Hamlet

Jennice Butler (Queen Gertrude/Francisco) holds an MFA in Acting from U.C. Irvine and a BS in Theatre from University of Evansville, IN, and is certified in Knight-Thompson Speechwork. L.A. credits: The Pliant Girls (Ovation nominated); Too Much of Water; Shine Darkly, Illyria; Suckin Injun (Hollywood Fringe Festival) and Private Lives (ICT, Long Beach). She also acted in two seasons with Summer Repertory Theatre (Santa Rosa, CA) and was an acting apprentice at Great River Shakespeare Festival.

Tyler Tate (Laertes/Bernardo/Player King) is very appreciative of the opportunity to perform in this year’s summer season at Kentucky Shakespeare! Born in Washington D.C., he moved to Newnan Georgia where he was raised. His interest in theatre began when he auditioned for his high school musical Hairspray and was cast as Seaweed Stubbs. After attaining his B.A. in performing arts, Tyler performed as an ensemble member in Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s production of Annie. He is currently a graduate acting student in the University of Louisville’s Theatre Arts Department and is excited about his final year in the program and all it will offer.

Crystian Wiltshire (Hamlet) is delighted to return to the Central Park stage. In Central Park, Crystian has been in Much Ado About Nothing (Claudio), Romeo and Juliet (Romeo), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Eglamour), Richard II, Julius Caesar, The Winter’s Tale, and Twelfth Night. With Actors Theatre of Louisville:  Dracula (Harker). With Cincinnati Shakespeare Company: The Tempest (Ferdinand), Fences (Cory), and Macbeth (Donalbain). Know Theatre, Cincinnati: Kill Move Paradise. Other Louisville credits: And In This Corner…Cassius Clay and Hamlet in Kentucky Shakespeare’s co-production with StageOne Family Theatre.

Amy proudly serves as the Associate Artistic Director of Kentucky Shakespeare. She’s directed The Taming of the Shrew, The Winter’s Tale, Richard II, Henry IV Part I and II, and Henry V in the park, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead at the Bomhard Theater, The War of the Worlds and Night of the Living Dead at Louisville Public Media, and the spring tours of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Macbeth. Amy is also co-founder and Artistic Director Emeritus of Theatre [502], where she directed the regional premieres of The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls, River City, Red Speedo, Auctioning the Ainsleys, Broadsword: a heavy metal play and Futura, as well as the world premieres commissions The Two Lobbyists of Verona and The Stranger and Ludlow Quinn. She spent five seasons as Associate Director of the Professional Training Company at Actors Theatre of Louisville, where directed several commissioned works in the Humana Festival of New American Plays, including Sleep Rock Thy Brain, Oh, Gastronomy! and The End. Amy is a graduate of the University of Evansville.

This is Karl’s third season with Kentucky Shakespeare. He has designed many sets for StageOne Family Theatre, most recently Dragons Love Tacos, Hamlet, and James and the Giant Peach. He also designed numerous shows such as Sleep Rock Thy Brain for Actors Theatre of Louisville, Assassins, Tommy, and Sweeney Todd for CenterStage at JCC, and many seasons for Pandora Productions, Theatre [502], and Bunbury Theatre, as well as Three Decembers for KY Opera. He graduated from UK with a B.F.A. in theatre design and technology. Karl is currently the Technical Director for StageOne Family Theatre. He is married to costumer Allison Anderson with whom he has two wonderful teenage sons.

Donna has designed the costumes for Kentucky Shakespeare for the last seven seasons, including the summer festival productions and spring tours, and the indoor Titus Andronicus, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, Twelfth Night, The War of the Worlds, and Night of the Living Dead. Donna has designed over 385 shows for more than 30 different theatres in her 30-year career, including a stint at KSF in the 1990’s, and StageOne Family Theatre, Music Theatre Louisville, CenterStage, Louisville Ballet, Kentucky Opera, and Pandora Productions. Donna also taught Costume Design at Bellarmine University in the spring of 2020. 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 a performer and sound designer who regularly works with Pandora Productions and Looking for Lilith Theatre Company. She designed the past five summers for Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, as well as colder-weather productions of Twelfth Night, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, The War of the Worlds, and Night of the Living Dead. When she’s not in a theater (or a park), she’s often singing 30s & 40s bourbon jazz with Billy Goat Strut Revue. These and other pursuits are underwritten by her day job as Senior Producer at 89.3 WFPL, where she produces Curious Louisville, where listener questions become radio stories and Strange Fruit, a weekly talk show about race, gender and LGBTQ issues. Laura’s been a fan of Kentucky Shakespeare in Central Park since childhood, when her mom used to walk her and her brother down from Germantown to watch a show under the stars.

Eric has worked in stage combat as a choreographer and combatant for 17 years.  He is currently the Guest & Education Programs Manager at the Belle of Louisville. Where he just finished choreographing the Belle’s first sword fight for her pirate cruise. Eric is delighted to be working with Kentucky Shakespeare for the sixth consecutive year. Of all the confrontations written by Shakespeare the fight between Macbeth and Macduff remains one of his favorites.

Clare Hagan (stage manager) is a theater artist from Louisville. They have stage managed for various companies including Looking for Lilith and Mind’s Eye. In 2019, she staged managed Wendy’s Neverland, a professionally-produced interactive play performed in three rural Kentucky nursing homes. Clare’s plays have been featured in
festivals and staged readings around Louisville. They have also worked as a Teaching Artist at Actors Theatre of Louisville, helping to facilitate New Voices Playwriting workshops.

Victoria is excited for her second season with Kentucky Shakespeare. She graduated from Northwest Missouri State University with a Bachelor of Science in theater technology. She has worked as a sound technician for Actor’s Theater of Louisville and many other great local companies. She has also worked in the past with Utah Shakespeare Festival, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, and Cumberland County Playhouse. You will find her running the show with her senior dog Lunair as her A2.