Milwaukee Chamber Theatre Staff
BRENT HAZELTON (Artistic Director)
A Whitewater native, Brent succeeded Michael Wright as MCT’s Artistic Director on July 1st, 2020. Hazelton has led the company through the pandemic, leadership and staffing transitions, its Sustainability Campaign, and now its 50th Anniversary Season. MCT directing credits include AN ILIAD, THE NOT-SO-ACCIDENTAL CONVICTION OF ELEVEN MILWAUKEE "ANARCHISTS" (world premiere), LIBERACE!, MISERY, WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS?, INDECENT, MALA, the virtual UNDERNEATH THE LINTEL, and way back in 2009, SUMMER DAYS for the young Playwrights Festival.
Prior to joining MCT, Brent spent 20 seasons at Milwaukee Repertory Theater, including the final ten as Associate Artistic Director, in which position he spearheaded the season planning process, collaborated on ongoing strategic planning and initiative development, and created cross-departmental pathways to program and support productions. From 2003 to 2010, he expanded The Rep’s Artistic Internship Program (now Emerging Professional Residency), into one of the premier professional transition programs in regional theater. From 2011 to 2019, he built and oversaw all aspects of the John (Jack) D. Lewis New Play Development Program including supervising the development of nearly two dozen new plays and served as production dramaturg for the world premieres of FIVE PRESIDENTS, AMERICAN SONG, and ONE HOUSE OVER, among others. His directing work set three all-time Rep sales records, and he is one of only three directors to have staged productions in all four of The Rep’s core performance spaces. At The Rep, he wrote and directed LIBERACE! (subsequently produced at two dozen theaters nationally), conceived the premiere and 2019 installments of REP LAB, directed SONG MAN DANCE MAN, HOW THE WORLD BEGAN, THE WHIPPING MAN, the final installment of the Hanreddy/Morgan A CHRISTMAS CAROL, MCGUIRE, OUR TOWN, and GUARDS AT THE TAJ, as well as numerous readings in collaboration with Ten Chimneys Foundation.
Brent is a proud co-founder of the Milwaukee Black Theater Festival. He is also a former member of the adjunct faculties of Carthage College and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, and has taught development workshops at colleges, conservatories, and universities both locally and across the country. As an institutional leader, Brent is eager to explore how a regional theater can speak directly to the experience of its community and include everyone who chooses to call it home in that conversation.
JOSIE TRETTIN (Artistic Producer)
Josie is a 2020 graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University’s BFA Theatre Management Program. Following graduation, she spent a year with Milwaukee Repertory Theater as their Producing Resident. Hailing from Milwaukee, Josie is grateful to return home. She grew up working both administratively and artistically for First Stage Children’s Theater and Milwaukee Rep. Beyond Milwaukee, she has performed at Utah Shakespeare Festival and The Kennedy Center. Josie hopes to create theatre that supports, enriches, and reflects the communities in which she works. Her life’s ambition is to write a Dolly Parton jukebox musical and get it right.
KATIE AVILA LOUGHMILLER (Partnerships, Engagement & Impact Consultant)
By way of Boston, New York, and Los Angeles, Katie has made Milwaukee her home since 2016, committing her work to bridging cultural institutions, artists, and community. In 2017, Katie co-founded Luna Creative Collaborations, which started as a Latinx visual artist collective that has now evolved into a business working to support all artists of color, where she serves as the Creative Director.
Katie has taught in various educational settings, most recently at Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design and in the Theatre Department at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. At UWM, Katie has also directed three productions, most recently PIPELINE by Dominique Morisseau. Katie earned her first Coordinating Producer & Assistant Editor credit on the documentary OUT OF THE PICTURE, which has now screened at nine film festivals worldwide. She received Milwaukee Magazine's Unity Award (2022) and the City of Milwaukee's Vel R. Phillips Trailblazer Award (2021) and she holds a BA from NYU and an MFA from Otis College of Art & Design.
STEPHANIE K. BROWNELL (Marketing Director)
Stephanie K Brownell is a multi-disciplinary creator, educator, and editor born and raised in Racine, WI. After stints in Boston and in France, Stephanie returns home with more than a decade of experience in arts administration, including as Managing & Literary Director of Artists Theater of Boston and head of ArtsBoston’s accessible ticketing program.
As a costume designer, Stephanie has collaborated with Milwaukee Opera Theatre, American Repertory Theater, The Story Theatre Chicago, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, New Repertory Theatre, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Company One, among others.
As a writer, she's a Tin House Workshop alumn, a Sewanee Conference Tennessee Williams Scholar, and was shortlisted for the Samuel R Delany Fellowship in Speculative Fiction. Their writing has been honored with the NAPAT Playwriting Excellence Award and the Solstice Literary Prize in Fiction Editor's Choice, among others, and has appeared in Speculative North, Great Lakes Review, Decoded, Newfound, and elsewhere.
Stephanie holds an MFA in Playwriting from Boston University and teaches theatre and writing at Carroll University, GrubStreet Narrative Arts Center, and writing centers across the country. She also has a cat called Wander, an obsession with Tolkien, and no one to speak French with. Connect at skbrownell.com.
MELISSA ELSMO (Development Director)
Melissa Elsmo was born in Milwaukee and raised in Mequon and returned home in 2024 after three decades in Chicagoland. Mel brings a wealth of experience to MCT, where she oversees all aspects of fundraising, from major gifts and individual giving to foundation relations and special events. Previously, Mel served as Chief Development Officer at the Imagine Foundation in Oak Park, Illinois. There, she spearheaded a highly successful capital campaign, raising $11 million during the quiet phase and prompting a 17% increase in the fundraising goal. Mel also boasts extensive experience in non-profit journalism as a food writer and fundraiser.
A graduate of the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago, Mel formerly thrived as an underground chef. This unique background allows her to bring a resourceful and creative approach to fundraising. Mel is grateful to her mentors, Shawn Vogen (American Cancer Society), Eric Weinheimer (Bank of America), and Heidi Ruehle (Imagine Foundation), for years of guidance in honing her development skills. Mel is committed to fostering meaningful relationships with donors and community partners to bolster MCT's mission to strengthen our local artist community. Mel resides in Milwaukee with her husband, Leif.
EMILY MARIE WILKE (Production Manager & Production Stage Manager)
Emily's past credits with Milwaukee Chamber Theatre include: TOPDOG/UNDERDOG, EVERY BRILLIANT THING, A DOLL'S HOUSE, CLYDE'S, THE MOUNTAINTOP, A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN, and HOOPS. Her Milwaukee area credits also include DIAL M FOR MURDER and BEEHIVE: THE 60s MUSICAL at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre; THE LEGEND OF ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS and THE LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET with First Stage; and ERNEST SHACKLETON LOVES ME with Skylight Music Theatre. Her regional credits include five seasons with Utah Shakespeare Festival as well as work with Arizona Theatre Company, Flux Theatre Ensemble, HERE Center for the Performing Arts, and Revival Theatre Company.