MARY MACDONALD KERR (Director) is delighted to be part of the University Wisconsin-Parkside Theater Arts faculty. She has been a professional theater artist in the Milwaukee area for 28 years, both as an actor and director. She has been part of productions at Next Act Theater, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Renaissance Theatreworks, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, First Stage Theatre, In Tandem Theatre, Forward Theater and Milwaukee Shakespeare.

Favorite acting roles include Anna in Burn This and Zelda in The How and the Why at Renaissance Theatreworks, Dana/Darryl in Sweetest Swing in Baseball and Sally in Voice of the Turtle at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, and Terry in Side Man and Maggie in Red Herring at Next Act.

Recent directing projects include Moon for the Misbegotten at Milwaukee Chamber Theater, Mousetrap at Next Act Theater, Actually at Renaissance Theaterworks, Mary Jane at Forward Theater, West Side Story at Hope Rep (MI) and Cyrano at Titan Theater (NYC).

Mary is a proud member of Actors Equity Association and the Screen Actors Guild.
 

TESS OGDEN (Music Director) is a first-year Theatre Arts major with concentrations in Acting and Musical Theatre. Prior credits at UW-Parkside include Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley (Composer / Pianist), and Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play (Quincy / Business Woman / Bart 2). Other credits include Les Miserables (Fantine) and Mamma Mia (Tanya) at Young Star Musical Theatre, The Passion Prophecies (Yocheved, Composer) at BellaFolk Productions, Shrek Jr (Fiona) at CYT Milwaukee, and Newsies Jr. (Katherine Plumber) and Mary Poppins Jr. (Mary Poppins) at Infinite Joy Studios.

VIRGIL KORNUTH (Assistant Costume Designer) is a second year Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Musical Theatre.  Prior credits include Spain (Ernest Hemingway), Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley (Asst. Costume Designer & Wardrobe/Makeup Crew), Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play (Asst. Costume Designer & Wardrobe/Makeup Crew), Waiting for Godot (Estragon) and Carrie: the Musical (Freddy) at UW-Parkside.

JODY SEKAS (Technical Director) is a production designer for theatre & film, whose recent designs include the Off-Broadway debut of Boswell, and the feature film What Happened to Dorothy Bell.  In 2021 he won the KCACTF National Scene Design award for his UW-Parkside design of Stupid F##king Bird.  He has worked for such venues as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, First Stage Children’s Theatre, Door Shakespeare, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, Dell’Arte International, Rochester Civic Theatre, Omaha Theatre Company for Young People, The Western Stage, and on the feature films The Music Inside, Bigfoot: The Lost Coast Tapes, FLEA, and The Wine of Summer.  He taught Scenography for Theatre, Film, & Dance at Humboldt State University in northern California; Scenic/Lighting Design & Technology at UW-Eau Claire and was the resident scenic & lighting designer for the Sioux Falls Playhouse in South Dakota.  He is now in his thirteenth year at UW-Parkside as Associate Professor of Scenic Design & Technology.  See examples of his work at www.d4production.com.  

APRIL SERSEN (Head Electrician / Light Board Operator) is a second year Theatre Arts major with concentrations in Design & Technology and Stage Management. Prior credits at UW-Parkside include Spain (Helen), Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley (Charge Artist), Mr. Burns (Asst. Stage Manager), Macbeth (Asst. Charge Artist), Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Assistant Stage Manager), and Carrie: the Musical (Light Board Operator).

BRIAN J. GILL (Fight Director) is an Associate Professor of Theatre Arts at the University of Wisconsin, Parkside. He has been a professional stage actor for over 30 years, appearing at such theaters as Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Next Act Theatre, Milwaukee Shakespeare, Renaissance Theaterworks, First Stage Children’s Theatre, and Milwaukee Repertory Theatre.  Chicago credits include: Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Victory Gardens, Drury Lane Oakbrook, and Remy Bumppo Theatre Company; Regionally Brian has performed at Theatre at the Center, the Illinois and Texas Shakespeare Festivals, and the historic Ford’s Theatre in Washington DC.  International credits include the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London where he trained as a member of the first International Artistic Fellowship.  Brian has staged violence for Next Act Theatre, UW-Parkside, the College of Lake County, Harper College, Elgin College and the Southwest Shakespeare Company where he is a core company member.  He a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association and an Advanced Actor-Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors.   

HADLEY RUETTEN (Stage Manager) is a third-year Theater Major with concentrations in Musical Theatre and Stage Management.  Previous credits at UW-Parkside include Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley (U/S Mary/Lydia), The Effect (Connie), Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Stage Manager), Carrie: the Musical (Asst. Stage Manager), Peter & the Starcatcher (Asst. Stage Manager), When We Dead Awaken (Sister of Mercy), The Laramie Project (Deck Crew) and Burn: The Musical (U/S Natasha). She has also performed and worked backstage in numerous productions in the Oshkosh area.

MARK WARDEN (Scenic & Props Designer) is a senior Theatre Arts Major with concentrations in Acting and Design & Technology, who transferred to UW-Parkside from the College of Lake County.  Previous credits include Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley (Props Designer), Mr. Burns – A Post-Electric Play (Matt / Homer 1 / Mr. Burns), Macbeth (Asst. Scenic Designer), Waiting for Godot (Vladimir),True West (Austin / Co-Scenic & Props Designer) and Hand to God (Lead Carpenter) at UW-Parkside, and Evil Dead: the Musical (Ash), Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Picasso), The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged (revised) (Adam / Actor 3), Into the Woods (Wolf / Cinderella’s Prince), The Squirrels (Scenic Designer), The Chairs (Scenic Designer), and Assistant Scenic Designer for Picasso at the Lapin Agile and Evil Dead: the Musical at the College of Lake County. He is also a scene shop assistant at UW-Parkside and an overhire carpenter for Skylight Music Theatre in Milwaukee.

SAVANA ANDERSHOCK (Lighting Designer) is a UW-Parkside alumni (2024) and is the Lighting Supervisor for the Rita. Last summer, Savana worked as an Electrician at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. Previous credits at UW-Parkside include Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Lighting Designer), Carrie: the Musical (Lighting Designer), Peter & the Starcatcher (Asst. Lighting Designer), The Altruists (Stage Manager), When We Dead Awaken (Head Electrician), Meteor Shower (Lighting Designer), The Aliens (Light Board Operator), As You Like It (Assistant Stage Manager), The Wolves (Master Electrician), She Kills Monsters (Assistant Stage Manager), Indecent (Assistant Master Electrician), and The Penelopiad (Deck Crew). Recent acting credits include She Kills Monsters (Narrator) and The Thanksgiving Play (Logan). In the summer of 2023, Savana was a Production Assistant at American Players Theater in Spring Green, WI. www.savanaandershock.com

LEVI OFSANIK (Scenic Charge Artist) is a third-year Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Design & Technology.  Prior credits include Into the Woods (Props Designer), Lions of Illyria (Props Designer), Complete works of William Shakespeare: abridged (Props Designer),  Desdemona: a play about a handkerchief (Props designer), and When She Had Wings (Scenic Designer) at the College of Lake County, and Chicago: high school edition (Assistant Technical director) and Antigone now (Assistant Technical Director) at Grayslake Central High School.

REBECCA FINKBEINER (Wardrobe Supervisor) is a third-year Theatre Arts minor.  Prior credits include Mr. Burns (Colleen / 1st FBI / Lisa 2), Macbeth (Stage Manager), Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Fight Captain / Intimacy Follow), Hand to God (Assistant Stage Manager), Peter & the Starcatcher (Assistant Stage Manager), When We Dead Awaken (Maja) and The Laramie Project (Ensemble) at UW-Parkside.  

BRETT J. OLSON (Intimacy Director) is thrilled to join the University of Wisconsin–Parkside Theatre Arts faculty. He has been a professional theatre artist for 17 years, working nationally as an actor, director, and educator on more than 100 productions. Performance credits include work at the Kennedy Center, the NYC International Film Festival, the East Village Film Festival, Fresh Black Films, Crossroads Repertory Theatre, Gorilla Tango, and North Dakota Shakespeare.

Favorite directing projects include productions at Perry-Mansfield (Steamboat Springs, CO), Okoboji Summer Theatre (Okoboji, IA), Stephens College (Columbia, MO), and Minot State Summer Theatre (Minot, ND). He was a founding member of the Conservatory for Performing Arts at Stephens College and has served as Associate Artistic Director for both Minot State Summer Theatre and North Dakota Shakespeare. Brett holds an MFA in Acting from Western Illinois University and an MA in Theatre Arts (Stage Direction) from the University of North Dakota. He is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, the Society of American Fight Directors, the Voice and Speech Trainers Association, and Intimacy Directors and Coordinators.
 

AINSLEY MCKELLIPS (Assistant Stage Manager) is a junior Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Musical Theatre.  Previous credits include Heathers (Veronica Sawyer), Not Now Darling (Maude Bodley), and Murder Ballad (Sara) at State Fair Community College in Sedalia, MO, and Carrie: the Musical (Margaret), and Mr. Burns (Jenny / Marge / Marge), Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley (Choreographer), and Macbeth (Lady Macbeth) at UW-Parkside.

LESLIE VAGLICA (Costume, Hair & Makeup Designer / Costume Shop Supervisor) is a costumer whose foundation in fashion and art has enriched her focus in theatrical costuming. She has worked as a costume technician for Off-Broadway productions of Trevor, The Musical and Boswell, as well as for professional companies, including American Players Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, the Florentine Opera Company, Skylight Music Theatre, and Milwaukee Chamber Theatre. Professional regional design credits include The Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Sugar Creek Opera, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, Florentine Opera Company, Luminous Theatre, UW-Milwaukee Dance and Musical Theatre, Peter Stathas Dance, and Renaissance Theaterworks. She has also served as Costume Shop Manager at Hope Summer Repertory Theater in Holland, MI. Leslie is a graduate of UW-Eau Claire and holds a certificate in Apparel Product Design and Development from Mt. Mary University. Most recently at UW-Parkside, Leslie was the Costume Designer for Hand to God.

JAMES HYDE III (Sound Designer) is a senior Theatre Arts major with a concentration in Design & Technology who came to us from State Fair Community College.  Previous credits include Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Composer), Hand to God (Assistant Sound Designer), and True West (U/S Lee & Austin) at UW-Parkside, and The Tempest (composer), The Rose Garden (Sound Designer / Composer), and The Devil’s Due (Composter / Dr. Bedroux) at State Fair Community College.

JEFF BRAIN (Assistant Technical Director / Scene Shop Supervisor) is a graduate of UW-Parkside (2020) with focuses on performance, carpentry, and props design. Parkside credits include Mr. Burns – A Post-Electric Play (Scenic Designer), Romeo and Juliet (Friar Lawrence), Love's Labour's Lost (Longaville), and War of the Worlds (Announcer #2). He also designed props for Silent Sky and served as Lead Carpenter for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Jeff has also worked as a carpenter and props artisan for theatres including The Alley Theatre (Houston, TX), American Players Theatre (Spring Green, WI), and Fireside Dinner Theatre (Fort Atkinson, WI). He is an ensemble member of Redtwist Theatre in Chicago, where he continues to expand his portfolio of performance, carpentry, and props design.  

EVA BRENEMAN (Dialect Coach) is a freelance dialect, voice and monologue coach based in Chicago. Eva received her MA from The Central School of Speech and Drama, London, and her BFA from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. She has coached projects at a wide variety of venues in the Chicago and regional theatre. The range of dialects and languages she has taught goes from Australian and Bosnian to Rwandan and Zaghawan.

Eva’s Broadway, Off-Broadway, and National Tour credits include: Airline Highway, Boswell, Woman in Black, and Mamma Mia! Regional Theatre credits include: Denver Center, American Players Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Next Act, Kansas City Repertory, Centerstage Baltimore, Madison Repertory, Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare, Goodman, Lookingglass, Writer’s Theatre, Court, Timeline, Northlight, American Theatre Company, Remy Bumppo, Victory Gardens, Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Lifeline, A Red Orchid, Silk Road Theatre Project, Chicago Dramatists, Strawdog, Piven, Shattered Globe, Porchlight, Eclipse, The Gift, Raven, The Artistic Home, and Mary Arrchie. Television credits include: The Chicago Code (Fox TV); The Beast (A&E); and Caught in the Act (Lifetime).