Actor Abner Genece

Colorado Theatre Guild is proud to present our next ✨Directors on Directors Panel✨

Moderated by CTG President, Betty Hart.

Theatre directors from across Colorado come together for an online discussion to connect, share ideas, and talk about what’s happening in regional theatre, their own journeys to becoming directors, and their best practices for working in the rehearsal space. From big cities to small towns, the conversation will be about collaboration, creativity, and a shared passion for keeping the arts strong statewide. 🎭

To register, scan the QR code below, or visit this link: https://coloradotheatreguild.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/coloradotheatreguild/eventRegistration.jsp?event=236&

Learn more about these four amazing directors below! 👇

SHELLY GAZA (she/her) is a Professor of Theatre in the School of Theatre Arts and Dance at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC). She holds an MFA in Acting from Wayne State University, a BFA in Acting from Millikin University, and a Certificate in Acting from the Moscow Art Theatre School in Russia.
As a director, Shelly has received honors from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for Compleat Female Stage Beauty at the University of Minnesota Moorhead, and Intimate Apparel and Legacy of Light at UNC. Professional directing credits include The Candlelight, Phamaly Theatre Company, Backstage Theatre Company, Little Theatre of the Rockies, and the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s Shakespeare in the Schools tour. In 2026, she will be directing Julius Ceasar at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival in Boulder, Colorado. Shelly is also a Speech & Dialect Coach and has coached productions for The Candlelight, Arvada Center Theatre Company, and Little Theatre of the Rockies.
As an actor, Shelly is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and has worked with the Utah, Colorado, and Alabama Shakespeare Festivals, Paragon Theatre, Little Theatre of the Rockies, and The Hilberry Repertory Theatre and The JET in Detroit, Michigan.
In addition to UNC, Shelly has taught theatre at Minnesota State University Moorhead, Wayne State University, and the Actor Training Program at the Utah Shakespeare Festival/Southern Utah University. Shelly also currently serves as the Vice President of the Greeley Creative District and, when not on campus or in the theatre, she can be found most days hanging out in Greeley, Colorado with her husband of 28 years, their 2 teenage kiddos, and a flock of 8 backyard chickens.

CARRIE COLTON (she/they) is a director, choreographer, and educator based out of Denver, Colorado. Selected directing and choreography credits include Hairspray (Fusion Academy of Hong Kong) Twelfth Night (North Dakota Shakespeare Festival), Julius Caesar (The Shakespeare Project), Peter Pan (Jacksonville Opera), Scarlet Pimpernel, Hello Dolly (Candlelight Dinner Playhouse), Matilda, Prom, Once (Town Hall Arts Center), Lizzie (Aurora Fox), and The Tempest (Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival). She is currently an Associate Professor of Movement and Directing at Metropolitan State University of Denver where she also runs the BFA in musical theatre program. She is the Artistic Director at The Actors Academy for the Performing Arts and Rocky Mountain Theatre for Kids. Carrie is a certified full instructor of stage combat through Dueling Arts International and holds additional certificates in Yoga, Intimacy and clowning. International tours: My Fair Lady and Annie. Education: BFA Acting - Southern Utah University. MFA Directing - Florida State University. www.carriecolton.com

MAX SHULMAN (he/him) is the artistic director of The atreworks in Colorado Springs and an associate professor of theatre at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Recent directing credits include Henry 4/5, Pericles and An Iliad (Theatreworks), Awake and Sing and Danton’s Death (Quintessence), and, at UCCS, Marie Antoinette, Indecent, Everybody, Ugly Lies the Bone, and Tis Pity She’s a W***e. In New York, he was resident director at the Center for Jewish History, and a literary associate at Abingdon Theatre and Ensemble Studio Theatre. He is director of the HomeFront Theatre Project and To the Battlefield and Back Again that creates performance events around issues affecting our veteran and active-duty communities. He is the author of The American Pipe Dream: Performing Drug Addiction, 1890-1940 from Iowa University Press. He is the co-editor of Performing the Progressive Era: Immigration, Nationalism, and Urban Life also with Iowa. THEATREWORKS
https://entcenterforthearts.org/theatreworks

WENDY FRANZ (she/her) has produced and directed numerous theatrical productions in the Rocky Mountain region. Producing credits include 10 seasons as Managing Director of the Colorado Shakespeare Festival (CSF), the Ubuntu African Dance Festival for the Dept. of Theatre & Dance at CU Boulder and over 20 productions for Denver’s critically acclaimed Paragon Theatre. Directing credits include 10 productions for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Gidion’s Knot (square product theatre and Goddess Here Productions), and 7 productions with Paragon Theatre including both contemporary classics as well as world and regional premieres. Wendy trained at the Santa Fe Opera, Little Theatre of the Rockies, and Curious Theatre and earned her degree in Directing and Design Technology from the University of Northern Colorado. She holds a certificate in Mediation and Conflict Resolution from the University of Denver.
Wendy Franz