Meet Team Arena

Jeffery Bazemore is the Senior Production Manager at Arena Stage in Washington DC. He is the former Director of Production for Baltimore Center Stage and Apprenticeship Coordinator through the Department of Service and Civic Innovation, Maryland Corps, Service Year Option. In addition to his work in technical theatre, he uses his skills in theater leadership and social work to develop programs for workforce development, working to provide technical and other career opportunities for young and early career artists and technicians.

Jeff serves as a Board of Directors for the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) and has been an engaged and active member for over 15 years, serving in multiple capacities with the USITT Volunteer Assistant Conference Program, USITT Development, Nominations, and Bylaws Committees. He has served on the 2021 Conference Planning Committees as a Regional Programmer, Co-Curator for USITT 2021 Large Props Special Exhibit, Lecturer for USITT Baltimore Professional Development Workshop (PDW) Props Lab, Host of USITT 2024 Seattle, 2025 Columbus, and 2026 Long Beach New Product Showcase as part of USITT’s Opening Night Production. For the past three years he has served as a mentor for USITT’s Gateway Program.

He is the former President and member of the Society of Props Managers (SPM). Before Production Management, he worked as the Properties Director at BCS for five seasons. He has worked professionally in props in Theatre, Film, and Television across the United States. He was a Board Member of the former Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas (SILV). Jeff has led workshops, panels, and guest lectured for different Colleges/Universities, and other Arts Organizations in Props Making and Management. Jeffery received his MFA in Production Technology from Ohio University, his MSW in Social Work from Capella University, and a BA in Theatre and Communications from Berea College.

Ashton Beck is a growth-focused, results-driven marketing leader with extensive experience in brand strategy, digital marketing, and communications. Currently serving as Senior Director of Marketing, Communications & Sales at Arena Stage, he leads innovative campaigns to drive engagement and revenue. Ashton’s background includes serving as Marketing Director at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, where he developed integrated marketing strategies and analyzed market trends to boost brand awareness. He also excelled as Director of Social Media at Elasticity, where he enhanced client engagement and social media presence. Ashton holds an MBA from Webster University and a Bachelor's in Communication from the University of St. Louis.

Rachel Harrington is a human resources leader, educator, and arts administrator who serves as Director of Human Resources at Arena Stage. In her role, she leads HR strategy and operations, supporting the organization through employee relations, policy development, organizational planning, talent processes, and HR administration. She is especially passionate about fostering healthy workplace culture and building systems that help both people and organizations thrive.

Before transitioning into human resources, Rachel worked extensively in theatre and arts education throughout Northern Virginia and the DC metro area as a performer, director, teaching artist, and vocal instructor. Those experiences continue to shape her work at Arena, where she brings a creative, people-centered approach to leadership and a deep understanding of the needs of artistic institutions.

Rachel graduated magna cum laude from George Mason University with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre with a concentration in Education.

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Prior to joining Arena Stage, Darren Edward Johnstonspent the previous decade building the Tony Award-winning theatrical production company No Guarantees Productions alongside founder and CEO Christine Schwarzman and, later, President and COO Megan O’Keefe. On Broadway and in the West End, he lead produced James Ijames' Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony-nominated play Fat Ham, directed by Saheem Ali; Player Kings, adapted and directed by Robert Icke from Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2 starring Sir Ian McKellen and Toheeb Jimoh; Jez Butterworth’s Tony and Olivier-nominated play The Hills of California, directed by Sam Mendes; and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Emerald Fennell, David Zippel, and Alexis Scheer’s musical Bad Cinderella, directed by Laurence Connor. He led co-production and theatrical investment strategy for No Guarantees, with co-productions including Sunset Blvd. (2025 Tony Award, Best Revival of a Musical), Stereophonic (2024 Tony Award, Best Play), Merrily We Roll Along (2024 Tony Award, Best Revival of a Musical), Leopoldstadt (2023 Tony Award, Best Play), The Lehman Trilogy (2022 Tony Award, Best Play), Company (2022 Tony Award, Best Revival of a Musical), and Hadestown (2019 Tony Award, Best Musical). 

Off-Broadway and regionally, Johnston also produced and developed work from artists such as David Henry Hwang, Jeanine Tesori, Leigh Silverman, Sam Pinkleton, Celine Song, Sammi Cannold, Whitney White, Jocelyn Bioh, Michael Thurber, and Darrell Grand Moultrie. Alongside Christine Schwarzman, he executive-produced the National Theatre’s film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet (PBS/Sky), starring Josh O’Connor and Jessie Buckley, directed by Simon Godwin. Their second stage-on-film collaboration, Death of England: Face to Face by Clint Dyer and Roy Williams, was broadcast on Sky Arts and nominated for the 2022 BAFTA TV award for Single Drama. 

Prior to No Guarantees, Johnston worked on a variety of plays and musicals with artists such as Tina Landau, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Phylicia Rashad, Michael Mayer, and Mike Bartlett. He served on the staff of both Tectonic Theater Project and the Public Theater, working closely with Artistic Directors Moisés Kaufman and Oskar Eustis. Outside of theater, he worked as a campaign manager, organizer, and fundraiser in Democratic politics. He chaired the Consistory of Middle Collegiate Church and served on the Collegiate Church of New York’s Consistory and Executive Committee.

Judy Leventhal has a proven success record as an arts administrator and financial manager for achieving cost savings for multi-million-dollar organizations and developing and implementing efficient processes. She has worked with large and small organizations for over a decade, offering expert strategic planning, budgeting, compliance, and grant writing. Throughout her career, Leventhal has led teams and worked with the Board of Trustees’ Finance, Audit, and Investment Committees. She has served as Director of Finance at both Symphony Space (New York, NY) and McCarter Theatre Center (Princeton, NJ), as well as Vice President and CFO at Big Apple Circus (New York, NY). Leventhal has also worked with The New 42nd Street/The New Victory Theater, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, ArtConnection, USC Radio, WNYC Communications Group, New York City Department of General Services, and Arthur Andersen & Company. She holds an MPA from Columbia University and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania.

Sean-Maurice Lynch is a Washington, D.C. based theater producer, arts administrator, community organizer, director and actor who currently serves as Senior Director of Community Engagement & Audience Experience at Arena Stage leading education and community outreach programming. Since 2007, Sean-Maurice has been a teaching artist for Arena Stage instructing acting techniques. In 2013, he received the Allen Lee Hughes Senior Fellowship. As the Senior Education and School Programs fellow, where he helped manage the DC Ticket Partnership, developing theater educational materials. In 2014, he traveled to India with the Arena Stage Voices of Now program devising plays with students and adults from Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, and Hyderabad. From 2016 - 2020, he served as Training Programs Manager at Arena Stage where he revitalized the Allen Lee Hughes Fellowship Internship Program, and the Actors Arena Professional Development program serving over 400 local DC area actors and co-created the DC Arts Culture Career Development Fair. As Associate Producer of New Play Development at Theater Alliance, he cultivated partnerships with DC community organizations like Ben's Chili Bowl and the D.C. Public Library. At the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, he served as Artistic Producer for Theater of Young Audiences where he produced plays adapted from books by authors Jacquline Woodson and Jason Reynolds. A few of his acting credits include Arena Stage; Toni Stone, Ford's Theatre; Twelve Angry Men, and Washington National Opera; Lost In the Stars.

Alicia Sells started with Arena Stage as a freelance stage manager in 2013 and joined as a full-time staff member in 2016. Over the years, she has worked in various departments across the organization, including production, operations, and general management, revitalizing various processes and procedures with an eye on streamlining resources and promoting interdepartmental collaboration. Now, as general manager, she oversees artists contracts, relations, and company management. Prior to joining Arena full time, she worked on more than 30 productions as a freelance stage manager for companies such as Adventure Theatre, Arts on the Horizon, Folger Theatre, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Olney Theatre Center, Signature Theatre, Studio Theatre, and Woolly Mammoth Theatre. She has extensive experience as both a freelance stage manager and production manager for corporate events, several of which she continues to work on an annual basis. She is also a proud company member of Arts on the Horizon, to whom she provides production management consultation. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt University with a B.A. in English, history, and theater and a minor in economics.