Stagebridge Staff

Managing Director: Gary Osteraas, Ph. D.
Gary has served as deputy director of Meals on Wheels in San Francisco, executive director of Adult Day Services Network in Contra Costa County, and executive director of the Ombudsman Program of Alameda County. He obtained a Ph.D. in history from Columbia University and taught the humanities and history at a number of colleges in the U.S. and in Nigeria.  He served on the board of the Massachusetts Intergenerational Network and on the national and state boards of other organizations serving seniors. For six years he was a board member and treasurer of the Shotgun Players in Berkeley.

Storytelling Director/TimeSlips Director: Kirk Waller, M.A.
Kirk has a bachelor’s degree in English and a Master’s in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and has trained in mime and Commedia dell’arte characterization. In addition to businesses, schools, libraries and special events, he has appeared in local and regional storytelling festivals. He is the author of the book Sister Water and Misses Wind, a retelling of popular African American folktales and the CD Quack, Gabble, Squawk and other Animal Tales.

Storybridge Director: Greacian Goeke, M.F.A.
Greacian is a performer and writer trained in modern dance, improvisation and choral singing. She has worked extensively in the Bay Area public schools and with the Goldman Institute on Aging, Museum of Children’s Art (Oakland), and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. At Mills College Children’s School, she directs an Orff Schulwerk program for classroom teachers to strengthen their music and movement skills. She holds an M.F.A. in Performance from California College of Arts and Crafts.

Musical Director: Richard “Scrumbly” Koldewyn
Scrumbly is an accomplished composer who has performed with the Cockettes, Distractions and the Jesters Vocal Trio, touring throughout Europe. He has been musical director for many Bay Area theatres including Berkeley Rep and 42nd Street Moon. His awards include the Bay Area Critic’s Circle and Bay Area Cabaret Gold Awards. For Stagebridge he has been musical director for Comedy Tonight and currently directs the touring show Never Too Late. He also created the music for Stagebridge’s world premiere musical Sylvia’s Advice on How to Age Gracefully on the Planet Denial based on the works of Nicole Hollander.

Schools Program Coordinator: Barbara Johnson
As Schools Program Coordinator, Barbara works closely with elementary school principals and teachers in four East Bay school districts, booking assemblies and classroom workshops in storytelling, drama, and improvisation, and ensuring that schools comply with foundation and government grant requirements. A native of Louisiana and resident of West Oakland, Barbara attended Laney College and came to Stagebridge in 1995 after flying worldwide as an airline flight attendant, serving as a hostess and bartender, and driving a big rig.

Development Director: Michael Stephens
Michael Stephens is a 1973 anthropology graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.  Early in his career he worked as a museum anthropologist at U.C.B.’s Hearst Museum of Anthropology and with the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos, N.M. He became Grants Manager at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 1984 and later worked as Associate Director of Development – Foundations & Corporations at San Diego Opera and then Director of Development at California Shakespeare Festival. He has served as a board member for the Southwestern Association of Indian Affairs, Sinfonia San Francisco and several other cultural organizations.

Stagebridge’s Director of Replications: Stuart Kandell, Ph.D.
Stu is nationally known for his accomplishments as the founder and former executive director of Stagebridge (1978-2010). He studied theatre at Northwestern University and received his Master’s in Drama at University of Newcastle, England. In 1996, he was the first American to receive his doctorate in Intergenerational Studies from the Union Institute in Cincinnati and is often asked to be a featured speaker at national conferences on aging. In 2000, Stu was nominated by the American Society on Aging and received the first Award for Intergenerational Innovation. In 2005, he was selected as one of 35 leaders for the Mini White House Conference on Creativity and Aging. In 2007 Stu was elected Treasurer for the Board of the National Center for Creative Aging based in Washington D.C.