OUr staff
Steven Schmidt
Executive Director
Steven (he/him) served as the Technical Director for Cal Shakes from 2017 - 2024. He is proud to have built the Cal Shakes’ scene shop into a sustainable, year-round enterprise constructing scenery for many Bay Area theaters including A.C.T., Berkeley Playhouse, Center Rep, and Shotgun Players among others, and is excited to continue that work as part of Cal Scenic. Previously, Steven worked as the Associate Head of Production for Yale Repertory Theatre and has consulted on productions for Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Steven is a co-author of Structural Design for the Stage and is a Lecturer for the UC Davis Department of Theatre & Dance. Steven received his MFA from Yale School of Drama.
Heidi Voelker
tECHNICAL DIRECTORHeidi (she/her) started in technical theater in high school after realizing it was the more interesting side of theater. She spent her early professional career torn between science and theater, earning both a BS and a BA from Humboldt State University. After various laboratory and theater jobs, Heidi landed at Cal Shakes and worked there for 8 years, starting as the Assistant to the Technical Director and working up to being the Associate Technical Director. She is excited about continuing to be part of the Bay Area theater community as part of Cal Scenic as our Technical Director.
CLINT SUMALPONG
assistant Technical DirectorClint (he/they) is a recent graduate of the University of Florida’s BFA Scenic Design program. They moved to the Bay Area to pursue technical direction and technical theater. They bring with them experience teaching carpentry and scenic art skills as the former Technical Director of Cypress Creek High School (2016-2019) during their time as a student and as a freelance carpenter and scenic painter in Florida. Clint has experience in technical load-in and leading changeover crews as a Stage Crew Apprentice for two years (2022-2023) at the Santa Fe Opera in New Mexico, including for the 2022 Festival of the Year at the International Opera Awards.
Charlotte Wheeler
Shop SupervisorCharlotte (she/her) has been a theatrical technician for 26 years, specializing in carpentry for 23. She began working backstage in high school, and pursued it professionally from then on. She learned all of her carpentry skills on the job, from co-workers and mentors, working for many shops and theaters over the years, including Center Theater Group, Cal State Los Angeles, Luckman Fine Arts Complex, and Theater Works. After several years of part-time Community College attendance she did eventually gain a BA in Humanities with a focus on Activism and Social Change from New College of California. She joined Cal Shakes in 2012 and after a break, returned as Scene Shop Supervisor, a responsibility she proudly held for the past seven years and is excited to continue at Cal Scenic.
Lassen Hines
Scenic charge artistLassen (she/her) began learning about scenic art and set design in high school. After earning her BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and working in retail and as a freelance mural artist, she found her way back to scenic art over 10 years ago. She has worked on scenery for many Bay Area theaters, including Cal Shakes, Berkeley Rep, Marin Theater Company, and Douglas Morrisson and was the scenic charge for Cal Shakes for three years painting scenery for Berkeley Playhouse, A.C.T., Shotgun Players, Center Rep and more. She has been part of scenic art teams on several Broadway-bound productions including Amelie, Swept Away, Ain’t Too Proud and Hippest Trip. She is proud to be part of Cal Scenic and our continuing commitment to the Bay Area theater community.
Adeline Smith
Lead Scenic artistAdeline Smith (she/her) has been painting for theaters throughout the Bay Area, including Shotgun Players, Berkeley Playhouse, the Aurora, Cuttingball, and many more, since getting her BA in theater from San Francisco State University in 2014. Originally also working as a stage manager, prop and scenic designer, and occasional makeup artist, painting quickly became her favorite aspect of theater, combining a balance of structure and creative problem solving. After years of freelance designing and painting alone and often overnight, she is excited to join a team and find out what this so-called “daytime” is like.
TYLER MILLER
LEAD CARPENTER
Tyler (he/him) graduated from Stanford with a BA in acting. While there, he was introduced to the other sides of theater, including lighting, stage management, academic analysis, and (most fun to him) theater carpentry. He has acted, stage managed, production managed and been a technician for a variety of theaters in the Bay Area, including Golden Thread, A.C.T., Berkeley Rep, Theater Works and Korsa Musical Theater. After a year building houses for Habitat For Humanity, he returned to his hometown and joined the Cal Shakes scenic team in 2022. He is looking forward to growing his leadership and technical knowledge with Cal Scenic, and of course, building more beautiful and playful scenery.
LAURA DEVEBER
LEAD CARPENTERLaura (she/her) joined Cal Shakes in 2018 as overhire after finishing an AS in Wood Technology from Laney College. She worked at Scenic Inc. before returning to Cal Shakes full time 2022 as Lead Carpenter. Laura is excited to continue contributing to Bay Area theater through Cal Scenic.
ADDIE BACON
CARPENTERAddie (she/they) earned a BA in Russian Language and Literature with a minor in Religion from Smith College and a Carpentry Certificate from Laney College. Their love for and involvement with technical theater began in high school, and continued while working in the scene shop through college. She has a variety of experience in the trades, including residential and commercial painting and general handy work, as well as 10 years of experience building and installing large-scale art for Burning Man. Addie joined the Cal Shakes team in 2022 and is excited to continue with Cal Scenic.
Nick
CarpenterNick (they/them) started working in technical theater as a carpenter in high school, as part of a youth non-profit theater company. After a short hiatus from the performing arts they found a home at Cal Shakes as an overhire employee, eventually joining the scenic team full-time. Now, with the transition to Cal Scenic, Nick is looking forward to continuing to build new theatrical sets and to expanding their capacity and skills.
MACK CHAO
Shop AssistantMack (they/them) holds a BS in Economics from UC Berkeley but always wanted to work with their hands. After working various service jobs they joined Cal Shakes through the Workforce Development Program in June 2024 and are continuing to learn the trade as a full-time Shop Assistant with Cal Scenic.
Lev Collins
CARPENTER (overhire)Lev (he/him) developed a love for carpentry while growing up in Brooklyn where he taught soap box racer construction at a summer camp. His involvement in scenic carpentry began in high school, and during college he worked at various theaters in the SF Bay Area as both a scenic carpenter and painter. After graduating from UC Berkeley in 2024 with a degree in computer science, Lev went through Cal Shakes’ workforce development program and has been working at the shop ever since.
Samantha Weiland
interim finanace managerSam (she/her) earned her BA in English with Creative Writing and her MFA for Creative Writing from Saint Mary’s College. In doing so, she spent hours with the words and stories of various playwrights, poets and novelists. Since joining Cal Shakes in March 2024, and continuing on with Cal Scenic, it has been remarkable seeing those words she held dear come to life. In her everyday existence, Sam exercises her skill set of bookkeeping and accounting services as well as aiding in general finance management for Cal Scenic. Nevertheless, she still dreams of the day when she can sit leisurely at a simple desk next to a river in the woods, with a cup of coffee steaming near her, writing. In the meantime she’s learning a lot, she’s grateful to be a part of such a formidable team and she’s happy to be here.