Our Mission
Black Point Theatre seeks to produce quality theatrical productions for the purpose of exploring all aspects of the human experience, while providing an artistic outlet for members of our local theatre community and a rich training ground for the next generation of theatre artists. We are a not for profit 501(c)(3) organization.
Black Point Theatre was founded as a labor of love in 2019 by Tom Rhatigan (member AEA) and Adrienne Sher. We've spent the past 40 plus years working in theatres large and small in New York, Florida (where we met many years ago), Colorado and California. We enjoy working together and share a passionate love of theatre and a similar aesthetic.
Our goal is to produce plays which elevate the human spirit. We believe that theatre should teach, theatre should inspire, theatre should be a deeply moving experience that transports the audience. We believe that theatre should offer people hope, a better understanding of ourselves and a roadmap to a better way to live. We believe that theatre has the power to change lives.
Meet our team
Adrienne Sher
Producing Artistic Director, President of The Board
Adrienne holds a BA in Drama and English Literature from Stanford University, studied acting at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and graduated from the Neighborhood Playhouse Acting School in NYC. She worked extensively in theatres in Palo Alto, New York and Key West before moving to Sacramento in 1990, where she immediately found a home at The Show Below.
Sacramento audiences have seen Adrienne perform many times at The Show Below (now the Wm. J. Geery Theatre), as well as at the B Street Theatre, Sacramento Theatre Company, Capital Stage, Big Idea Theatre, TAAC, Resurrection Theatre, Sacramento Shakespeare Festival, Garbeau’s Dinner Theatre and the Thistle Dew Dessert Theatre. Her acting credits include Visitors, The God of Carnage, The Shadow Box, Lear, The Memory of Water, Misery, Emma’s Child, Shadowlands, Strange Snow and Crimes of the Heart.
Adrienne began directing in 1991 at The Show Below, where she worked as an apprentice to the late, great Ivan Sandoval. She has directed shows at The Show Below, Big Idea Theatre, Capital Stage, River Stage, Sacramento City College, San Joaquin Delta College, The Geery Theatre, The Jean Runyon Little Theatre, The Thistle Dew Dessert Theatre and Sacramento State. Some of her favorite directing projects have been Silent Sky, Three Sisters, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Berlin to Broadway, Our Town, Picnic, Sympathetic Magic, Sea Marks, Heathen Valley, Orphans and The Foreigner.
Adrienne was a founding member of The League of Sacramento Theatres and has served on its board.
Tom Rhatigan
Associate Artist, member AEA
In 1981 Tom made his acting debut in a production of Sweet Bird of Youth at The Tennessee Williams Fine Arts Center in Key West, where he had the honor of working with Mr. Tennessee Williams himself, who was in residence. That led to many happy years working in the theatre in Key West, primarily at The Red Barn Theatre where he had the opportunity to work as an actor, and in all other aspects of production, and also at The Waterfront Playhouse. Those years instilled in him a great love of his craft, that is still in his heart today.
Tom considers himself a journeyman actor and has worked on many plays in many places. He studied acting with Ruth Newton in Key West, and in New York at HB Studios with William Hickey and at The Michael Chekhov Association.
In New York Tom co-founded Acting Against Aging, a not-for-profit theatre arts program for seniors designed to promote healthy cognitive aging. Tom brought the program here to the Sacramento area and had two successful groups, one at Sierra Two Senior Center and one at The Davis Senior Center, where his students went on to form their own theatre company.
Tom would especially like to acknowledge all of the wonderful teachers and mentors he has had over the years.
Christy Crichlow
Treasurer, Member of The Board
Christy grew up in a small town in Oregon, and moved to Sacramento in 1990. She graduated from Sacramento State with a B.S. in Management Information Systems, and has worked for the State of California for 29 years.
Christy's first theatrical experience was an audition for The Children's Hour at age 12. This was directly after a week at Summer camp, and she had laryngitis and couldn't speak. Her next appearance was a bit part in a junior high theatre production of Rowdy Kate. This extensive background, along with her introverted nature, has helped her develop a deep respect for those gifted in performing arts. She mostly participates now as a member of the audience, and is an avid theatregoer. When not attending theatre around Sacramento, Christy is an accomplished stained-glass artist.
Mariam Helalian DeGaxiola
Secretary, House Manager, Member Of The Board
Mariam has happily worked as a stage manager in the greater Sacramento area for 15 years. During that time, she worked with many local artistic organizations, most recently with Big Idea Theatre. Other highlights of her stage management career include: production managing the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival, being an associate artist with KOLT Run Creations, and stage managing a production of I Remember Mama at City Theatre in 2005, where she met her future husband. She is proud to participate as secretary and board member for Black Point Theatre. Mariam finds joy in working with a team of artists to develop a piece of theatre and bring it to life.
Martha Omiyo Kight
Webmaster
Martha is pleased to serve as a Board Member with Black Point Theatre among respected colleagues she also counts as friends. She has worked with Adrienne Sher and Mariam Helalian De Gaxiola on many productions, acted with Nisa Davis Hayden and looks forward to collaborating with Tom Rhatigan and Christy Crichlow as well.
She has worked with many theatre companies in the Sacramento area over four decades, and is proud to be a member of the Arts community in this city. She has also been active in the Poetry community and local political causes.
Martha served as a founding board member for Synergy Stage, and a company/producing member of Murphys Creek Theatre in Murphys, CA. Her experience and training in most aspects of theater over the years has served her in wearing many hats, both onstage, acting and singing, and behind the scenes with Sacramento Theatre Company, Capital Stage, KOLTrun Creations, Big Idea Theatre, Green Valley, Artistic Differences, Sierra College, City Theatre, Synergy Stage (co-founder and co-producer), River Stage, and many more.
She also often serves as a Props Master/Designer, Director, Vocal Director, Dialect Coach, Costumer, Print Designer and Webmaster. Outside of the theatre, she is a published poet, avid knitter, and she loves to cook and garden vicariously in the gardens of friends.
Nisa Davis Hayden
Public Relations, Member Of The Board, Member AEA and SAG-AFTRA
Nisa Davis Hayden has played many roles in the arts: actor, writer, educator, director and producer among them. She has performed on stages in New York, Los Angeles and Northern California. In addition to her work on stage, Nisa has appeared in film, television, documentaries and recorded numerous voiceovers here and in Japan. Nisa received her training at San Francisco State University, The American Academy of Dramatic Arts and HB Studios in New York. She is a member of Actors Equity and SAG-AFTRA and a past vice president of the League of Sacramento Theatres. Early in her career, Nisa worked as a copywriter for NBC News at its famed 30 Rockefeller Center location. She also worked as a freelance journalist covering the arts in San Francisco. In recent years, Nisa has been curating art at Sacramento galleries including the Alex Bult Gallery, Beatnik Studios and the Tim Collom Gallery.
