Education
Morgan Hicks
Director
Morgan is a co-founder of TheatreSquared, where she currently serves as the Director of Education and Program Development and has directed numersous shows including Murder for Two, The Dingdong, Noises Off, Every Christmas Story Ever Told, Boeing Boeing, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged),The Mystery of Irma Vep, A Christmas Carol and Fully Committed. She has also helmed several new play development projects including He Did It, Don Chipotle, Dream Date, The Dingdong (Arkansas New Play Fest) and Get Broken Like Me (William Inge Theatre Festival). At the University of Arkansas, she teaches theatre history and directing and has recently directed shows such as Heathers: The Musical, Avenue Q, Lysistrata, Eurydice, The Grapes of Wrath and As You Like It. She holds a BFA in Acting from Arkansas State University, an MA in Performance Studies from Missouri State University, and an MFA in Directing from the University of Arkansas and studied political theatre at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland.
Christine Franzen
Animator
Christine Franzen is an illustrator, animator and storyteller from Detroit, Michigan. She has contributed artistically via video design for new musicals, opera, Broadway plays and concerts. Her background in animation and theater has given her a love for creating clean and compelling stories through visual art.
She has created artwork for projects such as Tal Yarden's Superhero which received acclaim such as Off-Broadway's Lucille Lortel Award for Best Projection Design. Additionally, she's assisted on Yarden's Network which earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Lighting Design of a Play. In 2018, Christine was named by Live Design International's 30 Under 30 list of designers to watch.
Brandon Nivens
Video Editor & Game Developer
Brandon Nivens is a Program Director, On-Air Talent at AMI Radio Group based in Joplin, Missouri. Before taking on his current role as Program Director, he worked as General Manager of KSEK-KLKC Radio, where he oversaw all areas of radio operations, including on-air broadcasts, promotions, sales and commercial production. Before that, he worked as freelance graphic designer, video operator, sound engineer and website developer. Brandon received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Missouri Southern State University.
Grace Taylor
Actor - Emily Dickinson
Grace is a second-year MFA: Theatre Performance student at the University of Arkansas. Originally from Bloomfield, MO, she graduated from Southeast Missouri State University with a BFA in Musical Theatre in 2016 and spent the following few years traveling across the country performing in various shows. You may recently have seen her in UARK’s productions of The Laramie Project, Heathers and Tartuffe. Some favorite professional credits include: Music of Denali with Holland-America Princess, Catherine in The Foreigner at Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, and Jack in Jack Frost on Tour with the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre. Much gratitude to her family and friends for their love and support!
Emily Tomlinson
Actor - Sylvia Plath
is the Interim Learning Programs manager at TheatreSquared. She has previously appeared at TheatreSquared in At the Wedding and The Wolves, in the educational touring productions of The Poe Show, The Shakespeare Show and The Math Show and traveling production of A Christmas Carol. TheatreSquared Arkansas New Play Fest credits include He Did It, Carlo at the Wedding, Staging the Daffy Dame, Uncle, What God Hath Wrought, and Swimming with Van Gogh. Other credits include Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Go Dog Go, Cinderella Confidential (Trike Theatre); and As You Like It (Classical Edge Theatre); The 39 Steps, The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Savannah College of Art and Design); Tribes, Macbeth, Cabaret, Blithe Spirit, and Vinegar Tom (University of Arkansas). She also starred in the virtual reality short film Say It With Music. She holds a BA in Drama from the University of Arkansas and an MFA in Performing Arts from the Savannah College of Art and Design.
Ana Miromontes
Actor - Estela Portillo Trambley
Ana Miramontes: Regional credits include Titus Andronicus (The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey); Jaime in Slow Jam (The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival National Playwriting Program); Hare in Tortuga & the Hare (Trike Theatre); Symphonie Fantastique (UARK/The Arkansas Philharmonic); Your House Is On Fire (ArkansasStaged). Favorites include Lydia in Lydia and Marianne in Tartuffe. She was the recipient of the 2018 KCACTF National Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress. Ana holds a double BA in Theatre Performance and Media Advertising from The University Of Texas El Paso and is pursuing an MFA in Acting from the University Of Arkansas. Actors Equity Association (EMC).
Leah Smith
Actor - Dorothy Parker
Leah Smith is a Cleveland native currently pursuing an MFA in Acting from the University of Arkansas. Prior to attending graduate school, Leah worked for Great Lakes Theatre as an Actor-Teacher, and was a dance instructor and choreographer for Stagecrafters Youth Theatre. Favorite creditsinclude: Gail Portman in In the Book Of and Dorine in Tartuffe (UArk), Kate Monster in Avenue Q (Blank Canvas Theatre), and Tessie Tura in Gypsy (Beck Center for the Arts).
Na'Tosha De'Von
Actor - Maya Angelou
Na'Tosha De'Von is a writer and performer whose recent one woman show, "Ain't I A Woman" was featured at TheatreSquared's Arkansas New Play Fest. Other regional credits include As You Like It, with The Classical Edge Theatre, and The Good People of South Fayetteville at Artists Lab Theatre. She has written, performed and toured her poetry shows “Unaccompanied” and "Microphones and Magic” and is set to release her debut poetry book Quiet As its Kept in April. Television credits include the TBN series Chase the Lion. At the University of Arkansas she has appeared in Macbeth, Life is a Dream, Clybourne Park, Avenue Q, Lysistrata, and The Metal Children. She holds a BA in theatre from Jackson State University and an MFA in acting from the University of Arkansas