Shakespeare in the Valley Staff

DONNA DEVLIN- Having begun her career in theatre, Donna was accepted into and attended NYU's prestigious Tisch School of the Arts before switching her attentions to film and television, graduating summa cum laude from Hunter College's scholars program, The Thomas Hunter Honors Colloquiam, with a concentration in Media, English and Psychology. From there, this actress/producer/director has primarily honed her skills in the realm of television and film; creating and writing pilots for MTV/Broadway Video, Fox TV and Canada's CTV and Much Music, and being honored with awards at the Cannes, Houston and Vancouver Film Festivals. She has worked for Warner Brothers TV and the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, as well as being an award-winning producer/director of numerous tv commercial campaigns before being invited to serve as N.H.'s first female Film Commissioner. Since returning to her "first love" (theatre), she's attended the world-renowned Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, U.K. and has appeared in London as Gertrude (“Hamlet”) and Maria in the world premiere of "Twelfth Night: The Musical", among others. She is a veteran of day and prime time television, feature films and many broadcast tv commercials as well as a passionate advocate for children, underserved populations and the differently abled. She has served as Founding/Producing Artistic Director since beginning the theatre in 2006.

WILL HAMMOND-A fourth-generation Franklin, N.H. native, Will was one of the founding members of that town’s award-winning Footlight Theatre Company. After leaving the Marines, he decided to concentrate on acting and has never looked back: He has attended the renowned Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, U.K., where he studied stage fencing with the legendary Richard Ryan (fight coordinator for the movie "Troy" and "Stardust"). Will has performed in London, playing the roles of Cassius (“Julius Ceasar”) and the Shepherd in The Winter's Tale at the West End's GBS Theatre. He has starred as both Antipholus roles in "The Comedy of Errors" and as Laertes in "Hamlet" in northern California and has played various roles on national tours. After playing Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet" and Orlando in "As You Like It” in 2007 and Petruchio in both "The Taming fo the Shrew" and "The Tamer Tamed" and Macbeth in the World Premiere of award winning author John Reed's new play "All the World's a Grave", Hammond returns to the stage this summer in the roles of Caliban in "The Tempest", Master Ford in "The Merry Wives of Windsor" and Athos in the World Premiere of "The 3-D Musketeers". He also serves as Fight Choreographer for all of our shows this summer.

KAREN LAMB: (“SHAKESPERIMENT” Leader, Director; "The Two Gentleman of Verona", "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "No Holds Bard II") In her long career, this Texas native has directed classical and contemporary plays and musicals at various theatres across the U.S. She joins us from her home base of Charlotte, N.C., where she has directed numerous productions with the Actor’s Theatre. Other credits include stints with the Oklahoma Shakespeare Festival, Maine’s Penobscot Theatre, the Musical Theatre of Oklahoma,Dallas’ 11th Street Theatre Project , Stagedoor Manor, Western Illinois Musical Theatre and the Children’s Shakespeare Theatre of New York. In addition to her professional credits, Karen has directed and taught at the university level, including work with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Southern Methodist University (Texas) and Mount Union College (Ohio). She’s been honored with the Kenneth Frankel Directing Fellowship at NYC’s Manhattan Theatre Club and is a member of both the Lincoln Center (NYC) and West Coast Director’s Labs. She holds an MFA in Directing from Baylor University and has received additional training under the tutelage of world-renowned director Anne Bogart, at the International Director’s Symposium in Italy as well as both training with (and serving as a Teaching Artist for) Shakespeare and Company.