Meet the Company
Sara Stock Mayo, Managing Director
With a BA in Musical Theatre from Syracuse University and an MA in Drama Therapy from NYU, Sara is a Registered Drama Therapist, Chaplain and educator. She is also a musician, leading spiritual services at Temple Ohav Shalom and Congregation Beth El, along with the independent group Chavurat Shirah. She is a Pittsburgh native who was mentored by Playback’s Founding Director, Roni Ostfield and hopes to carry on her vision of honoring stories through this vital form of theatre. Sara lives in Squirrel Hill with her husband, Jonathan and two children—Ziv and Elena
Richard Keitel is a founding member of Pittsburgh Playback Theatre and is proud to be approaching his third decade with the company. He is a professor of Theatre at Point Park University. Rich is an Equity actor and professional director who has been involved in over 100 productions over the years. He was the recipient of the prestigious Harry Schwalb Excellence in the Arts Award from Pittsburgh magazine. MFA in Directing from the University of Pittsburgh. Rich is married to Dr. Elisabeth Roark and the proud father of Jordan Akira 296 months, Daniel Whitman 276 months, and the first dog of his life, Bogey, 18 months.
Jessie Wray Goodman received her BFA in Acting from Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia and her MSW from the University of Pittsburgh with a certificate in Mental Health. She has performed with Pittsburgh Public Theater, Metropolitan Playhouse and VoiceTheatre in New York City, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Throughline Theatre Company, and Beautiful Cadaver Productions in the Pittsburgh Fringe Festival. Through Pittsburgh Playback Theatre, Jessie is excited to open up dialogues within the community on difficult issues and allow people to watch their stories come to life on the spot.
April Daras is an actor, director and an Assistant Professor of Theatre at Point Park University. She has been a member of Pittsburgh Playback Theatre since 2011.
"Our stories, whether joyful, grief-filled, frightening, or funny, reveal the connection we share as human beings. Playback Theater creates a community that includes and celebrates what is unique and universal! As one participant shared, 'It’s like a drug!' and I’m addicted.”
Tracey D. Turner, a Carnegie Mellon University alumnus, was named Actress of the Year in 1997 by In Pittsburgh Newsweekly for her portrayal of Prospero in the timespace production of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Other stage credits include Minnie Kincaid in Lifting (Kuntu Repertory Theatre), Stella Marr in Racing Demon (Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre), Gertrude in Hamlet and Alcandre in The Illusion (Pittsburgh Theater Laboratory), and Peggy Clark in Blue (New Horizon Theater). She was the Artistic Director of I Dream A World, Inc., a non-profit educational touring company, and was Artist in Residence and Assistant Coordinator of the Friendship Academy after school program. Ms. Turner was a teaching artist at Point Park University, where she appeared in productions of Hamlet, Anton in Show Business, and Halcyon Days. She has directed for Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre’s Black and White Festival and looks forward to directing the staged reading of Paradise Lost by Owa for the August Wilson Center for African-American Culture. Ms. Turner’s film credits include Wonderboys and Boys on the Side. She was the host of The 5-Star Ethnic Show and Shopping Pittsburgh for Comcast Cable Channel FYI. Ms. Turner is the proud mother of two daughters, Micah-Shai and Moriah.
Bridget Mullins first came to Playback Theatre in 2013 when she was searching for a way to marry her passion for the arts and her academic and occupational pursuits in the field of conflict transformation and peacebuilding. She enjoys sharing perspective and building empathy through storytelling, improvisation, and playfulness, and applies the principles of improvisation to her work as a facilitator with a global education non-profit. Training includes periods of study with Playback founders Jo Salas and Jonathan Fox, Michael Rhod of Sojourn Theatre, The Freedom Theatre in Palestine, and The Arab School of Playback Theater’s Ben Rivers. She has her undergraduate degree in Music and Peace Studies from the University of Notre Dame, and her master’s in Conflict Transformation from Eastern Mennonite University.
Caitlin Skaff has been a company member of Pittsburgh Playback Theatre since August 2014. She is a local actor, stage manager, arts administrator, advocate, fundraiser, volunteer, cupcake baker, and general “doer of all things”. By day, she works for the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania as the Grants and Resource Management Specialist. She has been a volunteer tax preparer through the United Way’s Free Tax Preparation Campaign for the past 3 years, and is currently a mentor to an amazing 7th grader through the Be A Middle School Mentor program. She is also the 2017-18 Co-Chair of Pittsburgh Emerging Arts Leaders (PEAL) network. Caitlin has performed in numerous productions in Pittsburgh over the years at South Park Theatre, Mon River Arts, Stage 62, and Pittsburgh Savoyards. She has worked as a stage manager for the last seven years on more than 25 productions with 12 Peers Theater, City Theatre, Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Playwrights, Prime Stage Theatre, South Park Theatre, Stage 62, and the Theatre Factory. She was also the assistant director for the world premiere production of The Perks of Being a Wallflower for Prime Stage Theatre in May 2017. In her spare time, she enjoys baking cupcakes (for fun, for weddings, and for special events), running the Great Race (in 2018, she will complete her 7th Great Race), and spending time with her boyfriend, Brian, and their two cats, Jameson and Bailey.
Christina is a mother, teacher, and therapist and has been with playback since 2014. She is an adjunct faculty member at Point Park and is currently working towards her Ph.D. in Counseling at Duquesne University. She also teaches yoga and works with veterans using therapeutic arts.
"Playback is one place that I feel really honors the beauty of humanity and shares this with the community. I love playback theatre because it plays back the human soul."