Our Team
Tom Eubanks – Founding Artistic Director & Playwright-in-Residence
Playwright and Director, Tom hails from the Ojai Valley in southern California. He has received multiple awards for acting, directing and designing in southern California. He first directed at Ojai Art Center Theater at age 20. After a long hiatus to build a business, he returned in 1996 to acting, directing, and play writing. He’s directed the area’s best casts and helped bring new works to local stages, serving as Chairman of Ojai Art Center Theater from 1997-2003 and 2006, and, from 2004-2018, as Artistic Director for Elite Theatre Company in Channel Islands. In 2019, he co-founded The Beacon Theater Company in Ventura, California, which was forced to close after one season due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Tom’s plays, American Right, Perfect Quiet Place, The Art of Something, In the Midst of All that is Good, At the End of the Day, Thespis Thinks, Watchers, How to Make God Laugh (one-act) and Self-Storage (one-act) have been produced by Elite Theater Company, Santa Paula Theater Center, Senga Classic Theater and Theater 23.
Steven O'Shea - Managing Producer & Technical Director
A transplant from Northern California, Steven joined the Knoxville theater scene as an actor, landing roles in And Then There Were None and Art, both at Theatre Knoxville Downtown, and the roles in the World Premieres of Thespis Thinks and Watchers with Theater 23. Steven enjoys set design and construction and has helped with set construction on several shows here in Knoxville.
In California he performed at the Historic Woodland Opera House (1989-1993, 2015-2019) and Davis Musical Theater Company (2017-2018). Since moving to Knoxville, he decided to produce quality local theater and manages the productions for Theater 23. While he has a love for performing, he also has a desire to be a part of building the community and producing shows that share theater in its purest, simplest, and timeless form.
Michelle Badgley - Director of Marketing & Media
Michelle Badgley earned a degree in business administration focusing on graphic communications and worked as a graphic designer for over 20 years. She started acting when she was 12 years old and other than a couple of short pauses for family, theater has been a large part of her life to this day.
She has worked in all areas of theater including acting, stage managing, directing, set design, light design, props and costumes. She served on the Board of Directors of Lapeer Community Theater in Lapeer, MI, where she held a seat for two years prior to serving as the Executive Producer, a position she held for four years until her family moved to Tennessee in 2015.
Since moving to Knoxville, she has performed in shows with theater groups in the greater Knoxville area, along with her husband and oldest of three daughters. She also serves on the Theater 23 Board of Directors
Greg Knox -Director of Development
Greg Knox is a Knoxville native, performer, musician, and improviser who has been active in local theater since 2008. He has appeared in productions such as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Misery, The Cottage, Puffs, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and The Odd Couple, and is a founding member of the improv troupe Pretend Friends. In addition to his work on stage, Greg spent nine years as the drummer for the punk rock band KVillains, performing across the region and signed by Silverstone Records in Los Angeles. By day, Greg works as a software engineer, building everything from websites to enterprise systems and mobile apps. He holds a degree in Digital Media from Full Sail University and led cutting-edge technology initiatives at a disruptive materials science company. Greg is passionate about strengthening Knoxville’s creative community and is committed to expanding opportunities for performing arts to thrive.
Paisley Rae - Lead Stage Manager
Paisley Rae has worked backstage and stage managed shows for Ojai Art Center Theater and Theater 23 in California and Tennessee, respectively. She is an accomplished dancer and presently attends Pellissippi Community College. She also serves on the tech team for Knoxville’s Heart and Soul Church. She brings energy and organizational skills to managing Theater 23’s team of backstage crew and stage managers.
Hannah Morin - Webmaster
From an early age, Hannah was deeply immersed in the world of live theater. A member of a “theater family,” her theatrical journey began at the age of 5 in a production of Charlotte's Web and age 10 in the role of Gloria in Wait Until Dark at the Ojai Art Center Theater in Ojai, California. Hannah was an enthusiastic member of the Ventura, California, theater community, acting at various area theater companies. However, her true passion in theater was revealed in her talent for writing and directing, working with her father on writing and acting a play called At the End of the Day, which was produced by Elite Theatre Company in Channel Islands for their Pachyderm Project.
She has since merged her love for theater with a passion for Website design.