STAFF
Patrick Lathrop – Executive Director
Patrick Lathrop is an actor, director, costumer and educator. He holds a BA in Theatre Performance, an MFA in Musical Theatre, and an MA in Costume History and Design. Patrick has been a teaching artist for over 25 years with a strong background in nontraditional, informal and museum education utilizing the visual and performing arts to foster creativity and self-esteem in young people. Patrick has worked with a variety of organizations including the Imagination Celebration of Orange County, Orange County Department of Education, Pasadena Junior Theatre, Pasadena Unified School District, and San Diego Junior Theatre. Just prior to moving from Southern California, Patrick worked with the San Diego Old Globe Theatre to help develop a new Shakespeare curriculum for fifth graders. Patrick began with the Coaster Theater as the summer camp director in August of 2009. In November of that year he moved to Cannon Beach to work in the box office and be the education director. Since then he has directed several education productions and he has directed and acted in several Coaster Theatre productions.
Jenni Tronier – Marketing & Operations Director
Jenni studied acting in NYC at The Academy of Dramatic Arts and Circle in the Square Theatre School. After graduating from Circle she co-founded Phenomenon Productions, Inc. in NYC with her husband Ryan Hull. With Phenomenon Productions she co-produced Zastrozzi: The Master of Discipline, Just Assassins and a new work staged reading of Beyond. She took a few years away from theatre to return to school and study art history at Hunter College and in 2004 moved to Portland, OR. While in Portland she worked for Coffee Bean Intl., a private label coffee roaster, as business development coordinator, creative manager and marketing project manager. In 2012, she and her family were looking for a change and to move to Cannon Beach. Jenni joined the Coaster Theatre in June 2013. A few of her acting credits include Bunbury, Don’t Dress for Dinner, Twelfth Night, Present Laughter, The Importance of Being Earnest, Zastrozzi, Pericles, American Clock, Once Upon A Mattress and You Can’t Take it With You. Choreography credits include Into The Woods and Paint Your Wagon (assistant). Directing credits include Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Nile and Coffee & Cigarettes.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Cathey Ryan – President
Cathey and her husband, Thomas, moved to Seaside in 2016. The Coaster Theatre opened its arms to them both with roles in Blithe Spirit and Noises Off. Cathey serves as president of the theatre’s board of directors. Cathey has been involved with music, dance, acting and directing all her adult life. She has a BA in Theatre Arts and Production as well as nine years of professional work in Los Angeles. She spent the 1970s in Hollywood working on various films, stages and sitcoms including Diff’rent Strokes and Facts of Life. Cathey and her husband have toured the country as the comedy duo “Wendell and Persimmon” and they founded a theatre company, “The Imaginators”. She spent three years on the board of “The Ukulele Society of America” of greater San Diego. Her business background is a result of working her way up to the position of vice president of the Weight Watchers franchises of Washington and Alaska. She is active with the local chapter of Indivisible North Coast Oregon and the Seaside Strummers.
David Sweeney – Secretary
David Sweeney is best known at the Coaster Theatre Playhouse for his acting. He has appeared in close to 60 productions since his Coaster Theatre debut in the 2000 production of The Music Man. Some of his recent performances include: Bob Cratchet (Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol), Burt (A Bench in the Sun), and Rooster (Annie). David serves as secretary and chair of the program committee. This committee is charged with recommending plays for the upcoming season which will offer a rich variety of styles and genres for Coaster Theatre patrons. Off site, David is pastor of Calvary Episcopal Church in Seaside.
Tita Montero – Treasurer
After having been a frequent visitor to the North Coast over the course of 40 years, Tita fulfilled a personal goal in 2002 by moving from Seattle to Seaside. For several years she attended productions at the Coaster Theatre when she issued herself a new challenge to audition and win a role. Subsequently she appeared in Unexpected Guest, Our Town and Secret Life of Sherlock Holmes and fulfilled a further challenge to sing in public by appearing in Scrooge: The Musical. Bringing expertise from previous careers in public relations, healthcare administration, and retail as well as nonprofit management, Tita joined the Coaster Theatre Board in 2015 and now serves as the treasurer, chair of the Infrastructure Committee and co-chair of the Finance Committee. Her volunteer commitments also include the Clatsop County Citizens Review Board, the Senior Advisory Council of NW Seniors and Disability Services board, the board of the Seaside Museum , advisory committees of Columbia Memorial Hospital and the Sunset Empire Transportation District as well as budget committees for Clatsop County and Sunset Empire Transportation District. Tita has served as a Seaside City Councilor since 2010.
Phyllis Bernt – Director
Phyllis and her husband moved to Cannon Beach in 2012, after vacationing in the area for almost 40 years. Enjoying a performance at the Coaster Theatre was always a high point of those visits. Phyllis pursued a range of interests during her career. After teaching literature and composition at the University of Nebraska, she joined the Lincoln Telephone Company as a cost accountant, internal auditor, and regulatory accountant. She returned to teaching at Ohio University where she taught and did research in telecommunication regulation, information policy, and international telecommunications. Since retiring to Cannon Beach, Phyllis has been a volunteer for several organizations. She is a past member of the Cannon Beach Academy School Board and the City Budget Committee. She is currently on the board of the Cannon Beach Arts Association and the Cannon Beach Library.
Tish Lilly – Director
Tish is honored to join the Coaster Theatre Playhouse board of directors. Retired from Vancouver Public Schools where she last served as district-wide K-12 visual and performing arts resource coordinator, she continues to be a strong advocate for and consumer of the arts. She holds a master of arts in dance from Mills College and performed professionally with Portland’s Keith Martin Dance Company in the 1980’s. Tish moved to Cannon Beach several years ago, drawn here in part due to the Coaster Theatre connection. She is on the faculty at Cannon Beach Yoga Arts, gratefully teaching limited in-person classes again. She’s also the proud grandmother of two little up-and-coming future performing artists.
Nancy McCarthy – Director
Since 2008, Nancy McCarthy has been active in the Coaster Theatre Playhouse as an actor, stage manager, control booth operator and usher. Her interest in the theatre goes back to the 1980s, when she first attended plays as a visitor to Cannon Beach. Nancy first acted in Our Town and has appeared in several plays, including My Fair Lady, Annie Get Your Gun, White Christmas, Scrooged and It’s a Wonderful Life. She has also worked the lights and sound on numerous plays for many years. A retired editor of the Cannon Beach Gazette and the Seaside Signal, Nancy works as a freelance writer and often writes stories about the Coaster Theatre for local publications. She also serves as a Cannon Beach City Councilor.
COASTER THEATRE BOARD APPLICATION