Much Ado About Nothing |
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| Abby Anderson Sarah Donofrio Austin Vetter |
Michela Murray Roberto Tolentino Detalion Amarius Dixon |
Ronan Melomo Ben Rakow |
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Welcome from the Artistic Director of South Dakota Shakespeare Festival!
South Dakota Shakespeare Festival is thrilled to invite you into our 15th season here in Vermillion, SD! The South Dakota Shakespeare Festival is a professional non-profit theatre company supported by your donations, grants and a long-standing partnership with The University of South Dakota’s College of Fine Arts and Department of Theatre. We know that choosing where to invest is important and I do want you to know how we invest in you. SDSF is proud to offer professional Shakespeare performances with no cost, 3-days of programming to Upward Bound Students, classes at the Vermillion Public Library, mini performances for SESDAC and the Sanford Care Center, our growing nationally recognized 6-week residency "Stage Your Change" at the Minnehaha Juvenile Detention Center serving half of the state. With all of our changes and growth we center on fulfilling our mission to engage, connect, and inspire communities by exploring our shared human experiences.
We at SDSF believe that through professional Shakespeare productions, live and streamed, educational programming, and outreach, we can bring artists and communities together to share the joyful, transformative, healing, and empowering experiences of theatre arts. We are thrilled you are a part of tonight's fun.
Thank you for joining us on the green to connect, laugh, cry, and come together with your community!
With Gratitude,
Rebecca Bailey
Executive Artistic Director
DIRECTOR'S NOTE:
The characters of Much Ado About Nothing mold themselves into the structures of their community, situating as fixtures of societal expectation. Whether a self-professed bachelor, a sworn maid, a plain-dealing villain, or a prince too costly for every day; the value of identity – or seeming identity – is the trouble of this story.
Deception rings throughout this play, both playful and cruel. A masque incites a series of deception and trickery, souring Claudio’s intent toward Hero and crafting a plan to gull Benedict and Beatrice. Don Jon plays the part of a loyal brother, presenting a perceived slight with a window-framed view. The Watch take their roles very seriously, the unlikely heroes, while our wronged Hero feigns death to reassert her original part in the final act, unveiling (literally) the truth.
The understanding of identity within this story intrigues me; the role one believes they must play, the deception it causes, and how these perceptions of self and others impact a community.
This festival would not be possible without the warmth and spirit of this Vermillion community. Thank you to the board members of South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, to our Artistic Director, Creative team, backstage crew, and our onstage artists. Thank you in particular to the people of Vermillion for letting us share your town for these few magical weeks. The Miami of South Dakota indeed. Love you all.
Sponsors
Who's Who
Cast
Creative Team
Haley Davis
Grace Nicole Engstrom
Jesse R. Jensen
Jill Clark
Rebecca Bailey
Jacee Casarella
Shiloh Dawn Wrigley
Kjerstin Anderson
Brook Hardwick
Brian Adams
Abby Anderson
Ronan Melomo
Sabrina V. Egeland
Gabby Ochsner
Meet the Company
Ronan Melomo
This is Ronan's second summer with South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, and they are just over the moon to be back in the Miami of South Dakota! Ronan holds two MFA's from Mary Baldwin University, a BFA from NYU, and is currently based out of Staunton, VA. www.ronanmelomo.com
Roberto Tolentino
Roberto Tolentino is a NYC based actor whose past regional work includes productions at The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse and American Players Theater. He continues to investigate how theater can be an instrument of positive change in both individuals and society. As always he dedicates this to his mother. MFA Columbia University. BFA UC Santa Barbara.
Benjamin Rakow
Benjamin is an actor and writer based in Minneapolis, and is thrilled to be spending his summer with SDSF! Next spring, he’ll be graduating from the University of Minnesota with a BFA in Acting. When not performing, Benjamin can be found hiking, reading, and cooking delicious new vegetarian meals.
Sarah Donofrio
Sarah Donofrio is thrilled to be performing with the South Dakota Shakespeare Festival! Regional credits include Fiddler On The Roof (ensemble/u/s Tzeitel, Music Theater Works), Miss Nelson is Missing! (Allison, Roxy Regional Theatre), Cecile, or the School for Fathers (Cecile, Boulevard Theatre), and Dames at Sea (Ruby, Canterbury Summer Theatre). Sarah graduated with a BFA in Musical Theatre & Dance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and is now based back home in Chicago. A big thank you and lots of love to her family and friends for all their support. Website: SarahDonofrio.org.
Abby Anderson
Abby’s recent credits include The Merchant of Venice (Portia) at SDSF, As You Like It (Rosalind) at the ND Shakespeare Festival, Twelfth Night (Malvolio) and The Tempest (Miranda) with the ID Shakespeare Festival Educational Tours. Abby is also an intimacy/fight director and audiobook narrator residing in NYC. BFA: Rider University. MFA: Southern Miss.
Michela Murray
Michela Murray is a queer actor, drummer, and theatre-maker based in NYC. Recent Work: Resident Artist at TinShed Theatre Co. in NewPort, Wales; are you listening? (The Makers' Space), Titus Andronicus (La Mama ETC); 24 Hour Plays: Nationals 2024 (Off-Broadway). Theatre School at DePaul University BFA. michelamurray.com
Detalion Amarius Dixon
Making his South Dakota Shakespeare Debut in the role of Leonato, we are proud to welcome Detalion Dixon. Detalion is a Memphis based actor who originates from Utica Mississippi where he received his MFA in Acting from The University of Southern Mississippi. Recent Shakespeare Credits include Claudius in Hamlet, Brutus in Julius Caesar, Sebastian in Twelfth Night, and Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream. He would like to wish everyone a most wonderful time viewing the production. " Give them your passion and everything will take care of itself" -Lou Rackoff"
Austin Vetter
Austin Vetter is a New York based performer originally from Aberdeen, SD. This is his fifth summer with SD Shakes. He was last seen as Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet. Keep up with his adventures @avetteractor on all social platforms.
Haley Davis
Haley Davis is a director, actor, educator, and studio artist from Texas and based in Virginia. She studied Early Modern theatre performance and rehearsal practices, earning her Master of Letters and Master of Fine Arts in Shakespeare and Performance at Mary Baldwin University. Her artistic interests center around women and gender in classical works.
Haley works at James Madison University's School of Theatre and Dance, teaching theatre classes in performance and production. She is excited to join the SDSF community for a summer of Much Ado About Nothing!
haleydavisartwork.com
Grace Nicole Engstrom
Grace Nicole Engstrom is a recent graduate of the University of South Dakota where she received her BFA in Musical Theatre and Dance Minor! Grace began her Stage Management journey 3 years ago at USD and is very excited to make her professional Stage Manager debut with SD Shakespeare!
Jesse R. Jensen
Jesse Jensen is a South Dakota theatre director, actor, educator, and arts administrator. A USD BFA Acting graduate and Aberdeen native, he has worked in Vermillion, Sioux Falls, Chicago, and Iowa City. His directing credits include productions with The Premiere Playhouse, University of Sioux Falls, Mighty Corson Art Players, and Theatre Lab. He serves on the South Dakota Shakespeare Festival Board of Directors.
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. Rebecca serves as Asst. Professor of Acting at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro and as the Executive Artistic Director of South Dakota Shakespeare Festival. She holds an MFA in Directing from the University of South Dakota, a BS in Theatre and minor in Dance from South Dakota State University. She is a 200-hour registered yoga teacher, Sexual Assault Advocate, Intimacy Choreographer and spent a wonderful year studying Shakespeare and Performance at Mary Baldwin University/ The American Shakespeare Center. In 2026, she co-hosted a panel for the International Shakespeare Conference by The Shakespeare Theatre Association, “If We Walk Not In The Trodden Paths" - Bridging Shakespeare Performance from "Town to Gown". For SDSF, she has directed The Comedy of Errors, A Celebration of Shakespeare and The Merchant of Venice. Through Community Engaged performance work with the youth and survivors of trauma she built the foundation of SDSF’s nationally recognized program “Staging a Difference with Shakespeare” here in South Dakota. Her performance, directing, and advocate work focus on using movement, kinesthetic awareness, text, mindfulness, and devising to channel experiences into art, healing, and community. She was the recipient for Arkansas of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center Visionary Voice Award (by ACASA) and a Citizen’s Artist Award from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) in 2021.
Jacee Casarella
Jacee returns to SD Shakes for her second summer as Scenic & Props Designer. She received her MFA in Scenic Design from Wayne State University in Detroit. Jacee is the Assistant Teaching Professor in Technical Theatre at Augustana University where she also serves as the Technical Director and Resident Designer. In the past, she has designed for Prairie Repertory Theatre and Black Hills Playhouse in addition to serving as Scenic Charge for Des Moines Metro Opera.
Shiloh Dawn Wrigley
An aspiring Set and Production Designer with a dual degree in Theatre and Film Production, and cross-training in Interior Design. Graduated from UNC Greensboro with experience as a Props Director for UNC Greensboro's productions of Frankenstein 2026 and Rough Magic 2025, and as a production designer for a few short films for Carmichael Studios.
Kjerstin Anderson
Kjerstin Anderson is a costume designer that enjoys discovering and representing people in all their forms. Her recent work includes Pride & Prejudice, Bright Star, The Roommate, and The Marriage of Figaro. Originally from Minnesota, she is proud to serve her Midwest community as the Assistant Professor of Costume Design at the University of South Dakota.
Brook Hardwick
Brook Hardwick, Assistant Costume Designer/Wardrobe Supervisor, current student at USD pursuing a degree in Theatre Design and Technology, Specializing in Costume Design, recently designed USD’s Godspell, in past years designed for Couples Therapy for USD’s One Act Festival, and was an assistant designer on USD’s Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief, as well as a costume designer USD’s 2025 Dance Showcase. I spent last summer at Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts in Warsaw, IN as head wardrobe for Steel Magnolias, South Pacific, Sister Act, Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Grease.
Brian Adams
Originally from the Black Hills, Brian has a BFA in scenic and sound design from USD and is owner of Adams Production Services, an audio, lighting, and theatrical production and installation company based in Vermillion. He also works as a broadcast engineer for SDPB, and enjoys songwriting and playing guitar when he's not busy building or fixing things.
Abby Anderson
Abby’s recent credits include The Merchant of Venice (Portia) at SDSF, As You Like It (Rosalind) at the ND Shakespeare Festival, Twelfth Night (Malvolio) and The Tempest (Miranda) with the ID Shakespeare Festival Educational Tours. Abby is also an intimacy/fight director and audiobook narrator residing in NYC. BFA: Rider University. MFA: Southern Miss.
Ronan Melomo
This is Ronan's second summer with South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, and they are just over the moon to be back in the Miami of South Dakota! Ronan holds two MFA's from Mary Baldwin University, a BFA from NYU, and is currently based out of Staunton, VA. www.ronanmelomo.com
Sabrina V. Egeland
Sabrina V. Egeland is the Assistant Professor of Practice of Costume Technology and Management for the Dept. of Theatre at the University of South Dakota. She specializes in men’s tailoring, exquisitely tedious fabric manipulation, and putting labels on everything.
Gabby Ochsner
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