Danielle Thomsen

Executive Enchantment Director

Danielle is our founder, executive director, queen bee, and captain of the Silly ship. She oversees all things random and silly and directs all things creative - from scheming new plays to brainstorming new art installations. She also fundraises for future acts of silliness, cultivates community connections, and tells the story of RAS through our marketing and social media. She keeps us inspired and on our toes.

Growing up in Atlanta, Danielle was inspired by shows at the Center for Puppetry Arts. She built magical houses for her My Little Ponies in the backyard, hunted for mushrooms and wildflowers with her mom, and started a new club for the neighbor kids every week. Her peak life experience (thus far) was flying as Wendy in Peter Pan. Fundamentally, RAS is an attempt to recreate the magic her big brother Kenny created with family movie making competitions and annual Halloween productions featuring giant papier mache creatures and sets complete with sound, lighting and special effects.

Danielle spent more than 15 years in environmental education and conservation. She lives with her artist husband Matthew, theatrical kids Fletcher and Willa, and Dudley the Clown Dog. RAS is her work and her hobby rolled into one, for better or worse! (We think better.) If Danielle had a magical power, it would be not needing sleep, because she’d like to get about 1,000 more things done every day.

“Watching the seed of an idea grow into reality because of amazing artists is total magic for me. I love being part of a community of creators and the good energy and connections that arise when building something together."