In 1996 Allen & Jean Stuhl introduced Jen to LTA and talked her into volunteering backstage. Just in time for her to join my lighting crew for “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof”. She enjoyed working lights, and a few shows later, for “The Sorcerer”, she became the Master Electrician. That was a trial by fire, as the official lighting designer dropped out during tech week, leaving Jen solely responsible for lighting the show. She rose to that challenge, just as she has done with every other one during the quarter century we have been friends. She moved on to become a lighting designer herself, and a very good one, both at LTA and other community theaters. Stage Manager, costumes, props, onstage in a musical. With all that as background, it is not surprising that when she turned her hand to producing, she became a producer that every show wanted for her calmness and supportive attitude.

With “Bugs” at Dominion Stage she increased the range of her expertise again, entering a new phase as a director. In productions such as “’Night, Mother” she demonstrated an ability to bring out, in the audience, an empathy for the characters they saw on stage, making for deeper connections with and understandings of each play. Our schedules conflicted with our working together, but I went to see all of the shows she directed, because I knew they would be of the highest quality.

We also went to see shows together, sometimes in a group, sometimes just the two of us. She once told me of a goal to see an average of one show a week: theater, concert, or movie. I have a lot of friends in the local Celtic Music community and, her schedule permitting, she was always up to experience a new group or listen to another a second or third time. She was frequently going up to NYC to stay with family and see Broadway and off-Broadway shows. She became an adjudicator for WATCH with the task of reviewing another nine to ten shows each year. For the last several summers, outside of Covid, she and friends had been going to the Contemporary American Theater Festival to see five or six mostly-new shows over a long weekend.

And on top of all that she was on the Board at LTA and later Dominion Stage, and earlier on the board and the longest running president of Port City Playhouse.

We shared books, so many books. And spoiled each other’s cats. There were gaming sessions at least once a month. Board games - where she would frequently bring new ones she’d heard of and purchased. Or a long-running Fantasy Role Playing campaign.

Jen was so outgoing, so friendly, so available to be helpful when needed. Many of my friends, I have because Jen introduced us. You could not ask for a wiser, more considerate, more inclusive person.