly theatrical way.  With Nova, Jenni Rebecca directed Antigone in Oedipus3, as well as The Joy Luck Club, a collaboration between the Asian Pacific-American Heritage Association and the Houston Public Librariess for the NEA’s Big Read Campaign.  As a performer, she has appeared in the roles of Gertrude (Hamlet), Last Day Girl/Ma/Fran (TempOdyssey), and Lady Lillian Loveworthy in Love Loves a Pornographer.  In January 2009, Nova's founders won one of the first annual Houston Press MasterMind Awards for the company's work.  Jenni Rebecca joined the board of Spacetaker in September 2007 and became Managing Director in July 2008 and Executive Director in January 2010.  Along with her Spacetaker responsibilities, she regularly contributes to 002 Magazine and Absolutely in the Loop, as well as blogs with the Houston Chronicle (Chron.com) City Brights.  In other news, she has an affinity for Star Trek, rabble-rousing, and spontaneously breaking out into song and dance.

 

K.C. Scharnberg - Program & Marketing Manager

As the newest member of the Spacetaker team, K.C. brings a wealth of knowledge and training in media relations and marketing and is poised to pump up Spacetaker’s marketing muscles.
 
K.C. was raised in Denton, Texas, by classical musicians and spent her childhood being dragged to rehearsals and concerts, and although she learned how to sit still and be quiet from a very early age, she also developed a deep appreciation for all art forms, particularly the performing arts. While earning her B.A. in Humanities at The University of Texas at Austin, K.C. developed her professional skills with internships in arts management at the UT Performing Arts Center and at the Arts Management Institute at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. Upon graduation, K.C. took a development position at the Department of Theatre & Dance and soon shifted her role into one of marketing and communications based on her enthusiasm towards promoting the department’s unique stories.
 
Upon moving to Houston in late 2008, K.C. joined Elmore Public Relations, where she developed strong media relations, marketing, and project management skills. In 2008, K.C. co-founded Horse Head Theatre Co., a non-profit theatre company dedicated to re-energizing Houston audiences and artists with theatrically designed experiences using local talent and non-traditional methods.
 
While a passion for the arts is at the core of her being, K.C. also loves the great outdoors, enjoys road-trips and traveling in general, and sharing beautiful life moments with good friends. K.C.’s other interests are represented in her involvement as an Advisory Board member of the Boniuk Center for Religious Tolerance at Rice University and with the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), a worldwide association of members seeking, through their practice of Buddhism, to develop the ability to live with confidence, to create value in any circumstance and to contribute to the well-being of friends, family and community. K.C. is thrilled to be creating value while being surrounded by amazing artists at Spacetaker.
 
 

Anthony Thompson Shumate - Online Systems Manager

  

Anthony Thompson Shumate - Online Systems Manager

Anthony Thompson Shumate, a multimedia artist and designer, has an M.F.A. from the University of Houston (2005) and a BFA from the University of Texas in San Antonio (2001). From 1999 to 2002, Anthony Shumate was the founder and editor of Texas Storyteller.com, an online Texas Music Magazine and community that helped to network independent artists, venues, and fans by providing an online outlet for calendars, reviews, and message boards for the grassroots movement. Texas Storyteller.com was on the forefront of mainstream the grassroots Texas music genre introducing many venues in Central Texas to whole host of rising stars such as Pat Green, Cory Morrow, Bob Curry, and Wesley Cox.

Shumate is the recipient of several arts and advertising awards including a 2006 New Works Fellowship for Emerging Artists from the former Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County, support from the Houston Endowment through ARTpix for LAS POZAS: STEPS & FALLS, a cd-rom produced in partnership with Robert Ziebell, six ADDY awards from the American Advertising Federation, and two Bronze Quill awards in excellence in design.

 

David A. Brown - Founding Director

 

David A. Brown - Founder

David Brown is a Houston-based photographer and the founding director of Spacetaker, an artist resource center, located in the historic sixth ward in Winter Street Studios. He studied at the University of Houston under Paul Kittleson and Luis Jimenez, and he received his BFA in 2001, graduating Magna Cum Laude. His works have been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions at Darke Gallery, DiverseWorks, Fotofest, space125gallery and Deborah Colton Gallery. He has also been the focus of several articles in the Houston Chronicle, 002 magazine and ArtsHouston magazine. In 2007, the Houston Grand Opera recognized him for his community service. He is head-over-heels in love with his wife Christa and their two children Clara and Diego.  David currently serves on the board of Spacetaker, The Catastrophic Theater and the Advisory Board for River Oaks Chamber Orchestra. He also sits on the Greater Houston Partnerships Culture and Tourism committee, The Marketing Committee for the Avenue CDC and the Cultural Bridges committee for the Holocaust Museum Houston.

 

 

If you are interested in employment or internship oportunities at Spacetaker, please forward us your resumé and information.

 

 

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