Made possible by the Ball State Community Engagement for the Arts Grant 2023

A Note from the Director...

Welcome! We’re glad you’re here. Romeo & Juliet is one of the most read and performed plays in the English language. A story so often told can become so familiar, it ceases to inspire us, like the miraculous things we see and experience every day: the wide Indiana sunsets, the smell of the breeze, the taste of summer strawberries, the warm squeeze of a loved one’s hand.

We hope your experience with us tonight will wake up this sensational and timeless story of love and hatred, inspire thoughts and feelings and awareness of the people around you and the world you live in. Feeling connected to the world, and to the people who live in it makes even the painful seasons of life worth living. If you came to this park tonight looking for some company, some hope, some tenderness, some thrill, then welcome! Our show is for you.

The story of Romeo & Juliet opens in a world full of prejudice, forgetfulness and hatred. Two families have hated each other for so long, they cannot even remember why. It’s only when they lose the people most deer to them, that they come to their senses. Yet even here, love can and does spring up.

Humanity has such a great capacity to love, and such a great capacity to hate. In this play, you’ll watch the characters contend with both, concluding with a somber recognition of what hate can cost us in the end.

The hope that prevails through this tragic story is that of choice. What will we do with what we’ve seen and heard and felt? Will we treasure love? Will we become wise, and full of patience for one another? Will we learn to forgive?

Jessica Barron, Director

Hard Feelings by The Avett Brothers

Lord knows they haven't done

Much good for anyone.

Kept me afraid and cold

With so much to have and hold.

Under the curving sky,

I'm finally learning why

It matters for me and you

To say it and mean it too.

For life and its loveliness,

And all of its ugliness,

Good as it's been to me,

I have no enemies.

Meet the Cast

Alex Mitchell - Romeo

Alex Mitchell (he/him) is super excited to be joining Hoosier Shakes for this summer's season! Alex is a rising junior at the University of Minnesota, where he is studying for his BFA in Acting with the Guthrie Theater. Some favorite past shows include As You Like It (Oliver/Amiens), The Aliens (Jasper), and Silent Sky (Peter Shaw). This coming fall, he will be studying classical acting in London with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Many thanks to the whole Hoosier Shakes team for all of their fabulous work, and to his friends and family for the love and support!

Madeline Hope Bennett - Juliet

Madeline (she/her) is a rising senior at the University of Southern California, where she is pursuing a BA in Theatre with a minor in Narrative Structure. She spent the past semester studying with the British American Drama Academy in London. She is so excited to make her debut with Hoosier Shakespeare Festival this summer, and would like to thank her family and friends for all their support!

Kori Fay - Nurse

Kori Fay is making their Hoosier Shakespeare Festival debut! Kori calls Michigan home and has a very expensive piece of paper from Oakland University saying that Kori earned a BFA in Acting. Kori identifies as a clown, an educator, a playback improver, and a children's theatre advocate. Kori just got back from a national Panto tour where they brought a retelling of Beauty and the Beast to theatres across the country. Kori also has other Shakespeare shows under their belt including Queen Duncan/Banquo Understudy in Macbeth (OU), Nurse in Romeo and Juliet (Michigan Shakespeare Festival), Witch 2 in Macbeth (MSF), and has visited roles such as Dromio in Comedy of Errors, and Falstaff in Merry Wives of Windsor (Renaissance City Rep). Have a good show, and thank you for supporting live theatre.

Andrew Daniels - Lord Capulet/Apothecary

Andrew Daniels (he/they) is a neurodivergent performing artist and former Marion local. A regular Hoosier Shaker, they are a familiar face around the festival, having been involved either on stage or behind the scenes in 7 of 8 previous summer seasons. After taking a brief hiatus from formal theatre to explore the world of extreme immersive performance art, or "teaching high school pre-calculus" as some would call it, they are beyond thrilled to be returning as an actor for HSF’s 9th season.

Hannah Embree - Lady Capulet

Hannah Embree is an actor and applied theatre artist based in Indianapolis. She received her BFA in Musical Theatre from Taylor University. Some of her recent acting credits include the Indy Shakes educational tour, Cressida, Troilus and Cressida, at Indy Bard Fest, and Catherine Givings, The Vibrator Play, at The Theatre Company of Lafayette. Hannah is excited to return to Hoosier Shakes for her second summer festival! She would like to thank Liz and Suzie for their love and artistic support.

Gemma Vodacek* - Lady Montague

Gemma Vodacek is an NYC based actor hailing from Rochester, NY. After graduating with her BFA in Musical Theatre, she spent a year as an acting apprentice at Florida Studio Theatre where she worked on Network, Charlotte's Web, Something Rotten and many others. Other favorite credits include The Normal Heart, The Wolves, and Little Women. Gemma is thrilled to be making her debut with Hoosier Shakes this summer! Many thanks to friends & family (especially Mom & Dad) for all the support & love.

*Fight Captain

Mason Gaida - Paris/Gregory

Mason Gaida (he/him) received his BFA in Acting from Oakland University in April 2023. The Hoosier Shakespeare Festival is his first acting gig outside of his home state of Michigan! Regional Credits: Father of the Bride (Buckley, MeadowBrook), The Wizard of Oz (Scarecrow U/S, Thumbcoast), Lysistrata (Philurus, Planet Ant), Love’s Labors Lost (Armado, Shakespeare Royal Oak), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Demetrius, Wishing Well). OU Credits: Twelfth Night (Orsino), She Kills Monsters (Chuck), Sense and Sensibility (Willoughby), Spelling Bee (Panch). Mason gives his thanks to his family, friends, OU, the OC4, Mila, Alfie, and Emily. Happy Birthday Emily!

Emma Bailey* - Prince Escalus

Emma Bailey is an artist, preparing to embark on her senior year at Otterbein University, where she is receiving a BFA in Acting. She receives additional training from ICOC in Staged Intimacy and is a member of the Ring of Keys organization! She recently played Helena (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) at Otterbein, and is beyond thrilled to tackle vastly different characters this time around. She is so excited to be making her debut performances with the Hoosier Shakespeare Festival, and extends gratitude to her family, friends, partner, and God: the best support system.

*Intimacy Captain

Carter Hoffer - Mercutio/Abraham

Carter is ecstatic to be making his debut with Hoosier Shakespeare Festival! Carter is based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota having moved there following receiving his BFA in Musical Theatre with a minor in Dance from the University of South Dakota. Previous credits include A Chorus Line, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, Julius Caesar, Mary Poppins, and many more! Carter enjoys writing in his free time, focusing on full-length plays and poetry. Much love to his friends and family! Check out carterhoffer.com and @carterhoffer on most socials to keep up to date on his various projects!

Pete Sheldon - Tybalt/Friar

Pete Sheldon is a Virginia based actor and musician. He earned his Master of Letters in Shakespeare and Performance at Mary Baldwin University and is working toward his MFA in the same. Previous credits include Meadowlark Shakespeare's Henry VIII as Henry VIII, Boy and co-music director of Knight of the Burning Pestle and understudy performances of Jaques and Orlando in American Shakespeare Center's As You Like It (2023). He is excited to be working with Hoosier Shakes for the first time! Let's go!

Chase Whitehurst - Samson/Balthazar & Fight Director

Chase Whitehurst, making their Hoosier Shakespeare Festival debut, is an actor and fight choreographer from North Carolina, and has just graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with BAs in theatre and philosophy. Recent acting credits include William Frankenstein (Frankenstein), Mark Antony (Julius Caesar) and Young Siward (Macbeth). They are a certified Advanced Actor-Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors, and have choreographed fights for companies across North Carolina. When they aren't choreographing, they work as the assistant teacher of stage combat at UNCSA.

Ash Bowen - Benvolio

Ash Bowen is an actor, playwright, and teaching artist from Dallas, Texas. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2021 with a BA in Theatre & Dance and a BA in Government. She will receive her MFA in Acting in May 2024 from the University of Missouri- Kansas City. Previous credits include As You Like It (Rosalind), Twelfth Night (Viola), The Tempest (Miranda u/s), Cymbeline (Cymbeline, Jupiter), and many more. Ash is thrilled to be making her debut performances with the Hoosier Shakespeare Festival, many thanks to her family and friends.

Hoosier Shakes Festival Staff

Bradley Robert Jensen - Costume Designer

Bradley Robert Jensen is a multi-hyphenate theatre artist based in Rock Island, IL, where he works as the resident costume designer and shop supervisor at Circa ‘21 Dinner Playhouse. Notable credits there include Murder on the Orient Express, Mamma Mia, We Will Rock You, Clue: the Musical, and Disaster. A native Hoosier, Bradley graduated Taylor University with a degree in Theatre Arts in 2019 and has designed for Hoosier Shakes for both their 2021 season (The Tempest and Richard III) and their 2022 season (Macbeth and The Merry Wives of Windsor). He is grateful to return this season for a third time, especially under the leadership of Tracy Manning. Thanks to his parents for letting him crash at their place for three weeks while here and to Ferd, his kitty, for putting up with the travel and weird schedule.

Angie DeSefano - Production Intern

Angie is a theatre artist from South Florida and she is so grateful for the Hoosier Shakes team this season! She recently graduated from Taylor University with a BA in Theatre Arts where she grew a passion for performance and production work. Though this is her first time in this spot, Angie has worked previously as an Assistant to the Director/Dramaturg, Charge Scenic Artist and Assistant Stage Manager. She is so excited for this season at Hoosier Shakes and hopes you all enjoy the plays!

Mary Dixon - Stage Manager

Mary graduated this May from Loyola University Chicago with a BA in Theatre where she spent her time acting, writing, directing, and stage managing. She loves every aspect of a show which is probably why she loves stage managing so much. She previously managed Loyola's productions of As You Like It (SM) and Orlando (ASM). Her acting credits include Makenna Van Raalte's Stained Glass Shattered, as PSYCHIATRIST, SUZE/BETS (U/S) in Fairview (dir. DeRon S. Williams), PERSEPHONE/SEMELE (U/S) in Polaroid Stories (dir. Lavina Jadhwani), and a number of student films. She is stoked to be joining the Hoosier Shakes team!

Meredith Blossom - Assistant Stage Manager/Props Artist

Meredith Blossom is a rising senior at Goshen College double majoring in Theater and English. She has been a part of many productions at Goshen such as Twelfth Night and Everybody by Branden Jacobs Jenkins where she has participated in various roles including stage management, scenic design, and acting. This is her first year with the Hoosier Shakespeare Festival and she is excited to be involved in the process of making theater and bringing these productions to the community.

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