Presenters & Moderators for STACON26
All of the beautiful humans generously contributing their time and expertise to STACON26
Subject to change and updates
Subject to change and updates
Christina Acton
Moderator
EB03 “The Safety and Health of This Whole State” Part One - “But what do we do?”: Trauma Aware Tools for Creative Spaces
January 9 at 2:00pm
Moderator
EB04 “The Safety and Health of This Whole State” Part Two - Trauma-Informed Practice with Marginalized Communities
January 9 at 3:45pm
Christina Acton (they/them) grew up in North Vancouver, BC, where their involvement with and love of all things music and theatre began at the age of three! Christina completed a Masters of Music in Choral Conducting from Memorial University in 2024, and a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from Mount Allison University in 2022. In their final year at Mount Allison, Christina was the ArtsNB Arts Matters Undergraduate Conference winner for Best Research Presentation, for their research on transgender inclusive vocal pedagogy.
On top of being the Secretary for the Shakespeare by the Sea Festival, Christina is currently the Operations Manager and Secretary for the Quintessential Vocal Ensemble, the Artistic Director of Solara Youth Voices, a private music instructor at Shine Music, the Office Administrator and a Choral Scholar at the Cowan Heights United Church, a board member for the Pourquoi-Pas? Players, and a music teacher with the Courtney Fowler Performance Academy.
On top of being the Secretary for the Shakespeare by the Sea Festival, Christina is currently the Operations Manager and Secretary for the Quintessential Vocal Ensemble, the Artistic Director of Solara Youth Voices, a private music instructor at Shine Music, the Office Administrator and a Choral Scholar at the Cowan Heights United Church, a board member for the Pourquoi-Pas? Players, and a music teacher with the Courtney Fowler Performance Academy.
Rebecca Bailey
Panelist
AB02 “If We Walk Not In The Trodden Paths” - Bridging Shakespeare Performance from "Town to Gown"
January 8 at 3:30pm
Rebecca Bailey (she/they) is a US-based artist, advocate, and teacher passionate about how theatre provides a means to energize, entertain, and bridge questions about the world around us.
Rebecca serves as Asst. Professor of Acting at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro and as the Executive Artistic Director of South Dakota Shakespeare Festival. She holds an MFA in Directing from the University of South Dakota, a BA in Theatre and minor in Dance from South Dakota State University, is a 200-hour registered yoga teacher, Sexual Assault Advocate, and spent a wonderful year studying Shakespeare and Performance at Mary Baldwin University.
Rebecca's performance, directing, and advocate work focus on using movement, kinesthetic awareness, text, mindfulness, and devising to channel experiences into art, healing, and community.
Rebecca was the recipient for Arkansas of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center Visionary Voice Award (by ACASA) and a Citizen’s Artist Award from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) in 2021.
Rebecca serves as Asst. Professor of Acting at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro and as the Executive Artistic Director of South Dakota Shakespeare Festival. She holds an MFA in Directing from the University of South Dakota, a BA in Theatre and minor in Dance from South Dakota State University, is a 200-hour registered yoga teacher, Sexual Assault Advocate, and spent a wonderful year studying Shakespeare and Performance at Mary Baldwin University.
Rebecca's performance, directing, and advocate work focus on using movement, kinesthetic awareness, text, mindfulness, and devising to channel experiences into art, healing, and community.
Rebecca was the recipient for Arkansas of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center Visionary Voice Award (by ACASA) and a Citizen’s Artist Award from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) in 2021.
- Website: rebeccajeannebailey.com
David Bellwood
Panelist
XB03 “Signs of Nobleness” - Shakespeare & Sign Language Interpreting
January 9 at 3:45pm
David has worked in theatre for over 20 years, having started as a dancer in the world tour of Riverdance. He is Head of Access at the National Theatre (UK), where he is responsible for physical and cognitive access to theatre productions and educational work for patrons, students, volunteers and staff.
David has worked in a number of theatres both directly and as a consultant, and until 2021 was Access Manager at Shakespeare's Globe. On behalf Shakespeare’s Globe, David accepted the Leonard Cheshire award for Most Inclusive Employer.
Theatres David has consulted for include the Donmar, Old Voc and the National Youth Theatre. He was chairperson at Deafinitely Theatre, a Deaf-led ACE NPO, as well as arts lead on the Southwark Dementia Action Alliance, working on infrastructural and social changes in the community to aid those living with dementia.
David is an advocate for the inclusion of performers who are deaf, disabled and neurodivergent and works with several companies to promote inclusive work.
David has worked in a number of theatres both directly and as a consultant, and until 2021 was Access Manager at Shakespeare's Globe. On behalf Shakespeare’s Globe, David accepted the Leonard Cheshire award for Most Inclusive Employer.
Theatres David has consulted for include the Donmar, Old Voc and the National Youth Theatre. He was chairperson at Deafinitely Theatre, a Deaf-led ACE NPO, as well as arts lead on the Southwark Dementia Action Alliance, working on infrastructural and social changes in the community to aid those living with dementia.
David is an advocate for the inclusion of performers who are deaf, disabled and neurodivergent and works with several companies to promote inclusive work.
Nicolette Bethel
Moderator
XB02 “By Sea, By Sea, (By Sea)” - in conversation with three ocean-adjacent companies
January 8 at 3:30pm
Nicolette Bethel is a playwright, director and producer and a founder of the Shakespeare in Paradise theatre festival in Nassau, The Bahamas. She was born and raised in Nassau, Bahamas and has studied and worked in the UK and Canada.
As a playwright, poet, fiction writer and anthropologist, Nicolette is also the Chair of the Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts in Nassau, Bahamas.
As a playwright, poet, fiction writer and anthropologist, Nicolette is also the Chair of the Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts in Nassau, Bahamas.
- Website: nicobethel.com
Katie Brokaw
Presenter
PS04 "Tongues in Trees" - Performing Shakespeare’s Forest Comedies Now
January 10 at 12:30pm
Katie Brokaw is the Shakespeare at Winedale Regents Professor of English at University of Texas Austin, where she directs the 55-year-old Shakespeare at Winedale performance program.
Katie co-founded Shakespeare in Yosemite, for which she was artistic director for eight years before moving to Texas, and she started the EarthShakes Alliance.
Katie has written several articles and books about Shakespeare, including Performing Shakespeare on and Endangered Planet (2025, with Elizabeth Freestone) and Shakespeare and Community Performance (2023); she also edited the Arden Performance Edition of Macbeth.
Katie co-founded Shakespeare in Yosemite, for which she was artistic director for eight years before moving to Texas, and she started the EarthShakes Alliance.
Katie has written several articles and books about Shakespeare, including Performing Shakespeare on and Endangered Planet (2025, with Elizabeth Freestone) and Shakespeare and Community Performance (2023); she also edited the Arden Performance Edition of Macbeth.
Petron Dee Brown
Panelist
AB02 “If We Walk Not In The Trodden Paths” - Bridging Shakespeare Performance from "Town to Gown"
January 8 at 3:30pm
Petron B. (he/him) is a Bahamian-born theatre artist. He is a Dramatists Guild Foundation National Playwriting Fellow 2024-25 and the recipient of the Mabel P. Robinson Emerging Artist Acting Award at the 2024 International Black Theatre Festival.
Petron received an MFA in Theatre (Performance) from the University of Southern Mississippi where he was inducted into the 2024 Graduate Student Hall of Fame. He has partnered with the Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault both as a performer and on multiple occasions.
Petron has received a Distinguished Achievement for the Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award, runner-up for the David Shelton Playwriting Award, and the KCACTF/LORT ASPIRE John Cauble Award, and is a 2025 Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference Semi-finalist.
Petron was recognized as the Live Arts: WATERWORKS x The Bridge Artist for his work. He also holds dual bachelor degrees in Environmental Studies and Theatre from the University of the Ozarks where he recently returned to direct the world premiere of his play, Tingum in Da Bush Ean Get No Name. In January of 2024, he premiered a TYA play that he co-wrote as a part of a grant commission from the Hattiesburg Arts Council. His work has also been seen at NYC's Off-Broadway the cell theatre, and HB Studio.
Petron received an MFA in Theatre (Performance) from the University of Southern Mississippi where he was inducted into the 2024 Graduate Student Hall of Fame. He has partnered with the Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault both as a performer and on multiple occasions.
Petron has received a Distinguished Achievement for the Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award, runner-up for the David Shelton Playwriting Award, and the KCACTF/LORT ASPIRE John Cauble Award, and is a 2025 Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference Semi-finalist.
Petron was recognized as the Live Arts: WATERWORKS x The Bridge Artist for his work. He also holds dual bachelor degrees in Environmental Studies and Theatre from the University of the Ozarks where he recently returned to direct the world premiere of his play, Tingum in Da Bush Ean Get No Name. In January of 2024, he premiered a TYA play that he co-wrote as a part of a grant commission from the Hattiesburg Arts Council. His work has also been seen at NYC's Off-Broadway the cell theatre, and HB Studio.
- IG: @petron.brown
Stephen Burdman
Panelist
MB02 "Out O' Th' House" - Performing and Teaching Shakespeare Without a Theater
January 9 at 3:45pm
Stephen Burdman founded New York Classical Theatre in 2000 and is the vision behind the creation of Panoramic Theatre. Originally from Los Angeles, he earned a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and planned to become a doctor. During college, Stephen auditioned for a production of Hamlet, and discovered his passion for Shakespeare. That experience completely changed the course of his life. Stephen founded NY Classical to give all people the chance to discover classical masterpieces as he did.
Stephen has directed over half of the Shakespearean canon. To date, he has helmed 39 productions for NY Classical. Some of his favorites include: All’s Well That Ends Well, Henry IV (a blending of Parts 1 & 2), Cymbeline (performed by 7 actors), The Importance of Being Earnest (Two-Ways), Romeo & Juliet (6 actors), The Rivals, Measure for Measure, The Seagull, A {15-Min!} Christmas Carol, Playing Moliere, Henry V (in The Battery and, via ferry boat, Governors Island), Hamlet, King Lear, Misalliance, Mary Stuart, Scapin, and The Triumph of Love.
Stephen attended the National Theater Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and later received an MFA from the UC Irvine. In 1989, he was selected to participate in the first young theatre artist exchange with the (former) Soviet Union and has been a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society since 1994.
Stephen received the 2022 Sidney Berger award from the Shakespeare Theatre Association for outstanding talent and commitment to the works of William Shakespeare. He has also been a panelist with the National Endowment for the Arts, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, The Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York, and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation.
He lives in Central Harlem with his wife, Adena, their son Zeke, and pet dragon, Murray.
Stephen has directed over half of the Shakespearean canon. To date, he has helmed 39 productions for NY Classical. Some of his favorites include: All’s Well That Ends Well, Henry IV (a blending of Parts 1 & 2), Cymbeline (performed by 7 actors), The Importance of Being Earnest (Two-Ways), Romeo & Juliet (6 actors), The Rivals, Measure for Measure, The Seagull, A {15-Min!} Christmas Carol, Playing Moliere, Henry V (in The Battery and, via ferry boat, Governors Island), Hamlet, King Lear, Misalliance, Mary Stuart, Scapin, and The Triumph of Love.
Stephen attended the National Theater Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and later received an MFA from the UC Irvine. In 1989, he was selected to participate in the first young theatre artist exchange with the (former) Soviet Union and has been a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society since 1994.
Stephen received the 2022 Sidney Berger award from the Shakespeare Theatre Association for outstanding talent and commitment to the works of William Shakespeare. He has also been a panelist with the National Endowment for the Arts, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, The Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York, and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation.
He lives in Central Harlem with his wife, Adena, their son Zeke, and pet dragon, Murray.
Debra Ann Byrd
Performer
BECOMING OTHELLO: A Black Girl's Journey
January 8 at 8:30pm
Panelist
XB04 “Draw Aside The Curtains and Discover” - Gender-Expansive Storytelling
January 10 at 1:30pm
Debra Ann Byrd is an award winning classically trained actress, playwright and producer whose theatrical career spans three decades.
After being named Writer-in-Residence at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Artist-in-Residence Fellow at the Folger Institute, and a Community Scholar Arts Fellow at Columbia University, she went on to create her celebrated one woman theatrical drama BECOMING OTHELLO: A Black Girl’s Journey, which she performed at many venues across the globe including: the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Shakespeare in Paradise, University of Warwick, York International Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare & Company, Taliesin West, Lincoln Center and the National Black Theatre Festival.
Debra Ann is the Founding Artistic Director of the Harlem Shakespeare Festival and Take Wing And Soar Productions. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Acting from Marymount Manhattan College and completed advanced studies at The Public Theater’s Shakespeare Lab, Shakespeare & Company and The Broadway League’s Commercial Theatre Institute.
Her classical roles for the stage include Queen Elizabeth in Richard III, Mrs. Malaprop in The Rivals, Volumnia in Coriolanus, Cleopatra in Antony & Cleopatra, Othello in The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice, and Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest; the latter, for which she received Best Lead Actress and Outstanding Actress in a Lead Role nominations from AUDELCO and the NY Innovative Theatre Awards.
Byrd’s career as an actor, producer, arts manager and business leader has been recognized with more than 20 awards and citations, including the NAACP Shirley Farmer Woman of Excellence Award, the LPTW Lucille Lortel Award, the Josephine Abady Award for Excellence in “Producing works that foster diversity” and the Sidney Berger Award for Excellence from the Shakespeare Theater Association.
After being named Writer-in-Residence at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Artist-in-Residence Fellow at the Folger Institute, and a Community Scholar Arts Fellow at Columbia University, she went on to create her celebrated one woman theatrical drama BECOMING OTHELLO: A Black Girl’s Journey, which she performed at many venues across the globe including: the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Shakespeare in Paradise, University of Warwick, York International Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare & Company, Taliesin West, Lincoln Center and the National Black Theatre Festival.
Debra Ann is the Founding Artistic Director of the Harlem Shakespeare Festival and Take Wing And Soar Productions. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Acting from Marymount Manhattan College and completed advanced studies at The Public Theater’s Shakespeare Lab, Shakespeare & Company and The Broadway League’s Commercial Theatre Institute.
Her classical roles for the stage include Queen Elizabeth in Richard III, Mrs. Malaprop in The Rivals, Volumnia in Coriolanus, Cleopatra in Antony & Cleopatra, Othello in The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice, and Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest; the latter, for which she received Best Lead Actress and Outstanding Actress in a Lead Role nominations from AUDELCO and the NY Innovative Theatre Awards.
Byrd’s career as an actor, producer, arts manager and business leader has been recognized with more than 20 awards and citations, including the NAACP Shirley Farmer Woman of Excellence Award, the LPTW Lucille Lortel Award, the Josephine Abady Award for Excellence in “Producing works that foster diversity” and the Sidney Berger Award for Excellence from the Shakespeare Theater Association.
- IG: @classicallydab
Sammi Cannold
Presenter
MB03 "Words, Words, Words" - structuring our language in policy and practice
January 9 at 2:00pm
Sammi Cannold is a Broadway director and filmmaker who is one of Forbes Magazine's 30 Under 30 in Hollywood & Entertainment, one of Variety's 10 Broadway Stars to Watch, one of Town & Country's Creative Aristocracy, and a Drama Desk Award winner.
In 2025, she was named a Sundance Writers Intensive Fellow and is developing her first feature film, The Homecoming, with the Sundance Institute.
Theater credits include: How to Dance in Ohio (Broadway, Syracuse Stage), Evita (A.R.T., S.T.C., New York City Center), Sunset Boulevard (Kennedy Center), Rent in Concert (Kennedy Center with the National Symphony Orchestra), Carmen (Rose Hall, Lincoln Center), Endlings (NYTW, A.R.T.), Ragtime on Ellis Island, and Violet (A.R.T.). Additional: A.R.T. Artistic Fellow, member of Cirque du Soleil's Creative Cognoscenti, Sundance Institute Theater Fellow, and work for CBS, ABC, Nickelodeon, and Apple TV+. B. A., Stanford University; M.A., Harvard University.
In 2025, she was named a Sundance Writers Intensive Fellow and is developing her first feature film, The Homecoming, with the Sundance Institute.
Theater credits include: How to Dance in Ohio (Broadway, Syracuse Stage), Evita (A.R.T., S.T.C., New York City Center), Sunset Boulevard (Kennedy Center), Rent in Concert (Kennedy Center with the National Symphony Orchestra), Carmen (Rose Hall, Lincoln Center), Endlings (NYTW, A.R.T.), Ragtime on Ellis Island, and Violet (A.R.T.). Additional: A.R.T. Artistic Fellow, member of Cirque du Soleil's Creative Cognoscenti, Sundance Institute Theater Fellow, and work for CBS, ABC, Nickelodeon, and Apple TV+. B. A., Stanford University; M.A., Harvard University.
- Website: sammicannold.com
- IG: @sammi.cannold/
Andrew Codispoti
Process Leader
Quick-Raise Practicon
January 7-9
Andrew Codispoti (he/him) is a wandering theatre maker specializing in creating productions of Shakespeare’s plays using a “quick-raise” process derived from Elizabethan/Jacobean theatrical practice and fused with modern innovations.
Andrew is a founding member of The Shakespeare Ensemble and Bridge Theatre Ensemble, as well as a long-term company member with Advice to the Players (ATTP) and Seven Stages Shakespeare Company.
Andrew served as the Artistic Director with ATTP from 2016-2017, and is also an Associate Artist with Incite Shakespeare Company in Santa Fe. He is the curator and instigator of the Vicious Mole Theatre Collective.
Andrew is a founding member of The Shakespeare Ensemble and Bridge Theatre Ensemble, as well as a long-term company member with Advice to the Players (ATTP) and Seven Stages Shakespeare Company.
Andrew served as the Artistic Director with ATTP from 2016-2017, and is also an Associate Artist with Incite Shakespeare Company in Santa Fe. He is the curator and instigator of the Vicious Mole Theatre Collective.
- Website: andrewcodispoti.com
Ben Crystal
Practicon Curator & Process Leader
Quick-Raise Practicon
January 7-9
Speaker
PS01 - "Please you to take the urgent hour" - Defending and Celebrating the Need for Shakespeare in Our Urgent Times: Opening Plenary
January 10 at 11:15am
Ben Crystal (he/him) is an actor, author, and creative producer working worldwide in theatre and education. An Associate Artist with Shakespeare North Playhouse and consultant producer to international companies, he is known for pioneering the “quick-raise” method—staging full Shakespeare productions in just days using a fusion of Elizabethan and modern rehearsal techniques.
Founder of the Bridge Theatre Ensemble, curator of the Shakespeare Ensemble, and curator of the Decentred Shakespeare Network, Ben’s projects explore community engagement, accessibility, and global collaboration. He curated the experimental virtual promenade What You Will (freely available to watch at www.theShakespeareEnsemble.com) and his rapid stagings around the world have earned great acclaim for their innovation and playfulness.
Ben played Hamlet in the first Original Pronunciation (OP) production in 400 years and co-produced the British Library’s first OP Shakespeare CD. His books include Shakespeare on Toast, Springboard Shakespeare, and Everyday Shakespeare, and he has co-authored several books with linguist David Crystal, including the industry standard Shakespeare's Words: A Glossary and Language Companion (also a mobile-friendly website) and Everyday Shakespeare: Lines for Life ( also a desk- or fridge-friendly calendar.)
Founder of the Bridge Theatre Ensemble, curator of the Shakespeare Ensemble, and curator of the Decentred Shakespeare Network, Ben’s projects explore community engagement, accessibility, and global collaboration. He curated the experimental virtual promenade What You Will (freely available to watch at www.theShakespeareEnsemble.com) and his rapid stagings around the world have earned great acclaim for their innovation and playfulness.
Ben played Hamlet in the first Original Pronunciation (OP) production in 400 years and co-produced the British Library’s first OP Shakespeare CD. His books include Shakespeare on Toast, Springboard Shakespeare, and Everyday Shakespeare, and he has co-authored several books with linguist David Crystal, including the industry standard Shakespeare's Words: A Glossary and Language Companion (also a mobile-friendly website) and Everyday Shakespeare: Lines for Life ( also a desk- or fridge-friendly calendar.)
- Website: bencrystal.com
Lucy Cuthbertson
Moderator
EB01 “All The Currents Of A Heady Fight” Part One - Shakespeare & Violence Prevention: A Practical Handbook For Educators January 8 at 1:30pm
Lucy is the Director of Education at Shakespeare’s Globe. Training: The Poor School – Acting training; Goldsmiths – Secondary Drama PGCE; Central School of Speech and Drama – MA Applied Theatre & Drama Education.
Lucy has 30 years’ experience of making theatre, teaching drama and directing, both professionally and in schools, specialising in work with and for young people & family theatre. She is a founder member of Ridiculusmus Theatre Company, with whom she toured extensively in the UK and Ireland.
Lucy has over 20 years’ experience in state school education, as a Head of Drama and Lead Practitioner for the Borough of Greenwich; her school-based theatre company was considered the most successful in the country & productions included: Hotel World (Edinburgh Workshop, Best Play, Fringe Report); Just (Olivier Theatre, Assembly, Edinburgh); Lysistrata (Riverside Studios), Romeo and Juliet (Riverside Studios & George Square); Galatea (Painted Hall, Greenwich). She went on to be Director of Drama and Theatre for a large multi-academy trust (Griffin Schools) working nationally across 13 Primary & Secondary schools. She also specialised in working with teachers to challenge homophobia & create inclusive LGBTQ schools.
Lucy is a long-time collaborator with Splendid Productions, having directed and co-directed many of their touring productions for students. She also directed two of their pantomimes with mixed professional/student casts: The Epic Adventures of Robin Hood and Red Riding versus The Wolf, both at Stantonbury Theatre, where she was artistic director 2017-19.
For Shakespeare’s Globe, Lucy has led Learning and Family work since 2019, creating a vast online offer during lockdown; a thriving Youth Theatre and Young Company, overseeing our award-winning Lively Action programme for schools, the further development of Playing Shakespeare and their international work; created social justice teacher CPDs and many other initiatives.
Lucy directed the Globe’s first, full-scale family show in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse Midsummer Mechanicals, which returned for a second year, toured to Shakespeare North Playhouse and was nominated for an Oliver Award 2023.
Lucy directed Romeo and Juliet for Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank in the Globe Theatre, Spring 2024 and co-directed Rough Magic in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in the summer of 2025.
Lucy is a member of the APPG for Shakespeare, on the Advisory Panel for the Cultural Learning Alliance and a judge for the TES awards.
Lucy has 30 years’ experience of making theatre, teaching drama and directing, both professionally and in schools, specialising in work with and for young people & family theatre. She is a founder member of Ridiculusmus Theatre Company, with whom she toured extensively in the UK and Ireland.
Lucy has over 20 years’ experience in state school education, as a Head of Drama and Lead Practitioner for the Borough of Greenwich; her school-based theatre company was considered the most successful in the country & productions included: Hotel World (Edinburgh Workshop, Best Play, Fringe Report); Just (Olivier Theatre, Assembly, Edinburgh); Lysistrata (Riverside Studios), Romeo and Juliet (Riverside Studios & George Square); Galatea (Painted Hall, Greenwich). She went on to be Director of Drama and Theatre for a large multi-academy trust (Griffin Schools) working nationally across 13 Primary & Secondary schools. She also specialised in working with teachers to challenge homophobia & create inclusive LGBTQ schools.
Lucy is a long-time collaborator with Splendid Productions, having directed and co-directed many of their touring productions for students. She also directed two of their pantomimes with mixed professional/student casts: The Epic Adventures of Robin Hood and Red Riding versus The Wolf, both at Stantonbury Theatre, where she was artistic director 2017-19.
For Shakespeare’s Globe, Lucy has led Learning and Family work since 2019, creating a vast online offer during lockdown; a thriving Youth Theatre and Young Company, overseeing our award-winning Lively Action programme for schools, the further development of Playing Shakespeare and their international work; created social justice teacher CPDs and many other initiatives.
Lucy directed the Globe’s first, full-scale family show in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse Midsummer Mechanicals, which returned for a second year, toured to Shakespeare North Playhouse and was nominated for an Oliver Award 2023.
Lucy directed Romeo and Juliet for Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank in the Globe Theatre, Spring 2024 and co-directed Rough Magic in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in the summer of 2025.
Lucy is a member of the APPG for Shakespeare, on the Advisory Panel for the Cultural Learning Alliance and a judge for the TES awards.
Edward Daranyi
Co-Presenter
EB02 "All The Currents Of A Heady Fight" Part Two - Innovations in Staging Violence
January 8 at 3:30pm
Moderator
AB05 “The Hot Breath of Spain” - Shakespeare in Spanish
January 10 at 1:30pm
Edward is a Toronto-based international actor, director and theatre animateur who is currently President of the Board and Associate Artist with Sante Fe's Incite Shakespeare Company.
As an artist Edward (he/him) has spent 30 years working across Canada and the globe. He spent 19 seasons with the renowned Stratford Festival of Canada, as an actor, director, teaching artist, and the associate director of education. He continues to work with artists and teachers in El Salvador in partnership with The Stratford Festival and CUSO International.
Edward has taught acting at the University of Guelph and the National Theatre School of Canada and has taught Classical Theatre and directed for Humber College, George Brown College, The Centre for Indigenous Theatre, and the National Ballet School of Canada. For Michigan State University, Edward has taught classical theatre and theatre for young audiences and directed The Beaux Stratagem, Cyrano de Bergerac, and James and the Giant Peach.
His production company, In the Blink, produces youth-oriented theatre in the Toronto area and he regularly voiced characters for the TVO/Treehouse series Mighty Machines. He also works with law enforcement on de-escalation and use of force - it's very cool, ask him about it!
As an artist Edward (he/him) has spent 30 years working across Canada and the globe. He spent 19 seasons with the renowned Stratford Festival of Canada, as an actor, director, teaching artist, and the associate director of education. He continues to work with artists and teachers in El Salvador in partnership with The Stratford Festival and CUSO International.
Edward has taught acting at the University of Guelph and the National Theatre School of Canada and has taught Classical Theatre and directed for Humber College, George Brown College, The Centre for Indigenous Theatre, and the National Ballet School of Canada. For Michigan State University, Edward has taught classical theatre and theatre for young audiences and directed The Beaux Stratagem, Cyrano de Bergerac, and James and the Giant Peach.
His production company, In the Blink, produces youth-oriented theatre in the Toronto area and he regularly voiced characters for the TVO/Treehouse series Mighty Machines. He also works with law enforcement on de-escalation and use of force - it's very cool, ask him about it!
Suzanne Dean
Panelist
XB02 “By Sea, By Sea, (By Sea)” - in conversation with three ocean-adjacent companies
January 8 at 3:30pm
Suzanne Dean is an award-winning actress, producer and director. She is the Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Little Fish Theatre and its sister program Shakespeare by the Sea, the Creator of Globetrotting Shakespeare and Pub Shakespeare, Associate Artist with Prague Shakespeare Company, and Owner of Rebelfilm Productions, a film & video company.
As an actress Suzanne is known both for dramatic work and comedy with extensive experience in Noel Coward, Tennessee Williams, Harold Pinter, Edward Albee, and William Shakespeare – having performed leading roles in 20 of his plays, often with Shakespeare by the Sea since 2000. For LFT she has appeared in: Hedda Gabler, The Lady’s Not for Burning, Veronica’s Room, What the Butler Saw, The Lion in Winter, Betrayal, Blithe Spirit, Blood Poetry and Rapture, Blister, Burn. In the 2019 season, she directed the LA premiere of Operation Ajax.
Suzanne is a Broadway World and StageSceneLA winner for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Betrayal, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, Private Lives, Antony & Cleopatra, and Hedda Gabler.
As a filmmaker, Suzanne has over 35 years as a producer and production manager in film and television and is EMMY nominated for her commercial work. She merges her performing, producing, artistic management, and non-profit work throughout Los Angeles and the Bay Area.
As an actress Suzanne is known both for dramatic work and comedy with extensive experience in Noel Coward, Tennessee Williams, Harold Pinter, Edward Albee, and William Shakespeare – having performed leading roles in 20 of his plays, often with Shakespeare by the Sea since 2000. For LFT she has appeared in: Hedda Gabler, The Lady’s Not for Burning, Veronica’s Room, What the Butler Saw, The Lion in Winter, Betrayal, Blithe Spirit, Blood Poetry and Rapture, Blister, Burn. In the 2019 season, she directed the LA premiere of Operation Ajax.
Suzanne is a Broadway World and StageSceneLA winner for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Betrayal, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, Private Lives, Antony & Cleopatra, and Hedda Gabler.
As a filmmaker, Suzanne has over 35 years as a producer and production manager in film and television and is EMMY nominated for her commercial work. She merges her performing, producing, artistic management, and non-profit work throughout Los Angeles and the Bay Area.
Jenn Deon
Speaker
FP01 “Give Me Your Hand” -
January 7 at 9:00am
Jenn Deon is an artist, administrator, activist and organizer based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Canada.
As a fundraiser, she has led a multitude of successful private, public and special event-based initiatives over the last 30-odd years, for many causes and charities - including most-recently a $300K campaign to raise the first statue to a named woman in the City of St. John's.
Jenn spent 20 years leading the annual Shakespeare by the Sea Festival (1995-2015) as their artistic director, largely in a volunteer capacity. During this time the organization grew from a small community endeavour to a registered charity that continues to thrive to this day, now entering its 33rd season. She returned in 2023 to serve as board chair.
Jenn was also a founder of the PerSIStence Theatre Company, a feminist charity and professional arts organization, and served as its producing artistic director from 2017-2025.
For her work, Jenn is a recipient of a Woman of Distinction Award from the YWCA St. John’s, the Confederation 75th Anniversary Medal from Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal from the Government of Canada. In 2023, Jenn received national recognition as the Atlantic Canada winner of the Canadian Women Entrepreneur Award in the category of Social Change - Regional Impact.
Jenn lives with her husband, educator and actor Dave Walsh, and their three doggies. She feels blessed to continue to participate in the Shakespeare Theatre Association's conferences, her annual refill of her spiritual well.
As a fundraiser, she has led a multitude of successful private, public and special event-based initiatives over the last 30-odd years, for many causes and charities - including most-recently a $300K campaign to raise the first statue to a named woman in the City of St. John's.
Jenn spent 20 years leading the annual Shakespeare by the Sea Festival (1995-2015) as their artistic director, largely in a volunteer capacity. During this time the organization grew from a small community endeavour to a registered charity that continues to thrive to this day, now entering its 33rd season. She returned in 2023 to serve as board chair.
Jenn was also a founder of the PerSIStence Theatre Company, a feminist charity and professional arts organization, and served as its producing artistic director from 2017-2025.
For her work, Jenn is a recipient of a Woman of Distinction Award from the YWCA St. John’s, the Confederation 75th Anniversary Medal from Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal from the Government of Canada. In 2023, Jenn received national recognition as the Atlantic Canada winner of the Canadian Women Entrepreneur Award in the category of Social Change - Regional Impact.
Jenn lives with her husband, educator and actor Dave Walsh, and their three doggies. She feels blessed to continue to participate in the Shakespeare Theatre Association's conferences, her annual refill of her spiritual well.
Drew Douris-O'Hara
Panelist
XB02 “By Sea, By Sea, (By Sea)” - in conversation with three ocean-adjacent companies
January 8 at 3:30pm
Drew (he/him) is the Associate Artistic Director of Shakespeare by the Sea in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - where he premiered as their youngest ever company member at the age of 12 and has been making theatre ever since. Credits include Theatre Aquarius, Neptune Theatre, Driftwood Theatre, Humber River Shakespeare, LiveBait Theatre, OneLight Theatre, Carousel Players, Lost and Found, Upper Canada Repertory Company, and over 30 productions for Shakespeare by the Sea.
Drew is a Resident Artist of Toronto’s critically acclaimed Shakespeare BASH’d, for whom he has been an actor, director, producer, script editor and text coach. Drew served as Artistic Director of Toronto’s Everybody to the Theatre Company and co-created the original musical And Now, the End for Toronto’s SummerWorks Festival.
Drew was the acting instructor at StageCoach (Toronto East) and the resident Shakespeare teacher for Toronto’s Upper Canada Repertory Company. Drew holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ryerson School of Performance, where he graduated in 2014 and was the inaugural recipient of the Des McAnuff Award for Excellence in Classical Theatre.
Drew is a Resident Artist of Toronto’s critically acclaimed Shakespeare BASH’d, for whom he has been an actor, director, producer, script editor and text coach. Drew served as Artistic Director of Toronto’s Everybody to the Theatre Company and co-created the original musical And Now, the End for Toronto’s SummerWorks Festival.
Drew was the acting instructor at StageCoach (Toronto East) and the resident Shakespeare teacher for Toronto’s Upper Canada Repertory Company. Drew holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ryerson School of Performance, where he graduated in 2014 and was the inaugural recipient of the Des McAnuff Award for Excellence in Classical Theatre.
Carlos Drocchi
Panelist
AB05 “The Hot Breath of Spain” - Shakespeare in Spanish
January 10 at 1:30pm
Carlos is the Executive Director of Fundación Shakespeare Argentina (FSA), a non-profit cultural organization dedicated to increasing and deepening the knowledge, enjoyment, appreciation and spreading of the life and works of William Shakespeare in Argentina.
Brett Elliott
Moderator
EB02 "All The Currents Of A Heady Fight" Part Two - Innovations in Staging Violence
January 8 at 3:30pm
Brett Elliott is Associate Artistic Director for the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company in Thousand Oaks, CA. He trained at the UCLA School of Theatre Film and Television and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He has performed on stage, television, radio, independent film, audiobooks, and interactive media.
For Kingsmen Shakespeare, he been directing, acting, and choreographing fights for both educational and mainstage productions for nearly 30 years. And for more than a decade, he designed educational workshops and trained teaching artists for Kingsmen’s Shakespeare Educational Tour.
He was certified as an actor-combatant by the Society of British Fight Directors, and has taught stage combat to students as young as elementary school to master classes for working professionals.
Outside of his work in classical theatre, Brett is the Senior Audio Creative Manager for Disney Publishing Worldwide, where he spends his time editing scripts, casting, and directing voice actors.
For Kingsmen Shakespeare, he been directing, acting, and choreographing fights for both educational and mainstage productions for nearly 30 years. And for more than a decade, he designed educational workshops and trained teaching artists for Kingsmen’s Shakespeare Educational Tour.
He was certified as an actor-combatant by the Society of British Fight Directors, and has taught stage combat to students as young as elementary school to master classes for working professionals.
Outside of his work in classical theatre, Brett is the Senior Audio Creative Manager for Disney Publishing Worldwide, where he spends his time editing scripts, casting, and directing voice actors.
Stephanie Faatz Murry
Panelist
AB02 “If We Walk Not In The Trodden Paths” - Bridging Shakespeare Performance from "Town to Gown" Panelist
January 8 at 3:30pm
Stephanie is a Colorado-based performer, director and teacher from Upstate New York with over 20 years of professional theatre experience. She is the Founder and Producing Artistic Director for North Dakota Shakespeare Festival where she spends her summers.
Stephanie holds an M.F.A. in Acting from the University of Arkansas, a B.F.A in Musical Theatre/Dance Minor from SUNY Fredonia and a certificate in Classical Acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (L.A.M.D.A.).
Stephanie has worked across the country with companies such as Playhouse on the Square, Charleston Stage Company, Black Hills Playhouse, and Nebraska Theatre Caravan. She also served as Head Teacher of the Edutainer program at Gyeonggi English Village in Paju, South Korea.
Prior to moving to Denver, Colorado, she served as a Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Theatre at the University of North Dakota and Ouachita Baptist University. In Colorado, she teaches at Montessori School of Evergreen as well as Adjunct work with Red Rocks Community College (RRCC) Dept. of Theatre.
Denver credits include directing with RRCC, MSU Denver, Ovation West, Vintage Theatre, Rocky Mountain Theatre for Kids and Evergreen Children's Chorale. She has performed with Town Hall Arts Center, Performance Now and Shakespeare in the Wild.
Stephanie is thrilled to be spending the current school year touring with Colorado Shakespeare Festival, playing Hamlet/Laertes (Hamlet) and Prospero/Trinculo/Alonso (The Tempest) for their Shakespeare and Violence Prevention Tour. Aside from theatre, her greatest loves in life are her husband Matthew and their fur baby, Chuggie.
Stephanie holds an M.F.A. in Acting from the University of Arkansas, a B.F.A in Musical Theatre/Dance Minor from SUNY Fredonia and a certificate in Classical Acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (L.A.M.D.A.).
Stephanie has worked across the country with companies such as Playhouse on the Square, Charleston Stage Company, Black Hills Playhouse, and Nebraska Theatre Caravan. She also served as Head Teacher of the Edutainer program at Gyeonggi English Village in Paju, South Korea.
Prior to moving to Denver, Colorado, she served as a Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Theatre at the University of North Dakota and Ouachita Baptist University. In Colorado, she teaches at Montessori School of Evergreen as well as Adjunct work with Red Rocks Community College (RRCC) Dept. of Theatre.
Denver credits include directing with RRCC, MSU Denver, Ovation West, Vintage Theatre, Rocky Mountain Theatre for Kids and Evergreen Children's Chorale. She has performed with Town Hall Arts Center, Performance Now and Shakespeare in the Wild.
Stephanie is thrilled to be spending the current school year touring with Colorado Shakespeare Festival, playing Hamlet/Laertes (Hamlet) and Prospero/Trinculo/Alonso (The Tempest) for their Shakespeare and Violence Prevention Tour. Aside from theatre, her greatest loves in life are her husband Matthew and their fur baby, Chuggie.
- Website: stephaniefaatzmurry.com
Wendy Franz
Panelist
EB01 “All The Currents Of A Heady Fight” Part One - Shakespeare & Violence Prevention: A Practical Handbook For Educators How one community outreach program turned into a book.
January 8 at 1:30pm
Wendy Franz has produced and directed numerous theatrical productions in the Rocky Mountain region. Producing credits include 10 seasons as Managing Director of the Colorado Shakespeare Festival (CSF), the Ubuntu African Dance Festival for the Dept. of Theatre & Dance at CU Boulder and over 20 productions for Denver’s critically acclaimed Paragon Theatre.
Directing credits include 10 productions for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Gidion’s Knot (square product theatre and Goddess Here Productions), and seven productions with Paragon Theatre including both contemporary classics as well as world and regional premieres.
Wendy trained at the Santa Fe Opera, Little Theatre of the Rockies, and Curious Theatre and earned her degree in Directing and Design Technology from the University of Northern Colorado. She holds a certificate in Mediation and
Conflict Resolution from the University of Denver.
Directing credits include 10 productions for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Gidion’s Knot (square product theatre and Goddess Here Productions), and seven productions with Paragon Theatre including both contemporary classics as well as world and regional premieres.
Wendy trained at the Santa Fe Opera, Little Theatre of the Rockies, and Curious Theatre and earned her degree in Directing and Design Technology from the University of Northern Colorado. She holds a certificate in Mediation and
Conflict Resolution from the University of Denver.
Ian Gallanar
Panelist
MB02 "Out O' Th' House" - Performing and Teaching Shakespeare Without a Theater
January 9 at 3:45pm
Ian Gallanar is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in Baltimore, Maryland and is proud member of the distinguished National Theatre Conference, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (the union for professional stage directors) and the Dramatists Guild of America.
Ian founded the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in 2002, directed its first production Twelfth Night, and has directed over 40 productions for the company over its 20+ year history including Hamlet, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Richard III, Cyrano de Bergerac, Our Town, Alice in Wonderland among many others. His original adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has run six consecutive years at the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company and is one of Baltimore’s best-selling resident productions of the last 20 years. Shakespeare Beyond is Ian's creation, designed to provide additional access to arts and culture to communities across the State of Maryland.
Since 1980, Ian has worked in professional theaters across the United States as an Actor, Playwright and Director. He has served as Artistic Director for the Repertory Theatre of America, National Theatre for Children, Minnesota Shakespeare in the Park and the Small Change Original Theater.
He wrote and created the national live theater tours of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and Newton’s Apple amongst many others. Ian’s scripts have been seen by more than a million people across the country.
Ian is a Distinguished Alumni of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a Telly Award Winner, a Howie Award Winner – Howard County, Maryland’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Artist and a Helen Hayes Tribute Award winner. He is the recipient the Berger Award, given annually by the international Shakespeare Theatre Association for outstanding lifetime achievement as an Artistic Director of a Shakespeare company. He served as President of that organization from 2019-2021. He was also given the Distinguished Alumni Award from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In 2015, he was invited to become a member of the prestigious National Theatre Conference.
Ian founded the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in 2002, directed its first production Twelfth Night, and has directed over 40 productions for the company over its 20+ year history including Hamlet, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Richard III, Cyrano de Bergerac, Our Town, Alice in Wonderland among many others. His original adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has run six consecutive years at the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company and is one of Baltimore’s best-selling resident productions of the last 20 years. Shakespeare Beyond is Ian's creation, designed to provide additional access to arts and culture to communities across the State of Maryland.
Since 1980, Ian has worked in professional theaters across the United States as an Actor, Playwright and Director. He has served as Artistic Director for the Repertory Theatre of America, National Theatre for Children, Minnesota Shakespeare in the Park and the Small Change Original Theater.
He wrote and created the national live theater tours of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and Newton’s Apple amongst many others. Ian’s scripts have been seen by more than a million people across the country.
Ian is a Distinguished Alumni of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a Telly Award Winner, a Howie Award Winner – Howard County, Maryland’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Artist and a Helen Hayes Tribute Award winner. He is the recipient the Berger Award, given annually by the international Shakespeare Theatre Association for outstanding lifetime achievement as an Artistic Director of a Shakespeare company. He served as President of that organization from 2019-2021. He was also given the Distinguished Alumni Award from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In 2015, he was invited to become a member of the prestigious National Theatre Conference.
Justin Genna
Speaker
AB03 "Did I Not Dance With You In Brabant Once?" Movement as Universal Language through the Lens of Love's Labour's Lost
January 9 at 2:00pm
Justin Genna (he/him) is the Co-Founding Artistic Director of Lanes Coven Theater Co in Gloucester, MA (lanescoven.com), and also an Actor, Theater-Creator, and Dancer.
For Lanes Coven he has directed Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Chekhov’s The Proposal, and most recently Love’s Labour’s Lost. He also adapted The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni for Lanes Coven in 2024, rewriting Truffaldino (whom he played) to speak in a made-up language “Zanni,” and communicate through movement.
Justin holds an MFA in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. As an Actor, his Off Broadway & Regional Credits include Novenas For a Lost Hospital (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, NY); Marie, Dancing Still (5th Avenue Theatre); A Christmas Carol (American Conservatory Theater); Cyrano de Bergerac (SPARC Theater). TV/Film: Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, and Law and Order SVU.
Justin worked as a professional ballet dancer for eight years with the Milwaukee Ballet, and has also danced with SF Opera and Oakland Ballet. Justin reimagines classical texts by envisioning them as a ballet; synthesizing movement, music and storytelling to expand its possibilities.
For Lanes Coven he has directed Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Chekhov’s The Proposal, and most recently Love’s Labour’s Lost. He also adapted The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni for Lanes Coven in 2024, rewriting Truffaldino (whom he played) to speak in a made-up language “Zanni,” and communicate through movement.
Justin holds an MFA in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. As an Actor, his Off Broadway & Regional Credits include Novenas For a Lost Hospital (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, NY); Marie, Dancing Still (5th Avenue Theatre); A Christmas Carol (American Conservatory Theater); Cyrano de Bergerac (SPARC Theater). TV/Film: Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, and Law and Order SVU.
Justin worked as a professional ballet dancer for eight years with the Milwaukee Ballet, and has also danced with SF Opera and Oakland Ballet. Justin reimagines classical texts by envisioning them as a ballet; synthesizing movement, music and storytelling to expand its possibilities.
- Website: justingenna.com
Amanda Giguere
Panelist
EB01 “All The Currents Of A Heady Fight” Part One - Shakespeare & Violence Prevention: A Practical Handbook For Educators How one community outreach program turned into a book.
January 8 at 1:30pm
Co-Presenter
EB04 “The Safety and Health of This Whole State” Part Two - Trauma-Informed Practice with Marginalized Communities
January 9 at 3:45pm
Amanda Giguere is the Director of Outreach for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, where she oversees all education and outreach programming.
Amanda's work on the interdisciplinary Shakespeare & Violence Prevention program has been internationally recognized, and is the subject of her new book: Shakespeare & Violence Prevention: A Practical Handbook for Educators.
Amanda teaches for the University of Colorado Boulder’s Applied Shakespeare certificate program and holds an MA and PhD in Theatre from CU Boulder.
Amanda's work on the interdisciplinary Shakespeare & Violence Prevention program has been internationally recognized, and is the subject of her new book: Shakespeare & Violence Prevention: A Practical Handbook for Educators.
Amanda teaches for the University of Colorado Boulder’s Applied Shakespeare certificate program and holds an MA and PhD in Theatre from CU Boulder.
- Website: amandagiguere.com
Rebecca Goodheart
Moderator
PS01 "Please you to take the urgent hour" - Defending and Celebrating the Need for Shakespeare in Our Urgent Times: Opening Plenary with Ben Crystal
January 10 at 11:15am
Speaker
XB01 “The World’s Eye Doth View” Exploring Shakespeare's Worldview
January 8 at 1:30pm
Rebecca Goodheart has been a director, actor, and teacher specializing in Shakespeare and Voice for over 25 years. She is a designated Linklater Voice teacher who has directed over 30 professional and 50 educational productions. She is the co-author (with Josh Lubarr) of the recently published Shakespeare's World: Seeing the Plays through Elizabethan Eyes.
Currently serving as the Producing Director of Elm Shakespeare Company in New Haven, CT, she has worked with a dozen Shakespeare theaters around the world, and is a proud lifetime member of the Shakespeare Theater Association who currently serves on its Executive Committee and chaired the global 2016 Celebration of Shakespeare's Legacy.
Other leadership positions have included Director of Training at SF Shakespeare Festival, Producing Artistic Director for Maryland Shakespeare Festival (an equity theater she founded in 1999), Artistic Director of the Metawhateverphor Theater in NYC, and Director of Education for Baltimore Shakespeare Festival.
Rebecca is a classical text and voice teacher at Shakespeare & Co. in Massachusetts and on the theater faculty of Southern CT State University. She holds a BFA from NYU/Stella Adler Conservatory, a Master of Letters in Shakespeare & Renaissance Literature and a Master of Fine Arts in Directing (both from the American Shakespeare Center). She has presented her research into Shakespeare’s dramatic use of rhetoric at numerous national conferences, and theatrical workshops across the country, as well as having her scholarship published in the Wooden O Journal and Shakespeare Criticism, online.
Currently serving as the Producing Director of Elm Shakespeare Company in New Haven, CT, she has worked with a dozen Shakespeare theaters around the world, and is a proud lifetime member of the Shakespeare Theater Association who currently serves on its Executive Committee and chaired the global 2016 Celebration of Shakespeare's Legacy.
Other leadership positions have included Director of Training at SF Shakespeare Festival, Producing Artistic Director for Maryland Shakespeare Festival (an equity theater she founded in 1999), Artistic Director of the Metawhateverphor Theater in NYC, and Director of Education for Baltimore Shakespeare Festival.
Rebecca is a classical text and voice teacher at Shakespeare & Co. in Massachusetts and on the theater faculty of Southern CT State University. She holds a BFA from NYU/Stella Adler Conservatory, a Master of Letters in Shakespeare & Renaissance Literature and a Master of Fine Arts in Directing (both from the American Shakespeare Center). She has presented her research into Shakespeare’s dramatic use of rhetoric at numerous national conferences, and theatrical workshops across the country, as well as having her scholarship published in the Wooden O Journal and Shakespeare Criticism, online.
- Website: rebeccagoodheart.com
Sean Hagerty
Host
Question Salad
January 8 at 10:00pm
Sean Hagerty (Producing Artistic Director, The Curtain, Jersey City, NJ, USA) trained under Sanford Meisner and studied classical theatre at the renowned Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He holds a Masters Degree in Shakespeare and Theatre from the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he graduated with Distinction.
Sean has worked as an actor, teacher, director, and producer regionally, and internationally, for many years. Credits include: Shakespeare@ Home, The Lord Chamberlain's Men, The Group Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, The Bath Shakespeare Festival, The New Vic, Theatre Royal Bristol, and BBC Radio, among others.
Previously, Sean was the resident Shakespeare and Style teacher at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre for over 14 years and was the Associate Artistic Director for New York Classical Theatre. He has served as the chair of Education & Training—as well as the Artistic Committee—for the international Shakespeare Theatre Association, and as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts.
Sean has worked as an actor, teacher, director, and producer regionally, and internationally, for many years. Credits include: Shakespeare@ Home, The Lord Chamberlain's Men, The Group Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, The Bath Shakespeare Festival, The New Vic, Theatre Royal Bristol, and BBC Radio, among others.
Previously, Sean was the resident Shakespeare and Style teacher at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre for over 14 years and was the Associate Artistic Director for New York Classical Theatre. He has served as the chair of Education & Training—as well as the Artistic Committee—for the international Shakespeare Theatre Association, and as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts.
Kevin Hammond
Moderator
AB02 “If We Walk Not In The Trodden Paths” - Bridging Shakespeare Performance from "Town to Gown" Panelist
January 8 at 3:30pm
Kevin Hammond is a Toronto-based director, actor and producer who has worked on more than thirty Shakespeare productions across Canada and the United States. He was the founder and Artistic Director for Humber River Shakespeare, and the Artistic Director for Shakespeare in the Rough, guiding over 15 years of outdoor and site-specific performances in and around Ontario.
Guest directing credits include Hamlet and Othello for the Arabian Shakespeare Festival, Richard II for Perspective Theatre, Henry V for The Pear Theatre, and The Taming of the Shrew for Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. He is an associate artist with SPARC.
Kevin is an alumnus of the Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Direction at the Stratford Festival, where he also directed Double Falsehood and A Most Unnoble Swerving. Since 2020 he has also been the Director of Development for The AFC (formerly The Actors' Fund of Canada).
Guest directing credits include Hamlet and Othello for the Arabian Shakespeare Festival, Richard II for Perspective Theatre, Henry V for The Pear Theatre, and The Taming of the Shrew for Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. He is an associate artist with SPARC.
Kevin is an alumnus of the Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Direction at the Stratford Festival, where he also directed Double Falsehood and A Most Unnoble Swerving. Since 2020 he has also been the Director of Development for The AFC (formerly The Actors' Fund of Canada).
Natasha Hart
Facilitator
MB04 "How Now Shall This Be Compassed?" - Finding Your Compass Points
January 8 at 3:30pm
Natasha Hart is a dedicated volunteer with Social Justice Co-operative NL, co-admins 2SLGBTQIA+ Mutual Aid, facilitates HR for Perchance Theatre in Conception Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, chairs its board, and serves on the Canadian Federation of Cooperatives' education committee. She also leads initiatives like Multicultural Day, Truth and Reconciliation, and the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) while teaching social justice, equity, and inclusion through her role as principal of Lakecrest School in St. John's.
Natasha got into theatre in high school and fell in love with creative writing and theatre. Her first degree was in English and German and she decided to make it a theatre specialty focused on understanding plays and finished her degree at Memorial University's campus in Harlow, UK. From there she went on to Prague and joined a travelling Danish Art Troupe. The troupe pooled their money, rented a warehouse, built a stage from things they scavenged, and became a sensation in Prague - ask her about it!
Natasha got into theatre in high school and fell in love with creative writing and theatre. Her first degree was in English and German and she decided to make it a theatre specialty focused on understanding plays and finished her degree at Memorial University's campus in Harlow, UK. From there she went on to Prague and joined a travelling Danish Art Troupe. The troupe pooled their money, rented a warehouse, built a stage from things they scavenged, and became a sensation in Prague - ask her about it!
Mary Hartman
Co-Presenter
EB02 "All The Currents Of A Heady Fight" Part Two - Innovations in Staging Violence
January 8 at 3:30pm
With a background as a professional actor and director, Mary Hartman has given students and teachers the opportunity to play Shakespeare for more than 30 years.
As Director of Education at Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, she is responsible for design and development of programs for students, teachers, theatre professionals, and the public, all with the mission of Bard Education in mind: to inspire community through dynamic, engaging experiences of the language, characters and plays of William Shakespeare.
Before moving to Vancouver, she was Director of Education Programs at Shakespeare & Company, a professional theatre renowned for compelling performance and innovative teaching. She holds a master’s degree from King’s College, University of London, and a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College, and has received numerous awards and honours.
As Director of Education at Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, she is responsible for design and development of programs for students, teachers, theatre professionals, and the public, all with the mission of Bard Education in mind: to inspire community through dynamic, engaging experiences of the language, characters and plays of William Shakespeare.
Before moving to Vancouver, she was Director of Education Programs at Shakespeare & Company, a professional theatre renowned for compelling performance and innovative teaching. She holds a master’s degree from King’s College, University of London, and a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College, and has received numerous awards and honours.
Leahdawn Helena
Moderator
AB01 “I Am Native Here” - Indigeneity & Shakespeare
January 8 at 1:30pm
Leahdawn (she/they/nekm) was born and raised on the west coast of Ktaqmkuk (the island of Newfoundland), and is trained as an actor, writer, director, and dramaturge. They hold degrees in both Theatre and Sociocultural Studies from Memorial University Grenfell Campus; and they are the artistic curator of Indigenous Performing Arts NL (IPANL).
Their first full-length screenplay, Ruthless, was selected for a Newfoundland Arts and Letters prize in 2020. In 2021 they directed Petrina Bromley in Elizabeth Hicks’ one-woman short play, Hearty at Eighty, for PerSIStence Theatre. In 2021 they performed in Stephenville Theatre Festival in Meghan Greeley’s To the Girls, as well as the tour production in 2023.
Their play, Stolen Sisters, which premiered in 2022, features Order of Canada member Deantha Edmunds, and is historically grounded in the colonial experiences of Beothuk and Mi’kmaw women and girls. Stolen Sisters toured across Newfoundland in 2023, Labrador in January 2024, and New Brunswick in April 2024. Stolen Sisters was published in 2025 by Breakwater Books and sold out of its first print run.
Their most recent work, Precariously Placed: Pandemic Monologues From The Edge, was researched and created with support from PerSIStence Theatre and York University.
In 2024, Leahdawn was awarded the John Palmer Award from the Playwrights Guild of Canada, a national recognition awarded annually to young playwrights who are shaking up the status quo.
They work as a freelance Dramaturg and as an Indigenous Sociocultural Consultant for the St John’s and Avalon Arts community, working with Artistic Fraud, St John’s Shorts, PerSIStence Theatre, and the Cupids Legacy Project, among others.
L’nuit. Tleiawit Nujio’qonik. (They are L’nu. They have family roots in the Bay St George region.)
Their first full-length screenplay, Ruthless, was selected for a Newfoundland Arts and Letters prize in 2020. In 2021 they directed Petrina Bromley in Elizabeth Hicks’ one-woman short play, Hearty at Eighty, for PerSIStence Theatre. In 2021 they performed in Stephenville Theatre Festival in Meghan Greeley’s To the Girls, as well as the tour production in 2023.
Their play, Stolen Sisters, which premiered in 2022, features Order of Canada member Deantha Edmunds, and is historically grounded in the colonial experiences of Beothuk and Mi’kmaw women and girls. Stolen Sisters toured across Newfoundland in 2023, Labrador in January 2024, and New Brunswick in April 2024. Stolen Sisters was published in 2025 by Breakwater Books and sold out of its first print run.
Their most recent work, Precariously Placed: Pandemic Monologues From The Edge, was researched and created with support from PerSIStence Theatre and York University.
In 2024, Leahdawn was awarded the John Palmer Award from the Playwrights Guild of Canada, a national recognition awarded annually to young playwrights who are shaking up the status quo.
They work as a freelance Dramaturg and as an Indigenous Sociocultural Consultant for the St John’s and Avalon Arts community, working with Artistic Fraud, St John’s Shorts, PerSIStence Theatre, and the Cupids Legacy Project, among others.
L’nuit. Tleiawit Nujio’qonik. (They are L’nu. They have family roots in the Bay St George region.)
Olena Hodges
Co-Presenter
MB03 "Words, Words, Words" - structuring our language in policy and practice
January 9 at 2:00pm
Moderator
XB04 “Draw Aside The Curtains and Discover” - Gender-Expansive Storytelling
January 10 at 1:30pm
Olena Hodges is the Executive Director of Island Shakespeare Festival (ISF) situated in Langley, Washington on the south end of beautiful Whidbey Island in the Puget Sound, about one-hour from Seattle.
Olena's passions for Shakespeare and social justice began early in childhood and have become the driving force of her artistic life. She believes deeply in the humanity inherent in classical texts as a vehicle for contemporary social examination and change.
Favorite roles on the ISF stage include Rosalind in As You Like It, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, Desdemona in Othello, and most recently Olga in Amelia P. Rosselli's Anima, in partnership with Expand the Canon. She holds a BFA in Performance from Southern Oregon University and is a graduate of Circle in The Square Theater School.
Olena's passions for Shakespeare and social justice began early in childhood and have become the driving force of her artistic life. She believes deeply in the humanity inherent in classical texts as a vehicle for contemporary social examination and change.
Favorite roles on the ISF stage include Rosalind in As You Like It, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, Desdemona in Othello, and most recently Olga in Amelia P. Rosselli's Anima, in partnership with Expand the Canon. She holds a BFA in Performance from Southern Oregon University and is a graduate of Circle in The Square Theater School.
Aili Huber
Co-Presenter
MB03 "Words, Words, Words" - structuring our language in policy and practice
January 9 at 2:00pm
Aili (rhymes with "smiley") Huber has been directing for over 25 years and is the creator of the Take 5 framework of basic principles and concrete tools for theatre practitioners. She holds an MFA from Mary Baldwin College/American Shakespeare Center, and is the co-author, with Toby Malone, of Cutting Plays for Performance: A Practical and Accessible Guide, available from Routledge Press.
Aili is the founder and artistic director of Silk Moth Stage in Rockingham County, Virginia, which produces new classics in place-based, audience connected productions. Favorite directing credits include TJ Young’s Sperm Donor Wanted (2020) with Slow Your Role Theater Co.; Romeo and Juliet (2012), The Duchess of Malfi (2016), Antony and Cleopatra (2018), and Richard III (2019) with Pigeon Creek Shakespeare; Merry Wives of Windsor (2022) at Richmond Shakespeare Festival; and the world premieres of Give Us Good (2022) and Wonder of Our Stage (2023) at Silk Moth Stage.
Aili is an associate member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and the Shakespeare Theater Association, and a full member of Directors Gathering.
Aili is the founder and artistic director of Silk Moth Stage in Rockingham County, Virginia, which produces new classics in place-based, audience connected productions. Favorite directing credits include TJ Young’s Sperm Donor Wanted (2020) with Slow Your Role Theater Co.; Romeo and Juliet (2012), The Duchess of Malfi (2016), Antony and Cleopatra (2018), and Richard III (2019) with Pigeon Creek Shakespeare; Merry Wives of Windsor (2022) at Richmond Shakespeare Festival; and the world premieres of Give Us Good (2022) and Wonder of Our Stage (2023) at Silk Moth Stage.
Aili is an associate member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and the Shakespeare Theater Association, and a full member of Directors Gathering.
- Website: ailihuber.com
Danielle Irvine
Panelist
XB03 “Signs of Nobleness” - Shakespeare & Sign Language Interpreting
January 9 at 3:45pm
Since 2014, Danielle has been bringing her love of Newfoundland culture and community, together with her passion for Shakespeare and other timeless theatre in her role as the Artistic Producer of Perchance Theatre.
Danielle Irvine is a proud Newfoundlander and Canadian who has traveled a lot for her work. Highlights of her career include teaching and directing at the National Theatre School of Canada (most recently as the leader of their second year Shakespeare Project) ; Assistant Directing at the Stratford Festival of Canada (including being the first director to study in their Birmingham Conservatory); and winning such awards as the Canada Council for the Arts prestigious John Hirsch Prize for Directing, the ArtsNL BMO Artist of the Year, and the ArtsNL Artist’s Achievement Award 2019.
Danielle was also a participant in the World Stage Festival 2000’s Master Class for Directors; where she was honoured to study with such theatre greats as Peter Brook, Yoshi Oida and Polly Teale. In the fall of 2016, she was invited to participate in the inaugural Stratford Festival’s International Classical Directing Intensive.
For over 30 years, Danielle has been directing theatrical productions of all sizes and types in all manner of venues. Her love and passion for NL culture combined with her theatre training inspired Danielle to co-develop a show with Anna Stassis which brought audiences through a theatrical experience on a bus, a ferry, around Bell Island and culminated 650 feet underground in a mine. This was listed by the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres as a Landmark Theatrical Event in 1997.
Danielle is also one of the founders of the Shakespeare by the Sea Festival in NL, as well as the founding artistic director of Sweetline Theatre Company. She has also been a keynote speaker and workshop leader at various conferences over the years and is also a casting director for television and film. Credits include: CBC’s Republic of Doyle; the Netflix series, Frontier with Jason Momoa; the CBC Series, LittleDog; the CBC mini-series, Caught; the Citytv series, Hudson and Rex; and the feature film, Maudie.
Danielle Irvine is a proud Newfoundlander and Canadian who has traveled a lot for her work. Highlights of her career include teaching and directing at the National Theatre School of Canada (most recently as the leader of their second year Shakespeare Project) ; Assistant Directing at the Stratford Festival of Canada (including being the first director to study in their Birmingham Conservatory); and winning such awards as the Canada Council for the Arts prestigious John Hirsch Prize for Directing, the ArtsNL BMO Artist of the Year, and the ArtsNL Artist’s Achievement Award 2019.
Danielle was also a participant in the World Stage Festival 2000’s Master Class for Directors; where she was honoured to study with such theatre greats as Peter Brook, Yoshi Oida and Polly Teale. In the fall of 2016, she was invited to participate in the inaugural Stratford Festival’s International Classical Directing Intensive.
For over 30 years, Danielle has been directing theatrical productions of all sizes and types in all manner of venues. Her love and passion for NL culture combined with her theatre training inspired Danielle to co-develop a show with Anna Stassis which brought audiences through a theatrical experience on a bus, a ferry, around Bell Island and culminated 650 feet underground in a mine. This was listed by the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres as a Landmark Theatrical Event in 1997.
Danielle is also one of the founders of the Shakespeare by the Sea Festival in NL, as well as the founding artistic director of Sweetline Theatre Company. She has also been a keynote speaker and workshop leader at various conferences over the years and is also a casting director for television and film. Credits include: CBC’s Republic of Doyle; the Netflix series, Frontier with Jason Momoa; the CBC Series, LittleDog; the CBC mini-series, Caught; the Citytv series, Hudson and Rex; and the feature film, Maudie.
Scott Jackson
Moderator
PS02 "No court in Europe is too good for thee." - Keynote Presentation
January 9 at 9:00am
Co-Presenter
EB04 “The Safety and Health of This Whole State” Part Two - Trauma-Informed Practice with Marginalized Communities
January 9 at 3:45pm
Moderator
PS05 “The Kingly State of Youth” - Closing Plenary with Mike Tucker of the Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation
January 10 at 3:00pm
Scott Jackson (he/they) has served as the Mary Irene Ryan Family Executive Artistic Director of Shakespeare at Notre Dame since the organization’s founding in 2007, providing oversight for the many Shakespeare-related programs housed at the University of Notre Dame, with a particular focus on engaging the local community through the works of William Shakespeare.
Previously he served as executive director for the Fairbanks Shakespeare Theatre (FST) in Fairbanks, Alaska. At FST he produced and performed in outdoor Shakespeare productions staged under the midnight sun at venues throughout Alaska and around the globe (most notably at the VIII World Shakespeare Congress in Brisbane, Australia, and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland). From 2000–2003, Scott was the business and legal affairs coordinator for Brighter Pictures, Ltd (now a part of Endemol Shine UK), one of the United Kingdom’s most successful independent television and film production companies.
He holds a dual BA in theatre and history from Indiana University Bloomington, an MFA (distinction) in Actor Training and Coaching from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (University of London). He is a certified kundalini yoga teacher (CKYT-200) under acclaimed practitioner Maya Fiennes, and is currently nearing completion of his 500-hour Yoga
Alliance certification through Radiant Body Yoga. He has produced, directed, and/or performed in more than 200 theatrical productions.
Scott currently serves as the president of the Shakespeare Theatre Association, where he also served as treasurer from 2013-2017. He has taught acting process at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, the University of Notre Dame, Holy Cross College, and Indiana University South Bend. Since 2018 he has served as an Associate Artist for the Prague
Shakespeare Company where he teaches Meisner acting technique and Mindfulness for the Artist during PSC’s Summer Shakespeare Intensive.
A firm believer in the power of Shakespeare and the theatre arts to affect positive social change, he is a co-founder of the Shakespeare in Prisons Network. He teaches a Shakespeare in performance course and leads the kundalini yoga club at the Westville Correctional Facility, Indiana’s largest state prison.
His leadership in the nascent field of Applied Shakespeare has led to an appointment as a Research Associate for the Von Hügel Institute at St. Edmund’s College in the University of Cambridge. Additionally, he has developed an anti-harm approach to actor training called Foundationing and presented this research at the annual meetings of the European Society of Criminology, the British Shakespeare Association, the Shakespeare Theatre Association, the Shakespeare Association of America, Theatre Communications Group, the Association of Criminal Justice Sciences, and the World Shakespeare Congress.
He is the recipient of the Shakespeare Association of America’s Publics Award for the production of the 4th International Shakespeare in Prisons Conference in 2020-21, the Robinson Community Learning Center’s Arthur Quigley, PhD award for community service, and the Fairbanks, Alaska Downtown Association’s Golden Heart award.
Previously he served as executive director for the Fairbanks Shakespeare Theatre (FST) in Fairbanks, Alaska. At FST he produced and performed in outdoor Shakespeare productions staged under the midnight sun at venues throughout Alaska and around the globe (most notably at the VIII World Shakespeare Congress in Brisbane, Australia, and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland). From 2000–2003, Scott was the business and legal affairs coordinator for Brighter Pictures, Ltd (now a part of Endemol Shine UK), one of the United Kingdom’s most successful independent television and film production companies.
He holds a dual BA in theatre and history from Indiana University Bloomington, an MFA (distinction) in Actor Training and Coaching from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (University of London). He is a certified kundalini yoga teacher (CKYT-200) under acclaimed practitioner Maya Fiennes, and is currently nearing completion of his 500-hour Yoga
Alliance certification through Radiant Body Yoga. He has produced, directed, and/or performed in more than 200 theatrical productions.
Scott currently serves as the president of the Shakespeare Theatre Association, where he also served as treasurer from 2013-2017. He has taught acting process at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, the University of Notre Dame, Holy Cross College, and Indiana University South Bend. Since 2018 he has served as an Associate Artist for the Prague
Shakespeare Company where he teaches Meisner acting technique and Mindfulness for the Artist during PSC’s Summer Shakespeare Intensive.
A firm believer in the power of Shakespeare and the theatre arts to affect positive social change, he is a co-founder of the Shakespeare in Prisons Network. He teaches a Shakespeare in performance course and leads the kundalini yoga club at the Westville Correctional Facility, Indiana’s largest state prison.
His leadership in the nascent field of Applied Shakespeare has led to an appointment as a Research Associate for the Von Hügel Institute at St. Edmund’s College in the University of Cambridge. Additionally, he has developed an anti-harm approach to actor training called Foundationing and presented this research at the annual meetings of the European Society of Criminology, the British Shakespeare Association, the Shakespeare Theatre Association, the Shakespeare Association of America, Theatre Communications Group, the Association of Criminal Justice Sciences, and the World Shakespeare Congress.
He is the recipient of the Shakespeare Association of America’s Publics Award for the production of the 4th International Shakespeare in Prisons Conference in 2020-21, the Robinson Community Learning Center’s Arthur Quigley, PhD award for community service, and the Fairbanks, Alaska Downtown Association’s Golden Heart award.
Ariana Karp
Workshop Leader
Quick-Raise Practicon Workshop
January 8
Co-Presenter
EB02 "All The Currents Of A Heady Fight" Part Two - Innovations in Staging Violence
January 8 at 3:30pm
Ariana Karp (she/her) is an actor, director, educator, and cellist, and Artistic Director of Incite Shakespeare Company Santa Fe since 2018. She holds a Master's degree in Classical Acting for the Professional Theatre from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and a Bachelor's degree in Literature-Theatre from Reed College.
Ariana has made theatre in New York, London, and across the United States and Japan. She has taught university courses on acting, Shakespeare, voice and movement, and completed teaching residencies and workshops for actors and students of all ages throughout the US. She is passionate about the cultivation of radical empathy, and has extensive teaching and directing experience with a focus on empowering individuals and developing ensembles through ownership of Shakespeare’s language, using movement to activate the text through the body, creative problem solving, textual analysis, physical storytelling, and abstracting intimacy and violence.
In the fall of 2025 she began work as a teaching artist with Marin Shakespeare Company's Shakespeare for Social Justice program in various prisons throughout California's Central Valley.
Since 2023, with her acting and devising collaborator Andrew Codispoti, she has developed and performed the original and constantly-evolving production Shakespeare’s Duets: Turn and Change.
Ariana has made theatre in New York, London, and across the United States and Japan. She has taught university courses on acting, Shakespeare, voice and movement, and completed teaching residencies and workshops for actors and students of all ages throughout the US. She is passionate about the cultivation of radical empathy, and has extensive teaching and directing experience with a focus on empowering individuals and developing ensembles through ownership of Shakespeare’s language, using movement to activate the text through the body, creative problem solving, textual analysis, physical storytelling, and abstracting intimacy and violence.
In the fall of 2025 she began work as a teaching artist with Marin Shakespeare Company's Shakespeare for Social Justice program in various prisons throughout California's Central Valley.
Since 2023, with her acting and devising collaborator Andrew Codispoti, she has developed and performed the original and constantly-evolving production Shakespeare’s Duets: Turn and Change.
- Website: arianakarp.com
Jason King Jones
Moderator
MB04 "How Now Shall This Be Compassed?" - Finding Your Compass Points
January 8 at 3:30pm
Jason King Jones just completed his third season as Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival's Artistic Director, where he recently directed Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, The Tempest, The Last Five Year, and As You Like It. Prior to moving to the Lehigh Valley with his family, Jason spent ten years at Maryland’s Olney Theatre Center, where he served as Senior Associate Artistic Director and Artistic Director of National Players.
In the past 25 years Jason has directed over eighty productions, mentored hundreds of early-career theatre makers, and established various educational programs. He is an Acting Company alumnus, a proud member of the PSF Board, the Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Nonprofit & Business Partners Council, and the executive committee of the Shakespeare Theatre Association. Jason holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from Missouri State and an MFA in Directing from Boston University.
In the past 25 years Jason has directed over eighty productions, mentored hundreds of early-career theatre makers, and established various educational programs. He is an Acting Company alumnus, a proud member of the PSF Board, the Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Nonprofit & Business Partners Council, and the executive committee of the Shakespeare Theatre Association. Jason holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from Missouri State and an MFA in Directing from Boston University.
Sharon King-Campbell
Moderator
PS04 "Tongues in Trees" - Performing Shakespeare’s Forest Comedies Now
January 10 at 12:30pm
Panelist
XB02 “By Sea, By Sea, (By Sea)” - in conversation with three ocean-adjacent companies
January 8 at 3:30pm
Sharon King-Campbell (she/her) is a Newfoundland-based Canadian director, playwright and performer with a passion for the connective and change-making power of theatre. She has performed and directed for companies across Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland), and is the author of six produced plays, with several others in development.
Sharon holds a BFA Theatre (Acting) and a MA English (Creative Thesis) from Memorial University, where she is now pursuing her PhD. She has been Artistic Director for the Shakespeare by the Sea Festival since 2023 and Executive Director of Kittiwake Ballet since 2025.
Sharon was the founding Artistic and Managing Director of World's End Theatre Company from 2008 to 2011, and has produced her own work under the company name 'skc originals' since 2014. She was the recipient of the 2017 Rhonda Payne Theatre Award. Her books, This Is How It Is, and Dayboil, are published by Breakwater Books.
Sharon holds a BFA Theatre (Acting) and a MA English (Creative Thesis) from Memorial University, where she is now pursuing her PhD. She has been Artistic Director for the Shakespeare by the Sea Festival since 2023 and Executive Director of Kittiwake Ballet since 2025.
Sharon was the founding Artistic and Managing Director of World's End Theatre Company from 2008 to 2011, and has produced her own work under the company name 'skc originals' since 2014. She was the recipient of the 2017 Rhonda Payne Theatre Award. Her books, This Is How It Is, and Dayboil, are published by Breakwater Books.
- Website: sharonkingcampbell.com
Kati Grace Kirby
Moderator
PS03 "Thy Training Hath Been Noble" - Stratford's professional actor training program
January 9 at 10:30am
Kati Grace Kirby has been with the Atlanta Shakespeare Company (ASC) since 2007 and works currently as a director, actor, intimacy choreographer and arts administrator. She also serves in the role of Secretary on the Executive Committee of the Shakespeare Theatre Association.
Directing credits include The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Romeo and Juliet, Bronte, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, and The Canterbury Tales.
ASC touring production credits include R&J: 60, Much Ado: 60, Caesar: 60, The Olympians, and Shakespeare: The Language That Shaped a World. Kati Grace has also been honored to direct staged readings for the Essential Theatre Festival's Bare Essentials series and Onion Man Productions as well as a full-length, outdoor production of Othello with Shakespeare on Draught.
Directing credits include The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Romeo and Juliet, Bronte, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, and The Canterbury Tales.
ASC touring production credits include R&J: 60, Much Ado: 60, Caesar: 60, The Olympians, and Shakespeare: The Language That Shaped a World. Kati Grace has also been honored to direct staged readings for the Essential Theatre Festival's Bare Essentials series and Onion Man Productions as well as a full-length, outdoor production of Othello with Shakespeare on Draught.
Jemma Alix Levy
Speaker
EB05 “Address Your Love and Might” - Using Direct Address to Teach Actors (and Students) to Think About Space
January 10 at 1:30pm
Jemma Alix Levy has been directing professionally for over 25 years and is also an Associate Professor of Acting and Directing at Washington and Lee University. She earned degrees from Amherst College, the University of Chicago, and Mary Baldwin University’s program in association with the American Shakespeare Center, and completed The Juilliard School's now-defunct graduate directing program.
Jemma’s directing work has won critical acclaim across the US and internationally, including for the two companies she founded and ran, Runamuck (Austin, TX), and Muse of Fire Theatre Company (Evanston, IL). Most recently, her work was seen at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company (where she is also an Artistic Associate), the American Shakespeare Center (where she also serves on the Board), and at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.
Jemma has also written adaptations of the works of Shakespeare, Lope de Vega, and two-time National-Book-Award-nominee Howard Norman. She is a certified Consent-Forward Artist.
Jemma’s directing work has won critical acclaim across the US and internationally, including for the two companies she founded and ran, Runamuck (Austin, TX), and Muse of Fire Theatre Company (Evanston, IL). Most recently, her work was seen at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company (where she is also an Artistic Associate), the American Shakespeare Center (where she also serves on the Board), and at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.
Jemma has also written adaptations of the works of Shakespeare, Lope de Vega, and two-time National-Book-Award-nominee Howard Norman. She is a certified Consent-Forward Artist.
- Website: jemmalevy.com
Jessie Lillis
Moderator
MB01 “Whistling To Th’ Air” - Digital Marketing: Innovative Practices in Action
January 8 at 1:30pm
Jessie Lillis is an actor, director, and educator, as well as the Producing Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Starling Shakespeare Company, a non-profit, migratory company. Since 2021, Starling has toured their signature five-actor shows to over 40 cities in 11 states. They also produce the annual month-long Mackinac Island Shakespeare Festival in northern Michigan.
Jessie herself is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based, classically trained actor, director, and educator. Building on her extensive background in movement and textual analysis, she is always looking for ways to marry the body and the voice to serve storytelling. She holds an MFA from Mary Baldwin University in partnership with the American Shakespeare Center.
Jessie herself is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based, classically trained actor, director, and educator. Building on her extensive background in movement and textual analysis, she is always looking for ways to marry the body and the voice to serve storytelling. She holds an MFA from Mary Baldwin University in partnership with the American Shakespeare Center.
- Website: jessiemlillis.com
- IG: @jessiemlillis
Josh Lubarr
Speaker
XB01 “The World’s Eye Doth View” Exploring Shakespeare's Worldview
January 8 at 1:30pm
Josh Lubarr is a writer and editor whose work includes plays and sketch comedy, expert congressional testimony, magazine articles, technical content, and much more. His acting training includes work at Shakespeare & Company, where he also co-directed Hamlet as part of the inaugural Fall Festival of Shakespeare.
Mac MacDaniel
Co-Presenter
AB04 "Let It Come Down" - Punk Dramaturgy: Intentional Cutting for Small-Scale Performance
January 9 at 3:45pm
Mac MacDaniel is one of three actor-managers of Elsewhere Shakespeare (Eastern US). He is a high school dropout and hairstylist originally from Richmond, VA. His favorite Avail album is Over The James.
- Website: macmacdaniel.com
Cole Metz
Co-Presenter
AB04 "Let It Come Down" - Punk Dramaturgy: Intentional Cutting for Small-Scale Performance
January 9 at 3:45pm
Cole Metz is one of three actor-managers of Elsewhere Shakespeare (Eastern US). He is an actor, director and theatre educator based in central Virginia. He holds an MFA in Shakespeare & Performance from Mary Baldwin University and a BFA in Theatre Performance from Virginia Commonwealth University. He's gluten free.
Sandra Mills
Moderator
MB02 "Out O' Th' House" - Performing and Teaching Shakespeare Without a Theater
January 9 at 3:45pm
Sandra Mills (she/her) is a theatrical multi-hyphenate living in St. John's, Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland), born and raised "around the bay". Sandra has been involved with the Shakespeare by the Sea Festival since 2013 as a volunteer actor, director, and board member before becoming General Manager, in which capacity she oversaw 8 seasons of the festival, through the pandemic and into the new normal. She is passionate about making theatre at all levels, with professional and community based models.
Sandra is an executive member of St. John's Players (the oldest theatre company in Newfoundland and Labrador, founded in 1937), affiliated with the Newfoundland and Labrador Drama Society, a founding member of theatre co-op company Elevator Pitch, and frequently works with Best Kind Productions and the St. John's International Circus Festival. Notable onstage credits include Barbara Cartland in Bothered and Bewildered (St. John's Players); Mistress Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare by the Sea Festival); the ensemble of Jersey Boys (TaDa Events); and Glynis in Second Shot: The Curling Musical (Best Kind Productions).
By day, Sandra works at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador as a Business Systems Analyst with the Research Initiatives & Services department, works the occasional retail shift, sings at funerals, and occasionally talks about how much TV she watches on CBC Radio.
Sandra is an executive member of St. John's Players (the oldest theatre company in Newfoundland and Labrador, founded in 1937), affiliated with the Newfoundland and Labrador Drama Society, a founding member of theatre co-op company Elevator Pitch, and frequently works with Best Kind Productions and the St. John's International Circus Festival. Notable onstage credits include Barbara Cartland in Bothered and Bewildered (St. John's Players); Mistress Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare by the Sea Festival); the ensemble of Jersey Boys (TaDa Events); and Glynis in Second Shot: The Curling Musical (Best Kind Productions).
By day, Sandra works at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador as a Business Systems Analyst with the Research Initiatives & Services department, works the occasional retail shift, sings at funerals, and occasionally talks about how much TV she watches on CBC Radio.
Katie Mixon
Co-Presenter
AB04 "Let It Come Down" - Punk Dramaturgy: Intentional Cutting for Small-Scale Performance
January 9 at 3:45pm
Katie Mixon is one of three actor-managers of Elsewhere Shakespeare (Eastern US). She is an actor, educator, and conservationist born and raised in Columbia, SC. She studied at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts and worked with animals in Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. She's on a first-name basis with at least six elephants.
- Website: katiemixon.com
- IG: @katiemonster79
Alfredo Michel Modenessi
Panelist
AB05 “The Hot Breath of Spain” - Shakespeare in Spanish
January 10 at 1:30pm
Alfredo Michel Modenessi is Professor of Drama, Theatre, and Translation at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He is currently Visiting Scholar at the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies of Arizona State University (ASU).
Alfredo is the author of "Itself but by reflection": Shakespeare y el arte inestable (Shakespeare and Unstable Art, 2018) and El teatro norteamericano: una sintesis (American Drama: a Synthesis, 2014). He is currently writing a book on Shakespeare and Mexican cinema for the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (AMCRS) at Arizona State University.
Alfredo spent a sabbatical (2013-2014) in Stratford-upon-Avon, invited by the Shakespeare Institute of the University of Birmingham, starting his research for his current book project, as well as chapters for the Oxford Handbook of Shakespeare Tragedy (2016) and the Oxford Handbook of Shakespeare in Performance (2017).
Alfredo is the author of "Itself but by reflection": Shakespeare y el arte inestable (Shakespeare and Unstable Art, 2018) and El teatro norteamericano: una sintesis (American Drama: a Synthesis, 2014). He is currently writing a book on Shakespeare and Mexican cinema for the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (AMCRS) at Arizona State University.
Alfredo spent a sabbatical (2013-2014) in Stratford-upon-Avon, invited by the Shakespeare Institute of the University of Birmingham, starting his research for his current book project, as well as chapters for the Oxford Handbook of Shakespeare Tragedy (2016) and the Oxford Handbook of Shakespeare in Performance (2017).
Vanessa Morosco
Moderator
FP01 "Bestriding the Narrow World" - Management Keynote Panel
January 7 at 9:00am
Moderator
MB03 "Words, Words, Words" - structuring our language in policy and practice
January 9 at 2:00pm
Bringing more than two decades of dedicated service to the American Shakespeare Center (Staunton, Virginia, USA) Vanessa has been a cornerstone of the Center’s growth and currently holds the position of Executive Director. Her diverse contributions include directing productions for resident and touring troupes, founding educational programs for community members of all ages, and establishing leadership training sessions for both international executives and Continuing Legal Education.
Vanessa’s journey with the ASC began as a performer in over 25 productions on the Blackfriars Playhouse stage, dating back to their inaugural season in 2002.
Beyond the ASC, Vanessa is recognized globally for her expertise in drama-based training and development. She has worked with multinational corporations and business schools worldwide on Leadership & Communication Training through her organization, Impact Drama (impactdrama.net).
Vanessa is also the co-founder of the 50/50 Shakespeare Project™, dedicated to advancing gender equity in the workplace of Shakespeare’s plays (5050shakespeare.com). She serves on the Executive Committee of the Shakespeare Theatre Association. A proud member of Actors Equity Association and Stage Directors & Choreographers Society, Vanessa holds an M.A. in Ethics from Yale University.
Vanessa is also the creator and facilitator of Ethical Leadership in the Arts, a strategic framework for identifying and resolving ethical dilemmas in the creative process and beyond. She offers private executive coaching, department-level training, and company-wide programs designed to strengthen ethical decision-making and support cultural transformation in arts institutions and beyond. The approach earned her an Indie Theatre Fund Grant for innovation in the field.
Vanessa’s journey with the ASC began as a performer in over 25 productions on the Blackfriars Playhouse stage, dating back to their inaugural season in 2002.
Beyond the ASC, Vanessa is recognized globally for her expertise in drama-based training and development. She has worked with multinational corporations and business schools worldwide on Leadership & Communication Training through her organization, Impact Drama (impactdrama.net).
Vanessa is also the co-founder of the 50/50 Shakespeare Project™, dedicated to advancing gender equity in the workplace of Shakespeare’s plays (5050shakespeare.com). She serves on the Executive Committee of the Shakespeare Theatre Association. A proud member of Actors Equity Association and Stage Directors & Choreographers Society, Vanessa holds an M.A. in Ethics from Yale University.
Vanessa is also the creator and facilitator of Ethical Leadership in the Arts, a strategic framework for identifying and resolving ethical dilemmas in the creative process and beyond. She offers private executive coaching, department-level training, and company-wide programs designed to strengthen ethical decision-making and support cultural transformation in arts institutions and beyond. The approach earned her an Indie Theatre Fund Grant for innovation in the field.
Gillian Morrissey
Speaker
FP02 “No Measure In Delight” - Impact Measurement in the Arts
January 7 at 9am
Gillian Morrissey is a professional flutist, pedagogue, social entrepreneur, and academic. In her role as manager of Memorial University’s Centre for Social Enterprise, she guides the Centre’s activities as it strives to cultivate a new generation of socially-minded business leaders, strengthen social enterprise and drive social innovation in Newfoundland and Labrador. Dr. Morrissey has also founded and managed two community music social enterprises in St. John’s: Project Grace and the Bethany Centre for Arts and Community.
Gillian holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Toronto, an artist diploma from the Royal College of Music (London, U.K.), a graduate diploma in Business Administration and a Masters of Music from Memorial and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Ottawa. She currently holds a post-doctoral fellowship in social enterprise at Memorial, and is researching arts-based social enterprise and social impact measurement in the arts. Dr. Morrissey is a sessional lecturer in both the Faculty of Business Administration and School of Music at Memorial, and maintains a busy freelance career as both performer and pedagogue. She has performed in concert halls around the world, and regularly appears with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, Atlantic Light Theatre, Kittiwake Dance Theatre and others.
Gillian holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Toronto, an artist diploma from the Royal College of Music (London, U.K.), a graduate diploma in Business Administration and a Masters of Music from Memorial and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Ottawa. She currently holds a post-doctoral fellowship in social enterprise at Memorial, and is researching arts-based social enterprise and social impact measurement in the arts. Dr. Morrissey is a sessional lecturer in both the Faculty of Business Administration and School of Music at Memorial, and maintains a busy freelance career as both performer and pedagogue. She has performed in concert halls around the world, and regularly appears with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, Atlantic Light Theatre, Kittiwake Dance Theatre and others.
Lily Narbonne
Moderator
AB03 "Did I Not Dance With You In Brabant Once?" Movement as Universal Language through the Lens of Love's Labour's Lost
January 9 at 2:00pm
Lily Narbonne (she/her) is the Co-Founding Artistic Director of Lanes Coven Theater Co in Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA, and is also an Actor, Dialect Coach, Director and Teaching Artist.
- As an Actor: Leopoldstadt (Huntington Theatre); A Christmas Carol (American Conservatory Theater); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Persuasion, Cyrano de Bergerac (SPARC Theater); Every 28 Hours (Berkeley Rep/A.C.T); The Three Musketeers, King Lear, Two Noble Kinsmen, All’s Well That Ends Well (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival); and Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Proposal, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Taming of the Shrew (Lanes Coven Theater Co).
- As Director: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Importance of Being Earnest, and The Dumb Waiter (Lanes Coven Theater Co); and The Insurgents by Lucy Thurber for A.C.T. MFA SkyFest.
- TV/Film: Julia (HBO Max).
- As Dialect Coach (@dialectarts) – select credits include: A View From The Bridge, Shining City, Translations, Funnyhouse of a Negro and Moviestar.
- Education: MFA, American Conservatory Theater; BFA, BU School of Theatre & LAMDA.
- Website: lilynarbonne.com
Clark Nicholson
Workshop Leader
Quick-Raise Practicon
January 8
Clark Nicholson is the Artistic Director of Gamut Theatre Group in Pennsylvania’s capital, Harrisburg. In partnership with his wife, Melissa Nicholson, Executive Director of that organization, they founded Gamut in 1992.
Since that time, Clark has served the organization as both an actor and a director, as well as a teacher, a scenic designer, and a carpenter. It has been his honor and pleasure to share the works of classic authors ranging from the Brothers Grimm to Aesop to Euripides to Chekhov to Shakespeare. Recently, he also added training in Theatrical Intimacy by earning his diploma from Theatrical Intimacy Education (TIE) and also completed training in all levels of modern improvisational theory and application at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theater in Manhattan.
He has spent the last 30 years of his life weaving together seemingly disparate, but ultimately cooperative artistic disciplines, such as classical stage training along with modern improvisational theory, to open new avenues to active listening, participatory learning, and group creativity.
As an actor, some favorite Shakespearean roles include Hamlet, Claudius, and the First Gravedigger in Hamlet; Macduff, Banquo, and Duncan in Macbeth; Prospero and Caliban in The Tempest; Puck, Oberon, and Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; and Caesar in Julius Caesar. Non-Shakespearean favorites include The Player in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead; Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird; Willie Loman in Death of a Salesman; and Sir in Ronald Harwood’s The Dresser.
His directing favorites are too numerous to enumerate, however, in the realm of Shakespeare, he would like for you to know that he has seven yet to go to complete the canon.
And, he’s planning to get there.
Since that time, Clark has served the organization as both an actor and a director, as well as a teacher, a scenic designer, and a carpenter. It has been his honor and pleasure to share the works of classic authors ranging from the Brothers Grimm to Aesop to Euripides to Chekhov to Shakespeare. Recently, he also added training in Theatrical Intimacy by earning his diploma from Theatrical Intimacy Education (TIE) and also completed training in all levels of modern improvisational theory and application at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theater in Manhattan.
He has spent the last 30 years of his life weaving together seemingly disparate, but ultimately cooperative artistic disciplines, such as classical stage training along with modern improvisational theory, to open new avenues to active listening, participatory learning, and group creativity.
As an actor, some favorite Shakespearean roles include Hamlet, Claudius, and the First Gravedigger in Hamlet; Macduff, Banquo, and Duncan in Macbeth; Prospero and Caliban in The Tempest; Puck, Oberon, and Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; and Caesar in Julius Caesar. Non-Shakespearean favorites include The Player in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead; Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird; Willie Loman in Death of a Salesman; and Sir in Ronald Harwood’s The Dresser.
His directing favorites are too numerous to enumerate, however, in the realm of Shakespeare, he would like for you to know that he has seven yet to go to complete the canon.
And, he’s planning to get there.
Nicole Obiodiaka
Moderator
MB05 “By This Sun That Shines” - Building Brilliance: A New Blueprint for Non-Profit Theatre
January 10 at 1:30pm
Nicole Obiodiaka is a dynamic business professional, playwright, and arts advocate dedicated to amplifying Black voices and stories. She works at Nasdaq Verafin as a Senior Sales Analyst and is the founder of Centra Cultural Collective, an organization committed to supporting Black creatives and entrepreneurs through film, theatre, and community engagement.
Her original plays Beauty Behind the Norms, Amapiano Meets Shakespeare, and Blank Page An African Love Story have been showcased at festivals including the Women’s Work Festival and St. John’s Shorts Festival. Beyond the stage, Nicole has produced and written projects for CBC, shedding light on the Black experience in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nicole also leads the St. John’s chapter of Nasdaq’s Global Link of Black Employees and serves on the boards of St. John’s Shorts Festival and Shakespeare by the Sea Festival.
Nicole’s work has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including the Frank H. Sobey Award for Excellence in Business Studies, the Afropolitan Canada Youth Leadership Award, the Memorial University Centennial 100 Award, and the Humanitarianism Award. Whether in business or the arts, Nicole continues to champion storytelling, leadership, and community impact.
Her original plays Beauty Behind the Norms, Amapiano Meets Shakespeare, and Blank Page An African Love Story have been showcased at festivals including the Women’s Work Festival and St. John’s Shorts Festival. Beyond the stage, Nicole has produced and written projects for CBC, shedding light on the Black experience in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nicole also leads the St. John’s chapter of Nasdaq’s Global Link of Black Employees and serves on the boards of St. John’s Shorts Festival and Shakespeare by the Sea Festival.
Nicole’s work has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including the Frank H. Sobey Award for Excellence in Business Studies, the Afropolitan Canada Youth Leadership Award, the Memorial University Centennial 100 Award, and the Humanitarianism Award. Whether in business or the arts, Nicole continues to champion storytelling, leadership, and community impact.
Lynn Panting
Co-Presenter
AB03 "Did I Not Dance With You In Brabant Once?" Movement as Universal Language through the Lens of Love's Labour's Lost January 9 at 2:00pm
Lynn Panting is a Newfoundland-based artist, educator, and advocate known for creating bold, accessible works that celebrate movement as a tool for creativity, confidence, and connection. She holds a Master of Arts in Philosophy and a Master of Humanities with a focus on performance, dance, and the body from Memorial University.
Lynn is the owner and Artistic Director of Lynn Panting Dance, Artistic Director and Producer of Untellable Movement Theatre, and a founding member of Ladies Who Lunch Productions.
Whether activating public spaces through site‑specific work or leading workshops in arts-based learning and creative agency, Lynn embodies community care and transformational learning.
Lynn is the owner and Artistic Director of Lynn Panting Dance, Artistic Director and Producer of Untellable Movement Theatre, and a founding member of Ladies Who Lunch Productions.
Whether activating public spaces through site‑specific work or leading workshops in arts-based learning and creative agency, Lynn embodies community care and transformational learning.
- Websites: bio.site/lynnpanting
Philip Parr
Speaker
PS02 "No court in Europe is too good for thee" - Keynote Presentation
January 9 at 9:00am
Alongside a wide-ranging freelance practice as director of theatre, opera and festivals, Philip is Artistic Director of Parrabbola, who make large scale community plays in the UK and across Europe, and Director of the York International Shakespeare Festival, which celebrated its 10th anniversary year in 2025
Theatre work has ranged from main house productions, to small scale rural touring, with a particular focus on site specific and promenade theatre and on Shakespeare.
Current Shakespeare productions include Henry V [man and monarch], a solo show for actor Brett Brown, which has played around the world since 2017; FEAST: a play in one cooking, by Romanian writer Olivia Negrean for six actresses - exploring Shakespeare’s female characters; and touring productions of Twelfth Night, Macbeth, and As You Like It which premiered last year at festivals in Craiova (Romania) and Budva (Montenegro)
His production of Pericles Prince of Tyre premiered in 2024 at the Hungarian State Theatre Csiky Gergely in Timisoara and was selected for the National Theatre Festival in Romania. It continues in the repertoire.
His most recent premieres have been Codename Othello, a new play by the Ukrainian playwright Olga Annenko, which had its world premiere in York in April 2025; and Bottom’s Dream – a ‘mash up’ of the three Athens plays – A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Timon of Athens and Two Noble Kinsmen which premiered in Gloucester in May 2025.
Larger work has included a site specific, promenade performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet for the festival in Craiova, and Pericles and The Winter’s Tale in Gdansk. His most recent large scale projects were a site-specific cross-border production of The Winter’s Tale which travelled between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and Shake Fear | Break Walls in Gdansk - an exploration of borders real and imagined with five European partners.
Philip teaches widely; he holds a post as Lecturer at the University of Gloucestershire and is an adjunct professor for Lewis and Clark College in Portland Oregon, teaching on their London programme and occasionally in Portland. Future Directing plans include projects in Lithuania, Romania and Montenegro, as well as the UK.
Philip is a founding council member of the European Shakespeare Festivals Network and in 2021 was elected Chairman. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Theatre work has ranged from main house productions, to small scale rural touring, with a particular focus on site specific and promenade theatre and on Shakespeare.
Current Shakespeare productions include Henry V [man and monarch], a solo show for actor Brett Brown, which has played around the world since 2017; FEAST: a play in one cooking, by Romanian writer Olivia Negrean for six actresses - exploring Shakespeare’s female characters; and touring productions of Twelfth Night, Macbeth, and As You Like It which premiered last year at festivals in Craiova (Romania) and Budva (Montenegro)
His production of Pericles Prince of Tyre premiered in 2024 at the Hungarian State Theatre Csiky Gergely in Timisoara and was selected for the National Theatre Festival in Romania. It continues in the repertoire.
His most recent premieres have been Codename Othello, a new play by the Ukrainian playwright Olga Annenko, which had its world premiere in York in April 2025; and Bottom’s Dream – a ‘mash up’ of the three Athens plays – A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Timon of Athens and Two Noble Kinsmen which premiered in Gloucester in May 2025.
Larger work has included a site specific, promenade performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet for the festival in Craiova, and Pericles and The Winter’s Tale in Gdansk. His most recent large scale projects were a site-specific cross-border production of The Winter’s Tale which travelled between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and Shake Fear | Break Walls in Gdansk - an exploration of borders real and imagined with five European partners.
Philip teaches widely; he holds a post as Lecturer at the University of Gloucestershire and is an adjunct professor for Lewis and Clark College in Portland Oregon, teaching on their London programme and occasionally in Portland. Future Directing plans include projects in Lithuania, Romania and Montenegro, as well as the UK.
Philip is a founding council member of the European Shakespeare Festivals Network and in 2021 was elected Chairman. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Janine Pearson
Speaker
PS03 "Thy Training Hath Been Noble" - Stratford's professional actor training program
January 9 at 10:30am
Presently in her 36th season as a voice and text coach with the Stratford Festival (Ontario, Canada), Janine (she/her) spent 24 seasons as Head of Voice and Coaching, leading a multidisciplinary team of professional coaches serving the needs of the acting company working in repertory; created the Voice Care and Development workshop for Educators ©, co-created the Toronto 5 project; and taught for the Education department, and Langham Director’s Workshop. Since 2021 she is pleased to guide the Birmingham Conservatory.
Away from the Festival: Janine spent a decade as Head of Voice and Associate Artistic Director of the English acting and playwriting program at NTSC; taught at University of Regina, University of Windsor, TMU, University of Waterloo and HB Studios (NY); and is working with colleagues nation-wide to grow a National Voice Association (www.anv-nva.ca). She is a graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (London); Humboldt-Institut (Germany); and the University of Regina.
Away from the Festival: Janine spent a decade as Head of Voice and Associate Artistic Director of the English acting and playwriting program at NTSC; taught at University of Regina, University of Windsor, TMU, University of Waterloo and HB Studios (NY); and is working with colleagues nation-wide to grow a National Voice Association (www.anv-nva.ca). She is a graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (London); Humboldt-Institut (Germany); and the University of Regina.
- Website: janinepearson.ca
Angelica Perez-Johnston
Panelist
MB03 "Words, Words, Words" - structuring our language in policy and practice
January 9 at 2:00pm
Angelica Perez-Johnston (she/ella) is the Associate Dean for Engagement and Belonging in Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Fine Arts (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA). With more than a decade of work centered on intentional support of marginalized communities through a lens of equity and shared knowledge creation, she was drawn to the Pittsburgh region for its wealth of opportunities, specifically in the advocacy and support of the rapidly growing Latine community. Her current research interests are working to increase the capacity of each individual to hold accountability as it relates to increasing the sense of belonging and wellbeing for our community. Dr. APJ earned her Bachelor's in Psychology and Master's in Mental Health from Edinboro University and her Doctorate in Public Administration from West Chester University. She is a certified clinical Trauma specialist and working towards completion of her certification for mental health coordination. Honoring her many identities, she approaches the work of equity through a lens of shared learning and understanding and finding the "entry points" to conversations to increase the understanding of the impacts of equitable practice in higher education.
Benjamin Reed
Panelist
MB01 “Whistling To Th’ Air” - Digital Marketing: Innovative Practices in Action
January 8 at 1:30pm
Benjamin Reed is a classically trained actor, fight director, and arts entrepreneur committed to building a sustainable future for artists. From 2014 to 2020, he was a resident actor with the American Shakespeare Center, performing over 56 roles across 10 seasons. He holds an MFA from the University of Houston’s Professional Actor Training Program and a BA in Theatre from Belmont University. Benjamin is the founder of Stageable, a platform helping performing artists and arts organizations connect with audiences and generate recurring revenue. He also serves as CEO of Craft Creatives, which owns and manages several hospitality brands, blending artistry with entrepreneurial vision.
Paul Power
Moderator
XB03 “Signs of Nobleness” - Shakespeare & Sign Language
January 9 at 3:45pm
Paul David Power has spent the past 30 years working as a writer, playwright, actor and director. His formal training includes holding a BA in English with a concentration in theatre and a BAA in Journalism.
His leadership positions include President of the Liffey Players Drama Society in Calgary AB for three years, Artistic Director for Hubcity Theatre in Moncton NB for five years and Artistic Associate for the Shakespeare by the Sea Festival in St. John's NL for two years along with his current role as founder and Artistic Director for Power Productions.
His leadership positions include President of the Liffey Players Drama Society in Calgary AB for three years, Artistic Director for Hubcity Theatre in Moncton NB for five years and Artistic Associate for the Shakespeare by the Sea Festival in St. John's NL for two years along with his current role as founder and Artistic Director for Power Productions.
Luke Rowe
Moderator
EB05 “Address Your Love and Might” - Using Direct Address to Teach Actors (and Students) to Think About Space
January 10 at 1:30pm
Luke Rowe (he/him) is a Newfoundland-based producer, director and actor with a BFA (Theatre) from Memorial University’s Grenfell Campus. As a theatre artist, he has worked with well-known Newfoundland companies including Rising Tide Theatre, Stephenville Theatre Festival, Beyond the Overpass, the Gros Morne Theatre Festival and the Shakespeare by the Sea Festival.
Further, Luke has been the General Manager for St. John’s Shorts Inc.; the Managing Producer for the NL Sketch Comedy Festival; and is currently the Managing Producer with the Resource Centre for the Arts Theatre Company.
Luke is also a co-founder of Act IV Shakespeare, an educational theatre troupe teaching Shakespeare to high school students in Newfoundland and Labrador with the aid of the ArtsSmarts program.
He is not related to Paul.
Further, Luke has been the General Manager for St. John’s Shorts Inc.; the Managing Producer for the NL Sketch Comedy Festival; and is currently the Managing Producer with the Resource Centre for the Arts Theatre Company.
Luke is also a co-founder of Act IV Shakespeare, an educational theatre troupe teaching Shakespeare to high school students in Newfoundland and Labrador with the aid of the ArtsSmarts program.
He is not related to Paul.
Paul Rowe
Moderator
AB04 "Let It Come Down" - Punk Dramaturgy: Intentional Cutting for Small-Scale Performance
January 9 at 3:45pm
Paul Rowe is an actor, writer and educator based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. He has a long history with the Shakespeare by the Sea Festival (SBTS) as a performer, director and was artistic director from 2018-2020.
Paul's directed productions for SBTS, including Cymbeline (2013), The Tempest (2017), As You Like It (2018); Pericles: Prince of Tyre (2021), and The Merry Wives of Windsor (2025). He played Malvolio in Twelfth Night for the company in 1994, and Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1998, both for director Jenn Deon; and Claudius in Hamlet in 1997 for director Janet Edmonds.
Paul is also a co-founder of Act IV Shakespeare, an educational theatre troupe teaching Shakespeare to high school students in Newfoundland and Labrador with the aid of the ArtsSmarts program.
He is not related to Luke.
Paul's directed productions for SBTS, including Cymbeline (2013), The Tempest (2017), As You Like It (2018); Pericles: Prince of Tyre (2021), and The Merry Wives of Windsor (2025). He played Malvolio in Twelfth Night for the company in 1994, and Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1998, both for director Jenn Deon; and Claudius in Hamlet in 1997 for director Janet Edmonds.
Paul is also a co-founder of Act IV Shakespeare, an educational theatre troupe teaching Shakespeare to high school students in Newfoundland and Labrador with the aid of the ArtsSmarts program.
He is not related to Luke.
Madeline Sayet
Panelist
AB01 “I Am Native Here” - Indigeneity & Shakespeare
January 8 at 1:30pm
Performer
Where We Belong
January 9 at 8:30pm
For her work Madeline Sayet (she/her) has been named a Forbes 30 Under 30 in Hollywood & Entertainment, a NCAIED Native American 40 Under 40, a TED Fellow, MIT Media Lab Director's Fellow, MacDowell Fellow, Hermitage Fellow, CT Magazine 40 Under 40, and a recipient of the White House Champion of Change Award from President Obama. She is a Clinical Associate Professor with the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Arizona State University and served six years as the Executive Director of the Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program (YIPAP).
Within her field Madeline has also been acknowledged as a 2019 Drama League Director in Residence, a member of the 2016 National Directors Fellowship Cohort, and is currently a Resident Artist at Centre Theater Group and a member of Long Wharf Theatre's artistic ensemble. Her directorial work has been described by critics as effervescent, enchanting, magical, insightful, and fearless. As a performer she was nominated for a Jeff Award for best Solo Performance for her run of her play Where We Belong at The Goodman Theatre.
Madeline received her BFA in Drama from Tisch School of the Arts, where she studied under the Atlantic Theatre Company. She has a MA in Arts Politics & Post-Colonial Theory from NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, and a MA in Shakespeare & Creativity (with Distinction) from The Shakespeare Institute (Stratford Upon Avon, UK).
Madeline was appointed by President Biden to serve on the Board of Trustees for the Institute for American Indian Arts (IAIA). She currently also serves on the Board of Directors for the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. She previously served on the Board of Directors for the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), and now serves on their Advisory Council.
Madeline is currently being commissioned by Hudson Valley Shakespeare and Ford’s Theatre (DC), and has been a writer in residence at The Ojai Playwrights Festival, New Harmony Project, MacDowell, and The Hermitage Artist Retreat.
Madeline's theatre directing work has been seen at the Long Wharf Theatre, Perseverance Theatre (Alaska), Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, Delaware Shakespeare Festival, South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, Orlando Shakespeare Festival, The Krannert Center (Illinois), Theatresquared (Arkansas), Penobscot Theatre (Maine), the Public Theater (NY), HERE Arts Center (NY), 59e59 Theaters (NY), Ars Nova (NY), Lark Play Development Center (NY), the Glimmerglass Festival (NY), as well as in Iceland and the UK.
Madeline also recently had the pleasure of serving as Dramaturg on Ellen McDougal’s new production of As You Like It at Shakespeare’s Globe.
Madeline's play Where We Belong recently completed a national tour produced by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Co, in Association with the Folger Shakespeare Library that included: Baltimore Center Stage, Philadelphia Theatre Company, The Goodman Theatre, Hudson Valley Shakespeare, Seattle Rep, The Public Theater (NY), Portland Center Stage, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and The Folger. It is also now available from Methuen Drama/Bloomsbury.
Within her field Madeline has also been acknowledged as a 2019 Drama League Director in Residence, a member of the 2016 National Directors Fellowship Cohort, and is currently a Resident Artist at Centre Theater Group and a member of Long Wharf Theatre's artistic ensemble. Her directorial work has been described by critics as effervescent, enchanting, magical, insightful, and fearless. As a performer she was nominated for a Jeff Award for best Solo Performance for her run of her play Where We Belong at The Goodman Theatre.
Madeline received her BFA in Drama from Tisch School of the Arts, where she studied under the Atlantic Theatre Company. She has a MA in Arts Politics & Post-Colonial Theory from NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, and a MA in Shakespeare & Creativity (with Distinction) from The Shakespeare Institute (Stratford Upon Avon, UK).
Madeline was appointed by President Biden to serve on the Board of Trustees for the Institute for American Indian Arts (IAIA). She currently also serves on the Board of Directors for the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. She previously served on the Board of Directors for the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), and now serves on their Advisory Council.
Madeline is currently being commissioned by Hudson Valley Shakespeare and Ford’s Theatre (DC), and has been a writer in residence at The Ojai Playwrights Festival, New Harmony Project, MacDowell, and The Hermitage Artist Retreat.
Madeline's theatre directing work has been seen at the Long Wharf Theatre, Perseverance Theatre (Alaska), Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, Delaware Shakespeare Festival, South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, Orlando Shakespeare Festival, The Krannert Center (Illinois), Theatresquared (Arkansas), Penobscot Theatre (Maine), the Public Theater (NY), HERE Arts Center (NY), 59e59 Theaters (NY), Ars Nova (NY), Lark Play Development Center (NY), the Glimmerglass Festival (NY), as well as in Iceland and the UK.
Madeline also recently had the pleasure of serving as Dramaturg on Ellen McDougal’s new production of As You Like It at Shakespeare’s Globe.
Madeline's play Where We Belong recently completed a national tour produced by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Co, in Association with the Folger Shakespeare Library that included: Baltimore Center Stage, Philadelphia Theatre Company, The Goodman Theatre, Hudson Valley Shakespeare, Seattle Rep, The Public Theater (NY), Portland Center Stage, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and The Folger. It is also now available from Methuen Drama/Bloomsbury.
- Website: madelinesayet.com
Sarah Sebastien
Presenter
FP03 “I Know My Price” - Fundraising with Auctions: Trends, Insights & Data from the Field
January 7 at 11am
Sarah Sebastian is the Director of Corporate Communications at OneCause. She’s a marketer and brand geek at heart with eight years of experience in the nonprofit tech space. Outside of work, Sarah can be found reading, hiking, kayaking, volunteering for Florida Access Network, or getting lost in the woods while photographing birds.
Ryan Matthieu Smith
Panelist
AB01 “I Am Native Here” - Indigeneity & Shakespeare
January 8 at 1:30pm
Ryan Matthieu Smith (Lipan Apache/Tejanos, All Pronouns) stands at a cultural crossroads, carrying the rich legacy of intersecting Indigenous bloodlines rooted deep in the land now called Texas.
Ryan is a Two-Spirit director, designer, producer, choreographer, performer, and storyteller working in film, theater, drag, and circus.
Ryan is an Artistic Associate with Shakespeare Dallas and proud to be a representative of The People's Theater. Most recently he directed and designed a bold, bilingual production of Taming of the Shrue in collaboration with Play On Shakespeare. His fearless take on one of Shakespeare’s most fiery comedies boasted a fresh cultural perspective and was brought to life like never before. Other Shakespeare Dallas credits include direction and design for The Tempest (2022) and Much Ado About Nothing (2023).
Most recently, Ryan lent his passion for Indigenous storytelling to SparkFest 2025 at Amphibian Stage in Fort Worth.
As an Indigenous Two-Spirit, Ryan is very excited to lend his voice and unique perspective to the world. Above all, Ryan believes it is essential to bring his passion home to Texas where he knows visibility and representation are vitally important. Now, more than ever.
Ryan is a Two-Spirit director, designer, producer, choreographer, performer, and storyteller working in film, theater, drag, and circus.
Ryan is an Artistic Associate with Shakespeare Dallas and proud to be a representative of The People's Theater. Most recently he directed and designed a bold, bilingual production of Taming of the Shrue in collaboration with Play On Shakespeare. His fearless take on one of Shakespeare’s most fiery comedies boasted a fresh cultural perspective and was brought to life like never before. Other Shakespeare Dallas credits include direction and design for The Tempest (2022) and Much Ado About Nothing (2023).
Most recently, Ryan lent his passion for Indigenous storytelling to SparkFest 2025 at Amphibian Stage in Fort Worth.
As an Indigenous Two-Spirit, Ryan is very excited to lend his voice and unique perspective to the world. Above all, Ryan believes it is essential to bring his passion home to Texas where he knows visibility and representation are vitally important. Now, more than ever.
- IG: @rymatthieu
Lindsey D. Snyder
Panelist
XB03 “Signs of Nobleness” - Shakespeare & Sign Language Interpreting
January 9 at 3:45pm
A freelance interpreter for over 12 years, Lindsey is RID certified (CI) and holds a PhD from the University of Maryland, College Park (USA). She specializes in Higher Ed, Conference/Platform, and Performing Arts interpreting with a focus on classical theatre.
Lindsey also travels her country presenting workshops and classes for the Deaf and Interpreting communities. Past clients include: Ford's Theatre, Roundhouse Theatre, Imagination Stage, The Kennedy Center, VSA Arts, American Shakespeare Center, Shakespeare Association of America, CUA Colombus School of Law, American University, University of Maryland. She is currently the Director of Access for Faction of Fools Theatre Company.
Lindsey is thrilled to be partnering with the American Shakespeare Center with the support of the Doris Duke Foundation's Building Demand for the Arts grant. For the next 14 months she will be working with the ASC to explore the relationship between Shakespeare, ASL, and the Deaf community.
Lindsey also travels her country presenting workshops and classes for the Deaf and Interpreting communities. Past clients include: Ford's Theatre, Roundhouse Theatre, Imagination Stage, The Kennedy Center, VSA Arts, American Shakespeare Center, Shakespeare Association of America, CUA Colombus School of Law, American University, University of Maryland. She is currently the Director of Access for Faction of Fools Theatre Company.
Lindsey is thrilled to be partnering with the American Shakespeare Center with the support of the Doris Duke Foundation's Building Demand for the Arts grant. For the next 14 months she will be working with the ASC to explore the relationship between Shakespeare, ASL, and the Deaf community.
- Website: lindseydsnyder.com
Austin Tichenor
Panelist
MB01 “Whistling To Th’ Air” - Digital Marketing: Innovative Practices in Action
January 8 at 1:30pm
Austin Tichenor is an actor, author, podcaster, and co-Artistic Director of the Reduced Shakespeare Company (RSC), for which he’s co-authored and co-directed ten stage comedies he’s also performed off-Broadway, in London’s West End, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, at the White House, and in venues across the country and around the world.
Austin's RSC work includes the stage plays William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged) and Hamlet’s Big Adventure! (a prequel); the illustrated children’s book Pop-Up Shakespeare; the six-part Reduced Shakespeare Radio Show for the BBC World service; and playing Hamlet, Macbeth, and Titus Andronicus (among others) in the TV film version of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged).
Austin and his RSC partner Reed Martin received the 2025 Sandra & Sidney Berger Award from the Shakespeare Theatre Association, presented annually to artistic directors in recognition of outstanding talent and dedication to the works of William Shakespeare.
In 2006, Austin created the Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast, which he still produces and hosts every week and is now the longest-running theater podcast in the world. Guests have included comedians ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic and Rachel Dratch; award-winning actors Brian Dennehy, JK Simmons, Adrian Scarborough, Suzy Nakamura, and Michael Chiklis; best-selling authors Christopher Moore, Nicole Galland, Ian Doescher, and Louis Bayard; starship captains Scott Bakula and Elizabeth Dennehy; broadcasters NPR’s Scott Simon and MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell; eminent Shakespeareans Sir Stanley Wells, James Shapiro, Peter Holland, and Tamara Harvey (co-artistic director of the other RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon); playwrights Sarah Ruhl, Rajiv Joseph, Madhuri Shekar, John Cariani, and Lauren Gunderson; theatre critics Chris Jones, Bob Mondello, Peter Marks, and Sara Holdren; and dazzling award-winning theatre artists like Mary Zimmerman, Robert Falls, J. Nicole Brooks, Rob Myles, Karen Ann Daniels, Ron OJ Parson, Madeline Sayet, Brad Oscar, and Javier Muñoz.
The Reduced Shakespeare Company also received the 2nd annual Shorty Award for best short-form social media content from a cultural institution.
Austin’s directing credits include his own William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged) at Creighton University; A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Starling Shakespeare; Twelfth Night at Cincinnati Shakespeare; Troilus and Cressida at Northern Illinois University; and Much Ado About Nothing at Pacific University. TV credits include recurring roles on 24, Alias, Ally McBeal, Felicity, and The Practice; plus dozens of guest star appearances on The West Wing, Gilmore Girls, NYPD Blue, ER, The X-Files, Chicago Med, and others.
Austin writes about the intersection of Shakespeare and popular culture for the Folger Shakespeare Library, and you can follow him on the socials @austintichenor or @the.shakespeareance.
Austin's RSC work includes the stage plays William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged) and Hamlet’s Big Adventure! (a prequel); the illustrated children’s book Pop-Up Shakespeare; the six-part Reduced Shakespeare Radio Show for the BBC World service; and playing Hamlet, Macbeth, and Titus Andronicus (among others) in the TV film version of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged).
Austin and his RSC partner Reed Martin received the 2025 Sandra & Sidney Berger Award from the Shakespeare Theatre Association, presented annually to artistic directors in recognition of outstanding talent and dedication to the works of William Shakespeare.
In 2006, Austin created the Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast, which he still produces and hosts every week and is now the longest-running theater podcast in the world. Guests have included comedians ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic and Rachel Dratch; award-winning actors Brian Dennehy, JK Simmons, Adrian Scarborough, Suzy Nakamura, and Michael Chiklis; best-selling authors Christopher Moore, Nicole Galland, Ian Doescher, and Louis Bayard; starship captains Scott Bakula and Elizabeth Dennehy; broadcasters NPR’s Scott Simon and MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell; eminent Shakespeareans Sir Stanley Wells, James Shapiro, Peter Holland, and Tamara Harvey (co-artistic director of the other RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon); playwrights Sarah Ruhl, Rajiv Joseph, Madhuri Shekar, John Cariani, and Lauren Gunderson; theatre critics Chris Jones, Bob Mondello, Peter Marks, and Sara Holdren; and dazzling award-winning theatre artists like Mary Zimmerman, Robert Falls, J. Nicole Brooks, Rob Myles, Karen Ann Daniels, Ron OJ Parson, Madeline Sayet, Brad Oscar, and Javier Muñoz.
The Reduced Shakespeare Company also received the 2nd annual Shorty Award for best short-form social media content from a cultural institution.
Austin’s directing credits include his own William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged) at Creighton University; A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Starling Shakespeare; Twelfth Night at Cincinnati Shakespeare; Troilus and Cressida at Northern Illinois University; and Much Ado About Nothing at Pacific University. TV credits include recurring roles on 24, Alias, Ally McBeal, Felicity, and The Practice; plus dozens of guest star appearances on The West Wing, Gilmore Girls, NYPD Blue, ER, The X-Files, Chicago Med, and others.
Austin writes about the intersection of Shakespeare and popular culture for the Folger Shakespeare Library, and you can follow him on the socials @austintichenor or @the.shakespeareance.
- LinkTree: @TheShakespeareance
Curt L. Tofteland
Co-Presenter
EB04 “The Safety and Health of This Whole State” Part Two - Trauma-Informed Practice with Marginalized Communities
January 9 at 3:45pm
Curt L. Tofteland has spent thirty-five years as a social justice arts activist working as a prison arts practitioner with marginalized communities. He has produced, directed, or acted in 80+ Shakespeare productions, including 15 all male prison productions..
Curt is the founder and Producing Artistic Director of the internationally acclaimed Shakespeare Behind Bars (SBB) program. Since 1995, he has worked in male and female adult prisons, as well as in male, female, and co-gender juvenile detention centers. His 2003 production of The Tempest at the Luther Luckett Correctional Complex in La Grange, Kentucky USA was chronicled by Philomath Films, in the documentary Shakespeare Behind Bars, which premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and went on to be screened at forty+ film festivals worldwide, winning eleven awards. Philomath Films and Shakespeare Behind Bars are filming a second documentary - Shakespeare BEYOND Bars, to be released in 2026. SBB currently has twelve programs in Kentucky, Michigan, and Illinois.
Curt is a national and international speaker, having lectured at 100+ colleges and universities across the United States. He has presented four TEDx talks - New York City, Berkeley, Macatawa, and Muskegon; delivered keynotes at American conferences including the Shakespeare in Prison Network, Shakespeare Association of America, Modern Language Association, as well as internationally in Majorca, Spain; Stratford, Canada; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Kolkata, India; Belfast, Northern Ireland, Warsaw, Poland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; and Auckland, New Zealand.
For his work as a prison arts practitioner, Curt has been awarded two Fulbright Fellowships, two Doctor of Humane Letters from Oakland University and Bellarmine University, a University of Auckland Creative Fellow, a Petra Foundation Fellow, a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Minnesota (MFA in Acting) and the University of North Dakota (BFA in Vocal Performance); and the Sidney Burger Award from the Shakespeare Theatre Association where he is a founding member and a past president.
From 1989-2008, Curt served as the Producing Artistic Director of Kentucky Shakespeare, producing 50 Shakespeare productions, directing 25, and acting in eight. He is an often published essayist and poet and continues to maintain an active professional teaching, writing, acting, and directing career.
Curt is the founder and Producing Artistic Director of the internationally acclaimed Shakespeare Behind Bars (SBB) program. Since 1995, he has worked in male and female adult prisons, as well as in male, female, and co-gender juvenile detention centers. His 2003 production of The Tempest at the Luther Luckett Correctional Complex in La Grange, Kentucky USA was chronicled by Philomath Films, in the documentary Shakespeare Behind Bars, which premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and went on to be screened at forty+ film festivals worldwide, winning eleven awards. Philomath Films and Shakespeare Behind Bars are filming a second documentary - Shakespeare BEYOND Bars, to be released in 2026. SBB currently has twelve programs in Kentucky, Michigan, and Illinois.
Curt is a national and international speaker, having lectured at 100+ colleges and universities across the United States. He has presented four TEDx talks - New York City, Berkeley, Macatawa, and Muskegon; delivered keynotes at American conferences including the Shakespeare in Prison Network, Shakespeare Association of America, Modern Language Association, as well as internationally in Majorca, Spain; Stratford, Canada; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Kolkata, India; Belfast, Northern Ireland, Warsaw, Poland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; and Auckland, New Zealand.
For his work as a prison arts practitioner, Curt has been awarded two Fulbright Fellowships, two Doctor of Humane Letters from Oakland University and Bellarmine University, a University of Auckland Creative Fellow, a Petra Foundation Fellow, a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Minnesota (MFA in Acting) and the University of North Dakota (BFA in Vocal Performance); and the Sidney Burger Award from the Shakespeare Theatre Association where he is a founding member and a past president.
From 1989-2008, Curt served as the Producing Artistic Director of Kentucky Shakespeare, producing 50 Shakespeare productions, directing 25, and acting in eight. He is an often published essayist and poet and continues to maintain an active professional teaching, writing, acting, and directing career.
- Website: www.shakespearebehindbars.org
Dawn Tucker
Co-Presenter
PS04 "Tongues in Trees" - Performing Shakespeare’s Forest Comedies Now
January 10 at 12:30pm
Dawn Tucker is the Executive Director of the Flagstaff Shakespeare Festival in Northern Arizona, USA. Having grown up in Flagstaff, Dawn’s lifelong dream was to bring her passion for Shakespeare to her beautiful hometown. Dawn is thrilled to see her dream realized with the overwhelming support and enthusiasm of the Flagstaff arts community, without which this dream could never have come to fruition.
Dawn has a Master’s Degree in Shakespeare in Performance from the American Shakespeare Center in partnership with Mary Baldwin University and a BFA in Theatre Performance from the University of Wisconsin. She lives in Flagstaff with her husband, Sean, and their two little “trouble monkeys” — Blake and Willa.
Dawn has a deep commitment to uniting art, sustainability, and environmental justice, drawing inspiration from the way Shakespeare’s plays celebrate and are enriched by the natural world.
Dawn has a Master’s Degree in Shakespeare in Performance from the American Shakespeare Center in partnership with Mary Baldwin University and a BFA in Theatre Performance from the University of Wisconsin. She lives in Flagstaff with her husband, Sean, and their two little “trouble monkeys” — Blake and Willa.
Dawn has a deep commitment to uniting art, sustainability, and environmental justice, drawing inspiration from the way Shakespeare’s plays celebrate and are enriched by the natural world.
Mike Tucker
Plenary Speaker
PS05 “The Kingly State of Youth” The Classroom as Rehearsal Room: Building Confidence, Connection, and Creativity through Shakespeare
January 10 at 3:00pm
Mike Tucker is Head of Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation, the UK’s largest youth drama charity. He leads national programmes and flagship events that use drama to unlock confidence, creativity, and essential life skills in young people.
Based in London, Mike oversees a nationwide suite of participatory arts initiatives for schools, including an annual Shakespeare festival that brings over 10,000 pupils to professional stages across the country. A passionate advocate for arts access and educational equity, he believes in the power of storytelling to inspire change and transform communities.
Based in London, Mike oversees a nationwide suite of participatory arts initiatives for schools, including an annual Shakespeare festival that brings over 10,000 pupils to professional stages across the country. A passionate advocate for arts access and educational equity, he believes in the power of storytelling to inspire change and transform communities.
Yolanda Vázquez
Panelist
AB05 “The Hot Breath of Spain” - Shakespeare in Spanish
January 10 at 1:30pm
Yolanda was born in the province of Cadiz in the south of Spain, moving to England at an early age. A graduate of The Drama Centre London, she has worked as an actor, enjoying a long career in television, film, radio, and Theatre - her favourite medium - working as a leading actor at The Citizens’ Theatre Glasgow, The RSC and Shakespeare’s Globe.
While working at the Globe, her teaching and coaching practice began. She was approached and accepted to join the theatre’s education department and bring the lessons of the rehearsal room into the public arena, working with actors, directors, and academics. She expanded this work nationally and internationally, coaching in both English and Spanish. Her work focuses on presence and embodiment – how to communicate our thoughts and feelings with awareness through our bodies.
Yolanda many leading theatre credits include: Gertrudis in Hamlet– Teatro Español; Titania in Midsummer Night’s Dream – RSC; Beatrice in Much Ado about Nothing – Shakespeare’s Globe; and Bunty Mainwaring in The Vortex – Citizens’ Theatre. Film credits include Notting Hill; The Other Boleyn Girl; The Air Up There; and as the lead Maria in Maria's Child.
Yolanda's television credits include Black Earth Rising, Any Human Heart, Foyle's War, Top Boy, House of Cards, and Pinochet in Suburbia. Her many radio and audio credits include Catherine of Aragon – Book Of The Week BBC4, Prayers for the Stolen, Queen Katherine in Henry VIII, and Ashes to Antarctica to name but a few.
While working at the Globe, her teaching and coaching practice began. She was approached and accepted to join the theatre’s education department and bring the lessons of the rehearsal room into the public arena, working with actors, directors, and academics. She expanded this work nationally and internationally, coaching in both English and Spanish. Her work focuses on presence and embodiment – how to communicate our thoughts and feelings with awareness through our bodies.
Yolanda many leading theatre credits include: Gertrudis in Hamlet– Teatro Español; Titania in Midsummer Night’s Dream – RSC; Beatrice in Much Ado about Nothing – Shakespeare’s Globe; and Bunty Mainwaring in The Vortex – Citizens’ Theatre. Film credits include Notting Hill; The Other Boleyn Girl; The Air Up There; and as the lead Maria in Maria's Child.
Yolanda's television credits include Black Earth Rising, Any Human Heart, Foyle's War, Top Boy, House of Cards, and Pinochet in Suburbia. Her many radio and audio credits include Catherine of Aragon – Book Of The Week BBC4, Prayers for the Stolen, Queen Katherine in Henry VIII, and Ashes to Antarctica to name but a few.
- Wikipedia: Yolanda_Vazquez
Dave Walsh
Moderator
XB01 “The World’s Eye Doth View” Exploring Shakespeare's Worldview
January 8 at 1:30pm
David Walsh (he/him) is a teacher and actor from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. He holds a Masters of Arts in Shakespeare and Education from the University of Birmingham's Shakespeare Institute, and a Bachelor of Education from Memorial University.
Dave has been involved with Shakespeare productions since his university days with MUN Drama's Summer Shakespeare, and has been acting, directing, and producing with the Shakespeare By The Sea Festival since 1998. Favourite Shakespeare roles have included Leontes, Prospero, Page, Malvolio, MacDuff and Orsino.
With his wife Jenn Deon, he is a co-founder of Deon-Walsh Productions, and over the years he has worked with numerous professional, amateur, and community companies in St. John's and beyond. He has also spent over 20 years haunting the streets of St. John's as a tour guide with the St. John's Haunted Hike.
Dave has been involved with Shakespeare productions since his university days with MUN Drama's Summer Shakespeare, and has been acting, directing, and producing with the Shakespeare By The Sea Festival since 1998. Favourite Shakespeare roles have included Leontes, Prospero, Page, Malvolio, MacDuff and Orsino.
With his wife Jenn Deon, he is a co-founder of Deon-Walsh Productions, and over the years he has worked with numerous professional, amateur, and community companies in St. John's and beyond. He has also spent over 20 years haunting the streets of St. John's as a tour guide with the St. John's Haunted Hike.
Jim Warren
Panelist
MB01 “Whistling To Th’ Air” - Digital Marketing: Innovative Practices in Action
January 8 at 1:30pm
Over the course of his career, Jim Warren has directed almost 200 productions (including 33 of Shakespeare's 38 plays), produced and cast over 300 shows, coached thousands of actors, built a theatre company from a $500 student-start-up to a $4M Equity playhouse, led touring troupes through 47 U.S. states and six countries, mentored dozens of developing theatres, and taught students of all ages the power promised by Theatre of the Imagination. Jim founded the American Shakespeare Center (ASC in Staunton, VA) when he was twenty-two years old, retiring in 2017 to pursue a solo career as a consultant, director, author, and educator.
Jim is now the Founding Artistic Director of the nascent American Globe Center (AGC) which will include the world’s only timber frame re-creation of Shakespeare’s 1614 Globe theatre, the AGC Playhouse (a modern performing arts and education center with state-of-the-art mainstage and blackbox), a visual arts gallery, gathering areas, gardens, and green space.
The AGC campus will be an inclusive home for the arts, rooted in its community and reaching across the world to bring lovers of theatre and Shakespeare together in one of several locations under consideration.
From year-round programming to community revitalization to building a re-creation of a Shakespeare theatre, the first 30 years of Jim's work guiding the ASC and Blackfriars Playhouse are proof of concept for the AGC Globe+ project and the culmination of Jim’s experience as a director, leader, and visionary.
Jim is now the Founding Artistic Director of the nascent American Globe Center (AGC) which will include the world’s only timber frame re-creation of Shakespeare’s 1614 Globe theatre, the AGC Playhouse (a modern performing arts and education center with state-of-the-art mainstage and blackbox), a visual arts gallery, gathering areas, gardens, and green space.
The AGC campus will be an inclusive home for the arts, rooted in its community and reaching across the world to bring lovers of theatre and Shakespeare together in one of several locations under consideration.
From year-round programming to community revitalization to building a re-creation of a Shakespeare theatre, the first 30 years of Jim's work guiding the ASC and Blackfriars Playhouse are proof of concept for the AGC Globe+ project and the culmination of Jim’s experience as a director, leader, and visionary.
- Website: jimwarren-director.com
Jeff Watkins
Panelist
FP02 “The Happiest Gift” - Individual Donor Fundraising Panel Discussion
January 7 at 11:00am
Jeffrey Watkins is the President and Artistic Director of the Atlanta Shakespeare Company at The Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse.
During his 40 year tenure with the company, he has directed more than 200 Main Stage productions, including more than 110 by Shakespeare. He has also appeared as an actor in more than seventy productions.
In August of 1995— as part of the Globe’s Workshop Season— he became the first American actor to perform on the stage of Shakespeare’s Globe in London, England.
In March of 2011, the Atlanta Shakespeare Company became the first American Shakespeare Company to complete Shakespeare’s 39 play canon. The company then embarked on a second pass through the entire canon completing all 39 plays in just eight years and two months.
Watkins is a leader in the Original Practice movement in America and is a past president of the international Shakespeare Theater Association.
Jeff [said I should add that he] has never had real job and has always made his living in the arts.
During his 40 year tenure with the company, he has directed more than 200 Main Stage productions, including more than 110 by Shakespeare. He has also appeared as an actor in more than seventy productions.
In August of 1995— as part of the Globe’s Workshop Season— he became the first American actor to perform on the stage of Shakespeare’s Globe in London, England.
In March of 2011, the Atlanta Shakespeare Company became the first American Shakespeare Company to complete Shakespeare’s 39 play canon. The company then embarked on a second pass through the entire canon completing all 39 plays in just eight years and two months.
Watkins is a leader in the Original Practice movement in America and is a past president of the international Shakespeare Theater Association.
Jeff [said I should add that he] has never had real job and has always made his living in the arts.
Sam White
Speaker
MB05 “By This Sun That Shines” - Building Brilliance: A New Blueprint for Non-Profit Theatre
January 10 at 1:30pm
Sam White is the Founder and Lead Steward of Shakespeare in Detroit, a company she has nurtured for 13 years, beginning with its first iteration, Shakespeare Against Cancer, in 2012.
Sam officially launched the company in 2013 during Detroit’s bankruptcy, producing innovative, community-rooted work that has since gained national recognition from the BBC, Forbes, and The Guardian.
Sam has trained at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Yale University, Stratford Festival, ArtEquity, and has been recognized with Crain’s Detroit Business' 40 Under 40 Award along with the National Association of Women Business Owners’ Breakthrough Award. She is now guiding Shakespeare in Detroit toward its next chapter of leadership and impact.
Sam officially launched the company in 2013 during Detroit’s bankruptcy, producing innovative, community-rooted work that has since gained national recognition from the BBC, Forbes, and The Guardian.
Sam has trained at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Yale University, Stratford Festival, ArtEquity, and has been recognized with Crain’s Detroit Business' 40 Under 40 Award along with the National Association of Women Business Owners’ Breakthrough Award. She is now guiding Shakespeare in Detroit toward its next chapter of leadership and impact.
Will Wilhelm
Performer
Gender Play or, what you Will
January 7 at 8:30pm
Panelist
XB04 “Draw Aside The Curtains and Discover” - Gender-Expansive Storytelling
January 10 at 1:30pm
Will Wilhelm (they/them) is a trans/non-binary actor, writer, and educator based in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Will is the co-creator and performer of Gender Play or, what you Will, which premiered with About Face Theatre and garnered the artist two Jeff Award nominations: Best Solo Performance and Best New Work. Gender Play has also been presented by Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC)/Theater Alliance in DC, Indianapolis Shakespeare Company, Island Shakespeare Festival in Washington, and the Winnipeg Fringe Festival. The text was published in Methuen Drama’s Book of Trans Plays, volume 2.
Will’s additional credits include As You Like It, Macbeth, and Oklahoma! (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); RENT (Portland Center Stage); Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (Goodman Theatre/STC); and Straight White Men (Steppenwolf).
As an educator, Will has been invited to teach and share work at universities across Chicago, the US, and Europe. A proud Northwestern graduate, Will is represented by Gray Talent Group.
Will’s additional credits include As You Like It, Macbeth, and Oklahoma! (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); RENT (Portland Center Stage); Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (Goodman Theatre/STC); and Straight White Men (Steppenwolf).
As an educator, Will has been invited to teach and share work at universities across Chicago, the US, and Europe. A proud Northwestern graduate, Will is represented by Gray Talent Group.
- Website: WillWilhelm.com
- IG: @mx.willwilhelm
Beth Wolf
Panelist
MB02 "Out O' Th' House" - Performing and Teaching Shakespeare Without a Theater
January 9 at 3:45pm
Beth Wolf (she/her) is the founder and Producing Artistic Director of Midsommer Flight, where she has directed thirteen plays in Chicago parks since 2012, including critically acclaimed productions of Love's Labour's Lost, Romeo and Juliet, Cymbeline, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and more. Under her leadership, Midsommer Flight was named a finalist for three consecutive years for the Broadway in Chicago Emerging Theatre Award, recognizing young companies demonstrating both artistic and administrative excellence. Since the company's founding, Midsommer Flight has reached over 20,000 audience members. More information about the company at www.midsommerflight.com.
Also a freelance director, Beth has been nominated twice for the Equity Jeff Award for Best Director, for Silent Sky and Outside Mullingar at Citadel Theatre, both of which were also nominated for Best Production. Other recent credits include The Book of Will (Promethean Theatre Ensemble), The Roommate (Citadel); Non-Player Character (Red Theater); and The Suffrage Plays (Artemisia). Beth is also a co-founder and the former Artistic Director of Promethean Theatre Ensemble, where she previously directed Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, Seascape with Sharks and Dancer, Bury the Dead, The Fantasticks, and multiple Evenings of Shakespeare. She is a proud Northwestern University graduate with a double major in theatre and gender studies. Beth lives in Chicago with her husband and two children. Freelance information at www.wolfatthestagedoor.com.
Also a freelance director, Beth has been nominated twice for the Equity Jeff Award for Best Director, for Silent Sky and Outside Mullingar at Citadel Theatre, both of which were also nominated for Best Production. Other recent credits include The Book of Will (Promethean Theatre Ensemble), The Roommate (Citadel); Non-Player Character (Red Theater); and The Suffrage Plays (Artemisia). Beth is also a co-founder and the former Artistic Director of Promethean Theatre Ensemble, where she previously directed Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, Seascape with Sharks and Dancer, Bury the Dead, The Fantasticks, and multiple Evenings of Shakespeare. She is a proud Northwestern University graduate with a double major in theatre and gender studies. Beth lives in Chicago with her husband and two children. Freelance information at www.wolfatthestagedoor.com.
Lisa Wolpe
Performer
Shakespeare & The Alchemy of Gender
January 6, 2026 at 8:30pm
Panelist
XB04 “Draw Aside The Curtains and Discover” - Gender-Expansive Storytelling
January 10 at 1:30pm
International theater artist Lisa Wolpe is a critically acclaimed actor, director, and visionary who has been leading the movement for gender parity and diversity in the arts with a special focus on Shakespeare and Gender. She is currently the Guest Artistic Director of the International Verona Shakespeare Fringe Festival.
Lisa was the Producing Artistic Director of the all-female, multi-cultural Los Angeles Women’s Shakespeare Company from 1993 – 2016. She produced, directed, and worked with over a thousand women and girls, and became a leader in the movement for gender parity and diversity in the arts. She played leading roles in many iconic all-female productions, including Hamlet, Richard III, Angelo, Leontes, Romeo, Shylock, and Iago.
Other credits include PlayMakers Rep, Indiana Repertory Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Berkeley Repertory Company, Shakespeare & Co, Company of Women, California Shakespeare Festival, Colorado Shakespeare, Sedona Shakespeare, Shakespeare & Company, and Prague Shakespeare Company.
Lisa has been a guest lecturer at more than thirty universities. She was named a FIRST Scholar as well as a Roe-Green Distinguished Artist for University of Colorado, Boulder, and a Distinguished Artist for Whittier College in Whittier, California, USA.
Lisa is a world-class expert in the exploration of gender in performance, and opens up new worlds for cross-gender performance through gesture, voice, and sociopolitical sway.
Lisa was the Producing Artistic Director of the all-female, multi-cultural Los Angeles Women’s Shakespeare Company from 1993 – 2016. She produced, directed, and worked with over a thousand women and girls, and became a leader in the movement for gender parity and diversity in the arts. She played leading roles in many iconic all-female productions, including Hamlet, Richard III, Angelo, Leontes, Romeo, Shylock, and Iago.
Other credits include PlayMakers Rep, Indiana Repertory Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Berkeley Repertory Company, Shakespeare & Co, Company of Women, California Shakespeare Festival, Colorado Shakespeare, Sedona Shakespeare, Shakespeare & Company, and Prague Shakespeare Company.
Lisa has been a guest lecturer at more than thirty universities. She was named a FIRST Scholar as well as a Roe-Green Distinguished Artist for University of Colorado, Boulder, and a Distinguished Artist for Whittier College in Whittier, California, USA.
Lisa is a world-class expert in the exploration of gender in performance, and opens up new worlds for cross-gender performance through gesture, voice, and sociopolitical sway.
- Website: lisawolpe.org
- IG: @lisawolpe
Sarah Corbyn Woolf
Speaker
EB03 “The Safety and Health of This Whole State” Part One - “But what do we do?”: Trauma Aware Tools for Creative Spaces
January 9 at 2:00pm
Sarah Corbyn Woolf (she/her) is a director, actor, teacher, and producer based in Western Massachusetts, USA. She has worked and trained with companies across the northeast US and Washington, D.C., including Shakespeare Theatre Company, Shakespeare & Company, and New York Classical Theater and holds an MFA from the STC Academy.
Sarah is Director of Communications for the Association of Mental Health Coordinators, a company member and Board VP of STA Member Organization Advice To The Players, and recently founded Cadent Shakespeare Co., a new company focused on sustainable creative practice.
Sarah is Director of Communications for the Association of Mental Health Coordinators, a company member and Board VP of STA Member Organization Advice To The Players, and recently founded Cadent Shakespeare Co., a new company focused on sustainable creative practice.
- Website: SarahCorbynWoolf.com
- IG: @sarahcorbynwoolf
Aaron Young
Speaker
FP02 "The Happiest Gift" - Individual Donor Fundraising
January 7 at 11:00am
Aaron A. Young, Great River Shakespeare Festival Managing Director: Aaron Young joined the Great River Shakespeare Festival staff in late 2016. He has been a theater producer for 28 years, guiding audience and business development. Prior to moving to Winona, MN he spent 13 years as managing director of the Fulton Theatre Company in Lancaster, PA. He has also led the theater program of Robert Redford's Sundance Institute and served as marketing manager for the Sundance Film Festival and as general manager of Kansas City Repertory Theatre. Aaron is a graduate of Brigham Young University, and along with his wife Kristen, a clawhammer banjo player, has raised three lovely and very tall daughters. He is happy to devote his career to connecting artists and audiences and making sure that artists have meaningful dialogues with their communities and earn living wages.