Staff and Board of Directors

Suzanne Dean (Co-Artistic Director) is an award-winning Actress, Producer and Director. She is the Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Little Fish Theatre and its sister program Shakespeare by the Sea, the Creator of Globetrotting Shakespeare and Pub Shakespeare, Associate Artist with Prague Shakespeare Company, and Owner of Rebelfilm Productions, a film & video company. As an Actress she is known both for dramatic work and comedy with extensive experience in Noel Coward, Tennessee Williams, Harold Pinter, Edward Albee, and William Shakespeare – having performed leading roles in 20 of his plays, often with Shakespeare by the Sea since 2000.  For LFT she has appeared in: Hedda Gabler, The Lady’s Not for Burning, Veronica’s Room, What the Butler Saw, The Lion in Winter, Betrayal, Blithe Spirit, Blood Poetry and Rapture, Blister, Burn. In the 2019 season, she directed the LA premiere of Operation Ajax.  She is a Broadway World and StageSceneLA winner for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Betrayal, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, Private Lives, Antony & Cleopatra, and Hedda Gabler.  As a Filmmaker, Suzanne has over 35 years as a Producer and Production Manager in Film and Television and is EMMY nominated for her Commercial work. She merges her performing, producing, artistic management, and non-profit work throughout Los Angeles and the Bay Area. suzanne@shakespearebythesea.org

Stephanie Coltrin (Co-Artistic Director) Stephanie has been working with SBTS/LFT for the last 13 years, and is an award-winning producer and director. For SBTS, she has directed Richard III, Richard II (virtual production), Twelfth Night (virtual production), Titus Andronicus, Henry V, The Winter’s Tale, Macbeth, Othello, Hamlet, The Tempest, King John, Romeo and Juliet (twice!), King Lear, Julius Caesar, and the co-directed the staged reading of Henry VI Part 1. For LFT she has directed Taking Sides, Bloody Poetry, And the Stones Will Cry Out, Oswald: the Actual Interrogation, Stones in His Pockets, Looking, Panache, The Weir, Bach at Leipzig, and The Love List.  Other favorite directing credits include The Last Five Years, Almost, Maine, Moonlight and Magnolias, Barefoot in the Park, Private Lives,  Taking Sides, Miss Saigon (Ovation Award Best Musical)  Jesus Christ Superstar, Art, Blithe Spirit, Sylvia, Steel Magnolias, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Blithe Spirit, The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Quilters and Godspell. She received an Ovation award for producing Miss Saigon (for which she was also nominated as director), is the recipient of Stage Scene L.A. awards, the Broadway World award for Best Director, and a Garland Award nomination. www.StephanieColtrin.com stephanie@shakespearebythesea.org

Tara Donovan (Interim Managing Director)  is an award-winning producer, director, and actor.  Some of her directing credits include the West Coast Premiere of With My Eyes Shut (Best in Dance & Movement at the Hollywood Fringe Festival), the L.A. Time Holiday Hot List recommended production of The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, and previously for Little Fish Theatre as part of the Best of Pick of the Vine. She produced the short film HYSTERICAL, currently making the festival rounds and next up heads to perform in Almost Maine at Rubicon Theatre. Tara received her B.A. in both Theatre Performance and Political Science with a summer at Oxford through BADA and an MFA from The American Film Institute Conservatory in Film Producing.  To keep up with all of Tara’s endeavors, please visit www.TaraDonovan.com.

Kira Sherman (Tour Manager) A graduate of Cal State Fullerton, Kira  has been part of the SBTS/LFT family for many years. Starting as a volunteer, she then was hired as the LACAC intern, and now serves as Tour Manager. At LFT, she has serves as stage manager, lighting designer and box office manager. 

Sonja Inge (Administrative Assistant) While Sonja is a member of SAG-AFTRA, prior to acting, she spent a decade in the world of fundraising and outreach for nonprofits in Washington, D.C., such as The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, The Council of Chief State School Officers and The National Youth Employment Coalition.  She also was the assistant development manager for The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.  She performed with SBTS during the summer of 2019 playing the role of The Abbess/Emilia in The Comedy of Errors. Sonja holds a B.A. in Journalism from Howard University and a Masters of Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin (Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs). 

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Lisa Coffi (Founder) retired after the 25th anniversary season in 2022. She holds an MFA in Theatre Management from CSU, Long Beach, and a BFA from CSU, Sacramento. She founded SBTS 26 years ago and has often called it her proudest achievement. She subsequently co-founded Little Fish Theatre so that performances could happen year-round. She is enjoying her retirement in  Newcastle, where she resides with her husband, Curt, two dogs (Sally & Charlie), one cat (Cricket), and two cows (Raisin & Nutmeg)