Rubicon Staff

Karyl Lynn Burns — Producing Artistic Director

Karyl Lynn co-founded Rubicon Theatre Company with husband James O'Neil in 1998. Karyl Lynn has overseen nearly sixty productions for the company, as well as festivals (such as the first West Coast BeckettFest), new play development initiatives (including Plays-in-Progress), special events and educational offerings. For more than a decade prior to starting Rubicon, Karyl Lynn was CEO of State of the Arts, an arts management and marketing firm. Clients included Ventura Chamber Music Festival, New West Symphony, Ensemble Theatre Company, PCPA Theaterfest, Theatre League, Broadway Producer Normand Kurtz, and Tony Award-winning playwright Dale Wasserman. An active arts advocate, Karyl Lynn co-founded ArtCom (now the Santa Barbara Performing Arts League). She serves on the Conceptual Oversight Group of Working Artists Ventura (WAV), and has served on the Downtown Cultural District Committee for the City of Ventura, and the Events & Festivals and Arts Advisory Committees for the City of Santa Barbara. She is a past President of the Board of Access Theatre, the company that pioneered the term "accessible theatre" and integrated the talents of artists who were disabled and hard-of-hearing with those of actors who were non-disabled. Karyl Lynn worked with students from Oak Meadow School who received the United Nations "Global 500" Award for their work on environmental issues. For The Dream Foundation, she produced a PSA directed by Mimi Leder and starring Jeff Bridges. As an event planner, Karyl Lynn and her staff coordinated the 10th Annual "Cool Comedy, Hot Cuisine" in Santa Monica with Robin Williams, Howie Mandel and Bob Saget, emceed by Bob Costas. She managed and promoted a charity concert for Scleroderma Research with singer Sheryl Crow at the Santa Barbara County Bowl. Her company also coordinated several charity film premieres, including "Evita," "Casper" and "Wild America." For Capps for Congress, she managed a luncheon with First Lady Hillary Clinton as keynote speaker. In addition to her producing work for Rubicon, Karyl Lynn is also an award-winning actress and sound designer.

James O'Neil — Artistic Director

Jim co-founded Rubicon Theatre Company in 1998 with his wife Karyl Lynn Burns. Rubicon directing credits include A Delicate Balance with Susan Clark, Amanda McBroom, Granville van Dusen and Bonnie Franklin, The Diary of Anne Frank with Bruce Weitz, Man of La Mancha with George Ball, Jennifer Shelton and Jamie Torcellini, The Night of the Iguana with Stephanie Zimbalist and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., A Streetcar Named Desire with Linda Purl (Indy Award), Driving Miss Daisy with Michael Learned (NAACP Award for Direction), All My Sons with George Ball and Robin Pearson Rose (2004 Ovation Award for Best Play), Sylvia with Kristi Lynes and Joe Spano, The Glass Menagerie with Susan Clark and Joseph Fuqua, Jesus Christ Superstar with Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson, Love Letters with numerous casts, and Romeo and Juliet at the Bella Maggiore Inn and in area schools. Prior to starting Rubicon, Jim worked for more than 25 years in the theatre as a producer, director and actor. He received his B.F.A. from California Institute of the Arts. While on staff at Landmark Entertainment Group, Jim directed a multi-million dollar animatronic/special effects show in Japan, supervising all aspects of production and creative direction for themed attractions in Sanrio's Harmonyland. As Associate Producer/Artistic Associate for Santa Barbara Repertory Theatre, Jim helmed a new works program. Regional directing credits include The Lion in Winter, The Petrified Forest, Inherit the Wind and area premieres of John Ford Noonan's A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking and Rupert Holmes' Drood!. As an actor, Jim received rave reviews in the role of Pontius Pilate in the National Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar. Other favorite roles include Dr. Prospero in the American regional premiere of Return to the Forbidden Planet at Hallmark's Heartland Theatre in Kansas City, John Adams in 1776, John in Oleanna, John in Lips Together, Teeth Apart, The Duke/Dr. Carrasco in Man of La Mancha, and Adam in the first reading of Dale Wasserman's Western Star. Jim is the recipient of an "Outstanding Contribution to the Theatre" REP Award and a "Friend of Education" Award from the California State Board of Education (for Rubicon's outreach programs).