04/21/2026
William Inge Theatre Festival Guest Artists share their expertise at workshops and panels, spanning the range of all the performing arts. Welcome Yvonne Freese, Ginna Hoben, Shannon TL Kearns, Paul Molnar, Andrew Rolyer, Sarah Shervey, and Cooper Sivara. Join them at 12:15 and 1:30 p.m. Thursday as they facilitate fascinating workshops; find the schedule at www.ingecenter.org or ask in the lobby of the William Inge Theatre on the campus.
Yvonne Freese is a musician, actor, puppeteer, writer, and athlete past credits include; Little Shop of Horrors- Guthrie, Mystery Science Theater 3000’s Mega Synthia and GPC on national tours and MST3k Season 13, Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion, New works with Nautilus, Minneapolis Musical Theatre, Phantom Chorus, Pillsbury Playhouse, Stage’s, Really Spicy Opera, Teatro del Pueblo, Open Eye Figure Theatre. Off stage, you can find her hitting the sand or biking with her cat, Willow, and dog, Cricket. www.yvonnefreese.com
Ginna Hoben is an actor/writer/educator based in NYC. Her play The Twelve Dates of Christmas premiered at American Shakespeare Center in 2010 and has since enjoyed over 100 productions nationally and worldwide. Her critically acclaimed solo play, No Spring Chicken, premiered in D.C.’s 2015 Women’s Voices Theatre Festival. Other produced plays include Decked! (Theatre B), pierced! (New York and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals); the wind-chill factor (The Actors Theatre of Louisville); the short plays telephone (ATL); Spit Spat Splendor Spite (from “Shakespeare in Mind,” Dramatic Publishing); and A Song of Good Life (Vermont Shakespeare Company.) Ginna has performed at various American regional theatres, most notably in 32 productions at American Shakespeare Center, including The Merchant of Venice (Portia), The Taming of the Shrew (Kate), The Comedy of Errors (Adriana), the solo play Every Brilliant Thing (Narrator), and the world premieres of Shakespeare’s Sister (titular role) and her self-written solo play, The Twelve Dates of Christmas. Other recent credits include Hand To God (Forestburgh Playhouse); The Thanksgiving Play (The Kitchen Theatre); The Revolutionists (The Human Race Theatre); and The Equalizer (CBS.) She also writes and voices for the children’s podcast Who Smarted? www.ginnahoben.com. IG: .
Shannon TL Kearns is a priest, a playwright, a writer, and a speaker. He’s the author of several books: In the Margins: A Transgender Man’s Journey With Scripture (Eerdmans), No One Taught Me How To Be A Man: What a trans man's experience reveals about masculinity (Broadleaf), Come and See: Your Invitation to a Radical Encounter With Jesus (Hodder Faith), and Reading the Bible Through Q***r Eyes (HarperOne, co-written with Brian G. Murphy).
Shannon was a Humanitas New Voices Fellow for 2022 and was a recipient of the Playwrights’ Center Jerome Fellowship in 20/21 and a Lambda Literary Fellow for 2019 (in playwriting) and 2022 (in screenwriting) and a Finnovation Fellow for 2019/2020. He is a sought after speaker and a skilled workshop facilitator. He has received a Louisville Pastoral Study grant and a Puffin Foundation grant.
Shannon’s plays include The Stories We Tell At The End Of The World, Laughing Flexing Dying, Body+Blood, in a stand of dying trees, Line of Sight, Twisted Deaths, The Resistance of My Skin, and Who Has Eyes To See. Shannon’s television pilots include: The Family Unit, Transformed, and Freedom, Kansas. He’s been a playwright in residence at the Inge House, attended Seven Devils’ Playwright Conference, and Great Plains Theatre Commons. He was a semi-finalist for the O’Neill and a finalist for the Blue Ink playwriting award. He was the winner of the ScreenCraft Pitch competition and finalist for Bull City Film Festival for his pilot Transformed. Transformed also won best script for streaming television at the New Hope Film Festival.
Paul Molnar is excited to return to Inge Fest having taught at ICC for 6 years. Paul is currently an adjunct instructor at UMKC teaching acting in the Theatre Division of the Conservatory. He recently performed at the Kauffman Center in the Lyric Opera’s production of Porgy & Bess, has completed working as the fight director and intimacy coordinator at the Unicorn Theatre, and will be playing Banquo in Heart of America Shakespeare Festival’s summer production of Macbeth. Paul spent 20 plus years in NYC working as an actor, director, and fight director. Credits include Keen Company, Premier Stages, Asolo Rep, Vermont Stage, Michigan Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, DiCapo Opera, Buck's County Playhouse, Two River Theatre, Shakespeare on the Sound, & Second City (Detroit). TV & Film: Law & Order, Law & Order SVU, Person of Interest, Sweet Sweet Baby & The Ones That Have Fallen. MFA, FSU/Asolo Conservatory, BFA University of Michigan.
Andrew Roblyer is a q***r, nonbinary, and neurodivergent storyteller and theatre artist based in Houston, TX. Andrew first began acting in 1995 and (if you don’t count the neighborhood “play” he organized in second grade) began directing, coaching, and teaching in 2005. Over the years Andrew has developed a penchant for creating new theatrical opportunities and organizations that are based in accessibility, kindness, and innovation, including The Honorable Bards, a student-run theatre company at Texas A&M University, This Is Water Theatre, the first-ever professional theatre company in Bryan/College Station, TX, and now The Octarine Accord, Houston’s only production company dedicated entirely to speculative fiction. Along the way Andrew has advised and supported multiple theatre company startups and founders from around the country. Andrew is also the founder of Deconstructing Directing, the world's only free online resource library created entirely for theatre directors.
As of 2024, Andrew has produced, directed, and/or designed for over 50 full-length shows, including musicals, plays, and immersive theatre, covering almost every staging configuration possible, casts ranging in size from 1 to 50+, and budgets ranging from $0 to $120,000. They recently graduated in the second-ever cohort of Randolph College’s innovative low-residency MFA Theatre program, focusing in directing. Andrew was also voted Best Lighting Designer by Broadway World Houston in 2022. Andrew’s theatrical experience is bolstered by their 12-year tenure in medical education, specifically medical simulation, where they used applied theatre in the realm of clinical simulation to train medical, nursing, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine students through live immersive simulations for three major Texas institutions.
Andrew lives in Houston with his husband Joe and their pandemic-pup Mimi. www.andrewroblyer.com | www.deconstructingdirecting.com
Sarah Shervey is an accomplished singer, actress, and teacher from the Twin Cities metro area of Minnesota. She has been teaching and performing ever since receiving her double Bachelor’s Degree in Musical Theater and Music Education. Sarah has worked in all facets of theater including but not limited to: lead actress, ensemble performer, music director, production assistant, choreographer, and director. She has been in front of and behind numerous audition tables and can offer much advice on auditions from all sides! Besides her extensive work in the Twin Cities theater industry, she works as a private voice, acting, and piano teacher for her full-time job where she is helping all ages of students with auditions frequently. Sarah cannot wait to share her knowledge at the William Inge Theater Festival this year! Go to https://sarahsherveystudio.mymusicstaff.com if you want to learn more about Sarah or her studio!
Cooper Sivara was born in Los Angeles, California. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Theater (Acting) from UCLA's School of Theater, Film, & Television. After UCLA, Cooper became the Associate Artistic Director of Ark Theatre Company while also teaching acting classes at Theatre of Arts in Hollywood. He received his MFA in Directing from Baylor University after directing his thesis production of Joan Ackermann’s Ice Glen. He then went on to teach movement, musical theatre, and introductory courses as a Visiting Lecturer at Baylor University’s Department of Theatre Arts. Cooper has trained in The Viewpoints and The Suzuki Method with Anne Bogart & SITI Company at their Summer Theater Workshop. He has also trained in Japanese Noh performance at Kyoto Art Center’s Traditional Theater Training. Baylor directing credits include “Harp with Human Head (Kundi)” [Devised], The First Celestial Adventure of Mr Antipyrine, Fire Extinguisher by Tristan Tzara, Grand Concourse by Heidi Schreck, and Honeymoon in Vegas by Jason Robert Brown.
After Baylor, Cooper became a Visiting Instructor of Theatre at Hastings College where he taught classes in acting, movement, improvisation, and directing. Favorite HC Theatre directing credits include Abigail/1702 by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen, & The Whale by Samuel D. Hunter.Cooper is currently an Associate Professor and the Director of Theatre Performance at Independence Community College where he teaches classes in acting, directing, voice, and movement. Favorite ICC directing projects include Living Dead in Denmark by Qui Nguyen, Ride the Cyclone by Jacob Richmond & Brook Maxwell, and Macbeth by William Shakespeare.
