Our People

Mary Paulsell, Executive Director

Mary Paulsell has participated in more than 30 productions in central Missouri, most often as director. Favorites include HONK!, Steel Magnolias, Civil War, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Beauty and the Beast, The Full Monty, City of Angels, The Wizard of Oz, My Favorite Year, and most recently Church & State at THP. Mary retired in 2022 after 40+ years at MU. She has served as president for Columbia Entertainment Company and Maplewood Barn Community Theatre and has proudly served as a member of the THP Board. Currently, she is president of Central Missouri Honor Flight, is on the Board of Directors for the Friends of Mid-Missouri Fisher House, and is on the steering committee for Columbia’s Military Morning.

Randall Kenneth Jones, Marketing Director

RANDALL KENNETH JONES (Marketing Director) is an actor, director, writer, and keynote speaker. His podcast, “On the Knows,” has been thoughtfully described by Erin Brockovich as “The best podcast and host ever.” His first fiction book, Ruby: Magic Comes from the Heart, was discovered and published by Chicken Soup for the Soul co-creator Mark Victor Hansen in 2022. A self-described “professional storyteller,” Randy directed THP’s Love Letters and will direct our 2025 productions of Working, A Musical and Tell Me on a Sunday. He will appear in Spring Break Murders on A&E in 2025. RandallKennethJones.com

Ed Hanson, Founder and Board President

Ed Hanson, the founder of Talking Horse Productions, has called Columbia, MO home since 1978. A retired music educator, Ed launched his professional acting career in 2008 and started up THP in late 2011. He stepped aside from the day-to-day running of the company in 2018. Since starting professional work in the theatre, Ed performed for companies in Missouri, Kansas, Arizona, Mississippi, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. While his formal training is in vocal music, he loves acting in dramas and comedies as well as musicals. New, original projects are of special interest to Ed. He is occasionally seen as a Guest Artist at Stephens College and the Lyceum in Arrow Rock, as well as on the Talking Horse stage. He is proud to serve the company as the president of the Board of Directors.

Alana Barragan-Scott, Vice President

Alana Barragan-Scott grew up in St. Louis and has lived in Columbia since the 1980’s when she met her husband to-be in a class at MU. She is a lawyer and worked for the State of Missouri in the executive and judicial branches for almost 24 years. She has also taught at the MU School of Law and most recently served the Federal judiciary branch. She became involved in mid-Missouri theatre after seeing how much her three children enjoyed it, and has acted and sung in almost three dozen plays, musicals, and singing ensembles. When she is not in a show, she enjoys reading, and her latest hobby, learning to play the violin. She previously served for six years on the Board of the Maplewood Barn Community Theatre, and is happy to have joined the Talking Horse Board in 2016.

Adam Brietzke, Treasurer

Adam Brietzke is the former Artistic Director of Talking Horse Productions having served in this leadership role from 2018-2022. During this time, he created the Original Monologue Contest, a recurring fundraiser each year online through Talking Horse Productions. A mainstay on the Talking Horse stage, Adam has appeared in a number of productions, such as Henry Harry in Brilliant Traces, Alan in White People, Erik in The Wedding Present, Louie in Louie, Louie and Le Dolce Vita, Monty in Violet, and Cal in Mothers in Sons. Outside of scripted performances, Adam performs monthly with The Ponies Improv, a group he founded in 2019. Adam is a trained stage combat choreographer and stunt coordinator and has worked throughout the mid-Missouri area and has credits including Treasure Island, Robin Hood, Peter and the Starcatcher, The Heathers, Beauty & the Beast, Henry V, and Macbeth. Adam also holds a BFA in Acting from Missouri State University.

Lorrie Evelyn Furrer, Secretary

Lorrie Evelyn Furrer has been a Board member since 2013. Lorrie has acted in and directed shows in St. Louis and mid-Missouri, including several stage appearances at Talking Horse. Her backstage activities include costumes, props, stage management, fundraising, and box office. She is particularly proud of her involvement with the Starting Gate New Play Festival since its inception in 2015. Lorrie earned her degree in Theatre Literature from Smith College (1980), taught children’s theatre classes at the Theatre Guild of Webster Groves, and served on the board for River City Theatre in Rocheport, Missouri. She has worked in radio broadcasting, education-related public relations, and employment assistance. She also taught middle school English and preschool for CPS and recently retired from the City of Columbia. Lorrie is thoroughly committed to advancing the Talking Horse mission of producing high-quality, character-driven plays that allow the audience to connect with the actors and the storylines in rich and meaningful ways.

Jennifer Black Cone, Board Member

Jennifer is a COMO native! After cutting her teeth on school productions, her local theatre debut was in Maplewood Barn’s production of Annie Get Your Gun as one of Annie’s siblings. This led to her role as Becky Thatcher in Columbia Entertainment Company’s very first season production of Tom Sawyer. And the floodgates opened! She went on to a fulfilling career in Public Education teaching Speech, Theater, Debate, and English. She has maintained her commitment to local theatre by performing and directing for local theatres including TRYPS, Talking Horse, CEC, and Maplewood Barn.

Dana Bocke, Board Member

Dana Bocke has been active in the Columbia community theatre scene since 2011, performing with Talking Horse Productions, Columbia Entertainment Company, and the Maplewood Barn Theatre. In addition to her work on the board, Dana is also the Starting Gate Committee Chair. She’s been involved with Talking Horse Productions Children's Theatre since 2012. Dana is a library associate on the Children’s Team at the Columbia Public Library, a taphophile, and a proud nerd.

Ginger Cawley, Board Member

Ginger Cawley is a not only a local actor and playwright, but also the artist and creator of Bucket Emporuim along with her fiance. She is elated to have joined the board of Talking Horse Productions and is looking forward to the 2024-2025 season. Theatre has always been at the center of her passion which lead her to a successful career in South Florida for nearly a decade as an Equity Candidate Actor for theatre companies such as the Palm Beach Shakespeare Company and Drama Works. Previous roles locally include Dwight Deacon (Guerl-Rilla Theatre presents Miss Lulu Bett), Bianca (The Other Shoe, Startig Gate Play Festival at Talking Horse Producitons), Mr. Box (Guerl-Rilla Theatre presents Box and Cox), Izzy (Seminar, Talking Horse Productions), Truvy (Steel Magnolias, Columbia Entertainment Company), and Francis Hunter (No Sex Please We're British, Columbia Entertainment Company).

Angela Pirrello Howard, Board Member

Angela Pirrello Howard has been involved in theatre as a director, actor, singer, dancer, makeup artist, and teacher in Denver, CO, San Diego, CA and Columbia, MO. Angela has directed over 60 main stage shows: most recently, August Osage County, It’s a Wonderful Life at CEC, and Steel Magnolias for Fayette Community Theatre. She participated in every Guerl-rilla Theatre production as either an actor or director since its inception. By day, Angela is the theatre teacher at Oakland Middle School where she plans to train up another generation of theatre artists.

Catherine Sandstedt, Board Member

With a diverse background in music, coloratura soprano Catherine Sandstedt has performed in operas, musicals, oratorios, chamber works, and solo recitals. Some of her favorite performances include Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites (Blanche), Debussy’s Impressions de Pelléas (Mélisande), Mozart’s Il re pastore (Elisa). In addition, her passion for choral work has led her to sing in many professional ensembles, including NYC’s Marble Collegiate Choir, as well as Columbia-based groups Vox Nova and Prometheus. Dr. Sandstedt holds degrees from New York’s Stony Brook University (Doctorate of Musical Arts and Master of Music in vocal performance) where she began her studies with soprano Brenda Harris, as well as the University of Missouri-Columbia (Bachelor of Music in voice and viola performance) where she studied with Ann Harrell and Leslie Perna. For more information, please visit: https://www.catherinesandstedtsoprano.com/

Terry Schoonover, Board Member

Terry is an actor and director who has performed in mid-Missouri for over 30 years. Most recently, Terry was thrilled to direct THP’s production of The Revolutionist, which was his second show he has directed at Talking Horse, the first was Reasons to be Pretty in 2015. He has also recently directed No Sex Please, We’re British at Columbia Entertainment Company. Other directing accreditations include Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Corleone: The Shakespearean Godfather, and Noises Off. As a performer, he has recently been seen in Misery, God of Carnage, The Odd Couple, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Monty Python’s Spamalot.

Mary Shaw, Board Member

Mary has had a passion for theatre since age 10 when she set foot on stage for the first time. Since then, she has appeared in countless stage productions across 3 states. Her list of favorite roles is long, with Myra in Deathtrap, Morticia in The Addams Family, Rosalind in Moon Over Buffalo, Mrs. Daldry in In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play, and Yitzhak in Hedwig, and the Angry Inch in the top spots. She is a founding member of The Ponies, a short-form improv group based at THP. Apart from acting, Mary has also done some directing and an extensive amount of theatrical and historical costuming. She also loves birds.