Our People

For more than two decades, Jed Bernstein has been a leader in theatrical production, venue management, arts administration, and marketing and promotion. Most recently, he served as the ninth President and CEO of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

Prior to joining Lincoln Center, Jed was a Tony Award-winning independent Broadway producer through Above The Title Entertainment Productions.

In 2010, he partnered with the Bridge Street Foundation to purchase and renovate the historic Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, Pennsylvania. The Playhouse had a celebratory reopening in 2012, and as Producing Director, Mr. Bernstein presented year-round theatrical seasons, returning this 75 year old playhouse to the forefront of regional theater.

From 1995 to 2006, Mr. Bernstein led The Broadway League, the industry trade association and co-producer of the Tony Awards telecast.

jed@theatreaspen.org

After a 10-year stint in the hospitality industry with group sales, Peggy traveled to Italy, India and New Zealand in 2006 pursuing yogic philosophy and meditation studies. She recently became certified to teach Satyananda Yoga Nidra through the Yoga Academy of North America in Cleveland, Ohio.

Peggy has participated in the ACT productions of Jesus Christ Superstar, Man of La Mancha and Wizard of Oz as well as Theatre Aspen’s 2010 show Defying Gravity. Peggy received her BA in Speech Communications from Wake Forest University. She supports and is inspired by the ever changing shows, talents and dynamic energy of Theatre Aspen.

peggy@theatreaspen.org

He has directed the teen Conservatory productions of Newsies, School of Rock, Spamalot, James and the Giant Peach, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Shrek, the Musical, Working, The Importance of Being Earnest, Romeo and Juliet – the Musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, Urinetown, Little Shop of Horrors and The Curious Savage, as well as The Phantom Tollbooth, Xanadu, Jr., Schoolhouse Rock, Live Jr., a musical version of The Hobbit and Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Jr. for Theatre Aspen School’s Spring Youth Production series.

He has coached, directed and associate-directed for other local companies including The Foreigner with Snowmass Chapel and Barrymore with the Hudson Reed Ensemble.  As an actor Graham has been seen as Cogsworth in ACT’s production of Beauty and the Beast, FDR in Theatre Aspen’s reprise of Annie, John Adams in ACT’s production of 1776, Guy in the Fringe Festival staged reading of John Cariani’s Last Gas, Oliver Kilbourne in Theatre Master’s reading of The Pitmen Painters and more. He is also a voiceover artist and photographer, in addition to being a husband to a wonderful wife and father of five hard-working, beautiful daughters.

Graham’s approach to coaching and directing is to help actors explore their own creativity, encourage them to push through perceived barriers and take their performance to new levels of emotional honesty, physical expression and collaboration with their scene partners. He employs both physical and psychological/emotional techniques to help actors reach their most truthful and compelling performance.

graham@theatreaspen.org

A native of Midland, Texas, Elissa Russell has loved theatre ever since losing her first tooth during after-school classes at Midland Community Theatre.

After attending the University of Texas, where she studied English, Elissa remained in Austin, where she interned at the ZACH Theatre and reviewed theatre for the Austin Chronicle. She also spent two summers in a barn in the middle of nowhere as a member of Shakespeare at Winedale, an intensive Shakespeare study program through UT.

After her time in Austin, Elissa worked at Virginia Repertory Theatre in Richmond, where she coordinated in-school tours for their sexual abuse prevention play.

Most recently she served as the Education Assistant for Midland Community Theatre, where she was able to give back to the same education department that inspired her own passion for theatre and arts education.

elissa@theatreaspen.org