Founding/Producing Artistic Director
DONNA DEVLIN-YOUNG - Having begun her career in musical theatre, Donna was accepted into and attended NYU's prestigious Tisch School of the Arts before switching her attention to film and television, graduating summa cum laude from Hunter College's scholars program, The Honors Colloquiam. 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, Canada's CTV and Much Music. Her work has garnered daytime Emmy nominations and 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 NYC, regional and national theatrical tours (including the recent hit feature film spoof, “Bikini Bloodbath Shakespeare”, in which she starred and Executive Produced.) Producing Artistic Director of TUTS/SITV since forming the company in 2006, she was honored to receive a Commendation from New Hampshire Governor John Lynch for the theatre’s work on behalf of children, families and military veterans and to have both her production of “As You Like It” and her performance as Rosalind selected as “The Best of The Best” by the Greater Boston Area theatre critics. She currently sits on the Steering Committee for Broadway producers, The Transport Group Theatre, and consulted with them on their media strategy for the Obie and Drama Desk award-winning musical, “The Queen of the Mist.” Donna has sat on the Board of Directors for the Women in Arts and Media Coalition, where she was Secretary as well as Chair of the PR/Marketing Committee. Active in her church and community, she has been a Big Sister and a member of the Bethlehem Heritage Society, the Christmas in Bethlehem Committee and is on the Board of Directors of Adaptive Sports Partners of the North Country.
Executive Manager
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. Regionally, he has starred as both Antipholus roles in "The Comedy of Errors" and as Laertes in "Hamlet" in northern California and has completed many national tours. As well, he has played a variety of leading man and comic roles on our stage(s) since helping to start TUTS/SITV in 2006. He serves as Fight Choreographer for all of our shows this summer.
Shakesperiment Director
MARK MANNETTE - Mark received his MFA in Directing Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature in Performance from Mary Baldwin College in partnership with the American Shakespeare Center. While in Staunton, he performed with American Shakespeare Center’s professional resident company and directed a production at the Blackfriars Playhouse. He also holds a BFA in Theatre from the University of Bridgeport and an AA from Dean College. A member of Actor’s Equity since 1998, Mark has acted in over one hundred and fifty plays, playing such roles as Leontes in A Winter’s Tale, Scrooge in A Christmas Carol and Oscar in The Odd Couple. He has directed plays in several states and founded theatre companies in Maine, Florida, Virginia, and North Carolina. In Orlando, he was Artistic Director at the Roths Jewish Community Center where he directed plays such as The Diary of Anne Frank, Little Shop of Horrors, Brighten Beach Memoires, and Les Miserables. He has had the good fortune to study acting with Tina Packer of Shakespeare & Company, Richard Iglewski of the Guthrie Theatre, and Phoebe Brand, a member of the legendary Group Theatre. As Director of Theatre at Newman University, Mark has directed such plays as Lend Me a Tenor, Pippin, Measure for Measure, and Into the Woods. He currently serves on the board of Music Theatre for Young People and is an actor and director for the Forum Theatre.