Taking Flight Theatre Company

Matthew Randall (Artistic Director)

Matthew has directed La Bete, Harvey, Bat Boy: The Musical (with Natalie V. Safley), Fifth of July and Glengarry Glen Ross for CCT. He has also directed Reefer Madness: The Musical and The House of Blue Leaves for Dominion Stage.

Local acting roles include Flanders Kittredge in Six Degrees of Separation (TFT), Sterling in Jeffrey (DS), Tartuffe in Tartuffe (Vpstart Crow), Scrooge in A Christmas Carol (Vpstart Crow), Norman in The Dresser (PCP, WATCH Outstanding Actor nominee), half the cast of Greater Tuna (ESP), Selsden in Noises Off (2FP), Dale Harding in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (CCT), Captain Keller in The Miracle Worker (TAP), Geoffrey in The Lion in Winter (CCT), twins John and James Jekyll in Love! Valour! Compassion! (ESP, WATCH Outstanding Actor nominee), and Dr. Sloper in The Heiress (LTA).

Matthew serves on the boards of Taking Flight, Dominion Stage, and WATCH. Matthew is a photographer (www.allrand.com), and teaches photography classes through NOVA Loudoun’s Office of Continuing Education, and at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens.

Natalie V. Safley (Managing Director)

A founding member of the College Community Theatre (CCT), Natalie has directed over 30 productions throughout the Washington DC metro area. She holds a M.A. in Directing from Roosevelt University in Chicago, as well as a M.A. in Theatre Education and a B.A. in Theatre, both from Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon. During the day, she is a Professor of Communication Studies and Theatre at the NOVA Loudoun Campus, where she also serves as Assistant Dean.

Kevin King (Finance Director)

Kevin began his amateur theatrical career running a spotlight for his middle school’s production of Oliver. Since then he has designed sets and/or lighting for over 30 productions. Some of his favorite scenic designs include: Flight of the Lawnchair Man (TFT), Tick! Tick! Boom! (ESP), bare: a pop opera (TFT), and Batboy: The Musical (2FP). Some of his favorite lighting designs include Batboy: The Musical (2FP) and Jesus Christ Superstar (2FP).

Kevin purposefully stays behind the scenes after his last stage appearance, which saw him dancing in tights in Once Upon a Mattress. Kevin graduated from Virginia Tech in 2004 with a degree in Systems Engineering and ended up the Finance Director because he is the only Artistic Team member that can do math.

Colleen Stock (Production Manager)

Colleen’s local Stage Managing credits include Reefer Madness (Dominion Stage) Flight of the Lawnchair Man, Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, and bare: a pop opera (TFT), Christmas Carol (Vpstart Crow). She served as the company Stage Manager for the Downtown Cabaret Children’s Theatre (Bridgeport, CT), Production Stage Manager for the Jekyll Island Musical Theatre Festival (Jekyll Island GA), Stage Manager for Surflight Theatre (Beach Haven, NJ) and as Stage Manager for Le Pas D’Acier at Princeton University (Princeton, NJ). She was the Producer for Six Degrees of Separation (TFT). Colleen is a graduate of Virginia Tech where she received her BA in Theatre and had a concentration in Stage Management.

Richard Wilson (Technical Director)

Richard began and ended his acting career at the age of three when he forgot to memorize any lines other than “Hello my name is Squanto” in a school production of The First Thanksgiving.  Since that eventful day he has stayed back stage either designing or building sets.  By day Richard is a Solution Developer for Permuta Technologies focusing on Microsoft SharePoint and CRM technologies.

Susanna Todd (Season Director)

Christy Jacobs (Secretary)

Katerina Paskaris (Communications Director)

Katerina joined Taking Flight in 2010, after recently moving to the NOVA area. Having grown up on
stage, Katerina was a community theatre diva, and starred in her high school’s productions of 42nd
Street, Inherit the Wind and The Music Man. She received an acting talent scholarship to attend Wayne
State University in Detroit. Katerina retired from the stage after supporting roles in Dream on Monkey
Mountain and Evita at Wayne to pursue opportunities working as a marketing and development
assistant for the Hilberry Classical Reparatory Theatre. Currently, Katerina is a Director of Internal
Communications, and loves applying her professional experience in Mar/Comm to the theatre.