William Boles creates spaces that bridge theater and nature. As a scenic designer William has traveled extensively around the United States and Internationally creating environments for new plays and operas. His work in landscape marries storytelling with nature intending to create spaces that invite communities to reconnect with the earth. William earned a BFA from the University of Central Florida, an MFA from Northwestern University and is currently pursuing a Master of Landscape Architecture at The Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. William founded FUTURE FUTURE PARKS in 2020 as a mixed media studio generating new works of environmental landscapes through theater and nature.

 Tom Carr has held recording engineer and sound designer titles for JMU’s Forbes Center for the Performing Arts since its opening in 2010. Beginning in high school, he found himself constantly surrounded by recording equipment while playing in his own blues-rock band, Southside. After moving to Boston to study mass communication at Emerson College, he started working at WERS-FM, the school’s radio station, and broadcast to more than 1.5 million listeners. Five years of live broadcast mixing transitioned into recording studio work.Carr has worked all over the country, recording musicians of all levels and backgrounds; including a coast-to-coast broadcast of the Dave Matthews Band and a worldwide broadcast with Neil Young. In the early 2000s Carr worked alongside jazz great Dave Brubeck, first as a fan, but now a friend. Tom works in the Forbes Concert Hall, one of five venues in the center, adjusting the acoustic settings to provide optimal sound for every performance.

 Kathleen Conery worked for JMU School of Theatre and Dance for 25 years as Costume Shop Manager and an Instructor for Design and Technology courses. Kathleen is a skilled costume designer and artisan that continues to guest design and teach at JMU. She has worked all over the country in costume construction and design for both theatre and film. Learn more about Kathleen's work here.

 Gretta Daughtrey has designed with several local theatre companies, area schools, and universities. Recent dance projects include several performances during the VCU 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 academic years including both site and theatre work (Pathfinders, TWO TRUTHS: Truth 1, DanceNOW 2024, Enouement), Gretta has also designed for KDance at Firehouse Theatre and University of Richmond University Dancers Concert 2024 (Moving Bodies/Bodies Moving). Past theatrical designs for Richmond Shakes (Quill) include Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and An Iliad.  She has also designed several productions for Henrico Theatre Company and the Festival of Arts at Dogwood Dell. Gretta works in Systems Integration for Barbizon, specifying lighting and control systems.

 Eamonn Farrell is a New Jersey-based video designer and theater maker whose work focuses on investigations of how innovative technologies can support and elevate the work of live performers to create unforgettable experiences. With his company, Anonymous Ensemble, he has created dozens of original, media-infused shows, installations, and live webcasts in New York City and around the world. For two decades, Eamonn collaborated closely with the late Lee Breuer of Mabou Mines. Other design credits include: Sarah Michelson, Big Dance Theater, TFANA, B3 Dance (Bessie Nomination), The LA Phil, Parsons Dance, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Portland Center Stage, Palacio de Bellas Artes, and Megaron Musiki. Eamonn has taught projections design at Princeton, City College of New York, JMU and UVA.

 Luis Garcia is a Peruvian-American, Helen Hayes nominated Lighting and Media Designer based in College Park, MD, working across theatre, dance, installations, and live performance art. He holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Stetson University (2016) and an MFA from the University of Maryland, College Park (2024). Recognized in 2018 as one of Live Designs “30 Under 30”, Luis aims to inspire younger BIPOC artists by advocating for authenticity and diversity in the arts. Luis currently serves as Co-IDEAS Coordinator for the USITT Lighting Design and Technology Commission and is a member of the SETC Design Committee. He is also an alumnus of the 2017 OSF F.A.I.R. Program and the 2016 USITT Gateway Cohert.

 Catherine Holcomb is a designer, technician, and producer who has worked within the entertainment industry for 8+ years. Catherine's disciplines include lighting design, sound engineering, and technical production management. She holds her Bachelor of Arts from James Madison University and currently serves as the Lighting Shop Supervisor for the School of Theatre and Dance. Theatre credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Sunday in the Park with George (Lighting Design). Catherine will act as Lighting Designer for Footloose and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time in JMU's upcoming 2026/2027 season.

 Jenny McNee has served as JMU STAD’s part time Assistant Shop Manager and cutter/draper since 2022. She has also designed several seasons for JMU’s VRDC and looks forward to designing again in 2026. She was previously at American Shakespeare Center (2003-2019) where she designed and built over 100 productions as well as serving as their shop manager for many of those years. She's a three-time award recipient of the B. Iden Payne Award for Outstanding Costume Design (‘15/’16, ‘17/’18, ‘19/’20) for her work with Hidden Room Theatre in Austin, Texas as well as the winner for Outstanding Costume Design from the Austin Critics Table Awards (2016). She’s also designed for Mary Baldwin Univeristy’s Shakespeare and Performance Graduate Program (2015-2022); University of Virginia (2021-2022); National Opera Center (2019); Randolph College (2017). Jenny also designs and creates bespoke bridal gowns (and kilts!) since 2008.

 Chris Raintree is an Interim Assistant Professor and Head of Scene Design at VCU. His education includes a BFA in Scene Design and Technology from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MFA in Scene Design from Carnegie Mellon University. His designs have won awards at both the South Eastern Theatre Conference and the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Raintree has worked on numerous productions as a freelance scenic and event designer in Richmond Virginia. He was given the honor of designing CMU’s centennial production of The Wild Party. Chris is a frequent collaborator with Barker Designs, assisting on projects ranging from Nickelodeon’s “World Wide Day of Play” and Sesame Street’s “K is for Kindness” Tour to Shalom Farms’ “Grown To Go” Community Mobile Market. He also works with the School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community (SPARC) as a designer, ATD, and guest instructor. Select credits include Alice in Bed, The Tender Land, Driving Miss Daisy, The Drowsy Chaperone, Disney’s Tarzan, Next Fall, Circle Mirror Transformation, The Elephant Man, and Alice in Wonderland. Chris will act as Scenic Designer for JMU's upcoming 2026 production of Macbeth.

 Steven P. Spera is a lighting designer of theatre, dance, and opera. He has a love of coffee, running, and golf. He received his MFA in Lighting Design from the University of Virginia and holds a Bachelor of Science in Theatre Design/Production from Illinois State University. He holds an MFA in Lighting Design from the University of Virginia and serves as the Lighting Supervisor for VTF and the UVa Department of Drama. Steven's lighting credits include: Shipwrecked! An Entertainment, The Comedy of Errors, The Arctic Circle, Our Town, Wonderful Town (UVA Drama); An Evening with Yolanda Rabun, Company, Chapatti, Middletown, Violet, Luv  (Virginia Theatre Festival); Matilda, Sweeney Todd, Newises, Next To Normal, Carousel, The Bridges of Madison County (Media Music Theatre Company); Beehive, Barefoot in the Park (Williams Street Rep); Rent, Isle of Noise, Don Giovanni (James Madison University School of Theatre and Dance). 

 Daniella Toscano is a visual artist with an MFA in Costume Design from the University of California, San Diego. She hails from Las Vegas, Nevada where she received her BA in Studio Art and Theater at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Alongside costume design projects, she’s also worked extensively in costume shops around the country in a variety of roles from stitcher to designer, and has explored and developed skills in multimedia design as a way to further explore theatrical storytelling in the digital landscape. Recent design credits include Branden Jacobs Jenkins’ Everybody (UCSD), Sophocles’ Elektra (UCSD), and the world premiere of Elephant (Benchmark Theatre).

 Elizabeth Wislar is the Costume Director for Washington & Lee University and a multi-award-winning costume professional, a large-scale repurposed textile artist, storyteller, and instructor. She has designed over 300 shows and built more than 200 productions throughout the course of her career. She can be found participating in the development of new artistic collaborators and technicians as sustainably-conscious creators.