Board of Directors

Please click on the name of each board member to read his or her bio.

Monkey Tales Theatre Board of Directors

Brian Dooley, president
Hal Berry, vice-president
Flavia Everman, treasurer
Tracy Bono, managing director
Melissa Boyer, artistic director
Dawn Blackburn
Laura Brock
Larry Buxton
Kristen Hare
Paul Marks
Jeff Roseman
Joe Wegescheide

Creative Team Member Brian Dooley, or “Whoa-whoa,” has been involved with Monkey Tales since 2008. Brian is a graphic designer and web-monkey with by trade, and a husband, father, and polymath-esque geek by nature. Brian is proud to serve on Monkey Tales Theatre’s board, and is looking forward to continued growth and unbelievable successes!

Hal Berry is a member of the senior faculty at St. Charles Community College. He celebrated his fortieth-second year teaching at the end of 2008. He was voted Faculty of the Year for 2003-04 by his faculty peers, has received the Missouri Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, and is past president of the Faculty Association. He is currently on sabbatical for the spring term of 2009. In addition to a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences, he holds three Master’s Degrees in History, Film and Theater. His artistic career began as a child in music and dance and continued into adulthood as Arts Manager for West Shore Community College, East Central College and Mid-American Theatre Company. He was the founder of SCC’s History Expo and The History Theatre. His directorial credits include A Few Good Men, Playing for Time, To Kill a Mockingbird, Give ‘em Hell Harry, Twelve Angry Jurors, Inherit the Wind, The Diary of Anne Frank, All My Sons, That Championship Season, Mr. Lincoln and the very successful production of Black Elk Speaks.

Flavia Everman is the Executive Director of the Warren County Fine Arts Council, a position she has held since February 2004. Her duties include writing grants, scheduling concerts, directing a summer arts camp, organizing an annual art show and working with area schools to schedule curriculum-based art programs. Flavia is active in teaching drama at summer camps and home-schooled groups, teaching art classes and is active in ballroom dance. She has been storytelling professionally for nine years, has worked  as an office accounting manager for Bookmark Bookstores in St. Charles for 13 years and as an Executive Secretary for Citicorp Mortgage for four years. Flavia has merged the artistic discipline with the organizational skills of an arts manager. Flavia has a BA in Liberal Arts/English from Ambassador University, Big Sandy, Texas, and Pasadena, California.

Tracy Bono is going bananas over Monkey Tales Theatre! She has combined two of her favorite passions: theater and children. She holds a BS from Missouri State University and a MS from Lindenwood University. Theater has been an important part of her life since the age of three when she started taking dance lessons. Since then, Tracy has participated in various theatrical endeavors as a performer and working in many stage crews. She has also worked in television, radio and film documentaries. In 2008, she had the opportunity to direct an original one-act play she wrote for the History Theatre Festival at St. Charles Community College. Her favorite role of all time is starring as “Mommy” to her three talented children and “Wife” to her rock-star husband.

Melissa Boyer, mother of two little monkey’s herself, is passionate about theater and children, so she has found her home with Monkey Tales Theatre. She is finishing her Master of Fine Arts in Theater Directing at Lindenwood. She has directed “Never Swim Alone”, “Shakespeare’s Women”, and acted in “Who’s Afriaid of Virginia Woolf?” While directing is her passion, she has acted in many roles, including portraying Lydia Roosevelt in “Women of Strength in a New Nation” at the 2008 History Theatre Festival.

Larry Buxton graduated from Ritenour High School in Saint Louis County. He served as a rank Specialist Fourth Class in the Army Reserves from 1969 to 1975. He was honorably discharged. Larry has made a long career in the trades. He worked at Bob’s Ornamental Iron in Kansas City, Mo., in the mid 1970s where he was quickly promoted to shop foreman. He owned a Snap-On Tool franchise from 1977 to 1982 and then started his own home and commercial repair business, Buxton Repair, which was in business until 1999. Larry has been working at Quilogy in Saint Charles as facilities manager for almost nine years.

Laura Brock is a new Member on the MonkeyTales Board. Her current role as the Director of Adult Learning in the Francis Howell School District keeps her focused on providing professional development for teachers and administrators. Previously in her career she held positions as an Executive Director of Professional Development, Elementary Principal, and Teacher. Her love of teaching and learning took her through three degrees (Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, Master of Science in Education Administration, and her Doctorate in Education Administration) all at Iowa State University.

She has loved drama and performance since her first role as the “Mom” in a second grade play. Back in the day, Laura performed in school plays, choir, and musicals with the lead in “Dames at Sea” and later in community theater, the lead in “Steele Magnolias.” It has been a very long time since she has been on a stage, but Laura is very excited to contribute to the MonkeyTales team.

Her starring role now is as a “real” Mom to daughters Elizabeth (13) and Katherine (10). Her husband, Roger, is her leading man. You might catch the Brock family at softball games, gymnastics practice, or cheering in the fall at football games. Laura and Roger hope to entice their girls to play golf soon, too.

Paul Marks spent years assisting adults with mental and/or physical disabilities in positions he held for agencies including The Crider Center for Mental Health, Emmaus Homes, and Community Living. Paul attended Lindenwood University, where he studied Human Service Agency Management. With a family that includes a wife and five children, Paul currently earns his living as a Sales Representative for a large coffee and tea company and as a Real Estate Investor, buying and rehabbing houses. In his spare time Paul enjoys live music and live theater, likes spending time with his children riding bikes, swimming and exploring the world, and is interested in supporting organizations that enhance the community through positive actions.

Kristen Hare grew up in Springfield, Mo., and enjoyed season after season of watching stories unfold on stage at the Little Theater. While she loved acting, she seemed a bit better at journalism and stuck to that, getting her degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, Columbia, School of Journalism. Kristen spent two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guyana, South America, and there, her love of theater came back as she helped her high school students write songs and skits which they performed to teach other kids about HIV/AIDS and STDs. Now, Kristen is a staff writer for the St. Louis Beacon, where she writes about race, immigration and anything else that comes her way.

Joe Wegescheide has been on and off the various stages in the St. Louis area for about 15 years now working with both professional and community groups. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1991 with a BA in Theatre specializing in Directing and has even done some playwriting in recent years. He is currently serving as President of the Missouri Association of Playwrights. By day, Joe works for MasterCard International as a Network Reporter.