Last month the Society of Properties Artisan Managers (S*P*A*M) held its annual officer elections. Stage Directions sends its congratulations and welcomes S*P*A*M’s new officers—Jeffery Bazemore as President, Amy Peter as Treasurer, and Erin Keller as Secretary. The S*P*A*M membership thank former President Jim Guy, Treasurer Patricia Olive, and Secretary and Historian Deb Morgan for their many years of excellent service and dedication to S*P*A*M.
The S*P*A*M elections are usually held at its annual conference in August, but the members voted to hold the election a few months early this year to allow a transition period for the new officers. Amy Peter was elected at the 2020 conference.
Further information on the new S*P*A*M Officers
Jeffery Bazemore – President
Bazemore is the Properties Director at Baltimore Center Stage. He holds an MFA in Production Technology from Ohio University and a BA in Theatre from Berea College. He is an active member of IATSE, USITT, and a member of S*P*A*M as well as the Co-Chair of S*P*A*M’s Anti Oppression Committee. Previous work: Philadelphia Theatre Company, Tuacahn Amphitheatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Pacific Conservatory Theatre PCPA, Berea College TV/Film: Sneaky Pete, The Path, Mr. Robot, Netflix’s The Who Was Show.
Amy Peter – Treasurer
Peter has been a member of S*P*A*M for 16 years starting back when she was the Prop Assistant/shopper at the Dallas Theatre Center. She has also worked in Milwaukee WI at the Skylight Opera Theatre, in Boulder CO at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, in Greensboro NC at Triad Stage, and in Chicago at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. For the past six years Peter has spent most of her time as the Prop Shop Manager at The Theatre School at DePaul University but occasionally finds time to design props at various theatres across Chicago, teach a prop class here and there, and sneak in the occasional upholstery project. She has her BFA in technical theatre from The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Professional Theatre Training Program.
Erin Keller – Secretary
Keller has been working in the prop department at Hartford Stage in Hartford, CT since 2013. The first two seasons as the Assistant Prop Director before being promoted to Prop Director. She managed prop departments for Barrington Stage Company, New York Stage and Film, Tri-Arts Sharon Playhouse, and The Black Rep. She has also worked as a freelance artisan for TheaterWorks Hartford, Shakespeare on the Sound, and the NYU Steinhardt of Culture, Education, and Human Development, among others. She holds a BA in Theater from the University of Missouri and an MFA in Props Design and Management from Virginia Tech.
