BOARD AND STAFF

Board of Directors

Staff Leadership

Executive Artistic Director

Carrie Houk

Carrie Houk has spent her professional life as an actor, casting director, producer and teaching artist. Educated at HB Studio in NYC and the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University, she began her acting career at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and from there worked in NYC, LA and Chicago. She has cast over thirty films, numerous television shows and countless national commercials and has worked with directors Steven Soderbergh, Robert Altman, Alexander Payne, Howard Franklin, among others. She started her casting career in Chicago thirty five years ago and from there settled back in St. Louis to raise her daughter. She has produced two films and the critically acclaimed production of Tennessee Williams’s “Stairs to the Roof” directed by Fred Abrahamse. Adjunct professor of casting and acting at Webster University, Houk has also taught at Washington University and Columbia College Chicago.

Director of Operations

Emma Glose

Since graduating from Saint Louis University with a degree in Theatre and Communication, Emma has worked with numerous theatre companies around St. Louis. Some include SATE, St. Louis Actor’s Studio, Moonstone Theatre Company, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Glose has experience prop designing, stage managing, directing, and sound designing. She has previously worked with the festival as a prop master in 2022 and assistant stage manager in 2023.