Meet the Board

President (Susan Frampton)

Susan was a founding member of The British Embassy Players in 1964 when she was on the Foreign Office staff at the Embassy. Susan rejoined the group on returning to Washington in 1966 and has been a Ruby Griffith Awards adjudicator for about 25 years. She served as RGA Administrator for three terms, totaling 7 years. This past year she served as President of The Players and, prior to that, as Vice-President. Her interest this past year has been to try to improve communications between the Board and members of The British Players and encourage new younger members to take a more active role in the group. Her other interest is in play selection and expansion of the repertoire of The Players. Prior to joining The Players, Susan was President of The Washington Savoyards and later, The Victorian Lyric Opera. She performed with both The Savoyards and The Montgomery Light Opera Company.

Vice President/Technical Director (Mike Lewis)

Mike joined the BEP in 1979 and worked in many back-stage roles until 1989 when his job took him away from the Washington area. Prior to retiring in 2006, he was a Project Manager with a major international engineering company with total responsibility for numerous multi-million dollar projects. Currently, he provides consultant engineering services to the California High Speed Rail Project. Since returning to Maryland in 2006, he has been involved – in some way – in every BP production and was elected to The BP Board in 2008. He has served as President and is currently Vice President of the group. As a Board member, his primary objective is to maintain The Players’ emphasis on British Theatre and to further expand the niche role in the very competitive community theatre environment in which we now find ourselves.

Treasurer (Gary Beaver)

Gary is currently on the Board serving as Treasurer. He has been a member of The Players since 1988 and has served many years as a Board member, a Trustee, and as the RGA Administrator. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant and works for the Maryland Office of the Attorney General – Insurance Fraud Division as an investigative auditor.

Publicity & Marketing Manager & Box Office Manager (Dave Bradley)

Dave has been a Players’ member since 1996, when he sang in the chorus of the Aladdin pantomime and recently performed in the 47th Old Time Music Hall. He also sang in the 2010 Music Hall production. In addition, he has contributed many hours working Front of House and constructing sets for the company. Dave retired from the Department of Justice in June 2008 after working as an attorney for 29 years. He has extensive experience with non-profit theater companies in Washington, having served as both an officer and a member of the Board of Directors of the Spanish-language company, Teatro de la Luna (“Moon Theater”) and as a member of the Board of the Washington Savoyards. Dave has two grown sons and lives in Bethesda.

Publicity & Marketing (Ed Vilade)

Ed was born in Gloucester, England, and has more than 40 years experience as a speechwriter, communications manager, media relations and strategic communications consultant. He is an award-winning newspaper and magazine writer and editor. His first book, “Words that Changed the World,” was published in July 2010 and he is now at work on a second. Ed has acted and sung in productions with the Victorian Lyric Opera Company, The British Players, and a number of other theatrical companies. He lives in Bethesda with his very supportive wife, Alice, and six cats. His daughter, Tess, and her husband live in Japan.

Membership Secretary (Eileen Kent)

Eileen has been a member of The Players for over 25 years. During that time, she has been an extremely active member, performing in numerous Music Halls, pantomimes, and plays. Eileen has worked, not only onstage but backstage, stage managing and producing shows, and working Front of House. She directed the 2005 Music Hall: A Little of What You Fancy. Eileen spent many years on the Management Committee (now the Board), mainly as Membership Secretary but also as The Ruby Griffith Awards’ Administrator.

Recording Secretary (Jenna Sutton)

Jenna is a recent addition to the BP family and excited at the prospect of expanding her involvement with The Players to include service on the Board. She has helped with set construction and backstage but has also had experience in many other areas: costumes for an annual school musical; actor, costumer, stage manager, and FOH at college. Jenna holds acting medals from LAMDA and was on the committee of her community theatre’s teen group - chairing it in her final year – during which she attended Board meetings at Reps Theatre, Harare, Zimbabwe. As an educator, she is practiced at thinking on her feet, knows the rewards of hard work, and is well-organized. Jenna is eager to contribute her youthful energy and fresh perspectives to the BP Board and looks forward to working with such an experienced and accomplished management team.

Corresponding Secretary & Social Chair (Nicola Hoag)

Nicola joined The Players almost twenty years ago after performing as a Bow Belle in Music Hall. Over those years she has been involved in many productions both on and off the stage and served on The British Player's Board for six years as corresponding secretary and social chair. Nicola has taken a hiatus from the boards, having had two children, but she can still be seen behind the scenes at shows doing Front of House, Producing, and the odd catering job. She will co-direct the 2012 Pantomime.

Play Reading/Selection (Caroline Gelb)

Caroline has been a member of the Ruby Griffith Award program for about 8 years. She is enjoying becoming more involved with The British Players. Professionally, Caroline has worked at the World Bank for umpteen years as a Resource Management Officer and would bring varied organizational and creative skills to the BP Board. Caroline has helped with Front of House as well as provided food for the actors on a couple of occasions. She has been a member of a Play Reading Group for over 25 years and enjoys it enormously. This group goes to the next level and performs at each other's houses – costumes, props, etc. included! Caroline is eager to contribute in whatever capacity needed and is delighted to take a larger role in the wonderful BP family.

Props & Costume Manager (Anna Britton)

Anna returned to Maryland in 2006 after receiving a BFA at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and Tufts University. She volunteered as a probationary member of the Bethesda Chevy-Chase Rescue Squad from February 2009 to August 2010, during which time she earned her Maryland EMT-B certification. She has been a member of The British Players since 2007’s production of Snow White and has since participated in several local productions as set painter, set dresser, and designer. She currently works as a digital assets contractor for Collections Documentation Services at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

Membership Outreach (Anna Britton/Jenna Sutton)

See bios above

Mailing & Eblast List Coordination (Kim Newball)

Kim has been involved in BP shows since 1998 and been a member of The Players since 2002. She has worked in front of and behind the curtain, as well as co-choreographing Music Hall 2006 and producing seven shows for The Players. Professionally, Kim has worked in administrative management at the National Institutes of Health for 22 years and brings a valuable mix of organizational, leadership and creative skills to the BP Board. She has served on the Board for the past four years and counts, among her accomplishments, moving the Patron Mailing List to primarily, electronic media. Kim is happy to lend a hand – no matter what the task – to help The Players continue to produce top-notch shows while having great fun doing so!


Non-Board Positions

Artistic Director (Hilary Shostal)
Editor, Newsletter (Frankie Lewis)
KAT Liaison (Ed Eggleston)
Wardrobe Mistress (Joan Roseboom)
Ruby Griffith Award Administrator (Sigrid Blobel)