Bruce Livingston, Executive Director and Founder
Bruce has been connecting youth ‘at the edge’ with theatre since 1996. He established PlayWrite to pursue this passion, combining established theatre practices and neuroscience research with engaged and invested coaches to best serve the needs of youth. Bruce holds degrees from Reed College and the University of Chicago, both in Anthropology. He lived and taught in Shiraz, Iran from the late 60’s until the 1978 revolution. In 1980 he entered the culinary world in Paris, and adventures with food occupied him for the next decade and a half. In 1996, he was invited to write a play for a child in the Haven Project, and ever since has been passionately involved in connecting under-served youth with theatre. He served as Managing Director of the Haven Project from 2000 through April 2003, and founded PlayWrite in November of 2003.
Emily Andrysick, Development Associate
Emily joined the team in June of 2011, with a BA in Drama from the University of Virginia. Her infatuation with the Theater was born at Oberlin College, where she attended school for two years. She’s a big time cheerleader for the celebration of individual voice, and so she ditched the East Coast for Portland to work with PlayWrite. Out of the office, Emily writes for various projects, combs the city for perfect coffee, studies towards certification as a Life Coach, and giggles at the antics of her cat, Beatrice and dog, Douglas. She is thrilled to work for an organization that stands so strongly for empowerment and acknowledgment of some truly fantastic young people.
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Lyndsay Hogland, Program Director
Lyndsay has worked for over 17 years as a Production Stage Manager and Technical Director for numerous companies, including: BodyVox, the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Artists Repertory Theater, Oregon Children’s Theater, Profile Theatre Project, and the Romanian-style circus Cicuri Curajul. She believes strongly in the integral role that story-telling plays in the intellect and vivacity of a civilization, and is immensely proud to be a founding member of PlayWrite Inc
Rebecca Franceschi, Video Editing/Administrative (Volunteer Position)
PlayWrite is Rebecca’s big break into the nonprofit world. She has been a PlayWrite volunteer since 2004 and became administrative assistant in 2008. After deciding that filing and doing paperwork –though essential- wasn’t enough excitement, she began editing PlayWrite video, creating finished products of the writers’ works. She graduated from Oregon State in 2008 with a BS in general science with a focus on pre-physical therapy, and is currently pursing her doctorate in physical therapy in Boston. In her spare time, Rebecca can be found on a volleyball court, coaching or playing, and - when home - spending time in the garden with her chickens, cooking, or exploring the various brunch spots around Portland.
Matt Batchelder, Graphics (Volunteer Position)
Matt Batchelder is a theatre fan and a printer whose clients include Oregon Ballet Theatre, Portland Center Stage and the Portland Opera. He is proud to be a “gopher” for graphics-related projects at PlayWrite. Matt believes that if you can talk, you can sing; if you can walk, you can dance; and if you can dance, he wants to be a part of your revolution.
Liz Argall, Communications Manager (Volunteer Position)
Liz Argall has almost 10 years experience working with nonprofit organizations. She was a Sector Development Officer for the Australian Capital Territory’s peak community organization ACTCOSS, and managed of one of Canberra’s key arts and youth organizations, Warehouse Circus. She brings a strong background in communications, continual quality improvement processes and community building.
Liz is also a writer of poetry, prose, comics and song. She often writes speculative fiction and interstitial work that explores the spaces between genres. She is especially fond of gritty urban fantasy, thought provoking science fiction and fantastical literary fiction.
