About Us
Who We Are
Bold Theatre is a nonprofit live theatre company working across Arkansas, with roots and continuing projects in California. We produce plays and musicals, and we also provide theatre management services — running and operating venues so that existing stages stay active, well programmed and open to the public. Our next production is A Few Good Men by Aaron Sorkin, running November 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 2026 at the Rialto Community Arts Center in Morrilton. We are also building the Foundry Entertainment Hall, an intimate 75-seat performance space in Russellville that other local theatre companies will be able to use as well — part of bringing more live theatre to the River Valley rather than building a stage for ourselves. As we grow so will this page, so keep checking back to see who has joined the team.
John J. Pistone
Founder / Artistic Director
John founded Bold Theatre in 2016 and serves as its artistic director. He has more than forty years in theatre as an actor, director, producer and playwright, and is an alumnus of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
He wrote and directed the play Hooked: A Neverland Crisis, staged in Russellville in July 2025, and wrote the play Shut-Up. On screen he plays Grady Moss in the feature film This Land and appears in the Netflix series Murderville and the Netflix special Derren Brown: Sacrifice. He has also directed the short films Dragon Girl, Philoctetes ’16, For the Greater Good? and The First Date, and the series With Friends Like These and Bloodhounds.
Prior to acting John served in the U.S. Navy as a combat cameraman and journalist and is an Iraq War veteran. He is forever grateful for his time in the Navy and for the opportunity to serve.
He is excited to be bringing live theatre home to Arkansas’s River Valley and to be part of this amazingly talented group of people.
Ray Hanna
Artistic Advisory Team Member / Director
Originally from Egypt, Ray has always been obsessed with theatre. While in college he established a student theatre company that wrote and produced numerous political satires and comedy sketches.
He took a break from theatre to focus on his family and is thrilled to be returning to the theatre community almost two decades later.
He is looking forward to bringing his creative talents to Bold Theatre and helping the theatre stay true to its mission.
Carolina Toma
Artistic Advisory Team Member / Business Consultant
Carolina is a small business owner in Long Beach, CA who has always had a passion for the creative arts.
She has extensive business and marketing knowledge and is excited to be a part of Bold Theatre’s Advisory Team and to help guide Bold Theatre in enriching the local theater scene.
Rudy Solis III
Artistic Advisory Team Member / Producer
Rudy studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles where he first met John J. Pistone. A friendship blossomed during their two years together and has continued since. Together they have collaborated on theatre, tv, and short film projects. They also share a love for football with Rudy being a die hard 49ers fan and John a Bills fan. Rudy has performed both on stage and tv.
He is excited to be a part of the Artistic Advisory Team at Bold Theatre.
You can follow Rudy and his husky, Storm, on IG: @IamRudy3rd
Darrin Reed
Artistic Advisory Team Member/ Producer
Darrin was on the board and produced numerus plays for the theater company Surf City in Hermosa Beach for over five years. He also acted in a few of the productions which included The Odd Couple, Laughter on the 23rd Floor and Bleacher Bums.
He recently co-wrote the movie entitled “Notorious Nick” the inspirational story of Nick Newell a MMA fighter who was born with congenital amputation on his left arm which stars Kevin Pollack, Elisabeth Rohm and Cody Christian which was released in limited theaters on Aug 6th 2021.
He produced the movie, “Lila and Eve,” starring Jennifer Lopez and Viola Davis which was featured at the Sundance Film Festival and is currently showing on Netflix and Amazon.
He also created the highly successful Paramount TV reality series, “Bar Rescue,” which recently started its 8th season and has aired over 200 episodes.
Darrin is a graduate of New York’s SUNY-Plattsburgh University.
Brenda Irmer
In-House Stage Manager
Brenda is Bold Theatre's in-house Stage Manager.
She brings invaluable assets to Bold Theatre and we are fortunate to have her on the team.