TDPS Staff
Administrative & Advising Staff
Myriam Cotton
Myriam Cotton has worked for UC Berkeley cumulatively for 15 years. She started in the Seismology Department, working there for three years. Myriam then took a couple of years off to raise her two youngest children. She came back to campus to work for the Space Sciences Laboratory up on Grizzly...Read more about Myriam Cotton
Ben Dillon
Ben oversees comprehensive messaging from TDPS to the campus and wider community. Students, faculty, and staff may contact Ben with questions regarding TDPS marketing, box office operations, event promotions, social media, and website management.
Ben previously served as the...Read more about Ben Dillon
Jean-Paul Gressieux
Jean-Paul Gressieux has over 19 years of experience in nonprofit management, including 17 years in the San Francisco Bay Area theater scene. As Company Manager of Berkeley Repertory Theatre from 2012–2019, Jean-Paul supported and collaborated with hundreds of artists, artisans, and other...Read more about Jean-Paul Gressieux
Megan Lowe
After graduating from UC Berkeley in 2012, Megan was hired as the Office Manager for TDPS. She is now Program Associate, and her current duties include: course scheduling, enrollment, event coordination, and work-study supervision. She also teaches master classes on contact improvisation,...Read more about Megan Lowe
Michael Mansfield
Michael’s professional theater and dance background includes 44 years of studying, performing, teaching, writing, choreographing, and directing. He is interested in the intersection point where theater, ritual, and education meet, and, has an unapologetic kinesthetic-learning bias.
Avy Valladares
Dr. Avy Valladares (a.k.a. "Avy," a.k.a "Aviccus," a.k.a "El Profe," a.k.a "Hey You!"), is the Graduate Student Service Advisor for the Ph.D. program offered by the Graduate Group in Performance Studies. He received his...Read more about Avy Valladares
Production Staff
Francis Kofi Akotuah
Francis Kofi Akotuah is drummer and teacher from Ghana. Born and raised in the capital city of Accra, Francis grew up in a melting-pot neighborhood immersed in the sounds of many of Ghana’s diverse musical cultures. After an 18-year career at the University of Ghana, Francis...Read more about Francis Kofi Akotuah
Miyuki Bierlein
Miyuki Bierlein earned a degree in Theater and Performance Studies from UC Berkeley and was awarded the prestigious Rosalyn Schneider Eisner Award for excellence in Theatrical Design. They began their professional career during their junior year, when they became a company member at Impact...Read more about Miyuki Bierlein
Jane Boggess
Jane Boggess graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Theater Arts from Nebraska Wesleyan University. From there, she became a costume shop intern at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis MN. She began her professional career at the Guthrie doing wardrobe in house and was Wardrobe Supervisor on the...Read more about Jane Boggess
Jamila Cobham
Jamila Cobham (she/her) is a production manager and event producer with over 12 years of experience working in the United States and the Caribbean. For the last 4+ years she was the Production Manager for Cal Shakes (California Shakespeare Theater). In her capacity as Production Manager, she...Read more about Jamila Cobham
Peet Cocke
Peet Cocke is a director, playwright, and designer. His recent directing credits include Adam Esquenazi Douglas’s Pinned Butterfly, Susan Sobeloff’s Jubilee, and Naomi Wallace’s No Such Cold Thing. His original plays include Crush and Hum, Extraordinary Mysteries, Even at A Funeral, a movement...Read more about Peet Cocke
Ian Erickson
Ian Erickson is a composer and performer currently living in Berkeley, California. He is a graduate of Missouri State University with two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Music Composition and Jazz Studies with an emphasis in Drum Set Performance. He also attended the Port Townsend School of...Read more about Ian Erickson
Emily Fassler
Josh Frachiseur
Prior to joining TDPS, Josh served for eight years as the Festival Technical Director for the Contemporary American Theatre Festival. At CATF he had the privilege of overseeing scenery for 46 productions, including 28 world premieres. He has also served as Technical Director for Idaho...Read more about Josh Frachiseur
Zoë Gopnik-McManus
Zoë started her theatrical career at a young age, performing and creating for family plays. Her first design work was helping her mother to make props and costumes for her family performance in the Commedia Dell'arte show at the Renaissance Faire. She continued her theater studies at Concordia...Read more about Zoë Gopnik-McManus
Ryan Huber
Ryan Huber is a multimedia artist with over a decade of experience providing musical and visual services for Bay Area dance and theater groups. He is a member of the San Francisco-based band, Battlehooch. In addition to music and video editing, he is passionate about yoga and biology....Read more about Ryan Huber
Ben Juodvalkis
Ben Juodvalkis composes original music for dance, film, theater, corporate events, and museum installations. He has created scores for over 50 organizations and has had his music performed on four continents. Ben works from his studio in San Francisco as well as on location with his mobile...Read more about Ben Juodvalkis
Tim Kopra
Tim Kopra comes from a fine art background making sculptural installations, public art, and interactive spaces for events. He has fabricated throughout California for various artists and institutions, notably MoreLab, Cathartic Productions, and Gordon Huether Studios. He has taught fine art,...Read more about Tim Kopra
Eugene Palmer
Eugene Palmer began working backstage in the 7th grade over 40 years ago. He was a lighting design major at SUNY Purchase during its second year of inception in 1974 and designed lighting for Death of a Salesman and Twelfth Night as an undergraduate. Moving to Syracuse, New...Read more about Eugene Palmer
Wendy Sparks
Wendy Sparks has been designing and building costumes in the Bay Area since 1991. She studied under Professor Warren Travis and in that one year designed and built costumes for five shows in TDPS’ three theater spaces. Since then she has designed costumes for 25 shows at TDPS including the...Read more about Wendy Sparks