About Us
Vigilance is an immersive theater group dedicated to creating intimate, experiential productions in Pittsburgh. Drawing inspiration from high art and pop culture alike, Vigilance is determined to explore the boundaries and possibilities of the growing immersive theater movement.
Vigilance Theater Group was founded by Sean Collier, Dana Custer, Ariella Furman, and Renee Rabenold. Since 2018 Vigilance has produced original immersive productions in site-specific locations, mini interactive theatrical experiences, and yearly Vigilance Cabaret Fundraisers.
The central themes of our works have emerged organically. We have created conversations on the effects of power structures, the inhumanity of class divides, the haunting effects of violence, and the challenges of action in an era of injustice. While our works are meant as entertainment, we constantly seek to ensure that the messages and meanings are clear and always in pursuit of encouraging more equitable worldviews in our audiences.
Our Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Vigilance Theater Group is committed to sharing the stage with a diverse group of performers from the Pittsburgh region. We strive to make inclusiveness and equity goals in our productions; while we know that we, like all theater companies, always have room to improve, we will continue to ensure that our cast and crew members are representative of our community. At Vigilance, that also means inviting and encouraging the involvement and professional development of performers and crew members from outside traditional theatrical backgrounds. We believe that Pittsburgh is full of talent, and that talent does not only lie inside the theatrical community; we will continue to search in non-traditional performance spaces for new collaborators.
If you have any accessibility needs or accommodations and would like to see one of our productions, please reach out to us at contact@vigilancetheater.com or click "CONTACT" on our webpage.
Meet the Creative Directors & Producers
Renee Rabenold
Artistic Director
Renee Rabenold is a director, performer, and teacher. She has a BFA in Acting from Point Park University. She has recently returned to her alma mater to teach Improvisation for the Actor. Renee also teaches improv classes at Arcade Comedy Theater. Renee performs with one of Pittsburgh’s longest-running improv comedy teams, Irony City. Through Vigilance, she has directed 3 fully original immersive productions: Hollow Moon, Welcome to Moonside, and Blood Moon, an original radio show, Reverberations, and several Vigilance Cabaret Fundraisers.
Sean Collier
Creative Director
Sean Collier is a writer based in Pittsburgh. In addition to serving as the Managing Editor of Pittsburgh Magazine, he makes weekly appearances on KDKA's "Pittsburgh Today Live" and the WDVE-FM Morning Show, where he has served as a movie critic for more than a decade. His reviews also appear on Rotten Tomatoes and pittsburghmagazine.com. He is an active stand-up comic and has performed alongside Iliza Shlesinger, Harland Williams, Bert Kreischer, Guy Torry, and many others. A co-founder of Vigilance Theater Group, he wrote the scripts for the company's first three immersive productions.
Marisa Postava
Director of Production
Marisa Postava is a native-Pittsburgh actress with a passion for immersive theatre and Vigilance’s Director of Production. She completed a BA and PharmD in Pharmacy with a concentration in business administration at the University of Pittsburgh. Some of her favorite roles include Sonya in Uncle Vanya (Throughline Theatre), Ann in HIDE (Vigilance), Ensemble in 4.48 Psychosis (Vigilance),and Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet (Pittsburgh Classic Players). When she is not actively working on productions, Marisa is can be found at her local dance studio or spending time with her cats.
Allie Lampman-Simms
Production Associate
Allie Lampman-Sims joined Vigilence Theater in 2022 when she portrayed Wallis in "Blood Moon" and she loved the idea of progressing what Immersive Theather is. She joined Vigilence as Production Assistant the following year. Her roles vary from assisting in the creative process of horror elements, practical effects, safety protocol, backstage management, Scream Coach, acting, hair, makeup and coordinates snacks for events. When not designing fuel for nightmares, Allie lives in the Zelienople area on her homestead with her husband Jp where they raise ducks and chickens. They have 2 cats, Jinpo and Scooter, with their dog Irie. Allie has her degree in Culinary Arts and owns a pet sitting business. A true Jane of all trades, Allie is apart of theater to unleash her creativity onto the world in an unconventional way.
Sun Marshall
Resident Stage Manager
Sun Marshall is a Pittsburgh-based Stage Manager. They believe strongly in the decolonization of theatrical spaces and the power of equity and representation through all parts of the production process—not just on stage. Their goal in Stage Management is to address imbalances of power, and to ensure the respect and safety of all members of a production. Compassion and fairness allow us to tell all kinds of stories, even the hard ones. They joined Vigilance as Resident Stage Manager after HIDE (2024). Previous Stage Management credits include Changing Channels (Fulton Theatre), Chimerica and Shakespeare’s Will (Quantum Theatre), Pipeline (Disrupt Theatre Co.), and more.
Brooke Echnat
Director in Residence
Brooke is an Actor, Director, Theatre Arts Educator, Audition Coach, and Pittsburgh Native! Brooke was a part of the Opening Entertainment Teams for Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser and the Disney Wish. She is also currently a Teaching Artist with City Theatre! Brooke has trained at the London Dramatic Academy as well as Bucknell University.
Anna Failla
Marketing and Social Media Director
With over 17 years of theater experience, Anna loves working on the stage and behind the scenes to bring a production together. She has worked with the Vigilance crew as a performer, stagehand, beta tester, and props master. Additionally, she is the DEAI coordinator at Arcade Comedy Theater in Downtown Pittsburgh, where is has previously performed, coached, and stage managed. Additional past works include: producing and directing Donatella: a Queer Variety Show, assistant directing The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, curating the art show Yes, and... at Boom Concepts in Garfield, Pittsburgh, and being a guest speaker and artist at the New Jersey Fringe Festival and Kean University with Flash, Float, Fall. When she is not running around the theater, Anna can be found designing & renovating houses, baking cupcakes, and knitting herself into a blanket. You can find her at annamarierose.com or on IG @a.rose_blooming
Jeremy Beveridge
Social Media Content Creator/ Production Associate
Jeremy Beveridge is a recent graduate from the Conservatory of Performing Arts at Point Park University where he received a BFA in Acting. He has performed on the Pittsburgh Playhouse stage in Much Ado About Nothing (Balthasar), It’s a Wonderful Life (Henry Potter), and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Leaf Coneybear). During his time at school, he has had the opportunity to bring stories to life by helping design and run the lighting for the world premiere of The Old Man and the Sea in the Highmark Theater in the Pittsburgh Playhouse. He has also directed Constellations by Nick Payne with the longest-running student-led theater group on campus, Pinnacle Productions. He later went on to serve as the Technical Director and Artistic Director for the group. He last worked with Vigilance Theater Company in their original production of Blood Moon.
Saige Smith
Production Consultant
Saige Smith is a Pittsburgh-native actor, singer songwriter, and Company Manager for Vigilance Theater Group. She holds a musical theater degree from Point Park University and is a member of the Actor's Equity Association. She has performed with Pittsburgh CLO, Pittsburgh Public Theater, PICT Classic Theatre, City Theatre, Corningworks Theater, Quantum Theater, and Vigilance Theater. She formed her neo-pop band, Samurai Velvet, in 2018.
Board of Directors
Jono Fortier
President
Jono Fortier is the owner of small business Wheelfish restaurant, located in Pittsburgh's North Hills, and worked for 20+ years in HealthCare IT. He also serves on the board for the New Hazlett Theater in Pittsburgh's historic North Side. Jono is excited about helping to bring memorable stories to audiences. He lives in Regent Square with his wife and two children.
Kalyani Singh
Vice President
Kalyani Singh is a theatre artist, musician, educator, and applied theatre practitioner based in Brooklyn, NY. She graduated from Lehigh University in 2018 with a B.A. in Theatre and Political Science and M.A in Political Science, through which she co-created a documentary theatre project called "Beyond Bars" that spotlighted various perspectives of folks directly impacted by the criminal justice system. She went on to complete the Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs in Pittsburgh, PA, where she later began working on a regenerative, organic farm and taking improv classes at the Arcade Comedy Theatre. In Pittsburgh, she performed in multiple immersive theatre productions, including Vigilance Theatre's Blood Moon. Interested in deepening and integrating her artistic practices and passion for social justice, she moved to NYC for the M.A. in Applied Theatre at CUNY, which she graduated from in May 2025. Motivated by society's persistent need for critical connection and dialogue, she is eager to apply her knowledge and skills as an experienced facilitator rooted in a liberatory pedagogy in diverse spaces. She believes in the power of participatory theatre to activate people's critical thinking, build connection and community, transformation, and community organizing for social and political change.
Wendy West Hickey
Secretary
Wendy West Hickey is an independent public relations and communications professional based in Wexford, PA. Wendy began her career in television and has been employed in the communications field for over 40 years. Her background includes work for NASA, USA Today, Wendy's International, Maryland Public Television, Catholic Charities and Peoples Natural Gas. Wendy is a native of Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley and holds a B.S. in Communications from Kutztown State University, with a minor in Theater and Speech. Since 2018, she has served the board of directors of Food21 of Pennsylvania as senior media advisor. She has been recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International and received the Servant of Youth award from the Boy Scouts of America. As an active and enthusiastic member of St. John's Lutheran Church of Highland in McCandless, Wendy has served on the congregation council and as a church officer, sings weekly in the chancel choir, and performs with St. John’s musical theater group, Beacon on the Hills productions.
Ariella Furman
Treasurer
Ariella Furman is an entrepreneur and executive producer. Ariella, a graduate of Temple University’s film school, has founded three successful companies, including an award-winning mobile app, Wing Ma’am, and a national wedding production company, Just Hitched Films. She co-founded Vigilance Theater Group in 2018 with Sean Collier, Dana Custer and Renee Rabenold.