Who's Who

Aaron Allen

What's good!? Aaron Allen, 24, is from Charlotte, North Carolina! He graduated from The American Musical Dramatic Academy in 2022! He has been in Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and Permanent Collection to name a few! He loves playing sports, cooking, spending time with family/friends and his 150 bow tie collection!

Caroline Borio

Originally from Pennsylvania, Caroline is a recent college graduate who studied Musical Theater, but her true love lies with Shakespeare! She had the opportunity to first play Juliet last summer and cannot wait to reprise the role at SDSF. Caroline loves traveling, coffee, and her three kitties back home.

Eric Holm

Eric Holm is a theater-and-music maker from Brookings, SD. Favorite Shakespeare roles include Oliver, Hermione, and Lysander. A producer for Brooklyn art-space Cloud City from 2014-2019, Holm has co-founded several theater ensembles, including Sunset Rooftops, The Strange Capers, and BREAD Arts Collective. BFA Acting: UMN/Guthrie; MFA Directing: Columbia University.

Joel Trinidad

A Permanent Resident of the US based on his “extraordinary ability and achievement,” Joel Trinidad has performed in such productions as the Asian Premieres of AVENUE Q, SPELLING BEE, and PROOF (opposite Tony-winner Lea Salonga). He’s also written numerous librettos, including A TALE OF TWO, which premiered in London last year.

Nick Forster

Nick Forster is an actor and singer currently attending South Dakota State University for a bachelor's degree in Theatre. Dramatic roles, classical theatre, and musicals are his forte. At SDSU, he’s portrayed Macbeth, Claude Frollo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), Mayor Dobbs (Bright Star), and Old Green Grasshopper (James and the Giant Peach), among others. He’s ecstatic to take on his first professional contract!

Hadley Evans Nash

Hadley Evans Nash (Lady Capulet) is delighted to be making her debut with South Dakota Shakespeare Festival. Recent credits include The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, A Streetcar Named Desire (Tennessee Shakespeare Company), On the Road to Bremen Town (Black Hills Playhouse), and The Importance of Being Earnest (Arts’ Nest). She is also the Artistic Director of Brick by Brick Players, and trained with Shakespeare and Company and the National Theatre Institute. More at hadleyevansnash.com

Austin Vetter

Austin Vetter is a New York-based actor originally from Aberdeen, SD. This is his 4th summer working with SDSF and 2nd summer as a part of PRT and he’s glad to be back. Follow him @avetteractor to see what he’s up to.

Morgan Ford

Morgan Rose Ford is an actor and educator living in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. She holds a BA from Boston University and an MFA from Mary Baldwin University where she studied Shakespeare and Performance. Recent credits include work with the Huntington Theatre, Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, Wisconsin Shakespeare Festival, and the American Shakespeare Center.

Juliette Nero Eddings

Juliette is thrilled to be working with SDSF this summer! Philly based, Juliette is a graduate from Rider University's Acting BFA. Recent credits include: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Puck), Peter & The Starcatcher (Boy), The Play That Goes Wrong (Chris), Much Ado About Nothing (Don John). Love & gratitude to the whole R&J team.

Ronan Melomo

Ronan Melomo is an Actor and Voice Artist currently based out of Staunton, Virginia. Having just graduated last May from Mary Baldwin University’s MFA program, Ronan has spent the last few years onstage with the American Shakespeare Center as both a company member and graduate fellow.

Emma Taylor

Emma Taylor is an acting major going into her senior year at the University of South Dakota. Last year, she performed at the Black Hills Playhouse as Chris in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. Other favorite credits include 46 in The Wolves and Duke Senior/Corin in As You Like It at USD.

Mike Lee

Mike Lee is originally from Madison, SD, and he is very excited to get to play at home this summer. Mike is a graduate The University of Houston’s Professional Actor Training Program. Audiences might remember Mike from SDSF’s Comedy of Errors, Merchant of Venice, & Richard III. Mike is based in NYC, working off and on as an actor & stagehand, and fronting the band Goatroper with his partner and collaborator Abbey Janii.

Syara Villarreal

This is Syara’s first time working with SD Shakes! She is currently pursuing her MFA in Directing at the University of South Dakota and holds a BA in Performance Studies from Texas A&M University. Recent credits include assistant directing The Wolves and Company, as well as serving as the intimacy director for The 39 Steps. Her directing work includes productions of Ordinary Days and Pink Moscato. Looking ahead, she will direct USD’s upcoming production of Godspell during the 2025–2026 academic year.

Eric Holm

Eric Holm is a theater-and-music maker from Brookings, SD. Favorite Shakespeare roles include Oliver, Hermione, and Lysander. A producer for Brooklyn art-space Cloud City from 2014-2019, Holm has co-founded several theater ensembles, including Sunset Rooftops, The Strange Capers, and BREAD Arts Collective. BFA Acting: UMN/Guthrie; MFA Directing: Columbia University.

Corey Shelsta

Corey Shelsta is a Designer and Professor of Theatre at South Dakota State University. He designs lighting, scenery and sound for productions at SDSU as well as other theatres in the region. Additionally, he teaches courses in design, technical production, and theatre history. His interests include incorporating digital technology and virtual reality simulations into the classroom and the stage. Recent credits: Lighting Design: Oklahoma – Prairie Repertory Theatre; Grease, A Christmas Carol, Hair, Oklahoma, Grease – Premiere Playhouse; The Hunchback of Notre Dame – State University Theatre. Scenic Design: Macbeth, Bright Star – State University Theatre; Two Across, And Then There Were None – Prairie Repertory Theatre; Oklahoma – Premiere Playhouse. Corey is active in the Northern Boundary Section of USITT. Corey and his wife Stacy have two children, Preston and Ainsley, both of whom have been coming to the theatre since before they were old enough to walk. When he is not teaching, designing shows, or mentoring student designers, he can be found getting his fingers tangled up in guitar and banjo strings or mowing his lawn.

Tyler Micheel

I grew up on a farm in east central South Dakota. After high school, I followed an interest in computers and creativity and found myself learning Audio Production in college. From there I moved to a Master's program in Theatre to broaden my knowledge of entertainment technology and production. I have worked as an educator for the past 6 years in entertainment technology at the University of Arkansas.

Jill Clark

Jill Clark is an award winning Scenic Designer/Artist working out of Vermillion, SD. She often collaborates with regional theaters such as The LAMB Theater in Sioux City, Iowa, Vermillion Community Theater, and is the Scenic & Technical Coordinator for The Premiere Playhouse in Sioux Falls, SD. In her free time she loves to play mini golf and bowl with her husband Scot. This is Jill’s 9th season working with SDSF and is incredibly excited to welcome the newest little Shakespearean, her son Dannen.

Rebecca Bailey

Rebecca Bailey is an artist, advocate, and teacher passionate about how theatre provides a means to energize, entertain, and bridge questions about the world around us. She holds an MFA in Directing from the University of South Dakota, a BA in Theatre and minor in Dance from South Dakota State University, is a 200-hour registered yoga teacher, Sexual Assault Advocate, and spent a wonderful year studying Shakespeare and Performance at Mary Baldwin University. She is currently the Executive Artistic Director for South Dakota Shakespeare Festival and has served as Assistant Professor of Theatre at The University of the Ozarks and as the Education Director for Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Her work in both focuses on using movement, kinesthetic awareness, text, mindfulness, and devising to bring experiences to life. By ACASA, she was the recipient for Arkansas of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center Visionary Voice Award and a Citizen’s Artist Award from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) in 2021. Rebecca and her students have won numerous commendations from KCACTF over the last decade. She also served as the KCACTF Arkansas State Chair for two years. Directing credits include: The Merchant of Venice, Actually, Extremities, The Comedy of Errors, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, The Diary of Anne Frank, Peter and the Starcatcher, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Venus in Fur, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Proof, and devised productions Shake My Tree and For Hurting Hands. Through advocacy, Rebecca’s performance work has impacted three statewide training conferences for Sexual Assault Trauma-Informed Response. Favorite Performances include roles in Pericles, King Lear, White Christmas, and Plaza Suite.

Jordan

Jordan Deffenbaugh is a trained fight choreographer and professional wrestling enthusiast. Prior to returning home to Sioux Falls in 2017, Jordan worked professionally as an actor, director, and choreographer for companies like the Colorado Shakespeare Festival in Boulder, CO and the Haymarket Theatre in Lincoln, NE. Jordan is an actor combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors.

Parker Anderberg

Parker Anderberg is excited to once more work with SDSF. This time in Props! Growing up around the festival, Parker is always eager to work with the company.

Alyza Pike

While being new to Prairie Repertory Theatre this summer, Alyza is experienced on and off stage as both an actor and a technician. They have acted in musicals and plays such as Something Rotten!, Legally Blonde, CLUE, and the Crucible at Roosevelt High School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and has recently worked in backstage crew and wardrobe in shows such as Macbeth, Turn of the Screw, and Bright Star at South Dakota State University. In recent years, Alyza has discovered a deep love and dedication for costuming/wardrobe and hopes to continue doing what they love in the future.

Priscilla Muehr

Priscilla is a newfound member of PRT. They are focused on scenic design but also interested in stage makeup and performance. Priscilla has been in many shows at SMSU in Marshall. Such as An Inspector Calls, Laundry and Bourbon, and many more. She also helped last summer at the SMSU children’s theatre and was Patty DiMarco in School of Rock at MASC in Marshall. Her latest projects include Wigs and Makeup for Shout: The Mod Musical, set design for Laundry and Bourbon, and projections for 46 Plays for America's First Ladies. She’s really looking forward to meeting some cool people, learning new things, and having fun!