OUR SUMMER 2022 production team
Adrianna (A.D.) Araya-Derosier
Arianna (A.D.) Araya-Derosier (Assistant Stage Manager) just graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a BS in theatre, focused in stage management. They have worked on shows in the Nashville, TN area such as Ragtime for the Nashville Repertory Theatre and Music City Christmas with the Nashville Symphony. This is their first summer stock and they could not be more excited to help create and showcase what Festival 56 has to offer its community!
ALEGRA BATARA
Alegra Batara (Director/Actor) – see Alegra’s bio under Acting Company.Alegra Batara (she/they) is so honored to be back at Festival 56 this summer. Alegra holds a BFA in musical theatre from Webster University. They were previously seen at Festival 56 as Mercutio and others in Romeo & Juliet and as a disciple in Godspell. Since then, she has traveled the country with TheatreWorksUSA in the TYA musical Pete the Cat helping introduce the next generation to the magic of theatre. Keep up with Alegra’s adventures here: alegrabatara.com
Terry Bivins
Terry Bivins (Sound Designer) is a Bureau County native and Festival 56 alum from Wyanet, IL. He recently graduated from Millikin University in Decatur, IL with a BFA in theatre – emphasis in sound design. He is pleased to be designing for Festival 56 again this season, and hopes you enjoy the show!
Karis (Rissy) Bland
Karis (Rissy) Bland (Paint Charge) is excited for her first season at Festival 56! Originally from Manila, Philippines, she is a sophomore BFA musical theatre major at Taylor University. As part of the theatre program at Taylor, she has worked as a paint assistant for Annie and an assistant stage manager for To Kill A Mockingbird, as well as performed in Annie, Little Women, and The Women of Lockerbie.
Bo (Stitcher)
Bo (Stitcher) is a costume technician, makeup artist, and fine artist from upstate New York who recently finished her studies at Binghamton University. Bo has been involved in theatre since she was a little foot-mouse in a production of Cinderella. Outside of the theatre you can find her kayaking through NY, taking care of her small herd of rabbits, and eagerly awaiting Lady Whistledown’s next issue.
DEV BONDARIN
Dev Bondarin (Director) is delighted to return to Festival 56 after directing 2019’s Little Women. Dev is an NYC-based director and Assoc. Artistic Director of Prospect Theater Company, where she directs an annual musical theatre lab. For six seasons, Dev was Artistic Director of Astoria Perf. Arts Center where she directed the NY premiere of Marguerite (with Tony winner Cady Huffman), Merrily We Roll Along and Raisin (both NY Innovative Theatre Award, Outstanding Musical), Caroline, or Change (AUDELCO Award, Outstanding Musical Revival), and Follies (NYIT Award, Outstanding Ensemble.) Other: King Lear (American Bard), Reefer Madness (Gallery Players), and seven TheaterWorksUSA tours. Dev has been nominated for two AUDELCO Awards and an NYIT Award, and received an Alumni of the Year Award from the Theater Department at Brooklyn College, where she earned an MFA. BA: Brandeis. devbondarin.com
Megan Boucher
Meghan Boucher (Production Stage Manager) is an Omaha-based stage manager whose favorite SM credits include Corduroy, Ella Enchanted, Curious George, and Up & Away (The Rose Theater); and Red Summer, Venus in Fur, and The Strangemen Theater Company’s The Woodsman (Bluebarn Theatre). Meghan is excited to be back in Princeton after working on the stage management team last summer on Romeo & Juliet and Godspell. Meghan would like to thank her family for taking care of her cats this summer!
Laura Brigham
Laura Brigham (Casting Director) loves Festival 56 and Princeton very much. She has performed in/created some of the most unique theater of her career at Festival. Watching the careers of the artists she has found over the last nineteen years grow is very rewarding for Laura. Laura will return with her group The MOMsemble in December! MichiganMOMsemble.com
Florence Glavin
Paul Cartwright (Technical Director) has recently graduated from the University of Memphis with an MFA in technical direction. He has technically directed multiple shows at the University of Memphis, including Pippin, Ordinary Days, and Trouble in Mind. You may have seen his work last summer here at Festival 56. Paul is happy to be back this summer and will be heading to Des Moines Playhouse as a technical director this fall. (He/him)
Tyler Castanuela (Carpenter)
Tyler Castanuela (Carpenter) is a recent graduate from Western Illinois University with a bachelor’s degree in theatre and is ready to put it to good use. They have worked as a scenic carpenter at Western for four years and are happy to continue building sets for everyone to enjoy. This will be the second time he has worked with Festival 56 and he is excited to be back in Princeton.
Lauren Haughton Gillis
Lauren Haughton Gillis (Director/Choreographer) is currently an Associate Choreographer for Virgin Voyages International. Recent credits: Godspell at Festival 56, The World Goes Round at Coronado Playhouse, The Marvelous Wonderettes: Dream On at Okoboji Summer Theatre, A Year With Frog & Toad at Cardinal Stage, and Carrie at Indiana University. In 2021, Lauren assisted Graciela Daniele on The Gardens of Anuncia at The Old Globe. As a performer, Lauren was in Wicked on Broadway. Schmoop + Boop.
Jeremy Gussin
Jeremy Gussin (Music Director) recently served as Visiting Professor of Voice at Baldwin Wallace University. His professional music career started by opening for Dennis Edwards and the Temptations Review. Favorite credits from the pit include The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Godspell, and The Last Five Years. Vocal credits include the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro and Pub Bore in The Choir of Man. Jeremy’s doctoral research was on contemporary musical theatre for the bass voice.
Steven P. House
Steven P. House (Scenic Designer) is the Head of Design and an Assistant Professor at Western Illinois University where he teaches scenic design, scenic painting, and stage management. He earned his MFA in scenic design from Illinois State University and his BFA in design/technology from the University of Montevallo. Steven has designed scenery for: Midland Community Theatre, St. Gregory’s University, Northern Arizona University, Clinton Area Showboat Theatre, Theatre Randolph, Heartland Theatre, the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Illinois State University, LaCosta Theatre, University of Montevallo, and The Plagiarists. When not designing scenery Steven can be found painting sets across America.
Tommy Iafrate
Tommy Iafrate (Producing Artistic Director, Music Director) is so happy to be returning to Princeton! Since joining Festival 56 in 2018, he has directed The Hunchback of Notre Dame, I Love a Piano, Fostered Love, The Creek, and Spittoonia on the Erie, and music directed Pinkalicious. Tommy also serves as the Director of Musical Theatre at Binghamton University, serves on the Executive Committee for the Musical Theatre Educators Alliance, and is the Coordinator of the Musical Theatre Intensive for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (region 2).
Bradley Robert Jensen
Bradley Robert Jensen (Costume Designer) is a freelance costume designer and resident designer at Circa ‘21 in Rock Island, IL. Recent costume design work includes Macbeth and The Merry Wives of Windsor (Hoosier Shakespeare Festival), Annie and To Kill a Mockingbird (Taylor University), Subculture (Interrobang Theatre Company) and The Last Pair of Earlies (Raven Theatre, Asst. Costume Designer). Other recent credits include Godspell, Romeo & Juliet, and Polkadots (Festival 56), The Tempest and Richard III (Hoosier Shakespeare Festival). www.bradleyrobertjensen.com
Hadley Kamminga-Peck
Hadley Kamminga-Peck (Director) is currently the Theatre Historian and Head of Directing at Western Illinois University. She holds a PhD in theatre history and criticism from the University of Colorado Boulder, a BA from Colorado College, a master’s in acting from the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, and is a member of the 2019 Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab. She has also worked for the Guthrie Theater, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, and the Denver Center Theatre Company.
Kassie Kelso
Kassie Kelso (Costume Designer/Shop Manager) is from New Mexico but seems to live out of her suitcase, always on to the next adventure. She is thrilled to be back in Princeton where in 2019 she designed costumes for the musical I Do! I Do! She loves creating designs that dare the audience to dream, provoking emotions of love, hate, discomfort, and anger. She combines her love of fantasy and art history to create vivid and bold designs.
Logan Lowe
Logan Lowe (Carpenter) is happy to make his Festival 56 debut. He was last an associate lighting designer and second sound assistant at Timber Lake Playhouse on a world premiere show. After Festival, he will be continuing in theatre at Timber Lake Playhouse as a lighting designer for the remainder of their 2022 season.
Frank Monier
Frank Monier (Producing Artistic Director) is so happy to be returning to Festival 56 for his eleventh summer season—and in a new role! Frank has performed many tasks with Festival 56 including performer (Carousel, A Year with Frog & Toad, Mary Poppins), box office manager (2015-2019), and assistant director (Romeo & Juliet). Frank is also a NY-based actor and administrator. Past performing credits include Dashing through the Snow at Cornwell’s Dinner Theater and three national tours with ArtsPower National Touring Theatre. Most recently, Frank served as the Covid Safety Manager with Roundabout Theatre Company’s Broadway production of Birthday Candles (starring Debra Messing).
Giulia Pagano
Giulia Pagano (Prop Master) is thrilled to be a part of her first season at Festival 56. She is a rising sophomore at West Chester University majoring in theatrical design and production. Over the years, she has worked on The Great Gatsby, Into the Woods, Clue: On Stage, and Titanic at Central Bucks High School South, as well as Pride & Prejudice and Into the Woods at West Chester University.
Josie Parish
Josie Parish (Scenic Designer/Carpenter) is excited to return for her second season at Festival 56. Most recently, she was an adjunct professor of stagecraft at Blackburn College in Carlinville, IL. After Festival, she will be continuing in theatre at Timberlake Playhouse as a general theatre technician for the remainder of their 2022 season.
Dale Marshall Pickard
Dale Marshall Pickard (Lighting Designer) is back for her third summer working with Festival 56, and she is happy to be back in the Grace! She has designed lights for theatres across the country, from California to Virginia and many states in between. Dale currently works as the Assistant Professor of Lighting Design at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee.
Gerald (Andy) Trusley
Gerald (Andy) Trusley (Scenic Designer) is super excited to FINALLY get the opportunity to work with Festival 56 after two years of attempts. Andy is an Assistant Professor of Theatre Productions and Design at Culver-Stockton College in picturesque Canton, MO. Much love and eternal gratitude to Susan and my best pal Moose (Maxwell) for their endless support and love. And Tommy, I promise I won’t pass out and concuss myself (again!).
D.C. Wright
D.C. Wright (Fight Director) has been teaching, performing, and directing stage violence for over 25 years. Credits include: Off-Broadway production of The Blowin of Baile Gall; Syracuse Stage’s The Three Musketeers, Noises Off; Arkansas Rep’s Spamalot, Peter & the Starcatcher, Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged), Treasure Island, Henry V, Hamlet, Les Misérables, Moonlight & Magnolias, Romeo & Juliet; Theatre Squared’s One Man, Two Guv’nors, Hamlet; Illinois Shakespeare Festival’s Romeo & Juliet, The Winter’s Tale, Titus Andronicus, Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, and Henry VIII. D.C. teaches movement and stage combat at Western Illinois University.