Meet The Board - 72

Board of Directors

Laura Gouge, President

Laura is thrilled to be serving for a second term as TAP's President! She has previously served on the Board as Secretary during the 67th season and the Vice President and Director of Audience Relations during the 68th-70th seasons. Laura has also been involved as TAP's Volunteer Coordinator and an assistant to the Director of Development. She served as Producer for TAP’s Spamalot, which unfortunately was cancelled due to the pandemic. Laura has a passion for the arts and enjoys watching a beautiful production come to life. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, cooking, and reading.  Email Laura.

Christopher Smith, Vice President

Christopher Smith has been associated with TAP since 1995. He has worked in multiple artistic capacities including director, asst. director, choreographer, producer, set designer, master carpenter, and master electrician. He has performed in several productions including Nice Work If You Can Get It, Kiss Me Kate, Kiss of the Spider Woman, On the Town, Miracle Worker, Damn Yankees, Gypsy, and others. In addition, he has served the organization with previous tenures on the board as President, Secretary, Director of  Productions, Director of Membership, Past President, and Director of Audience Relations. During this term, he hopes to increase communications with our membership to keep them better informed about the election process and all on going TAP business. Email Christopher.

Preston Meche II, Secretary

Preston began his journey with The Arlington Players in the spring of 2020 when he joined the company of Monty Python's Spamalot... a show that had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. Then he began to work as Producer for TAP's 2021 winter production of A Midsummer Night's Dream... which had to be postponed due to the pandemic, but thankfully the show will go on. A naturally copious note taker, Preston is proud to be TAP's Secretary! A native of New Orleans, Preston has worn many hats throughout his more than 30 years in musical theatre: on stage performer, fly rail crew, vocal director, usher, and audience member. Email Preston.

Mario Leone, Treasurer

A member of TAP since 2018, Mario is eager and honored to join the Board as Treasurer. Following his first performance in Sweeney Todd in 2018, he appeared onstage once more in the ensemble of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, then again in Curtains in 2019. Offstage, he has assisted with auditions and returned to his behind-the-scenes roots backstage with Beauty and the Beast. A native of Rostraver, PA, Mario found a second family through The Arlington Players and hopes to help others do the same. Mario currently works as a software engineer at Capital One in McLean, VA. Email Mario.

Brittany Bolick, Audience Relations Director

Brittany joined TAP in 2018 as a rehearsal swing for Arsenic and Old Lace and immediately knew she had found a new home. The community was extremely welcoming to her, even as newcomers and truly valued the voices of its members. She loved the support and camaraderie during rehearsals and in the scene shop during both Arsenic and Spamalot and wanted to continue to help TAP create and showcase amazing productions. She is also a dance teacher at Dance Academy of Virginia and a student at Georgetown Law. She has worked both onstage and backstage with TAP and is now looking to find new ways to impact the Northern Virginia arts community. Serving as Director for Audience Relations this past season has been incredibly exciting as TAP has come back to doing live theatre. While our shows and audiences may have looked a little different, she has enjoyed working with individual patrons and the TAP team to make the audience experience as fulfilling as possible. She hopes that this year, as we continue to bring more and more folks back to our seats and the needs our audience continue to change, she can continue to work with the rest of the TAP board to make sure we're meeting those needs and providing them with the best experience possible. Email Brittany Bolick.

Maureen Dawson, Development Director

Maureen has over 10 years experience working on the development side of many different organizations. One of the very first organizations where she worked as a development coordinator was capital partners for education. After that, she has written several grant proposals, some of them involved George Washington University and other associated professional organizations throughout her entire 20 years of work experience. She has an absolute passion for the arts and encourages innovative creativity. She feels honored to serve in this position by securing grants in the near future and doing whatever else she can to ensure the success of TAP.  Email Maureen.

Jasmine Jones, Executive Producer

Jasmine is nervous, yet excited for the opportunity to continue serving on the TAP Board as Executive Producer! As a 6-year member of the DMV theatre community, Jasmine has worked with theatres from Reston to Annapolis, but she has gladly spent most of her theatre-hours (both on, and off-stage) with TAP. Jasmine has had the honor of serving as TAP’s Secretary since November of 2020, during which time she has learned the intricacies of how the Board runs, and has developed an understanding of how to best use her skills and experience to serve the TAP community. She is now interested in deepening her understanding of what it takes to mount a show behind the curtain, and is hopeful for the chance to serve you all in a new capacity. By day, Jasmine works full-time for an IT company in a role that requires meticulous attention to detail, open communication, non-stop teamwork, and the constant use of the MS Office Suite – all skills that will continue to aid her greatly as Executive Producer! Email Jasmine.

Will Shingler, Membership Director

Will first joined TAP in April 2014 and has found a home there ever since. He is primarily an actor in the theatre, and has acted in four productions at TAP. When not otherwise spoken for on the stage elsewhere, he has helped out backstage just to enjoy being involved. He has previously served on the board as Communications Director (2015-16), Director at Large (2016-17), and Stewardship Director (2021-22). In his spare time, Will likes to try his hand at blacksmithing, leatherworking, writing, and enjoys reading while trying to prevent his cat from chewing on the page. Email Will.

Steven Yates, Past President

Steven started working with TAP in 2008 with The Sweet Smell of Success as a stagehand. Other backstage credits include The Producers, Cabaret, 42nd Street, Promises, Promises, and A Chorus Line. He served as Stage Manager for Clybourne Park, A Streetcar Named Desire, and A Midsummer Night's Dream and Assistant Stage Manager for Nine, 9 to 5, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Man of La Mancha, She Loves Me, Pippin, and Sweeney Todd. He has also appeared on stage in A Little Night Music and Peter Pan. Steven has served on the Board for nine years, including three as President. Email Steven.

Nick Friedlander, Season Planning Director

Having finished his first year on the TAP Board as the Director of Marketing, Nick is thrilled to take on the role of Director of Season Selection. Outside of TAP, he has been the LTA One Act Chair for the past three years, and sees many similarities between these roles – assembling a team of volunteers, reading through scripts, overseeing a selection process, and interviewing directors for the winning shows. As the Director of Season Selection, his main goals are to assemble a diverse team for the selection process and to expand TAP's director selection pool to get a wider variety of applications for our season. By day, Nick works for the federal government as a program manager. Outside of TAP and work, he loves anything board game related, and produces a podcast called "The Designated Drinker Show". Email Nick.

Brittany Huffman, Stewardship & Education Director

Brittany has been an avid theatre participant since she was first cast in the orphan chorus of her school district's musical Oliver Twist in the 6th grade. Since then, her interest in theatre has only grown exponentially, to include a myriad of roles, but most frequently focusing on stage management and marketing aspects. As part of her ever-growing interest in theatre, she is especially passionate about finding new ways to get folks involved, hence her interest in the Director of Stewardship. Being involved in theatre does not just have to include acting on stage or helping folks to their seat - it can and should include participating in the arts for one's own sake, even if it's as simple as participating in an artistic class. Email Brittany Huffman.

Supporting Staff

Costume Coordinator: Joan Lawrence

Grants Coordinator: Preston Meche II

Graphic Designers: Raeanna Larson, Matt Liptak

Historian: Karen Toth

IT Manager: Ryan Desmond

Props Coordinator: Allison Gray-Mendes

Social Chair: Judy Lewis

Sound Manager: Chris Kagy

Website Coordinator: Erica Aquilina