Members Bios

Samantha Chandler
Managing Director, Co-Founder

Samantha Chandler can remember her first time on stage at age eight. She sang "I Whistle a Happy Tune", from the King and I at the elementary school talent night. Ever since then, theater has played an important part in her life. As an adolescent it gave her the opportunity to work with adults as an equal. It is how she survived high school. It has helped her explore stories and characters both known and unknown to her.

She has been a middle school teacher for the past five years, and during that time her desire to expose more young people to theater grew into the dream of opening a "children's" theater in Olympia. She is thrilled to have found Jen Ryle as a partner in making this dream a reality. She is proud to be making Olympia Family Theater the place that kids will one day remember as the first place they saw live theater.

Samantha has studied performance at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, Freehold Theatre Studio in Seattle, and with the amazing members of UMO. She has directed student plays at Washington Middle School, and has performed in a number of independent theater productions in Olympia in the past decade. Her favorites include The Transfused, Julius Caesar, and the Boomtown trilogy.

Jen Ryle
Artistic Director, Co-Founder

Jen arrived in Olympia 10 years ago, after a lifetime of performing and loving music, children’s literature and theater. She studied music and drama in high school and her early college years in Seattle. Over the years, she has gained experience directing, acting, singing and supporting local performing arts groups.

During her first 6 years in Olympia, you would have found her busily volunteering at Lincoln Elementary as the choir director and creating performance opportunities for many different classes of children. Jen is indebted to Lincoln and grateful for the opportunities she had there to perform, direct, adapt children’s stories into short plays, to make music and work with children. Lincoln provided a place for her to grow as a parent, an artist and a person.

Jen completed her BA at The Evergreen State College in June of 2006. She focused her studies on expressive arts, business and education with the goal in mind of creating a children’s theater here in Olympia. She worked for three summers with her friends at Creative Theatre Experience (CTE) and for 5 years, she was a community specialist at the Olympia Regional Learning Academy (ORLA) teaching classes on everything from creative dramatics and puppetry, to reader’s theater and crafts.

Jen is OFT’s co-founder and Artistic Director. She also works behind the scenes as the production manager for every show in addition to assisting with props, scenic painting and costumes when needed. For OFT Jen has directed Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Giver, Rapunzel, The BFG, Winnie the Pooh, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, and all three of OFT’s all youth productions including; The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and The Phantom Tollbooth.

Jen is living her dream, watching OFT as it grows and flourishes. She looks forward to expanding OFT’s educational offerings in our school break camps and creative classes for all ages. She feels so lucky to work with amazing people; actors, designers, technicians, volunteers, sponsors, OFTeens and interns who are passionate about sharing the magic of theater with families and our community.

Josh Anderson
Invited Director

Josh Anderson has worked with OFT on their annual musical for the past three seasons. He directed and musically directed You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and musically directed Schoolhouse Rock Live! and Rapunzel. In addition, he has musically directed numerous shows including work for Capital Playhouse’s Students on Stage Program, TAO, the Twilight Lounge, Our Time Musical Theater Troupe (NY), Vocal Minority (NY) and Cabaret Cabaret (NY).

Josh is also a very busy actor and has performed with TAO, Capital Playhouse, TESC, Prodigal Sun Productions, Central Washington University, OTMTT (NY), SLC (NY), Seattle Children’s Theater, Big Pretty Pants Productions (SEA), and Improv Robot. Favorite past shows include Lord Franzanian’s Royal Olympic Spectacular, Urinetown!, Hay Fever, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown.

Josh is an arts educator, music director for Unity of Olympia, and occasionally hangs out with Saul Tannenbaum. He holds a BA in Arts Education and Theater Performanc