2011 Artistic Team

Meet the Design Team for The Taming of the Shrew!

William Shakespeare (Playwright) rose from obscurity to become the most read, adapted and translated writer of all time, but also the subject of great speculation. We know he was baptized at Stratford-upon-Avon on April 26, 1564, and was buried at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford on April 25, 1616. Tradition holds that he was born three days earlier, and that he died on his birthday—April 23—but this is perhaps more romantic myth than fact. Whatever the facts, it is clear that in the years between 1582 and 1592, William Shakespeare became involved in London theatre as an actor and playwright. By 1594, Shakespeare was a shareholder in the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (later the King’s Men under James I) and was a member of this company until he retired in 1611.
   

Sean Graney (Director):  Named “Chicagoan of the Year (Theater)” by the Chicago Tribune in 2004, Graney is Founder and Artistic Director of The Hypocrites and has directed most of its productions since 1997, including Equus and Machinal, for which he received Joseph Jefferson Citations in 2005 and 2003 respectively. Graney’s Comedy of Errors at Chicago’s Court Theatre made the list of top 10 plays for fall 2010 by Chris Jones, lead critic of the Chicago Tribune. Other directing projects include Tartuffe, adapted with Northwestern University, a remount of The Hundred Dresses for the Chicago Children’s Theatre, Pirates of Penzance and Woyzeck, both with The Hypocrites.  Recipient of the NEA/TCG Career Development for Directors Award in 2004-2006, Graney has directed for The Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Court Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Co, and Chicago Children’s Theatre. Born and raised in Boston, he received his BFA in Theatre and Writing from Emerson College in Boston.

Read our interview with Sean!
   
Scott C. Neale (Set Designer)  is a freelance Scenic Designer and Theming Consultant operating out of St. Louis.  Scott holds an MFA in Scenic Design from Northwestern University and a BFA in Scenic Design and Scenic Painting from the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University.  In theatre, he has designed for Steppenwolf Theatre Company (in Chicago, Off Broadway, and the Galway Theatre Festival), Lookingglass Theatre Company, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, The Great River Shakespeare Festival, Albany Park Theatre Project, Upstream Theater, New Jewish Theatre and various others. He was nominated for a Kevin Kline Award for best set design in 2008 for Upstream Theater’s production of Bloodknot.

In the theme park business, he has designed for Busch Gardens Tampa and Williamsburg, SeaWorld Orlando and SanDiego, Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, the St. Louis Zoo, as well as various Tradeshow exhibits and booths.  Scott is an adjunct professor at Webster University. In addition to design, he is a visual and graphic artist and photographer.  Scott is also a credited contributor to the collegiate textbook "Scene Design and Stage Lighting, 9th Edition" (Parker, Wolf & Block : 9th Edition © Wadsworth 2009).  Scott is represented by Michael Moore Agency.
   
 

Alison Siple (Costume Designer)  is a freelance costume designer based out of Chicago.  She was an associate costume designer for Lookingglass Alice (Lookingglass), which received a 2007 Drama Desk nomination for costume design. Off Broadway Credits: Our Town (Barrow Street Theatre) and  The 4th Graders Present An Unnnamed Suicide (Hypocrites at 59e59).  Alison won Jeff Citations for Time and the Conways (Griffin) in 2006 and for Leonce und Lena (Hypocrites) in 2005 and received a Jeff Citation nomination for Camille/ La Traviata (Hypocrites) in 2004. She was nominated for an Equity Jeff Award for The Marriage of Figaro in 2009.  Alison was named one of the five most prolific Chicago theatre artists of the decade by Time Out Chicago and was included in a year-end list of 50 Important People in Chicago theatre by New City Chicago. She is an Artistic Associate with Lookingglass Theatre Company, an associate company member of the Hypocrites and a graduate of Northwestern University.

Read our interview with Alison! And check out some of her costume designs for Shrew!
   
John Wylie (Lighting Designer) is the Head of Production Programs at Webster University where he teaches Technical Direction and Lighting.  He is a graduate of Augustana College and the University of Missouri at Kansas City.  Locally, John has designed for The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Opera Theatre Saint Louis, the Missouri Rep, the St. Louis Black Rep and Metro Theatre Company.  Last season, John designed the lighting for SFSTL's Hamlet.  Since then, he has designed Oliver! for Variety Children’s Theatre, Always...Patsy Cline at St Michael’s Playhouse in Vermont, Next Fall at the Rep, The Giver for Metro Theater Company and Over the Tavern at The Geva Theatre in New York.  John’s wife Kim is a writer. Their children, Kate and Nicholas, are athletic...and curious.
   
Robin Weatherall (Resident Composer) was born in London, England and educated at the Westminster Abbey Choir School and Guildhall School of Music & Drama. As a member of Britain's Royal Shakespeare Company for 17 years, he appeared in 189 productions. He worked closely with Peter Brook on all his RSC productions including Marat/Sade, King Lear, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Balcony and Antony and Cleopatra. During his years with the RSC he also worked with directors Sir Peter Hall, Clifford Williams, John Barton, Terry Hands, Trevor Nunn, Adrian Noble, Ron Eyre, Mike Bogdanov, David Jones, Barry Kyle, Buzz Goodbody and Mike Leigh. Since immigrating to the USA, Robin worked for the Omaha, Dallas and St. Louis Symphony Orchestras before returning to his first love, theatre. Robin directs, composes, and designs sound for Theatre in both the US and Europe. In St. Louis he has directed, composed scores or designed sound for  Shakespeare Festival  St. Louis, St. Louis Shakespeare, St Louis Actor’s Studio, New Jewish Theatre, HotCity, Straydog, West End Theatre Guild, Off Center, and That Uppity Theatre Companies. Robin has been involved with SFSTL since its inaugural season composing the scores for Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, The Tempest, Julius Caesar, Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III and Hamlet as well as creating the Sound Effects for all ten productions. He is also Greenshow Curator and a Festival Teaching Artist.  His 2005 score for the Festival’s production of The Tempest won the Kevin Kline Award, and his scores for Much Ado About Nothing (2007) and Hamlet were nominated in 2010. Robin’s New Jewish Theatre production of The Merchant of Venice was nominated as Outstanding Production of a Play.  Robin is Associate Director of St Louis Actor’s Studio, Principal Timpanist for the St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra, Drama Advisor and Assistant Band director at Lutheran High School North, a member of the National Academy of Recorded Arts and Sciences, and hosts Classic Tracks, a weekly radio program for KFUO-FM, Classic 99.
   
  Ellen Isom (Choreographer) happily returns to Shakespeare Festival St. Louis. Her most recent choreographic credits include The Nutcracker for the Imaginary Theatre Company, Cabaret for St. Louis University Theatre and 101 Dalmatians for Stages St. Louis. No stranger to outdoor choreography, Ellen directs the annual Maypole Ceremony for Visitation Academy, where she teaches dance. She is also on faculty at Webster University and On Your Toes Dance Studio. Ellen dedicates her work on The Taming of the Shrew to Connie Westerman and thanks you for supporting St. Louis theatre.
   
Paul Dennhardt (Fight Choreographer) is delighted to return to Shakespeare Festival St. Louis for his fourth season having previously created the violence for The Tragedy of King Richard the Third, The Merry Wives of Windsor,and last year’s Kevin Kline Award-winning production of Hamlet. Paul’s work has also been seen at The Shakespeare Theatre Company and the Folger Theatre in Washington, DC; the Dallas Theater Center; Perseverance Theatre in Alaska; Milwaukee Shakespeare and the Florentine Opera, Milwaukee, WI; the Illinois Shakespeare Festival; and the Taipei National University of the Arts. Paul lives in Stanford, IL with his lovely wife and daughters and teaches at Illinois State University. Paul is recognized as Master Teacher/Master Fight Director with Dueling Arts International and a Certified Teacher/Fight Director with the Society of American Fight Directors. He is also a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique (M. AmSAT) and is pursuing certification in Fitzmaurice Voicework.
   
  Suzanne Mills (Voice and Text Coach) is delighted to be back with the Festival, having coached last season’s Kevin Kline award-winning production of Hamlet. This season marks her thirty-second year as a coach and her fortieth year in theatre. She is grateful to all the actors she has had the pleasure of working with over the years, including this fine company of The Taming of the Shrew.
   
Emilee Buchheit (Stage Manager)  is delighted to be returning to the Shakespeare Festival this year for her third season.  She was previously Assist. Stage Manager on The Merry Wives of Windsor and Artistic Administrative Intern on The Tragedy of King Richard the Third.  Emilee is a proud graduate of the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University and holds a degree in stage management.  Most recently Emilee stage managed The Year of Magical Thinking in the studio at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.  In 2009 she also Assist. Stage Managed The Miracle Worker at the Rep.  Other stage management credits include The Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre, New Jewish Theatre, The Foolish Theatre Company (NYC), Little Theatre on the Square, and Avalon Theatre Company.  And last, but not least, Emilee would like to give a huge thank you to her family and Quin for their never ending love and support.  Enjoy the show!
   
  Danny Maly (Assistant Stage Manager) is elated to be returning for a third season, having the pleasure of working on Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing. A graduate of Saint Louis University and a member of Actors’ Equity Association, he has stage managed for several theatre companies around town, including New Jewish Theatre, Mustard Seed Theatre, and Echo Theatre. Currently, Danny is the resident Stage Manager for The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis’ Imaginary Theatre Company. He has also served as Production Manager for New Jewish Theatre and Blue Rose Stage Collective. Danny would like to thank you for continuing to support the arts.
   
  Stuart Howard, Amy Schecter & Paul Hardt (Casting) have been the casting directors for Shakespeare Festival St. Louis since its first season. They are also the casting directors for The Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC, the Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, and have cast hundreds of shows over the past 25 years in the U.S., Canada and Great Britain. Among their favorites are the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning August: Osage County, the original production of La Cage aux Folles and Gypsy starring Tyne Daly.