Renee has worked in all aspects of theatre, onstage and off. She is a graduate of Lindenwood University (MFA, Directing) and is a lighting designer, stage manager, and director and actor, with several set and costume designs to her credit. Renee currently works for Monsanto as senior billing administrator for the North America domestic world area.
John Reidy, Vice President
John has been active in community and professional theater in St. Louis for over 25 years. He is mostly active onstage, but can occasionally be found working backstage. He has served as president of the Hawthorne Players in Florissant as well as the board of the Arts for Life Best Performance awards. He began working for Edward Jones in 1980 and currently works in their Compliance Department with their international affiliates.
Fay McKenna, Artistic Director
Fay McKenna (Board Member/Artistic Director) holds a degree in Speech and Drama from Maryville College and has been associated with West End Players guild in various capacities for 51 years.
Sean Ruprecht-Belt, Secretary
Sean has worked with many St. Louis theater companies as an actor and director. He currently holds a position as Business Analyst and Project Manager for Nestlé Purina PetCare where he oversees software, warehousing, and testing projects budgeted at up to $1,500,000. Sean also serves as the President of the Board of the Folk School of St. Louis.
Robert Ashton, Treasurer
Robert is involved in almost every aspect of theatre from performing new works (Let There Be Thistles) to resurrecting older works (The Insect Play, done in conjunction with an exhibit at Craft Alliance). He has worked onstage and off for many area groups, including Muddy Waters, where he currently serves on its board, St. Louis Shakespeare, Soundstage and First Run. His work at West End Players Guild includes Electra, Skylight, and A Shot in the Dark, and he will be directing the St. Louis premiere of Kathryn Chetkovich’s Acts of Love, which concludes our 100th season. When not creating or supporting live theatre, Robert is a business consultant.
Mark Abels
Mark was bitten by the acting bug in 2001 and is still in recovery. He has appeared in more than two dozen productions on our area’s professional and community theater stages. WEPG roles include Robert in Harold Pinter’s Betrayal (2006), Nick in Anne Nelson’s The Guys (2007) and Herb in Neil Simon’s I Ought to Be in Pictures (2009).
Mark is an independent public relations practitioner and teaches public relations at Washington University’s University College. Prior to his “semi-retirement” from the 9-to-5 work world in 2001, Mark was Vice President–Corporate Communications at Trans World Airlines, and before that held the same position at Northwest Airlines. In a professional career spanning almost four decades Mark has been a senior executive at a major international public relations firm, a political consultant who managed successful campaigns on the local and state levels, a media manager and producer and a working journalist. He also washed dishes at Howard Johnson’s for one night.
Mark’s community service work includes membership on the local and national advisory boards of The Salvation Army, the executive board and board of directors of St. Louis Variety and the steering committee of the annual MS Bike Ride. Mark and his wife Merri, an educator in the Ladue School District, are the proud parents of three grown children.
Dorothy Davis
Dorothy is the current house manager of West End Players and has been an integral part of the organization for many years. She is well known as one of St. Louis’s most outstanding actresses.
Chuck Lavazzi
Chuck has been active in theater in St. Louis, Houston, and Terre Haute for 30 years or thereabouts. He’s been mostly an actor and sound designer, with the occasional foray into directing. Chuck has also been writing classical music and theater criticism for nearly as long, and is currently the principal performing arts critic at KDHX (FM 88.1), as well as the producer of the KDHX Arts Calendar.
