Staff
Alex Robinson
Production Manager
Alex has loved her time working with Showtunes in many different capacities since 2018. She has worked as a performer and director in Seattle at Village Theatre, Showtunes Theatre Company, NM Entertainment, and at the 5th Avenue Theatre, as well as cruise ships as a cruise director. She was the Director of Singing for Seniors at NM Entertainment, bringing senior citizens high-quality musical entertainment in the Pacific Northwest and is a regular teaching artist for ages 3-20. In 2018 she completed the Arts Education Internship with Village Theatre and in 2020 completed the Washington State Teaching Artist Training Lab. She cannot wait to continue to help bring Seattle audiences the very best that theatre has to offer, especially when showtunes is at the helm of it!
Producing Artistic Director
Nathan Young follows in a legacy of amazing leadership at Showtunes Theatre. Nathan comes from a management and musical theatre background. Serving as both a music director and composer in the Seattle area for 15 years, he also has served in corporate management in the technology industry. Nathan is the founder of Ignite Creative, a production company that specializes in large corporate events and online meetings. He brings an incredible working knowledge of management from his consulting work in large corporate IT and a lot of experience in the theatre industry as a music director. Prior to Showtunes Nathan has worked been a musical educator, development manager for a theatre company and served as a marketing director. He brings a passion for high quality, life changing musical theatre. Nathan truly believes that the idea of community is large. Showtunes family includes all patrons, actors, performers, musicians and stage professionals in the area.
Nathan Young
Board Members
Michael Ingersoll
Board Vice President
Thinking that life would let him retire…. Michael is grateful for this opportunity to jump in and serve on the Board of SHOWTUNES, unarguably the finest theater in the Northwest region where excellence, creativity, and talent shine. As a SHOWTUNES champion Michael brings years of professional theater experience as an actor, singer, producer and director for stage, film and broadcast. Over the years he has devoted attention and time to creating awareness and fund-raising events for many non-profit organizations resulting in him being a recipient of Lifetime Television’s Community Hero Award.“ As an actor in a SHOWTUNES production I was so moved by how the cast, crew and creative team worked together and were regarded by the company, I knew that I wanted to ensure that this quality of experience continue to thrive and become an example for the arts community. It is remarkable!”
Chester Weir
Board secretary
Chester Weir joined the Showtunes board in 2017, after attending a remarkable performance of Bridges of Madison County, and being drawn by the opportunity to promote the arts and reconnect with his longtime interest in theater. Chester grew up on the East Coast in a family where arts and music were always present. He is grateful to his parents for bringing him to shows and supporting him when he acted in school and college. Today, he enjoys attending productions with his partner and their three children, and supporting their interest in musical arts. Chester is a licensed architect, whose practice focuses on sustainable building technologies. He holds an M. Arch from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA from Wesleyan University.
Patrick Forhane
Board Member
Patrick Forhane joined the board of Showtunes in 2018 after being recruited by an existing board member. He is currently a Senior Credit Officer at City National Bank. He brings over 15 years of business and consumer banking experience to the organization, including 7 years in the Seattle area, as well as several years in California in the early part of his career. He has taken a keen interest in the arts since his first visit to Radio City Music Hall as a teenager. In addition to Showtunes, he has been a not-for-profit board member since 2013. Patrick holds an M.B.A. from Webster University and a B.A. in Economics from UC San Diego. He currently lives in New York, but is a former Eastside resident and visits several times annually.
Lisa Finkral
Board Member
Lisa has a passion for ensuring artists and arts organizations have the tools they need to be successful. She has been a professional live audio engineer for 17 years and a sound designer for 11. After working in the entertainment industry for a number of years, she saw first hand how hard it is for the artists she cares so much for to build their careers without someone in their corner to advocate for them. Her interests in law stemmed from a desire to help artists and arts organizations thrive in a competitive live entertainment industry. Lisa holds a B.A. in Music Business and a Certificate in Vocal Performance from Elmhurst University and a Juris Doctor from Seattle University School of Law. She is currently an Assistant General Counsel at the Allen Institute by day, and sound designs for various theatre companies around Seattle (including Showtunes!) in her free time.
Maggie Stenson Pehrson
Board Emeritus
Maggie Stenson Pehrson co-founded Showtunes in 1999. Over the years, she’s remained dedicated to the Showtunes’ goal of uniting unsung musicals with stellar talent and an appreciative audience to create exceptional experiences for all. A proud member of SAG-AFTRA and AEA, she has enjoyed many diverse stage, TV, film, industrial, voiceover and vocal recording projects. Maggie sings with the vocal trio Modern Angels, and has produced three albums to date under her Shining Heart Productions label (ModernAngels.com). She is comfortable, capable and confident leading the boardroom, trodding the boards, or appearing on mic or on camera. A favorite pastime is a spirited, creative discussion around a table laden with good food and drink.
Varsha Raghavan
Board Member
A Chicago native and greater Boston transplant, Varsha Raghavan is happy to have called Seattle home for the past four years. A lifelong theater enthusiast and performer since the age of 10, she is grateful to have kept performing with several theaters around town, including Showtunes! She currently works as a Technical Program Manager at Amazon Prime Air, and hopes to bring her project scheduling expertise to the Showtunes Board. She holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Computer Science from MIT.
Matthew Kacergis
Board Member
Matthew is an Associate Consultant with the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland. Since joining the Institute in 2018, he has since worked on a wide variety of project teams across the organization’s portfolio of services. He specializes in the curation and delivery of performing arts programming and supports strategy development for the Institute’s strategic planning practice. Matthew currently serves on the executive leadership team of the Great Lakes Center for the Arts, overseeing a budget of $3.96 million and a year-round season of artistic programming in collaboration with Artistic Director Michael Kaiser.
Before becoming an arts administrator, he spent more than a decade as a professional actor, appearing on television, at regional theatres, and on the National Tour of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. A member of SAG-AFTRA and Actors’ Equity Association, he served on several national and regional committees, including contract negotiating teams. His arts advocacy work has led him to serve in a variety of capacities with the National YoungArts Foundation, of which he is an alumnus and a member of its Alumni Advisory Council.
Matthew has studied Musical Theatre at The Boston Conservatory and received a Bachelor of Arts University of Massachusetts Amherst with a Core Certificate in Arts Management. He is an Executive Master of Nonprofit Administration candidate at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. He lives in Seattle with his wife Katy Tabb, a professional choreographer and dance educator.
Margaret Montoya
Board President
Margaret Montoya brings over twenty years of theatre experience, Front of House, Audio Description, Broadway Ambassador, and many other supporting roles. Years of production work in live entertainment and television, including three seasons of America’s, Got Talent. Margaret graduated with BS/in Business/Marketing Management and graduated from Notre Dame University, with an Executive Certificate in Non-Profit Leadership and Management. Excited to be a part of this unique live performance theatre organization.