Erik Gernand

Erik Gernand (Playwright) 
Erik Gernand’s play The Totality of All Things won a Jeff Award for Best New Work for its 2024 production at Redtwist Theatre in Chicago where he is the playwright in residence. His plays have been produced around the country, including at The Barrow Group (New York City), Actors Theatre of Louisville, The ROAD Theatre Company (Los Angeles), City Theatre (Miami), and Premiere Stages (Union, NJ), and have been published by Dramatic Publishing and Smith & Kraus. 

His award-winning short films (writer/director) have screened at more than 100 film festivals around the world including SXSW, Mix Milano Festival (Italy), Palm Springs International Shortfest and Chicago International Film Festival and have been broadcast on IFC, PBS and Logo TV and distributed through Strand Releasing and First Run Features. 

Keith Arthur Bolden

Keith Arthur Bolden (Director)  

Keith Arthur Bolden is a multi-talented director, actor, and educator whose work spans stage, film, and television. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, he holds an MFA in Acting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After honing his craft in major acting markets including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis/St. Paul, Bolden found a creative home in Atlanta,
where he continues to make a significant impact both on screen and in the classroom, as a tenured professor of Theatre and Performance at Spelman
College.

Bolden’s directing credits include Hands Up! (Alliance Theatre, Hattiloo Theatre), The Watsons Go to Birmingham (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), The Mountaintop, The Colored Museum (American Stage), Pipeline (Horizon Theatre),
Two Trains Running (Triad Stage), Topdog/Underdog (NC Black Rep), and several productions at Spelman College including Hoodoo Love, Seven Guitars, Saturday Night/Sunday Morning, The Piano Lesson, and Stage Black.

As a stage actor, he has appeared in acclaimed productions such as Paradise
Blue and Between Riverside and Crazy (True Colors Theatre), Fetch Clay, Make Man (Dallas Theatre Center), Dreamgirls (DOMA Theatre), Gem of the Ocean (The Fountain Theatre, Rubicon Theatre), and A Raisin in the Sun (Kirk Douglas Theatre, Hartford Stage, Cape Fear Regional Theatre).

Bolden’s film and television work includes standout roles in TILL, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, Mile 22, and The Great Lillian Hall (HBO, opposite Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates). He can also be seen in Bel-Air
(Peacock), Clean Slate (Amazon, opposite Laverne Cox and George Wallace), Genius: Aretha Franklin (Disney), Cobra Kai (Netflix), The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix), Sacrifice (Season 2), Terror Lake Drive (AMC), Games People Play, American Soul, The Ms. Pat Show (BET), and The Runarounds (Netflix).
Keith Arthur Bolden currently serves as a Professor of Theatre and Performance at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.

He is represented by
Atlanta Models and Talent, BRS/GAGE and Culti-vate Entertainment and continues to be a vital presence in the entertainment industry — just turn on your TV.

Jack Fellows

Jack Fellows* (Gregg)  is a first-year MFA in Acting graduate student. He is pleased to return to Swine Palace after playing Mr. Darcy in Christmas at Pemberley! NYC Credits : Abingdon Theatre, HERE Arts Center, Wild Project, Columbia University. Selected Regional: One Man Two Guvnors (St. Louis Rep), Bus Stop (Baltimore CenterStage), Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (White Heron), Dracula, Romeo, John Proctor, Caliban, and Laertes (Wolfbane Virginia), Lombardi (Riverside Theatre Florida), Biloxi Blues (Kansas City’s "New Theatre"), Connecticut Repertory Theatre. Playwright credits: The Last Poet on Mars at Wild Project (Manhattan) Wraith (readings in Amsterdam and Serbia).

Zoe Godfrey-Grinage

Zoe Godfrey-Grinage (DeeAnn) Zoe Godfrey-Grinage (DeeAnn) is a first year MFA Graduate in Acting candidate. She is excited to be back at Swine Palace! Her most recent performance credits include Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley (Swine Palace), Fancy Nancy (Chance Theater), Little Shop of Horrors (Sierra Repertory Theater), and Beautiful, the Carole King (Woodminster Theater). Zoe would like to thank her family, friends, and the Swine Palace Team. She is thrilled for the run of the show. 

Kyrin Hardnett 

Kyrin Hardnett (Micah) is a freshman dual major in Film and Television and Theatre Performance. Previous credits include A Raisin in the Sun, Into the Woods, Raisin Girls, The Little Mermaid, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, among others. Kyrin is also a playwright and has written five original plays. He would like to thank his family for their endless love and support.

Michael C. Hyatt 

Michael C. Hyatt (Principal Benson) is a first-year MFA Acting major. Previous credits include Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley with Swine Palace, The Drunk Shakespeare Society with Brass Jar Productions, Ideal House at Prop Theatre, and Terra Nova with The Three Crows Theatre Company. His film credits include Chicago Fire (NBC), American Parent directed by Elizabeth Railsbeck, and Saturday Night Inside Out directed by Connor McBride.

Nicole Lovince

Nicole Lovince (Judith) is a first-year MFA in Acting graduate student. She is pleased to return to Swine Palace after playing Lizzy Darcy in Christmas at Pemberley. She has a BA in Theatre and Film from Bowling Green State University. Previous credits include Pitch Perfect (shot on LSU’s campus), Dear White People, and NCIS: New Orleans. She recently presented a voice and speech workshop at this year's annual VASTA (Voice & Speech Trainers Association) Conference. This is Nicole's debut performance at Swine Palace. 

Christine Marie Sáenz

Christine Marie Sáenz* (Mary Bennet) is a first-year MFA Acting student. She last appeared as Mary Bennet in Swine Palace's Christmas at Pemberley. Selected regional credits include: The world premiere of The Heart Sellers at Milwaukee Rep (U/S Luna), The Tempest and The Three Musketeers with Door Shakespeare, Boeing Boeing with Third Avenue Playworks, and Freaky Friday with Children’s Theatre of Madison. This is her Swine Palace debut! She is also a singer-songwriter and musical theatre composer. She holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Sam Houston State University. @christinemariesaenz/ christinemariesaenz.com      

Austin Bomkamp

Austin Bomkamp (Lighting Designer) is a Visiting Instructor of Entertainment Lighting and Media at Louisiana State University. He blends theatrical design, engineering, and storytelling to create dynamic lighting and media experiences.

He holds a BFA from the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point and an MFA from the University of Arkansas. His professional background includes work as a lighting designer, master electrician, and educator, with credits spanning theater, dance, and immersive installations. His designs often incorporate emerging technologies such as programmable lighting systems, projection mapping, and interactive LED elements.  austinbomkamp.com.

Claudia Brownlee

Claudia Brownlee (Costume Designer)

Claudia holds an Associate’s Degree in Fashion Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology (2014), a Bachelor’s Degree in Theater from the University of Maryland, College Park (2017), and an MFA in Costume Design from Carnegie Mellon University. Her career spans a range of professional roles, including stitcher and wardrobe head with WolfTrap Opera and The Washington National Opera, as well as freelance design credits with Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis, Pittsburgh Public Theater, and Theater Squared. From 2018 to 2020, she served as the Costume Shop Manager and Resident Costume Designer at the Center of Creative Arts (COCA) in St. Louis, MO. From 2023 to 2025, she worked as the Costume Director at Pittsburgh Opera. Currently, Claudia is an Assistant Professor
Costume Design at Louisiana State University (LSU) and continues to work as a freelance costume designer. 

John Michael Eddy

John Eddy (Props Designer) is the Props Designer/Mentor for the LSU School of Theatre; he completed his undergraduate work at the University of Arizona and holds an MFA in Theater Production and Design from Temple University in Philadelphia. In addition to his prop work and scenic designs, he serves on the Board of Directors for Playmakers of Baton Rouge; Playmakers is a children’s educational theatre group who is proud to call the LSU Reilly Theater their home. www.johhmeddy.com

Apollo Mark Weaver

Apollo Mark Weaver (Set Designer) has more than two decades of scenic design experience, working nationally for companies including Geva Theatre Center, Arizona Theatre Company, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, and Utah Shakespeare Festival. He has also designed sets for many local companies in Philadelphia, Chicago, and upstate New York, including InterAct, Azuka Theatre, the Mercury Theatre, Redhouse Arts Center, and Inis Nua Theatre Company. He has worked as a scenic artist, muralist, and theatre educator and holds an MFA from Temple University. At LSU, he serves as Assistant Professor of Scenic Design and has recently designed productions of Roe; People, Places, and Things; and Red Velvet for Swine Palace and Marburg and The Courtship of Winifred Edwards for LSU Mainstage. He is a proud member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829. Please visit him on the web at apolloweaver.com.

Kylee Broomfield

Kylee Broomfield (Assistant Director)  is a Junior pursuing her undergraduate degree in theater arts administration, supported by the Presidential Scholarship awarded by Louisiana State University.  She has already involved herself in theater life as the Assistant Stage Manager for LSU’s fall 2023 production of “ROE”  and Spring 2024 Production of “Of Marburg.”  Kylee began directing during her tenure at LSU with “High School Musical: On Stage” in the Fall of 2026. Then assistant directing Fall 2025 with "Courtship of Winifred Edwards". With her down-to-earth and charismatic personality, on-point generational experience as a Gen Z-er, and impressive resume, Kylee is undoubtedly destined for greatness in her future endeavors.

Jules Hilillo Fernandez 

Jules Hilillo Fernandez ( Stage Manager)  is a senior Theatre (performance) major and Music minor. Previous credits include Swine Palace’s Rachel and Marburg, LSU Mainstage’s Red Velvet and The Courtship of Winifred Edwards, and Theatre Baton Rouge’s The Laramie Project.

Tyler Kieffer

Tyler Kieffer (Sound Designer) is the Assistant Professor of Sound Design and Technology for LSU Theatre. Tyler is a sound designer for new plays, opera, and immersive theatre. He’s been twice nominated for the New York Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Sound Design in 2019 for Will Arbery’s Plano and in 2021 for Tectonic Theater Project’s Seven Deadly Sins. Other recent credits include Swine Palace’s Operating Systems, Craters, ROE; Tribes, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Le Petit Theatre in New Orleans, and Found at the Cork Midsummer Festival Ireland. Tylerkieffer.com

James L. Murphy

James L. Murphy (Production Manager) is an Associate Professor and Head of the M.F.A. Technology and Design programs as well as Production Manager and Technical Director for Swine Palace and the LSU School of Theatre. He teaches primarily in scenery engineering and construction as well as stage management. Design credits include Lighting Design for Swine Palace’s world premiere of Leigh Fondakowski’s Spill; Production Manager and Lighting Designer for the LSU Theatre production of Origin, performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2014; Set Designer for Swine Palace’s world premiere of Ping Chong’s and Vince Licata’s Cocktail, honored by inclusion at the 2011 Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space; Set and Lighting Designer for the LSU Theatre production of Antigone presented at the 2010 Young Theatre Festival in Seoul, South Korea; and Lighting Designer for Swine Palace’s, The Heidi Chronicles, which toured to Shanghai and Beijing, China in 2007. 

Nicholas Hussong

Nicholas Hussong (Projection Designer) Broadway: Skeleton Crew (Tony Nomination). Off-Broadway: Wet Brain (Playwrights Horizons OBIE award, Lucille Lortel Award) Skeleton Crew, These Paper Bullets (Atlantic, Drama Desk Nom) On That Day in Amsterdam (Primary Stages, Drama Desk Nom) Off-Off Broadway: bathhouse.pptx (The Flea) White Guy on the Bus (59E59) Chick 6 (LaMama) Until the Flood, Spiritus (Rattlestick) Other credits include: An American Soldier (PAC-NYC) The Wizard of Oz (Geva) RENT! (Paper Mill Playhouse) Vietgone (The Guthrie) To the Yellow House (Lajolla) Kleptocracy (Arena) Until the Flood (15 regional and international locations); Haint Blu, Hair & Other Stories (Urban Bush Women); Woman's Party (Clubbed Thumb); Grounded (Alley); Round House Theatre, Barrington Stage, Arden Theater, Playmakers Rep, Berkshires Theatre Group, Other work includes; Atlanta Opera, Virginia Museum of Art, David Zwirner Gallery, Marc Jacobs, Mass MoCA, Complex Magazine, AMC+, San Diego Shell, San Diego Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Hartford Symphony, Tony Awards (CBS), Ask Ronna Podcast. He also designed in England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, China, Canada and Vienna. Co-Creator of FEAST, an immersive dining experience with Listen&Breathe (Nantucket, Ireland). Adjunct Lecturer NYU Tisch. Yale MFA. UAW & USA829.

Rocky Sansom

Rockford Sansom (Voice Coach) is an Associate Professor of Voice & Speech and the Swine Palace voice coach. As a coach, he has worked with actors Off-Broadway, Off West End, and in regional theatre, Fortune 500 executives, UN delegates, and members of congress. As an actor, he performed Off-Broadway, regionally, and in international and national Broadway tours. His textbook Voice Work is used worldwide. AEA. SAG-AFTRA. VASTA Lifetime Distinguished Member.

Sonya Cooke

Sonya Cooke (Production Advocate) is an Assistant Professor of Acting and Head of Undergraduate Performance at Louisiana State University’s School of Theatre. She is a film, television, and theatre actor. A member of SAG-AFTRA, Sonya’s career includes streaming and network television, feature film, regional and NY theatre, musical premieres, commercials, and voice-over credits. Most recently, she acted in Government Cheese on AppleTV+ and Chicago PD on NBC. Last summer, she joined the acting company of New Swan Shakespeare Festival and played "Leonata" in Much Ado About Nothing. Other career highlights include Warner Brother’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Louie on FX, and Time Sensitive at The Guthrie Theatre. The short film she wrote, directed, and starred in, An Audience, was recognized at film festivals around the country, winning "Best Short Short Film" at the Houston Short Short Short Film Festival. 
 
Founder and author of Seven Pillars Acting, Sonya opened and ran Seven Pillars Acting Studio: Los Angeles and has been the owner of Actor’s Studio of Orange County for twelve years. Currently, she teaches at the grad and undergrad level, and she leads the Teacher Certification Program for Seven Pillars Acting. Her book, Seven Pillars Acting, is the textbook for students of the technique, as well as at a growing number of universities and institutions across the country. A member of the National Alliance of Acting Teachers, Sonya has worked with many institutions all over the country as a teacher, curriculum writer and program developer, such as Hussian College In Studio in Downtown LA, University of California at Irvine, The Guthrie Theatre, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Blizzard Entertainment, and more. She trained at UC-Irvine’s Claire Trevor School of the Arts where she achieved an MFA in Acting, and previously she studied at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she received a BFA in Drama. She is passionate about acting technique and loves helping her students discover their talents.

Lyn Parks

Lyn Parks (Asst. Props Designer) is a sophomore Theatre Tech and Design Major. They have previously done stage management work for LSU, including stage managing Im Going To Marry You Tobey Maguire, and assistant stage managing multiple Mainstage LSU performances.