Theatre

Darren E. Levin is the Audition Coordinator, Production Coordinator, and Faculty for the GSFTA Theatre Area. He is a freelance lighting designer and lighting design faculty at Middle Tennessee State University.

Darren designs extensively with Nashville Repertory Theatre where his lighting design credits include Ragtime (First Night Honors – Outstanding Lighting Design), Avenue Q, Pipeline (First Night Honors Nominee), Every Brilliant Thing Topdog/Underdog, Smart People, Posterity (Regional Premiere), Good Monsters (World Premiere), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Darren also designs with Studio Tenn, Black Hills Playhouse, Green Mountain Opera Festival, Theatre West Summer Repertory, and Mountain Rep Theatre with credits including Side Show, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, Footloose, 9 to 5, Peter and the Starcatcher, The 39 Steps, The Rape of Lucretia, La Cenerentola, and She Loves Me.

Prior to joining GSFTA, Darren served as the Assistant Technical Director and Lighting Supervisor for McCain Auditorium at Kansas State University. He has also worked with and designed for Cedar Point Live Entertainment/Cedar Fair Entertainment Corporation, Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts, and toured with Feld Entertainment’s Disney on Ice.

Darren is a member of the United States Institute of Theatre Technology (USITT) where he serves as the Vice Commissioner for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion of the Lighting Design and Technology Commission and as a council member for the Essential Skills for the Entertainment Technician (eSET) program. Darren is a proud member of United Scenic Artists 829 (USA829) and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 205-Austin, TX.

David Wilkerson is a theatre professional with over 100 credits as an actor, director, fight director, stage manager, and dialect coach. He was worked with companies such as Nashville Shakespeare Festival, Nashville Rep, Nashville Opera, Vanderbilt University, and Middle Tennessee State University, just to name a few. David has taught at MTSU since August, 2017. 

Aaron Allen Jr is a Contemporary Dance artist from Chattanooga, Tennessee whose research and choreographic practices are driven by African Diasporic forms and personal experiences centered around identity and safety. Aaron holds a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Dance Performance from Middle Tennessee State University, as well as a Master of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Creating safe spaces for movers to be themselves has been a constant guide in his technique classes and choreographic works. Aaron has performed in numerous cities, Shanghai, China, Chicago, Illinois, Washington, D.C., Oberlin, Ohio, and Tallahassee, Florida.. Most recently Aaron performed at Super Bowl 55 with the artist the Weeknd in Tampa, Florida. Aaron is currently a full-time professor of Dance at Middle Tennessee State University.

Cathy graduated with a BS in Theatre from Skidmore College. In her over 30 years of professional arts experience she has worn many hats including director, musical director, producer, actor and teaching artist. She is founder of Street Theatre Company in Nashville, TN where she also served as Artistic Director for ten years producing over 60 shows. She has performed with companies across the country including Nebraska Theatre Caravan, Miami Valley Dinner Theatre, Hackmatack Playhouse, Prescott Park Arts Festival, and Seacoast Repertory Theatre.

Some favorite roles include Alison in FUN HOME, Violet in VIOLET, Winnifred in ONCE UPON A MATTRESS, Jeannie in THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK MUSICAL, and Meredith in BAT BOY. Directing credits include THE WEDDING SINGER, NEXT TO NORMAL, MATILDA, IN THE HEIGHTS, BILLY ELLIOT, EVITA, DOGFIGHT, MEMPHIS, CARRIE, and ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST. Musical directing credits include THE FULL MONTY, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, JOSEPH…DREAMCOAT, and LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS.

She currently lives in Wilmington, NC with her husband and their two cats, Raja and Olive.

Duncan K. Bohannon (he/him/his) is a pianist, composer and arranger based in the Nashville metropolitan area. Until late 2020, he was an active musician in Los Angeles, CA, working primarily in musical theatre as a faculty piano accompanist and music director at AMDA Los Angeles and the University of Southern California.

Duncan now accompanies and music-directs regularly at Belmont University, Lipscomb University, and at theatres and churches across the Nashville metropolitan area. His composition credits include scores for feature films, television shows, audio dramas, media for non-profits, web video, custom music libraries, and over 15 short films.

Duncan holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Film Music Composition from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Piano Performance and Music Technology from Indiana University.

Jon Royal is a teaching artist and facilitator, from Nashville, TN. He blends his training as a director and actor, with communication models from the National Council for Community and Justice. Over the past twenty years he has directed, or appeared in productions for Nashville Children’s Theatre, Nashville Repertory Theatre, Nashville Shakespeare Festival, Actor’s Bridge Ensemble, and other organizations. In 2019 he was named Best Theatre Director by the Nashville Scene. He cofacilitates two Restorative Justice through the Arts projects: August Wilson Gets R.E.A.L, and My Place: Discovering Self Identity in Community. He serves as the Co Director for Shakespeare Center Los Angeles’ Write On program. Jon is a member of Metro Nashville Arts Commission’s Committee for Anti-Racism and Equity, and has facilitated Anti-Racism training for multiple institutions in the Middle Tennessee area. This year he is a New Leaders Council Fellow, and a Mosaic Changemakers Fellow.

Trish Clark is Costume Coordinator for Middle Tennessee State University’s Theatre and Dance Department and a free-lance costume designer and technician. At MTSU she teaches courses in stage make-up, costume technology and wig styling as well as mentoring student designers and technicians. Before joining MTSU, Trish served as Resident Costume Designer at Nashville Repertory Theatre for 12 years, designing costumes for over 50 productions there. She has guest designed at The Nashville Shakespeare Festival, Nashville Children’s Theatre, Tennessee Shakespeare Theatre, Studio Tenn, Arkansas Repertory Theater and Theater Squared. In addition to traditional theatre work she has worked on movies (including the upcoming Babylon) and television (including Real Country). Living near a recording industry town has afforded her the opportunity to work in that world as well. Ms. Clark has designed and built stage wear for music artists, designed costumes for music videos, managed costume builds for national concert tours and counts among her private clients many a-list stylists and music artists.

At different times during her 15 years with The Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts, Clark has taught theatre costuming and designed costumes for each performing arts area: theatre, dance, and music. This year she will teach in the Theatre area and design costumes for Opera.

Darci Nalepa Elam is originally from Chicago, IL where she performed and taught for 15 years. She received a degree in Theatre Studies from Augustana College. Darci then continued her education training in the Meisner technique with Black Box Acting as well as completing the acting training program at the world-renowned Steppenwolf Theatre. She has performed on many stages in Chicago including Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Northlight Theatre, Chicago Children’s Theatre, and The Gift Theatre Company. Darci can be seen in Stephen Cone’s film Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party and has made appearances on NBC’s Chicago Fire, Amazon’s Patriot, and Showtime’s Shameless. She is the co-creator of the webseries The Force. She has been a Guest Lecturer of Theatre and Performance Studies with The University of Chicago and a Meisner Instructor with Third Coast Comedy, Black Box Acting and The School at Steppenwolf. Proud Gift Theatre Ensemble member and union member of Actor’s Equity and SAG-AFTRA.