Artistic Team Bios
Christopher Herr
Dr. Christopher Herr (Producer). Herr has been a faculty member in Missouri State University's Department of Theatre and Dance since 2005 and currently serves as department head. He teaches courses in theatre history and dramatic literature as well as Introduction to Theatre. His published works include "Clifford Odets and American Political Theatre," essays on satire in modern theatre in Blackwell’s "A Companion to Satire" and on American political theatre in "The Oxford Handbook of American Drama." Herr holds a PhD from the University of Toronto and an MA from the University of Toledo. He has worked as a dramaturg and playwright in both the United States and Canada.
Mark Templeton
Mark Templeton (Managing Director). This is Templeton's 28th season with Tent Theatre. He is a 1987 graduate of Paris Junior College and a 1989 BFA recipient from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. Prior to arriving at Missouri State University, Templeton served the Palestine, Texas, Independent School Districts for eight years as Theatre Director and Chairman of the Fine Arts Department. While in Palestine he directed over 30 productions, eight earning regional honors and two receiving state recognition ("Wings" and "Into the Woods"). Other directorial credits include: "The Rimers of Eldritch," "Johnny Belinda" and "The Diviners." Templeton joined the Missouri State University campus community in August 1997 as Assistant to the Marketing Director of the Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts and moved to the Department of Theatre and Dance as Marketing Director in 1999. He has developed and instituted an annual fundraising/sponsorship program that has provided funding to the department’s productions and student scholarships. In 2003 he was promoted to Managing Director of Tent Theatre. He is an alumnus of the Commercial Theatre Institute of New York. Currently, Templeton serves as the University representative and negotiator to Actors’ Equity. In 2008 he served on a team that formally transitioned the Tent Theatre operation into a professional theatre company. He has provided insight for the programming, layout and “Tent Theatre aesthetic” of the new John Goodman Amphitheatre, which will ensure the design fulfills the requirements of the AEA contract. In 2024, Templeton was the recipient of the Dean's Champion Judy Award in the Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities.
Sarah J. Wiggin
Sarah J. Wiggin (Artistic Director and Director: "Serenda: Summer Nights of Swing & Song"). Wiggin is thrilled to continue to serve as Artistic Director for Tent and to celebrate its 63rd Anniversary. She returns this summer to direct "Serenade: Summer Nights of Swing and Song." In previous years, Wiggin directed "Mystic Pizza,” “Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Story," "Moon Over Buffalo," "Beehive," "The Mousetrap," "Sherlock Holmes," "You Can’t Take It With You" and "Steel Magnolias." Wiggin also performed for Tent in "The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940," "The Odd Couple: Female Version" and "Crazy for You." Wiggin is a proud working member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA. She has worked professionally in New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. with theatres such as The Shakespeare Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Ford’s Theatre, Everyman Theatre and Folger Theatre. Her on-camera work includes "Law & Order: SVU," "Gods and Generals," and the web series "Seek Help." Wiggin directed at Venus Theatre in Washington, D.C. and assisted Aaron Posner in his Helen Hayes Award Winning production of "The Two Gentlemen of Verona." Her own production of "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" earned Baltimore City Paper’s #4 slot in the "Top Ten: The Year in Theatre" list. Locally, Wiggin directed "Painting Churches" and performed in "Good People," "God of Carnage" and "Rabbit Hole" with Springfield Contemporary Theatre (SCT) and Resident Artist Ensemble (RAE), of which she is a founding member and producing artistic director. Wiggin also performed in "Death Valley: A Love Story,” "Grounded” and “The Other Place” for SCT. Wiggin earned her MFA in Acting & Directing from the University of Arizona and is a Full Professor in Missouri State University's Department of Theatre and Dance.
Christopher DePriest
Chris DePriest (Production Manager). DePriest is excited to be celebrating another incredible season of Tent Theatre. As Production Manager, he has the opportunity to collaborate with so many wonderful theatrical artists, directors, choreographers, and designers from across the nation, including alumni from the Missouri State University Department of Theatre and Dance. As Scenic Designer for Tent, DePriest has been able to create such incredible productions as "The Mousetrap," "Peter and the Starcatcher," "My Fair Lady," "Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure," "Leap of Faith," "42nd Street" and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." As Executive Director for the John Goodman Amphitheatre, DePriest works closely with MSU faculty and staff to produce events throughout the school year in the new venue. He also has the opportunity to collaborate with community members both in and around the Springfield area to produce quality entertainment at the John Goodman Amphitheatre. He would like to thank Stacy and his two wonderful daughters for their continued love, support and laughter.
Heather Chittenden-Luellen
Heather Chittenden-Luellen (Associate Artistic Director, Music Supervisor for "Serenade: Summer Nights of Swing & Song," Music Director for "A Grand Night For Singing"). Luellen is celebrating her 31st season with Tent Theatre and her fifth season as Associate Artistic Director. She is the Staff Music Director/Pianist for Missouri State University's Department of Theatre and Dance. She joined the staff of MSU in 1996 where she has served as Music Director for mainstage productions since 2003 and Tent Theatre musical productions since 1998. In addition to her teaching duties, she directs music for the New York Musical Theatre Senior Showcase each year and serves as alumni liaison for the department, providing a central contact for MSU alumni working all over the world. Luellen is the 2024 recipient of MSU’s Curtis P. Lawrence Excellence in Advising Award in the Staff Advisor category. Select recent mainstage Music Direction credits include: "White Christmas," "A Killer Party," "9 to 5," "Dreamland," "A Chorus Line," "Ordinary Days," "Working," "CATS," "Amélie." Select recent Tent Theatre Music Direction credits include "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical," "Mystic Pizza," "The Prom," "Anything Goes," "Crazy for You," "Xanadu," "Beehive," "Catch Me If You Can," "Grease." Other credits include Music Director for Broadway Unlocked #Giveback Concert 2018 & 2019 (NYC); Music Director for Kyle Dean Massey’s solo cabaret (Feinstein’s at the Nikko); "Actor, Lawyer, Indian Chief," a musical by Craig Carnelia and David H. Bell, which premiered at Goodspeed Musicals. Much love and gratitude to Tom and Jake.
Estevan Rivera
Estevan Rivera (Technical Director). This is Rivera's second season at Tent! He is a third-year MFA Technical Production student at Florida State University. He hails from Houston, Texas. Before Florida State, he served as a high school theatre teacher in Houston and technical director. He believes quality training for theatre educators is paramount for the future of theatre. Rivera's FSU credits include "Footloose" (Technical Director), "You on The Moors Now" (Asst. Production Manager), "Sweeney Todd" (Asst. Technical Director), "The Sins of Sor Juana" (Props Coordinator), "The Wolves" (Technical Director), "Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812" (Asst. Technical Director) and "Imogen Says Nothing" (Asst. Technical Director). Additional Technical Directing credits include "Mystic Pizza," "Crimes of the Heart," and "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical." His directing credits include "Men on Boats," "Ada and the Engine," "Once on This Island," and "Hecuba" adapted by Marina Carr.
Betsy Kruse Craig
Betsy Kruse Craig (Director for "Vintage Hitchcock: A Live Radio Play"). Craig is an accomplished actor, theater director and educator with almost three decades of experience in the performing arts. Known for her innovative approach and passionate commitment to storytelling, Craig has directed numerous critically acclaimed productions across various genres including "Enemy of the People," "Violet," "Buried Child," "Dear Jack," "Dear Louise," "The Garbologists," "Major Barbara," "Circle Mirror Transformation," "The Road to Mecca," "The Lion King," "The Little Mermaid," "Legally Blonde," "Twelfth Night," "Much Ado About Nothing," among others. Craig performed regionally with The Paper Bag Players and "The News in Revue" in NYC and "Clue the Musical" in Chicago. Other favorite roles include "Hedda Gabler," Barbara Weston in "August Osage County," Tallulah Bankhead in "Looped," Molly Ivins in "Red Hot Patriot," Morticia in "The Addams Family," and Heidi in "What the Constitution Means to Me." Craig was formerly the Artistic Director at The Pear Theatre in Mountain View, California, and is now the Managing Artistic Director of The Invisible Theatre. She holds a Master’s degree in Fine Arts and has taught at several prestigious institutions, inspiring the next generation of theater artists including Pima Community College and the University of Arizona, where she taught Acting, Directing, Voice and Movement, Auditions and Period Style. Craig's work emphasizes the power of collaboration and the transformative impact of the arts on individuals and communities.
Lysa Fox
Lysa Fox (Director/Choreographer for Rodgers and Hammerstein's "A Grand Night of Singing"). Fox is back for her fifth show at Tent Theatre. She is currently the Head of Musical Theatre at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois, and has an MFA in Acting and Directing from California State University-Long Beach. Fox is a founding member of Venture Theatre in Billings, Montana, where she served 13 years as both the Education Director and Artistic Director. She has performed, directed, and choreographed extensively in that part of the country, including work in Wyoming, Idaho, Indiana, Missouri, Colorado and California. Even though teaching is a true passion, Fox continues to pursue outside opportunities as an actress, director and choreographer. Some favorite projects include last two Tent projects, "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" and "The Prom" (director/choreographer), "Ride The Cyclone" (director), "Falsettos" (director), "Ragtime" (role of Mother), "Mamma Mia" (role of Donna), "The Heidi Chronicles" (role of Heidi), "Hairspray" (choreographer), "Into the Woods" (role of the Baker’s Wife), "Singin’ in the Rain" (director/choreographer), "Guys and Dolls" (director/choreographer), "Working" (director), "Cabaret" (role of Frau Schneider) and "Always, Patsy Cline," a show she has done eight times in the role of Patsy. She extends much gratitude to Sarah and Heather and her stellar team along with this wonderful cast. It's such an honor to be part of Tent!
Adam Jehle
Adam Jehle (Scenic/Projection Designer for "Serenade: Summer Nights of Swing & Song"). Jehle, originally from Nixa, Missouri, is the Resident Scenic/ Projections Designer and Assistant Technical Director for Charleston Stage Company, in Charleston, South Carolina. His credits include Scenic Designs for "Fiddler on the Roof," "Legally Blonde," "A Christmas Carol," "The Prom," "Clue: On Stage," "Trip to Bountiful," "Addams Family," "Native Gardens," "Black Pearl Sings!" and "Kinky Boots for Charleston Stage." He’s built and worked on over 40 shows including technical directing all of Charleston Stages’ 45th season. Other credits are scenic designing shows such as "Cinderella & Mamma Mia" at Crane River Theatre in Nebraska, and "Titanic, Cabaret, and Groundhog Day" at Stagedoor Manor in upstate New York. He received his BFA in Design, Technology and Stage Management from Missouri State University in 2020. Jehle is excited to be designing "Serenade" for Tent Theatre’s 63rd season
Jeff McLaughlin
Jeff McLaughlin (Scenic/Projection Designer for "Vintage Hitchcock: A Live Radio Play"). McLaughlin is excited to be back at Tent Theatre! His previous Tent Theatre designs include "Baskerville," "Crazy for You," "Catch Me If You Can" and "Cry-Baby: The Musical." He is an Associate Professor of Theatre Design and Technology at Arkansas State University - Jonesboro. In addition to serving as Scenic Designer and Technical Director, McLaughlin teaches courses in Scenic Design, Scenic Painting, Stagecraft, Principles and Elements of Design, Stage Management, and Computer-aided Design. He enjoys watching students problem-solve and make discoveries about the world and themselves. He has worked with many theaters, including The Link Theatre, Mt. Washington Valley Theatre Company, Coterie Theatre, American Player's Theatre, Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, and New Stage Theatre.
Eryn BrooksBrewer
Eryn BrooksBrewer (Costume Designer). BrooksBrewer is a costume designer and technician. Since completing her MFA at the University of Alabama in 2017, she has been working professionally. Some of her favorite past credits include "The Music Man," "Cinderella" (Playmill Theatre), "The Merchant of Venice," "Carousel" (Texas Shakespeare Festival), "The Addams Family" and "Beauty and the Beast" (Ocala Civic Theatre). BrooksBrewer is a faculty member at Missouri State University and has very much enjoyed her thirdTent Theatre season!
Samantha Morrow
Samantha Morrow (Costume Shop Supervisor/Costume Designer for "Serenade: Summer Nights of Swing & Song"). From Overland Park, Kansas, Morrow's previous credits for Tent Theatre include Costume Design for "The Prom," "Xanadu," "Beehive," "All Shook Up," "Grease," "She Loves Me" and Wig Design for "Hairspray." Other credits include Costume Design for "The Rocky Horror Show," "A Raisin in the Sun," "Killer Joe" and "Good People" at Springfield Contemporary Theatre; Costume Shop Manager/Design for Maples Repertory Theatre; and Costume Intern at The Williamstown Theatre Festival. Morrow is a BFA Design, Technology and Stage Management graduate from Missouri State University and is currently the Costume Shop Supervisor for MSU’s Department of Theatre and Dance.
Seth Brown
Seth Brown (Lighting Designer). Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, Brown is a lighting designer based out of New York City. He has designed lights for Ayodele Casel, MoveNYC, Soul Science Lab, The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and the world premieres of the plays "Leo's Requiem" (Lenfest Center for the Arts) and "Singing Lessons" (Columbia University). This fall he will be designing the world premiere of the play "The Cherry Tortured" by Aaron Posner (African Grove Theater). He graduated from Missouri State University in 2019 and is excited to be returning to Tent Theatre! Brown is an alumnus of the Juilliard Professional Apprentice Program and is currently studying for his MFA at NYU Tisch Design for Stage and Film. To learn more visit sethbrownlighting.com.
Levi Manners
Levi Manners (Sound Designer). Manners is excited to return to Tent as the sound designer for the 2025 season! This will be his fourth season working at Tent Theatre, first as the sound engineer and then designer in 2023. Originally from Kansas, Manners is now a freelance designer and sound technician in Washington, DC. While Manners' love of his art takes him all over, recent production credits include "California Story: A Faustian Preter-Capitalist Scream" (Outside/In Theatre, Sound Design), "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" (Signature Theatre, Assistant Sound Design), "Julius Caesar" (Catskill Mountain Shakespeare, Sound Design), among many others! When not in the theater, Manners enjoys paddle boarding, admiring architecture, and harassing his cat. Hear more at www.MannersSound.com.
Sarah K. Hinkson
Sarah Hinkson (House Manager). Hinkson is from Sedalia, Missouri, and is currently pursuing an MFA in Dramatic Writing at Missouri State University. Hinkson is a proud alumnus from Missouri State’s Department of Theatre and Dance where she earned a degree in Theatre with a Minor in Spanish. This is Hinkson’s fourth year on the Tent Theatre: Front of House and Marketing Operations Team. She is very happy to be returning to the team and is very grateful to Missouri State and Tent Theatre for so many amazing memories and friendships. Previous Missouri State credits include Dramaturg for "She Kills Monsters," Dramaturg for "Sweat," and Dramaturg for "Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play." Outside credits include Co-Director for "COM MEDIA" with Tabula Rasa Production Company and Cassie in "Waiting" (an MFA Dramatic Writing Production). Instagram: @youngheart381.
Anna Hunt
Anna Hunt (Scene Shop Supervisor and Properties Designer). Hunt serves as the Scene Shop Supervisor for Missouri State University’s theatrical season, where she has supervised student employees and lab classes in the construction, painting and installation of scenery since 2008. She also mentors student properties designers. Some of Hunt's previous experience includes properties for Tent’s productions of "Cry-Baby the Musical," "Peter and the Starcatcher" and "The 39 Steps," as well as Scene Shop Supervisor for MSU’s productions of "Amelie the Musical," "A Little Night Music" and "Legally Blonde the Musical," among many others. Hunt holds a Bachelor of Science of Education in Theatre from Missouri State University. She thanks her husband Tom and her family for their support during Tent Theatre.
Mia Simone Parker
Mia Simone Parker (Company Manager). Parker is currently living in Springfield, Missouri. She is studying B.A. Theatre and B.A. Screenwriting Film Studies at Missouri State University. Some of her previous technical credits include Assistant Stage Manager for "Eurydice" and Stage Manager for "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind." She is thrilled to be working with Tent Theatre this summer. She would like to thank her mom for always encouraging and supporting her.