Jon Benson - Treasurer
(Dassel, MN)
Jon Benson is a life long resident of the Dassel area. He has been involved with community theatre in Dassel-Cokato since its inception in the mid-1970's with the Village Players. Since then, he has been involved in numerous productions including, "Les Miserables" (Thenardier), "Fiddler on the Roof" (Tevye), and "Plain Hearts" (director).
Jon looks forward to serving on the board of directors of the Fungus Amongus Players.
David Metcalf - Artistic Director
(Cokato, MN)
Dave Metcalf is a retired teacher of English, Speech and Theater who worked at Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted H.S. for nearly 40 years. He has directed over 150 productions for high school and community theater in various area communities.
In the past three years he has directed "Les Miserables" and "Fiddler on the Roof" for Dassel-Cokato Community Theater. He has also led FungusAmongus Players to two consecutive performances at the AACT National Festival, directing "The Romancers" (2015) and "The Voice of the Prairie" (2017), which both ranked among the top 12 community theater productions in America.
Becky Hungerford - Secretary
(Dassel, MN)
Becky has been active with community theatre in the area since 2002. She has done everything from acting to set building to painting to sewing to stage managing to running sound. She feels theatre provides a myriad of opportunities for people of all ages and interests to be involved in an activity that enhances and enriches life in our towns.
Becky is married to Ron, mother to three grown sons, mother-in-law to two wonderful daughters-in-law, and grandma to two adorable grandchildren. She is a retired special needs paraeducator.
Kay Johnson
(Hutchinson, MN)
Kay is an award-winning journalist who is the arts and special features editor for the Hutchinson Leader. She appeared in "The Dining Room," the inaugural stage production of the Hutchinson Theatre Company. Since then, she has preferred to write about shows rather than appear in them.
She is a fan of the FungusAmongus Players and looks forward to serving on the board.
Carolyn Holje
(Dassel, MN)
A former high school English and speech teacher, Carolyn Holje was a newspaper editor and publisher for more than 20 years. Currently she is the museum director at the Dassel History Center and Ergot Museum, which is home to the FungusAmongus Players.
She has been involved with community theatre since its inception in Dassel-Cokato as the Village Players in the mid -70s when she directed three of the first shows. She has also appeared in several later productions.
Holje also directed summer children’s theatre in Dassel when she was a student at Gustavus Adolphus College.
Kurt Schultz - Vice Chair
(Glencoe, MN)
Kurt has been involved in theatre for, well, quite awhile. He has directed, done sound and lighting, and set design and construction. But, mostly he has been an actor.
He is excited about being on this new board because, like any actor, he relishes the creative process. And what a great group of people to create with!
Kevin Wilson
(Cokato, MN)
Kevin grew up in Cokato and graduated for Dassel-Cokato High School. After college Kevin was commissioned in the US Army and served for 30 years. He and his wife Jackie moved back to the area in 2013. Since returning, they have enjoyed getting involved in the local community. The FungusAmongus Players significantly adds to the great quality of life we enjoy in the Dassel-Cokato area, and Kevin is excited to be part of the team. During high school Kevin was on the stage crew for a number of productions and later became the lead set designer and stage manager. His acting portfolio is limited to playing Buddha in “The King and I”, it was a challenging role because he had to sit still for 13 minutes.
John Ryan
(Dassel, MN)
As a new transplant to the Dassel area (only arrived in Feb 1999), John is happy to contribute to community organizations. He was first recruited to assist with set construction for The Diviners in 2013 and has enjoyed his association with The FungusAmongus Players ever since. While most of his activities are behind the scenes (Shout out to the NDJ's who continue to do such great set work), he has been occasionally caught in front of the curtains as a stage hand. For his parttime occupation (40some hours a week), John is compensated for being an Engineer. John should not be confused the other Jon Ryan (original from Cokato married to Jane), this John is married to Deb.
John hopes the Greater Dassel-Cokato Area residents are not only entertained by FungusAmongus productions, but also enjoy the thought provoking ones too.
Tom Nelson - Chair
(Cokato, MN)
Tom was born and raised in the Dassel-Cokato area and has been doing theatre in the area since his first “Prairie Fire Theatre” production in the early 1990’s. Tom has been a faithful “Fungi” since his first production with the group “Toys for Men” in 2011. Since then he has been involved with every Fungus production in one way or another: acting, stage managing, running lights/sound, or even directing.
Tom lives in Cokato with his wife Elisabeth (also an actor), and their two boys: Alex who is 7 and Archie who is 3.
Maia Carnicom
(Winsted, MN)
Maia fell in love with theatre the first time she hit the stage at age 9. She grew up being involved in both Hutchinson Community Theatre and High School Theatre, and went on as a young adult to be in several productions with the Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company in Minneapolis. After moving back to the area in 2020, she was soon sucked in to the FungusAmongus family. Despite her aversion to socializing, she finds herself feeling quite at home with her “theatre people.”
Maia lives in Winsted with her wonderful husband and 3 sons. She has a pet dog named Tifa, and a pet parrot named Donut. When she isn’t on stage, she enjoys singing, playing video games, and collecting nail polish.
Deborah Moen
(Cokato, MN)
Deborah Moen has been involved with Dassel Cokato Community Theatre since 2009 serving mainly as a Production Coordinator.
By day she works as a Child Protection Social Worker for Hennepin County. Her favorite theatre collaborations are working on musicals and competing in the biennial MACTFest.
Isaac Olson
(Cokato, MN)
Isaac has been involved in theatre arts since his first high school production in 2011. In 2013, he performed in his first FungusAmongus show, “The Diviners.” Since then, he has been an active member of The FungusAmongus Players. Isaac has also performed in and helped direct many productions for high school and college theatre. Favorite past productions include “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Man of La Mancha,” and “Taming of the Shrew.”
Isaac grew up in Cokato Township and attended Dassel-Cokato High School. After attending Gustavus Adolphus College, he returned to Cokato and currently works in Dassel. Since returning, he is excited to be even more involved in producing great theatre while working alongside a company of talented artists.
Interested in serving on the board in the future, or volunteering to support the board and theatre in various activities? Click here to let us know!