Jesse

Jesse is the Lighting Director and Resident Lighting Designer at the Louisville Ballet, and always enjoys returning to Kentucky Shakespeare, where his past designs include Untimely Ripp’d, Enter Ghost, Woman in Black, Sense and Sensibility, and more.  He also frequently designs with The Kentucky Opera, Stage One Family Theatre, Circus Flora, Pandora Productions, and more. Past collaborators also include Cincinnati Ballet, Big Apple Circus, The Mary Shelley Electric Company, Louisville Orchestra, The Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis, and others across the country. Working primarily in dance, circus, opera, and theatre, Jesse specializes in the moments and productions that happen in between those disciplines.

Eric is a Louisville native and has been a freelance scenic designer for over 25 years.  He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre from Western Kentucky University, a Master of Fine Arts degree in Scenic Design from Boston University and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Spalding University.  Eric was the scenic design faculty member at The Youth Performing Arts School from 2006-2019.  Some theatres Eric has worked for include San Francisco Opera, Opera East Texas, Phoenix Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Kentucky Opera, The Louisville Ballet, Wolftrap Opera, Boston Playwright’s Theatre, Pandora Productions and The Liminal Playhouse.  Eric designed the 2024 summer season for Kentucky Shakespeare, as well as Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.

Philip is the Video Supervisor at Actors Theatre.  Philip became the Media Technologist for Actors in 2008. Since joining the company, he has designed media for over 50 productions, including many world premiere productions in the Humana Festival of New American Plays, such as The Christians, The Glory of the World and The Hour of Feeling. Additional credits at Actors Theatre: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Mountaintop, At the Vanishing Point, The Magic Play, Angels in America and The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity. Philip has also designed media for productions at Playwrights Horizons, Mark Taper Forum, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Syracuse Stage and others. Philip is a graduate of Western Kentucky University… and yes, he and Eric met in college and figured out they are distantly related in some way that neither of them quite remember.

Donna has designed the costumes for Kentucky Shakespeare for the last eleven seasons, including all the summer festival productions as well as all spring tours and indoor productions, including Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Woman in Black, Enter Ghost, Turn of the Screw, Shakespeare in the Parking Lot: Macbeth, Titus Andronicus, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, Twelfth Night, The War of the Worlds, and Night of the Living Dead. Donna has designed over 400 shows for more than 31 theatres in her 35-year career, including a stint at KSF in the 1990’s, 17 seasons with StageOne Family Theatre, 14 seasons with Music Theatre Louisville, CenterStage, Bellarmine University, Louisville Ballet, Kentucky Opera, and Pandora Productions. One of Donna’s favorite projects is designing costumes for Shakespeare Behind Bars, which she has done for the last 12 years. Donna and her husband also own Life is Sweet Small Batch Treats Bakery.

Laura is an audio producer and sound designer who’s been working in audio and radio since 2004. She’s produced live talk shows, long-form radio documentaries, news features, podcasts, and theatrical sound design in both traditional and non-traditional settings (like parking lots, and silent disco headphones!). Laura is from right here in Louisville, and lives with her wife Jonese and their army of small dogs. She never uses the word “final” in file names anymore.

Joy is thrilled to be working again with KY Shakespeare, after dialect coaching Sense and Sensibility, Woman in Black, Pride and Prejudice and Untimely Ripp’d. She made her Assistant Directing debut in the co-production of King John with upstart crow collective and Actors Theatre of Louisville. New York Theatre credits include The Great Leap and Nomad Motel at Atlantic Theatre Company, Among the Dead and Once Upon a (Korean) Time at Ma-Yi Theatre, Outtakes at Playwright Horizons, and additional collaborations with Comedy Central, NAATCO, and New Dramatists. Select regional credits include The Heart Sellers with Milwaukee Rep and Huntington Theatre, The Sins of Sor Juana, Smart People, and Sense & Sensibility at American Players Theatre, Dracula at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Chonburi International Hotel & Butterfly Club at Williamstown Festival, and The King and I at Drury Lane. In addition to coaching, Joy is a teacher, researcher, and award-winning writer focused on topics related to accent work, identity, cultural sensitivity, and equitable coaching practices. www.joylancetacoronel.com

Hannah has been a part of the Kentucky Shakespeare team since 2012 and currently serves as the Director of Creative Engagement.  This past year, Hannah completed her training to become a certified Intimacy Director with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators, Inc. and is in her working mentorship program with them.  As the Resident Intimacy Director with the company, she has served on Shakespeare’s R&J, Twelfth Night, Pride and Prejudice, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Sense & Sensibility, our Midsummer Spring Tour, Romeo and Juliet, and The Comedy of Errors.  She has also worked with her alma mater, the University of Louisville’s Theatre Department, as the Intimacy Director for She Kills Monsters and the Intimacy Consultant for 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Additionally, she has worked as the ID with three witches shakespeare on their productions of As You Like It, Gallathea, and Much Ado About Nothing. Hannah hails from the lovely city of Henderson, KY.  She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Louisville with a BS in Theatre Arts. To connect with her, visit hannaheileenpruitt.weebly.com

Emily is thrilled to be back for another winter production with Kentucky Shakespeare! She previously stage managed Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, as well as the summer festivals in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Other local work includes StageOne Family Theatre (Stage Manager for touring production of Maddi’s Fridge, ASM for the past 3 seasons), Kentucky Opera (various ASM & wardrobe head positions), and Infinity Productions (various scenic painting projects). Emily is grateful for the community of artists & arts supporters in Louisville that make this magic possible. She thanks her family & friends for their continual love and support, and her fiancé for making every day feel like a dream come true.

Clay was the Lead Carpenter for the past two summers with Kentucky Shakespeare, and he’s excited to take on the TD role this time. As a Louisville native and University of Louisville graduate, he is happy to work with an amazing group of people indoors too! Normally you might find Clay hunched over a laptop or notebook writing (or possibly staring blankly into space), but he’s more than happy to be building sets and bringing art to life.

Stephan is a filmmaker and theatre artist based in Louisville. He’s been the sound engineer with Kentucky Shakespeare for the past two summers, and he is excited to use his carpentry skills with the company as well! Outside of here, Stephan is the Program Coordinator and Box-Office Manager for the University of Louisville’s Department of Theatre Arts as well as the resident sound engineer for Pandora Productions. When he’s not backstage making theatre, he’s probably out on a film set doing special effects, lighting, or props.

Ian is a senior at the University of Louisville pursuing a B.S. in Theater Arts, and he is delighted to return to the team this winter! He has worked locally with Kentucky Shakespeare, Kentucky Opera, and the University of Louisville as an actor, stage manager, and backstage crew. Recent work includes Kentucky Shakespeare’s summer season (ASM), Yeti for Love (Pandora Productions), Fairview (UofL, SM), She Kills Monsters (UofL, SM), Sense & Sensibility (Kentucky Shakespeare, ASM), and Much Ado About Nothing (Benedick, UofL).

Charles is happy to be with Kentucky Shakespeare again. He started his costume career at The Louisville Ballet and StageOne Children’s Theatre. After working for OTSL, Santa Fe Opera and Virginia Opera he was head of costumes for Boston Ballet for two decades. He has designed for many theaters including Vienna State Ballet and Scottish Ballet. He has worked in theatre, opera, film, and ballet, and has his own men’s accessories company OneMagnificentBeast.

Lindsay is a freelance lighting designer/electrician. With KY Shakes, she’s been on the summer lighting team since 2019, and she often works on the “off-season” shows as well including The Woman in Black, enter ghost., Shakespeare’s R&J, Henry VI: The Wars of the Roses, The Turn of the Screw, and Shakespeare in the Parking Lot: Macbeth. Since moving to Louisville 6 years ago, she has designed with many local theatre and dance companies. Lindsay grew up in Wisconsin and holds a B.F.A. from UW-Milwaukee. In her free time, Lindsay loves crocheting, listening to Taylor Swift, and watching every trashy reality show.

Annie is a local actor, choreographer, designer, and technician. She works frequently with Kentucky Shakespeare (four summer seasons!), Actors Theatre, three witches shakespeare, and Presentation Academy.

Peyton is a recent Louisville arrival from Alta, Iowa, and they graduated last year from the University of Northern Iowa with a B.A. in Theatre. They were the costume shop intern with Kentucky Shakespeare last summer, and since then they’ve acted with three witches shakespeare and Pandora Production, built sets with StageOne, and been a costume assistant at the Kentucky Opera. In college they worked both on and off stage as an actor and technician.