Backdoor Theatre Staff

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JESSICA WOOD - EXECUTIVE MANAGING DIRECTOR
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Jessica Wood began attending Backdoor Theatre as a patron and eventually started volunteering with Backdoor's Improv Troupe in 2015 as a cast member.  From there, she was wrangled into playing the piano for many musicals and is now the leader of our Improv Troupe.  She also spent time on our Board of Directors.

Previously, she served as the Executive Director of NAMI Wichita Falls, a nonprofit affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and as the Data/Marketing Coordinator for Communities In Schools, before accepting the position of Interim Business Director in 2020 for Backdoor Theatre. In 2023, she was promoted to Executive Managing Director. 

When she is not at work, Jessica can be found at home snuggling with her husky, Sky, and cats Norton, Benny, and Mannie. 
And, yes, her Roomba works overtime.
CHANCE HARMON - ARTISTIC/TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
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Chance Harmon has over 35 years of experience in the creative arts having produced, directed, and performed in many regional theater productions and Broadway national tours. Harmon was a casting director and vocal coach for the MTV networks and has worked for ABC, NBC, Food Network, and Fox News, among other television networks. Harmon is the former producing artistic director of the Wichita Theatre in Wichita Falls, Texas, where he created and administered the Acting Out in Class program in area north Texas schools.

In 2016, Harmon consulted and participated in the Wichita Falls Alliance for Arts and Culture's inaugural TALL program, and in 2018, he lent his expertise to Lincoln Center Education's
Teaching Artist Development Labs. Chance is a fierce advocate
​for the arts in all communities.

​Chance became Backdoor's Artistic/Technical Director in December 2023.
MARK DUDLEY - BOX OFFICE MANAGER
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Mark is a lifelong resident of Wichita Falls, aside from a short stint in the 80s when he lived in Austin. He attended Rider High School, where he was involved in everything that was music or theatre.  After graduating in 1982, he attended the University of Texas for a brief period before taking a break and working for the Texas Legislature as a staff assistant to the Secretary of the Senate, Mrs. Betty King. He returned to Wichita Falls in 1989 to complete his college education at Midwestern State University.  Upon graduation, he went to work as a teacher for the Wichita Falls ISD, where he worked for 29 years. He retired from public education at the end of the 2021-2022 school year. 
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Mark is passionate about two things: music and theatre.  He sings, plays piano, and is a member of the Chancel Choir at First United Methodist Church.  As for theatre, he has performed on stage in many productions, as well as being involved backstage as Music Director and Stage Manager.  Mark joined Backdoor as the Box Office Manager in March 2023.

When he is not at the theatre, you can usually find him somewhere drinking a craft beer, and if he has a free week, he is heading to the great state of Colorado and enjoying the Rocky Mountains. 
His favorite quote, which is his philosophy for how he tries to live life, comes from the poet Alexander Pope: “Act well your part, there all the honour lies.”