SHAKESPEARE AT NOTRE DAME ANNOUNCES LEADERSHIP UPDATES
NOTRE DAME, INDIANA – Shakespeare at Notre Dame, the professional theatre in residence at the University of Notre Dame, is thrilled to announce a key new hire and two internal promotions that will set the stage for exciting growth in the future.
First, Debra Gasper has been promoted to the Ryan Family Producing Director. Debra is a longtime Shakespeare at Notre Dame employee whose indefatigable efforts have kept the company running smoothly and professionally for over a decade. As the Ryan Family Producing Director, her new position grants executive-level oversight of Shakespeare at Notre Dame’s many programs, including the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, Actors From The London Stage, the Shakespeare in Prisons Network, and other special events. Debra holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre and a Master’s Degree in Project Management. She has been a member of Actors Equity Association for over 20 years working as a stage manager for various theaters around the county including Actors Theatre of Louisville where she resided as the Resident Stage Manager for ten years. Debra plans to utilize her project management expertise to streamline operations for Shakepeare at Notre Dame.
Next, we are pleased to welcome Cate Cappelmann to the Shakespeare at Notre Dame team as General Manager. Cate is a recent graduate of the University of Notre Dame where she received a BA in American Studies and the Program of Liberal Studies. While a student, she was a frequent collaborator with Shakespeare at Notre Dame, working as the arts administration intern for the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival and stage managing for Actors From The London Stage. She is a proud alumna of the University's Not-So-Royal Shakespeare Company, where she directed Macbeth, and assistant directed Julius Caesar and The Taming of the Shrew. After graduating, she spent a year in service as an AmeriCorps member with the Robinson Shakespeare Company, teaching Shakespeare and Drama to over 200 K-12 students each week in South Bend Public Schools and at the Robinson Community Learning Center.
Finally, Scott Jackson has been named the Mary Irene Ryan Executive Artistic Director of Shakespeare at Notre Dame. Since joining the program in 2007, Scott has been instrumental in building Shakespeare at Notre Dame into an internationally recognized leader in multiple fields of Shakespeare scholarship and performance. Scott currently serves as the vice president and president-elect for the Shakespeare Theatre Association, where he also served as treasurer from 2013-2017. He has taught acting process at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, the University of Notre Dame, Holy Cross College, Indiana University South Bend, and the Prague Shakespeare Company’s Summer Shakespeare Intensive. He is a co-founder of the Shakespeare in Prisons Network and teaches both yoga and acting at the Westville Correctional Facility, Indiana’s largest state prison. His leadership in the nascent field of Applied Shakespeare has also led to an appointment as a Research Associate for the Von Hügel Institute at St. Edmund’s College in the University of Cambridge. As the Mary Irene Ryan Executive Artistic Director he will oversee organizational and financial development, season planning, and artistic curation for the many programs comprising Shakespeare at Notre Dame.
Call (574) 631-3777, visit shakespeare.nd.edu, or follow us on Facebook, Threads, and Instagram to learn more about Shakespeare at Notre Dame’s current and future events.
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CONTACT: Jason Comerford, Audience Development Manager
