PISCES MOON Productions

Susan Myer Silton, a SPECTRA artist since 1993 and a former middle school counselor and teacher, is the co-founder, Artistic Director, and resident director of Pisces Moon Productions, Inc., a non-profit theatre company known since its inception in 1998 for quality theatre education programs, community outreach, and memorable productions such as the highly acclaimed play The Laramie Project.

Directorial credits include, among others, The Altruists, The Food Chain, Five Flights, Never the Sinner, Swimming in the Shallows, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, and The Exonerated for Pisces Moon, as well as a number of plays for Actors’ Theatre and Jewel Theatre Company. Her most recent production with Jewel, The House of Blue Leaves, played to sold-out houses throughout its September 2011 run.

Susan’s plays, actors and production artists consistently appear on theatre critics’ annual “best of” lists.

Ms. Myer Silton has also been recognized for the educational activities she develops in collaboration with community and national groups to increase awareness of the issues explored in her plays. Among these was an examination of both sides of the death penalty issue in the play Dead Man Walking, which she directed and produced in conjunction with the Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project, Cabrillo College, and Delta Charter High School. 

Susan directed The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later in 2009 as one of only 150 international theatre companies invited to debut the highly anticipated epilogue of The Laramie Project. Performing at UCSC on October 12, 2009 as part of a simultaneous worldwide event, it was accompanied by activities that Susan developed in participation with the Matthew Shepard Foundation, UCSC, and the LGBT community to bring attention to the issues of hate crimes. 

She has produced and directed over two-dozen professional plays, as well as more than 50 student plays, and is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographer’s Society, a professional union.  

Before turning to directing, Susan was an actor for many years, receiving critical acclaim for roles in more than 20 plays, including Paulina in Central Coast Theatre Works’ Death and the Maiden, Barbara in MCT’s Social Security, Estefania in Pacific Repertory Theatre’s The Legend of Zorro, Charlotte in Actors’ Theatre’s Relative Shades, Ismene in Twice Struck by Lightning’s Antigone, and Florence Unger in The Odd Couple: Female Version at the Henry Mello Center for the Performing Arts.

Ms. Myer Silton is a cum laude graduate of Rutgers College with High Distinction in Art, and received actor training with the National Shakespeare Conservatory under a Merit Scholarship. She also coaches actors, preparing them for stage, commercial, film and television auditions and roles.

Susan has served on the Advisory Committee for SPECTRA. She was invited to lead a master class intensive at the California Educational Theatre Association’s 2008 Northern California Conference and to present a forum about theatre for social change at Cabrillo College’s Social Justice Conference in 2008. Susan is a 2009 recipient of the Gail Rich Award, which singles out Santa Cruz County residents who have made a significant contribution to the cultural landscape of the area.

Diana Torres Koss is a talented performer whose theatre roles have been critically acclaimed by the (San Francisco) Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle.

As an actor, Ms. Koss' stage credits include over 30 roles in shows such as Company, A Civil War Christmas, Starting Here Starting Now, The Light in the Piazza, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, The Best Little Whorehouse, Evita, Victor/Victoria, Singin' In The Rain, Phantom, Annie, The Fantasticks!, Cowgirls, and Sweeney Todd, to name a few. Diana has worked locally with Jewel Theatre Company (Santa Cruz), San Jose Stage Company, American Musical Theatre of San Jose, Marin Theatre Company, The Willows Theatre Company (Concord), California Conservatory Theatre (San Leandro), Theatreworks (Palo Alto and Mountain View), and Palo Alto Players. She is also an Artistic Associate with Jewel Theatre Company, where she directed the box-office hit Sylvia and where her portrayal of Bunny in The House of Blue Leaves in September 2011 earned her high critical acclaim and the enthusiastic support of sold-out audiences.

In 2001, Diana began her collaboration with Starting Arts as Music Director for Ponderosa Elementary's production of Schoolhouse Rock, and continues to music direct and direct multiple shows each year for many Starting Arts schools, including Peterson Middle School, Buchser Middle School, Cumberland Elementary, and Ponderosa Elementary.  She especially loves directing the students at Pomeroy Elementary (Willy Wonka, Alice In Wonderland) where she recently directed Beauty and the Beast.  This past year she was able to return to her alma mater, St Justin's, where she music directed Grease. In addition to directing and music-directing many shows for Starting Arts, Diana also recently directed The Mystery of Edwin Drood at Wilcox High School, where two of her students were nominated in the National High School Top Honors program for their stellar performances.

Diana Torres Koss received her education and training at the University of Santa Clara, San Jose State University, American Conservatory Theatre (San Francisco) and National Theatre Conservatory (Denver). In addition to her vocal skills, Diana is also an instrumental musician playing piano, basic accordion, basic xylophone and harmonica.  Diana loves coaching singers of all ages!