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.

Adam Brietzke, President

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, last year as Sonny in Corleone: The Shakespearean Godfather and The Actor in The Woman in Black, 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. Adam also holds a BFA in Acting from Missouri State University.

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.

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, Treasurer

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, working as an actor, director, costume designer, stage manager, and fight choreographer. In addition to her work on the board, Dana is also the Starting Gate New Play Festival Committee Chair. Dana is a library associate on the Children’s Team at the Columbia Public Library, a softball Dirtbag, a proud nerd, and knows more about cemeteries than you.

Michele Curry, Board Member

Michele Curry is a Columbia native and began her theater journey early in life when her mother, Susan, took her to see shows at the Maplewood Barn Theater as a child. She’s been passionate ever since, volunteering on and off stage in high school and community theater for over 20 years. Michele’s proudest theatrical achievement was winning Gold as Inside Columbia Magazine’s Best Theatrical Performer 2017. In addition to her work on THP’s board, Michele is hyper-involved in the Columbia community with organizations including the Columbia Chamber of Commerce’s Women’s Network Division, Heart of Missouri United Way, and the City of Columbia boards/commissions. Michele is a Commercial Payments Officer at Commerce Bank. When not at work or in the theater, Michele enjoys playing cards twice a month at her friend Karen’s house, grocery shopping for a new recipe, and hanging with her better half and fur babies.

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.

Brandt Shields, Board Member

Brandt Shields, a Columbia transplant from St. Joseph, Missouri, considers Talking Horse his Columbia community theatre home. In addition to his duties on the Board, Brandt performs monthly as a member of The Ponies improv team, and serves as a member of the group's Producers Circle. Professionally, Brandt's career has spanned an assortment of fields, including semi-professional mascot, theme park show producer, US Senate staffer,University chief of staff, lobbyist and more. Today, Brandt serves as the Chief Strategic Initiatives Officer with the Missouri School Boards' Association, promoting the importance of public education. He resides in Columbia with his wife, Mary (who he met in community theatre!) and son Henry. Brandt holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre and a Master of Business Administration, both from Missouri State University.