Milwaukee Chamber Theatre Staff
BRENT HAZELTON (Artistic Director)
A Whitewater native, Brent succeeded Michael Wright as MCT’s Artistic Director on July 1st, 2020. After graduating with a Bachelor of Special Studies Degree (Integrated Theater Studies), from Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, he returned to Wisconsin for an Acting Internship at Milwaukee Repertory Theater. He would go on to serve at The Rep for twenty seasons, 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 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.
TONY ROMAN (Production Manager)
Tony Roman’s journey in the arts began as a young child, including a turn as Tiny Tim at The Rep. A Milwaukee native and graduate of the Milwaukee High School of the Arts, he earned a B.F.A. from the University of Evansville. While in Los Angeles he worked in film and television as well as non-profit performing arts organizations including Center Theatre Group and Los Angeles Opera. Since returning home he’s worked with The Rep, Milwaukee Ballet, and Skylight Music Theatre.
“ I am delighted to be joining the MCT team as Production Manager at such an exciting time and look forward to collaborating with our amazing local artists!”
KATIE AVILA LOUGHMILLER (Audience Development Associate)
By way of Boston, New York and Los Angeles, Katie has made Milwaukee her home for the past six years committing her work to bridging cultural institutions, artists, and community. In 2017, Katie co-founded LUNA a Latinx visual artist collective that is now a for-profit business where she serves as the Director. From 2018-2019, Katie served as the Arts Project Coordinator for the Milwaukee Public Library overseeing the two-year National Endowment for the Arts Our Town grant at the Mitchell Street Branch. Katie is a proud past member of Heard Space, a Milwaukee-based multi-media performance arts collective and of Milwaukee Action Intersection, a group that formed to support activism efforts in Milwaukee after the murder of George Floyd. In addition to her work at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Katie teaches at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and in the theatre department at University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. Katie is also the Coordinating Producer for a documentary film about art critics called Out of the Picture. Katie's individual artistic practice has allowed her to perform across the country and participate in artist residencies, most notably at Santa Fe Art Institute, Atlantic Center for the Arts, Vermont Studio Center and Wildacres Residency Program. For the last 5 years, Kaite has been co-hosting a comedy radio show, We Heard We’re Funny, that airs bi-weekly on Riverwest Radio. Katie was the recipient of Milwaukee Magazine’s Unity Award in 2022, the City of Milwaukee’s Vel R. Phillips Trailblazer Award in 2021, named a Milwaukee Repertory Theatre’s SHEro in 2020 and her Op-Ed in Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service was awarded the Best Single Editorial, Statement of Editorial Position or Opinion for the 2019 Excellence in Journalism Awards by Milwaukee Press Club. Katie received her undergraduate degree at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University and completed her Master of Fine Arts degree in the Public Practice program at Otis College of Art & Design.
STEPHANIE K. BROWNELL (Data & Communications Assistant)
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.
NICOLE ORLANDO (Marketing and Communications Director)
Nicole has more than a decade of marketing and communications experience. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from Butler University with a specialization in Integrated Communications. Nicole has worked as a copywriter and account executive at marketing agencies as well as the in-house marketing manager at Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Specialists in Green Bay, the Florentine Opera in Milwaukee, and Laumeier Sculpture Park in St. Louis, Missouri. Outside of her role as Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s marketing director, Nicole is an avid home cook, sourdough baker, and wine enthusiast.