holds an MFA from Wayne State University in Acting; an MFA from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts in Musical Theatre Writing; and a PhD from the University of Maryland, College Park in Theatre and Performance Studies. He has worked professionally as an actor with national companies like the Hilberry Repertory Theatre in Detroit and the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in Baltimore. His dramatic writing has been produced nationally and internationally and even appeared on Broadway in shows like the musical Hairspray. In Alabama, Michael has worked primarily as a director in recent years—past JSU directing credits include An Enemy of the People, The Tempest, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Into the Woods, The Seagull and She Kills Monsters. Michael was also the 2017-2018 recipient of the ATHE/Kennedy Center Prize for Innovative Teaching.

Kevin Jannot is excited to be a part of this unique theater experience. This is his first time as Assistant Director, but he has been a part of many previous productions as an actor. You may have seen him in Once Upon a Mattress as Prince Dauntless, The Imaginary Invalid as Argan, She Kills Monsters as Orcus, Guys and Dolls as Harry the Horse, and The Tempest as Stephano. He is also a Member of the Omicron Eta chapter of APO. He would like to thank Mike Boynton, the cast/crew, and his wife and son for making this process so rewarding and educational.

Jennifer Luck, an Alabama native, has worked as a designer across the United States. Her credits range from Assistant Lighting Designer for Creflo Dollar's Los Angeles Revival while in graduate school to developing new works with Title:Point, an experimental theatre company started in New York City with friend and colleague Theresa Buchheister. Over the course of her career she has worked for theatre companies in New York, Wyoming, Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama. A graduate of the Scenography program at the University of Kansas, Jennifer has dabbled in all aspects of theatrical design, as well as technical direction.

JD is an Alabama native, born in Birmingham. He attended Troy University where he studied technical theatre before graduating from Auburn University at Montgomery with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication. He completed his Master of Fine Arts in Technical Production at Florida State University. JD has experience in technical direction, management, and carpentry with Utah Shakespeare Festival and The Lost Colony, as well as numerous production credits through union and other private contracts across the Southeast. He has been a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) since 2018 and the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) since 2016. He is passionate about the roles of inter-departmental coordination and collaboration in Theatre, as well as forwarding an industry-wide commitment to safety and equality in employment practices.

Since graduating with an MFA in Filmmaking from Stony Brook Southampton + Killer Films in NY, he’s produced three feature-length films. He was co-producer on his first feature, Big Fork, which premiered at the Breckenridge Film Festival in September 2020. He went on to single-handedly produce Tom of Your Life which won Best Narrative Feature Film in Albuquerque and which Richard Roeper, Entertainment Columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, called “one of my favorite movies of 2020.” It also screened at Dances with Films, Seattle True Independent Film Festival, DaVinci International Film Festival, ARFF//Paris International Film Festival, Cinequest, Stony Brook Film Festival, Mastic Beach International Film Festival and the Burbank International Film Festival, where it was also nominated for Best Picture. His third film, a mind-bending thriller called The Girl in the Straw Hat is currently in post-production.