2026 Company
Acting
ANNIE BARBOUR
Annie Barbour is a former SYA student and GRSF Apprentice who is absolutely thrilled to be joining the Acting Company this season. She is a Denver based actor whose work has taken her to Greater Boston Stage Company (We Had a Girl Before You - US Premier), The Denver Center for the Performing Arts (Emma; The 39 Steps; Theatre of the Mind - World Premier), The Arvada Center (Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really; Small Mouth Sounds; The Mousetrap; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; The Moors; Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express), Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company (Brooklyn Laundry - Regional Premier), Theatreworks ENT Center (Measure for Measure; The Taming of the Shrew; The Turn of the Screw; The Importance of Being Earnest), and Satori in St. Louis (The Verge). Annie holds a B.F.A from Webster’s Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts.
BENJAMIN BOUCVALT
This is Benjamin’s 12th season with Great River Shakespeare Festival; notable performances include As You Like it/Orlando, The Winter's Tale/Leontes, Midsummer/Oberon, and Romeo and Juliet/Romeo. Other theaters include the Asolo Repertory Theatre, Curtain Theatre, St. Petersburg Shakespeare Company, and the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre where he performed Vanya, Sonya, Masha, and Spike/Spike. As an active martial artist, he is often choreographing fights for both film and theatre. Benjamin's latest book, “The Name Hennessy," was released June 11. Benjamin voices one of the main characters in the audiobook, which also features Christopher Gerson. Sign up for the newsletter at BenjaminBoucvalt.com and get all the latest info! MFA, SAG-AFTRA/AEA
DIANA COATES
Diana Coates counts it a great privilege to be back with GRSF for her second summer. She currently resides in New York and spent the last 6 months on a national tour with The Acting Company taking the works of August Wilson and Shakespeare to 23 cities all over the country. Recent credits include Macbeth (Chenango River Theatre), The Nacirema Society (Goodman Theatre) and Murder on the Orient Express (Drury Lane). Other favorites include work with Milwaukee Rep, Asolo Rep, the Michigan Shakespeare Festival, and the African Continuum Theatre Co. Television credits: Chicago Fire, Chicago Med (NBC); Deli Boys (hulu); and Emperor of Ocean Park (MGM+). She is represented by DDO Artists Agency. Always for mom.
LIzzie Coy-Bjork
Lizzie Coy-Bjork is currently a student at Carleton College majoring in both Theater and English. Some of her favorite Carleton roles include Olivia (Twelfth Night), Antigone (Antigone), Schwarzy (25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Mrs. Van Buren (Intimate Apparel) and #8 (The Wolves). She has previously worked for GRSF as a teaching assistant for Shakespeare for Young Actors and is excited to be back!
Michael fitzpatrick
Michael Fitzpatrick is an actor and Designer whose career spans regional theater, off-Broadway, national Broadway tours, concerts, cabaret, film, and television. Selected theater credits include: First National Broadway tour of 42nd St., roles at Utah Shakespeare festival, St. Louis repertory, Kansas City repertory, the Denver Center theater, Ensemble Shakespeare company NYC, Musicals Tonight NYC, A.C.T. In San Francisco, and a company member at the Great River Shakespeare festival in Minnesota.
Tarah Flanagan
Tarah Flanagan is delighted to be returning to beautiful Winona MN and GRSF for her 17th season. A few favorite GRSF credits: the Poet (an Iliad), Viola (Twelfth Night), and Portia (Julius Caesar). Most recently Tarah appeared as the Chief Elder (The Giver) at the Clarence Brown Theatre. Other credits include: The Alabama Shakespeare Festival, The Shakespeare Theatre of NJ, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cleveland Playhouse, Pioneer Theatre, and Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Tarah would like to dedicate her work this season to her first Shakespeare teachers: Gale Childs Daly and Bruce Longworth. Thank you for your inspiration, guidance and for giving me the keys to the castle.
Kevin gill
Kevin Michael Gill is an actor from New York City. Kevin is a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. During his time at NYU, Kevin studied at the Stella Adler Studio where he had the opportunity to study under fellow company member, Melissa Maxwell. This is his first season at Great River Shakespeare Festival. He's excited to understudy for the first time! Recent Credits Include The Arden of Faversham, Salt in a Wound, and Resonance.
LEAH Schattenmann
Leah Schattenmann is a German-American actor based in New York City. Originally from Ballston Lake, New York, Leah has lived in 6 US states as well as in Germany. Leah grew up engaged in visual and performing arts, developing a passion for dance, especially ballet. During the summer before her senior year of high school, she participated in a 6-week Drama program at Carnegie Mellon and decided to pursue acting as a full-time career. She received a B.A in Theatre Performance from Spelman College, and is a graduate of Stella Adler Studio's 3-year Conservatory Program. At Stella Adler, she played Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Norma Jean Harris in Decision Height, Paulina in Winter's Tale, and just finished as Marcy in Ravenscroft. Leah is also a singer-songwriter with her original music available on all streaming platforms under her stage name, Leah Sinclair. She also loves playing her omnichord and writing poetry in her free time. She can speak German, English, Spanish, and a bit of Japanese.
william sturdivant
Will Sturdivant enters his seventh season with GRSF and Pericles will mark his 43rd professional Shakespeare production. He is also the recipient of this year's McKnight Theater Fellow award for the 2026/2027 season. He received a BFA from the University of MN/ Guthrie Theater Actor Training Program and has performed Off Broadway and regionally for the past 20 years. He will be performing this Sept. in "Waiting For Godot" at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, as well as Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" in December. His two books "HELLO WORD!" and "Interpreting Classical Language" are currently on sale in the Gift Shop. He will sign copies at Stage Door following the performance.
dharma wyatt
Actor Based in NYC!
boyu xue
Boyu Chen is a Chinese actor now based in New York. While studying in China, he appeared at the prestigious Wuxi Grand Theater, playing Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls. A recent graduate of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, his recent work includes M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang, Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure (Duke Vincentio), A Very Expensive Poison (Dmitry Kovton), and And Then There Were None (Anthony Marston).
Design & Direction
Lonnie Alcaraz
Lonnie Rafael Alcaraz (Resident Lighting Designer/Co-Associate Artistic Director) is a professional lighting designer and a professor of lighting design at the University of California, Irvine. He has designed for numerous regional theatres around the country. Recent designs include A Raisin in the Sun at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, You Are Not My Perfect Mexican Daughter at the Denver Center, Cinderella at Syracuse Stage. Upcoming shows are Into the Woods at South Coast Repertory, Fireflies at the REP, and A Raisin in the Sun at Shakespeare Theatre Company in DC. He has been designing here at GRSF since 2008. He is the Resident Lighting Designer for Ballet Repertory Theatre and the Resident and Tech Advisor for INTUIT ARTSHIP Ballet. He is a member of the United Scenic Artists, Local 829/International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. His complete design portfolio can be found at www.lradesigns.com.
annie enneking
Annie Enneking is an intimacy and fight director, and has collaborated with most every theater in the Twin Cities in these fields. She teaches the art of stage violence at the University of Minnesota, and fronts and founded the rock band, Annie and the Bang Bang.
Aaron Young
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Production
AISHA BADER-ORTEGA
Aisha Bader-Ortega is a current UCF student in the BFA Design and Technology program. She is pursuing her career in Costume Design and she is a freelance seamstress. Find her @aishadesignss.
Noah Butcher
Howdy! My name is Noah Butcher and I am a student at Ball State University, going into my Senior year! I am working on getting my BFA in Design and Technology in Theatre with a focus in Props Management along with a Minor in Classical Cultures. In my time in theatre I have been the Props Manager for Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812, The Nutcracker, and most recently, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Alyssa cahan
Hello, I am a designer and technician from Boone, North Carolina. I am currently studying Production Design at the UNC School of the Arts.
shannon daly
Shannon Daly is starting her first season with Great River Shakespeare Festival as a Scenic Apprentice. She previously comes from UCF. She’s worked on the paint team for Legally Blonde, and as the assistant Scenic Designer on One Man Two Guvnors. In her free time, she likes to bake and make art. She is graduating with a BFA in design and technology from University of Central Florida!
Lili Ducy
This is Lili's first year working at the GRSF and she couldn't be more excited. In the fall she will be a senior at Otterbein University studying to get a BFA in Theatre Design and Technology with a focus on costuming.
kara eggers
Kara Eggers (they/them) is a queer intimacy theatre maker based in Southeast Minnesota. With a passion for creating inclusive theatre experiences, Kara's work focuses on fostering supportive and empowering environments on stage. A strong advocate for consent-based and trauma-informed practices, Kara's approach to theatre-making is heavily influenced by their training with the Advocacy Center of Winona. This training has deeply informed their work, emphasizing the importance of support, respect, and mutual understanding throughout the creative processes. Kara is dedicated to making space for all collaborators, whether performers or technicians behind the scenes, to feel supported and empowered, both in the rehearsal room and throughout the production process.
Alyssa cahan
Hello, I am a designer and technician from Boone, North Carolina. I am currently studying Production Design at the UNC School of the Arts.
shannon daly
Shannon Daly is starting her first season with Great River Shakespeare Festival as a Scenic Apprentice. She previously comes from UCF. She’s worked on the paint team for Legally Blonde, and as the assistant Scenic Designer on One Man Two Guvnors. In her free time, she likes to bake and make art. She is graduating with a BFA in design and technology from University of Central Florida!
Administration
AARON YOUNG
Aaron Young
Aaron Young
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Aaron Young
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Aaron Young
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