Board

Rachel Asleson, Board Chair

Zenas Baer, Board Member At Large

Zenas Baer is the ninth of 15 children of Allan Baer and Edna Baer. His parents were Old Order Mennonites who converted to Hutterites and left the communal movement in 1960 to become capitalists. Zenas has 10 brothers and 3 sisters who are living, and one deceased sister. He graduated from Lake Park High School in 1969, obtained his Bachelor of Arts Degree in German and Political Science from the University of Minnesota Minneapolis, and graduated from the Hamline University School of Law in 1980. Zenas practices law and has been admitted to various courts, including the United States Supreme Court. He served on the City Council of the City of Hawley and became City Attorney in 1990. Zenas was also appointed Clay County Examiner of Titles in 1984. He was the General Counsel for the White Earth Band of Chippewa Indians from 1996 to 2001, providing legal advice in government-to-government relations.

Outside of the practice of law, Zenas enjoys biking, tennis, racquetball, wood carving, and making homemade sauerkraut. Zenas has served on the Theatre B Board on and off for over a decade.

Chelsea Brown, Board Secretary

Chelsea Brown (she/her) is the operations manager at ArtsMidwest, where she has been working since 2018. Before that, she held roles as an administrative assistant, development associate, and development and database specialist. Prior to Arts Midwest, Chelsea held various other roles in the performing arts including as a freelance stage manager, project manager for a live-event production company, program manager for a children’s performing arts theater, and executive assistant at a theater.

When Chelsea isn’t working, she can be found working on home improvement projects, trying new recipes in the kitchen, or growing veggies in her garden.

At Theatre B, Chelsea has worked in stage management and property design capacities on shows such as This Random World, Small Mouth Sounds, The Lifespan of a Fact, Mr. Burns, a post-electric play, and more.

Monika Browne-Ecker, Ex Officio/Managing Director

Monika’s involvement with Theatre B dates back to 2012 when she debuted as a guest performer in ReEntry. Her active engagement expanded over the years, encompassing diverse roles, including performing (The Art of Bad Men, Hamlet, Small Mouth Sounds, Decked!, etc), directing (Meditation Retreat– a collaboration with the Plains Art Museum, The Cake), and designing for various productions (Straight White Men, Church and State, Blackbird, The Last Schwartz, The Roommate, The Lifespan of a Fact, to name a few). In 2017, she was invited to join the artistic ensemble and subsequently assumed the Operations and Production Manager position in 2018.

Currently, Monika is stepping into the role of Managing Director, undertaking pivotal responsibilities such as overseeing business aspects of Theatre B with a primary focus on operations and finance, artistic support, marketing and audience services, fundraising and development, audience engagement, board relations, and human resources. Her commitment to advocating for art and artists is a driving force behind developing a strategic vision for the company alongside her valued colleagues.

“I believe that art is a public good, and as a non-profit theatre company, we provide this good for our community through high-quality artistic work.”

Contact Monika at monika@theatreb.org

Jennifer Jenness, Board Member At Large

Jennifer’s passion for theatre began when her father was cast in a summer community theatre production of H.M.S. Pinafore. While there wasn’t a role for a 9-year-old in an operetta set on a 19th-century warship, she insisted on tagging along to rehearsals anyway and discovered how compelling live theatre can be. She has continued her involvement with theatre ever since, as an actor, director, dramaturg, box office manager, techie, audience member, and now board member.

Jennifer is the Director of Research and Engagement for the NDSU Libraries. She and her husband Jack have two amazing grown-ish children and two temperamental cats. Jennifer enjoys reading, British comedy, snarky cross stitch, and coffee in many, many forms. She is excited to serve the community as a member of the Theatre B Board.

Jon Micheels Leiseth, Ex Officio/Artistic Director

Jon Micheels Leiseth is thrilled to serve as Theatre B’s Artistic Director. He’s drawn to the company’s commitments to theatre as fundamental and the arts as essential, to ensemble, and to creating new works and reimagined existing works that ignite conversation and action; conversation and action that contribute to the transformation of our perspectives, our lives, and our communities.
Theatre B credits include directing What the Constitution Means to Me (upcoming), This Random World, The Roommate, and the ND reading of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later at the Fargo Theatre as part of the national premiere. He also acted in Ellis Island: The Dream of America, B’s collaboration with the Fargo Moorhead Symphony.

Regional professional credits (acting, directing, improvising, and devising) include Dudley Riggs’ Brave New Workshop, Guthrie, Minneapolis Fringe Festival, Ten Thousand Things, and 15 HEAD – a theatre lab, his artistic home for nearly a decade. In addition, Leiseth has worked as a teaching theatre artist for 25+ years, teaching students from grade school to grad school with Century College, College of St. Catherine, Liquid Labyrinth (MT), Moorhead High School, SteppingStone, the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, and more. He earned an MFA from the University of Montana in Missoula and has trained with Anne Bogart, Sojourn, North American Cultural Laboratory….
Jon is married to Tessa Moon Leiseth and they have two fabulous young adult children and one beloved dog, named Thula (TOO-lah). The whole family enjoys travel, exploring food, reading and all kinds of storytelling.

Contact Jon at jml@theatreb.org

Amanda Myhre, Board Member At Large

Forrest Steinhoff, Board Treasurer