Our 2024-2025 Company
Marquis Dijon Archuleta (Master Teaching-Artist/Teacher Trainer/Actor) Acting credits: Sweeney Todd in Cutler Bros. Theater’s production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street, Julius Caesar in TSC’s Free Shout Out Shakespeare Series production of Julius Caesar, and Laertes in TSC’s production of Hamlet. He is also a Master Teacher in The Romeo & Juliet Project.
Frank Bluestein (Executive Director/Senior Advisor) is the 1996–1997 Disney National Performing Arts Teacher of the Year and the 1994 Tennessee Teacher of the Year. USA Today named Mr. Bluestein as one of the top forty teachers in the United States in 1998. Until his retirement in 2013, he served as chair of the Germantown High School Fine Arts Department; as artistic director of the school’s theatre, the Poplar Pike Playhouse; and as executive producer for Germantown Community Television, the school’s nationally acclaimed television production center. Graduates from his program include Saturday Night Live star Chris Parnell; film, television, and stage actress Missi Pyle; Emmy-winning casting director Scott Genkinger (Desperate Housewives & NYPD Blue); NPR reporter Debbie Elliott; TSC’s Dan McCleary; and Blue Man Group actor Wes Day. Mr. Bluestein is a past winner of the American Theatre Association’s John C. Barner Award, and has served as an arts advisory panelist for numerous organizations, including the National Endowment for the Arts. In addition to his work at TSC, he currently serves as executive director of the Tennessee Arts Academy, a leading professional development institute for arts teachers located in Nashville on the Belmont University campus. Mr. Bluestein spent several years as director of shows at Opryland, USA, and he most recently wrote and directed the national touring production of Beale Street Saturday Night starring blues legend Joyce Cobb. In 2013, he was inducted into the Educational Theatre Association’s Hall of Fame in Minneapolis.
Jeremy Bukauskas (Duke Solinus in The Comedy of Errors) TSC: The Romeo and Juliet Project (Lord Capulet) Regional Outdoor Theatre Credits: Trumpet In the Land, The White Savage, The Music Man, All Shook Up!, Sword of Peace, Pathway to Freedom, The Wiz. Educational Theatre Credits: Peter and the Starcatcher, Tartuffe, Peer Gynt, As You Like It, Lovers and Executioners, God of Hell. Jeremy earned his M.F.A. in Theatre from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Fiona Byrne (Apprentice, Luciana in The Comedy of Errors)Recent credits: How to Know the Wild Flowers: A Map, Selkie: Between Land and Sea, The Beau Defeated, Theory of Relativity. Fiona is a graduate of Northwestern University with a B.A. in Theatre and English.
Andrew Christenson (Apprentice, Asst. Stage Manager/Messenger in The Comedy of Errors) Performance credits: Escanaba in Da Moonlight, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Little Women, The Seagull, Miracle On 34th Street, Annie Get Your Gun. Stage management: Emerge 360, Silent Sky, Murder Ballad, Emerge Student Dance Concert. Andrew is a local Memphian and a recent University of Memphis graduate, earning a B.F.A. in Theatre with a concentration in Performance.
Jonathan Dimas (Apprentice, Egeon/Pinch Asst. in The Comedy of Errors) was born in Mcallen, TX, lives in Pharr, TX, was raised in Edinburg, TX, and hails from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. He graduated from the University of Texas Pan-American in 2009, after attending the University of Evansville in 2022. He worked with the 52nd Street Project from Hell’s Kitchen, NYC. Other credits include PSJA North High School, Zoot Suit (the first permitted performance from writer Luis Valdez); University of Texas Pan American, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, Evil Dead: The Musical, and Death and the Maiden; University of Evansville, Julius Caesar and Book of Days.
Jason Eschhofen (Composer/Sound Designer for Twelfth Night)(he, him, his) TSC: The Importance of Being Earnest (sound design), Miss Bennett: Christmas At Pemberley (sound design), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Flute/Thisby). Other Credits: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (music direction), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (music direction), Ruthless! The Musical (music direction), The Crucible (sound design), Days of Rage (sound design), and Murder for Two (Marcus Moscowicz, co-music direction, sound design). Jason has a B.A. in Studio Recording Technology from Bowling Green State University, and a M.M. in Voice Performance from the University of Memphis.
Jeremy Allen Fisher (Production Manager; Technical Director; Resident Lighting Designer) has been with Tennessee Shakespeare Company since 2013 designing 30+ productions. A 18-year veteran in the entertainment business, with multiple degrees and certifications, a member of Local USA 829 United Scenic Artists, and experience in all aspects of lighting. Founding his design firm in 2019, he has worked on projects of all sizes, all across the country. He is the Resident Lighting Designer for Opera Memphis and Youngblood Studio. Recently redesigned Ballet Memphis’ new annual production of Nutcracker and completed several major public art installations at St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, and Oregon State University. Since moving to Memphis in 2011 he has completed 200+ lighting designs in the city, been nominated for 12 Ostrander Awards with four wins, and in 2017 was awarded the TAC Individual Artist Award for his work in Lighting Design.
Lauren Gunn (Senior Resident Actor/Fight Choreographer, and Dromio of Syracuse/Dromio of Ephesus in The Comedy of Errors) TSC: A Streetcar Named Desire, The Tempest, Cyrano de Bergerac, Macbeth, Henry VI, Romeo and Juliet, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley. Southern Arena Theatre: Boeing Boeing, I Hate Hamlet. New Stage Theatre: Constellations, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Crimes of the Heart, A Christmas Carol, Cat in the Hat. Fish Tale Group Theatre: Voice of Freedom Summer. Lauren is delighted and honored to continue serving military veterans at the Memphis V.A. Medical Center with the Feast of Crispian-South program. Lauren is a member and associate instructor with Dueling Arts International. Education: University of Southern Mississippi, M.F.A.
Sarah Hankins (Director of Education and Outreach Programs) is a director, AEA actor, teacher, and theatre administrator with a strong focus on collaboration, physical theatre, and heightened language. Sarah was most recently Artistic Director at Triad Stage, a professional regional theater in North Carolina, prior to which she was a freelance theater artist in NYC. Sarah is also the former Artistic Director of the NYC eco-theatre Green Theatre Collective, as well as a former Associate Artist at Orlando Shakespeare Theatre. Sarah has taught theatre education programs from Maine to Florida for students ranging from kindergarten to college, including teaching and directing at The University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Greensboro College, Guilford Technical Community College, University of North Carolina Greensboro, and Guilford College. Sarah is a proud graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s M.F.A. Directing program, and of Davidson College.
Roger Hanna (Scenic Designer) has designed sets for theater, opera, and dance in Japan, Israel, and across the U.S., including over 150 productions in NYC. Regional productions include The Importance of Being Earnest, A Streetcar Named Desire, Hamlet, The Glass Menagerie, and The Tempest for TSC. Collaborators include Pulitzer Prize-winner Nilo Cruz, MacArthur “Genius” Susan Marshall, and 10-time Tony-winner Tommy Tune. Awards include a Lortel Award, two Drama Desk nominations, and a True West Award from the DCPA. As an educator, Roger taught and designed at major schools including Manhattan and Mannes Schools of Music, NYU, and Yale. He is currently the Head of Set Design at Colorado State University.
Stuart Heyman (Balthasar/Jailer in The Comedy of Errors) TSC: The Tempest (Gonzalo), Cyrano de Bergerac (Ragueneau), As You Like It (Old Adam), The Comedy of Errors (Duke Solinus), All’s Well That Ends Well (Lefeu), The Taming of the Shrew (Baptista), Othello (Brabantio), As You Like It (Corin). Theatre Memphis: Dracula (Van Helsing). Circuit Playhouse: Peter and the Starcatcher (Alf) and Tom Sawyer (Doc Robinson). Desoto Family Theatre: My Fair Lady (Henry Higgins) and Oliver! (Fagin). Germantown Community Theatre: Man of La Mancha (Cervantes/Quixote). New Moon Theatre: The Homecoming (Teddy).
Michael Khanlarian (Antipholus of Syracuse/Antipholus of Ephesus in The Comedy of Errors) Michael is a passionate actor and teaching artist residing in Memphis. He holds a degree in Theatre Performance from the University of Memphis, where his love for theatre began. As a founding member of TSC, Michael has been instrumental in bringing the arts to various communities across the Mid-South. He is also an ensemble member of Playback Memphis and a teaching artist for the Orpheum, continually sharing his skills and passion for the performing arts.
Baxter Konstans (Apprentice, Pinch/1st Merchant in The Comedy of Errors) Illinois Wesleyan University: True West, Much Ado About Nothing, The Exception and the Rule, Brilliant Traces, and Mauritius. This is his first season with TSC. He graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in May 2024 with a B.F.A. in Acting where he was given the opportunity to study classical pieces and comedy writing.
Raven Martin (2nd Marchant/Pinch Asst. in The Comedy of Errors) has a deep passion for theater and extended her theater geek fan status to performer status and starred in Broadway covers such as Eclipsed, One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show, Carmen Jones, and many more. She has also won various acting awards including the Ostrander Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is elated for her Tennessee Shakespeare Company debut.
Logan McCarty (Administrative & Box Office/Education & Outreach Manager)is a theatre artist from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where they received their BFA in Acting from the University of Southern Mississippi. Since moving to Memphis in the summer of 2019, his theatre credits include Peter Pan with Playhouse on the Square; A Christmas Carol and Macbeth with Theatre Memphis; and Quills with New Moon Theatre. Logan was a member of Tennessee Shakespeare Company’s inaugural Classical Theatre Apprentice Program in 2023-24, so you may recognize them from TSC’s recent productions of The Tempest, The Importance of Being Earnest, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Hamlet. He is looking forward to working with TSC in this new role and is ready for a great 17th season!
Dan McCleary (TSC Founder and Nancy R. Copp Producing Artistic Director; Director of The Comedy of Errors and the Creator/Actor of Grace of Grace), a native of Memphis, last year directed TSC’s Shout-Out production of The Tempest as well as A Streetcar Named Desire. For TSC, he also has directed/acted in As You Like It (playing Jaques), Cyrano de Bergerac (playing Cyrano), The Trouble Begins at Eight: Mark Twain, Ada and the Engine, Blue Roses of Tennessee Williams (playing Tennessee with his son, Collins), Julius Caesar, Waiting for Godot, The Glass Menagerie (playing old Tom), The Taming of the Shrew (playing Sly), Richard III (playing Richard), To Kill a Mockingbird, Much Ado About Nothing, Ernest Hemingway in Key West, Flannery O’Connor’s Georgia Gothic, All’s Well That Ends Well, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, The Tempest, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the all-female Julius Caesar, Othello, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), Themes from a Midsummer Night with IRIS Orchestra, Classical Creations in Quarantine, and Shakespeare’s Election of Coriolanus. Other regional theatre directing credits: The Servant of Two Masters, his adaptation of Anaïs Nin’s Henry and June, Vita & Virginia (Sackville-West and Woolf), My Own Stranger (Anne Sexton), and The Fiery Rain (Edith Wharton/Henry James/Morton Fullerton) at Shakespeare & Company, where Dan was Associate Artistic Director. He also has directed at Seattle Shakespeare, Orlando Shakespeare, and Georgia Shakespeare. He has played over 120 roles on stage, including Coriolanus (thrice), Richard III (twice), Macbeth (twice), Falstaff, Marc Antony, Caliban, Brutus, Petruchio, Hotspur, Bottom, Master Ford, Stephano, Antipholus and Dromio of Ephesus, Cassio, Bertram, Demetrius, Silvius, Herman Melville, Porfiry, Charles Dickens, The Gentleman Caller, Hannah from Hamburg in La Cage, and Bertha Bumiller et. al. in the Greater Tuna series. Dan is a published poet, and the creator/director/actor of the plays Speak What We Feel: Shakespeare’s Radical Response to a Radical Time; Unto the Breach; Quintessence: Shakespeare in Performance; and Classical Creations in Quarantine. Memphis Magazine has named him among the “Who’s Who in Memphis” for six years. Dan presented his TEDx Talk “Shakespeare in Kindergarten, or Let Fall Rome” in Memphis in 2020, and the Germantown Arts Alliance honored him with its 2009 Distinguished Arts and Humanities Medal for Performing Arts. He holds a B.A. in Advertising and Journalism from Temple University, has served on the Boards of Herman Melville’s Arrowhead and the City of Germantown’s Telecommunications Commission, and he is the dad and coach of all-star 14-year-old twin musicians, Sullivan and Collins.
Micki McCormick (Asst. Technical Director) Design Credits: Lighting Designer Assistant for Opera Memphis’s production of La Bohème, and La Calisto. Technical Director for Tennessee Shakespeare Company’s Shout-Out Shakespeare Series Production of The Tempest, and sound engineer for A Streetcar Named Desire. Production Electrician for Opera Memphis’s The Rising and the Falling and The University of Memphis Rocky Horror Picture Show. 2022 Ostrander winner for the University of Memphis’s production of A Bright Room Called Day for Excellence in Sound Design.
Melanie Mulder (Properties Designer) TSC credits: The Importance of Being Earnest, A Streetcar Named Desire, Hamlet, Ada and the Engine; The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Additional credits: The Color Purple, Jelly’s Last Jam, A Song for Coretta, Ruined, In the Heights, and Once on this Island at Hattiloo Theatre. Melanie has served as Props Designer on productions for the Nashville Shakespeare Festival (TN), Seaside Music Theatre (FL), Vineyard Theatre, Pearl Theatre, the New School for Drama and The Signature Theatre (all NYC), Williamstown Theatre Festival (MA), Lake George Opera (NY), and Northern Stage (VT). Melanie is a native Memphian and received her B.F.A. in theatre from The University of Memphis.
Jacqueline Nunweiler (Apprentice, Emilia in The Comedy of Errors)Jacqueline is a graduate of East Carolina University’s School of Theatre & Dance program with a B.F.A. in Acting and a minor in Costume Design. East Caroline University: The Winter’s Tale, Pride and Prejudice, Intimate Apparel, Romeo & Juliet, and The Visit. Other Credits: ‘night Mother, Macbeth, and Tartuffe.
Charles R. Ratcliff II (Angelo in The Comedy of Errors)is a Dallas native and stage/television performer. He is incredibly excited about his premiere TSC production. Theater Memphis: The Glass Menagerie. University of Dallas: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Nicholas Bottom). Other credits include Love’s Labour’s Lost (Dull/Mercade) and a presentation of sonnets with Shakespeare Dallas. He is a Speech-Language Pathologist, Certified Brain Injury Specialist, and working towards a PhD in Communication Sciences and Disorders. He is happy to discuss his current research interest in vocal behavior in performers!
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) (Playwright of The Comedy of Errors and Twelfth Night) was honored by his friends John Heminges and Henry Condell seven years after his death with the creation of what is arguably the most influential work of written art. This year (2023), we commemorate the 400th anniversary of the printing of the First Folio – the collection of 36 of Shakespeare’s plays, which includes 18 plays not printed before 1623. It starts with his final solo effort: The Tempest. Not included in the Ff are plays that Shakespeare collaborated on with other writers: Pericles, The Two Noble Kinsmen, Edward III, and his lost plays Cardenio and Love’s Labor’s Won. Between 750-1,000 copies were printed in this first edition, and today perhaps 235 of those remain. There would be three more Folios published in the 17th Century. The Ff, however, for actors, is the closest we get to what the writer wanted on stage, how the words should be spoken, and what was thematic for him. The Folio was expensive and large, a purchase perhaps of prestige. But if it were not for this practical collection, one-half of Shakespeare’s plays would have been lost (as they had not been printed in quarto form – a smaller, less-expensive production). This year marks, then, the 400th celebration of humanity’s discovery of Twelfth Night, The Comedy of Errors, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, All’s Well That Ends Well, The Winter’s Tale, Coriolanus, Antony and Cleopatra, and many others. Our ever-lasting appreciation to Messrs. Heminges and Condell, who helped ensure the Man would indeed be “for all time.”
Kaitlyn Shamley (Development and Communications Manager) is a lifelong Memphian and has a passionate interest in music history and the ancient Mediterranean. Her time as a Rhodes College student sparked a desire to foster an appreciation and understanding of past cultures and their artistic works. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and visiting museums. Education: Rhodes College (B.A. in History).
Stephanie Shine+ (Associate Artistic Producer) In 14 seasons with TSC directorial credits include Hamlet,The Importance of Being Earnest, Emily Dickinson: I Dwell in Possibility, which she co-created with Denice Hicks, Henry VI: Wars of the Roses, Macbeth, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Henry V, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Julius Caesar, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, Southern Yuletide, Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits, Shake(s), Rattle, and Roll, Shakespeare Said It, Lend Me Thy Sword, 12 productions of Romeo and Juliet, and 15 Literary Salons. On stage at TSC, she played the Abbess in The Comedy of Errors, Countess in All’s Well That Ends Well, the female roles in Unto the Breach, and Gertrude in Hamlet. Prior to joining TSC, she was Artistic Director of Seattle Shakespeare Company, a position she enjoyed for 13 years. Other directorial credits include King Lear and As You Like It for Houston Shakespeare Festival, TheTaming of the Shrew and The Comedy of Errors for Colorado Shakespeare Festival, the award-winning one-woman internationally-touring Marilyn Monroe Biopic, Marilyn: Forever Blonde, and several new works for Seattle’s Book-It Repertory Theatre. Her production of I am of Ireland (which she also conceived and adapted) opened Book-It’s 25th Anniversary Season in 2014. As an actor, she has performed with the Oregon Shakespearean Festival, NYC’s Theatre for a New Audience, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Alley Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, ACT, The Empty Space, and Seattle Children’s Theatre, among others. Roles include Juliet, Rosalind, Lady Macbeth, Beatrice, Regan, Feste, Kate, Bianca, Dionyza, the Princess of France, Hero, Perdita, and the Chorus in Henry V. The Germantown Arts Alliance honored her with its 2016 Distinguished Arts and Humanities Medal for Performing Arts. She is the mother of four exceptional people: Conor, Cahilan, Sullivan, and Collins. Education: graduate of the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts; B.F.A in Acting from the University of Washington’s Professional Actor Training Program; M.F.A. in Directing from the University of Memphis.
Jasmine Simmers (Production Stage Manager) TSC Credits include Stage Manager for Hamlet, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Macbeth Initiative and Assistant Stage Manager for Tempest. Other Credits include La Bohème, The Rocky Horror Show, Back When Mike Was Kate, The Forever Question, and Le Nozze di Figaro. She holds a B.F.A. in Theatre, Design and Technology from The University of Memphis.
Christine Strong (Apprentice, Adriana in The Comedy of Errors)is excited to make her debut with TSC. Other credits include Marian: or The True Tale of Robin Hood, Baltimore, Henry V, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and Fefu and Her Friends. Christine is a graduate of Emerson College’s Acting program with a B.F.A.
Leslie Sweeney (Bookkeeper) has enjoyed a long career in finance and accounting that has included working in public accounting and the not-for-profit sector. In her free time, she enjoys playing competitive bridge and watching the Memphis Grizzlies. Education: Rhodes College, (BA), University of Memphis. Leslie is originally from Little Rock, Arkansas.
Kierra Turner (Courtesan in The Comedy of Errors) is an actor, singer, and native Memphian making her TSC debut. Acting credits include Harrell Theatre: The Little Shop of Horrors. Theatre Memphis: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Much Ado About Nothing, A Christmas Carol. Hattiloo Theatre: The Color Purple. Christian Brothers University: Sylvia, Dearly Departed. Kierra is also a teaching artist who has collaborated with various organizations in the city, including the Orpheum, Theatre Memphis, and Playhouse on the Square.
Allison White (Costume Shop Supervisor/Resident Costume Designer) has been the resident costume designer and costume shop manager at TSC for the last three seasons. She has an M.F.A. in Costume Design from The University of Florida. Her TSC design credits include The Importance of Being Earnest, Cyrano de Bergerac, Ada and the Engine, Macbeth, Henry VI: The War of the Roses, The Romeo and Juliet Project (2022 and 2023); also I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (Germantown Community Theatre); The Mousetrap, Blithe Spirit, You Can’t Take it With You (Theatre Memphis); Pippin, Between Riverside and Crazy, The Day is Long to End (University of Florida); Caroline, or Change (Cape Fear Regional Theatre); The Secret World of Og (Sarasota Youth Opera); Smokey Joe’s Café, All My Sons, The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Theatre Raleigh).
+ member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Inc., an independent national labor union.