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DIRECTOR Dr.
Charles (Chet) Harper, Director of BVT, returns for his sixth year.
A former Professor of Speech and Theatre, and Director of Theatre at
Peru State College, he officially retired in the spring of 2005
after 27 years at the college. If he had of known that retirement
was gong to be so enjoyable he would have done it earlier. Chet
received both his M.A. and PhD in Theatre Arts at UNL, and served as
Director of Technical Theatre at Nebraska Wesleyan University from
1967-1972. During that time, he was BVT’s Technical Director and
Designer for the 1968 and 1969 seasons. He was Director of Theatre
at Northern Michigan University from 1972-1977. During the off
season, Chet, and his wife, Judy, enjoy traveling to Omaha, NE and
Galveston, TX to spoil their grandchildren. Hopefully, they will
begin some travel to Ohio where other grandchildren have recently
moved.2010 CAST  Eric Niece, Technical Supervisor and Set Designer returns for his
fourth summer at Brownville Village Theatre. He spent the past nine
months working at Meadow Brook Theatre in Rochester, MI as a scenery
and props intern. While at Meadow Brook, Eric performed in 3 shows
on the Meadow Brook stage including A Christmas Carol. Some of
Eric’s favorite roles include playing the various characters in I
Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, Dickon in A Secret Garden, and
Pridefly in Ash Girl. Eric was seen on the Brownville stage last
season in four roles including Hucklebee in The Fantasticks and John
in Natalie Needs a Nightie. He also designed the sets for The
Fantasticks and The Uninvited. Eric is a 2008 graduate of Northwest
Missouri State University where he earned his degree in Theatre
Performance. Casey Hibbert is looking forward to his 2nd season at BVT. You may
remember him last season as Don in Wake Up Darling, El Gallo in The
Fantasticks, or Commander Brooke in The Uninvited. He recently spent
the 2009-2010 season with Meadow Brook Theatre in Rochester,
Michigan as their scene shop intern. There he was an understudy for
both the male roles of Mark and Dr. F for their main stage show
Mindgame. He is really excited about being able to direct, act, and
design on the BVT stage. Kyle Dyke, returns for his second season at BVT. He graduated from
Baker University in May with a major in Theatre Performance. You may
remember him from last year as Matt in The Fantasticks or Tommy
Briggs in Natalie Needs a Nightie. Kyle spent the fall semester in
England studying theatre, seeing many performances and performing in
two shows, playing Dane in Sleeping Beauty and various roles in 11
Variations On Friar John’s Failure. After this summer he plans to
move to Kansas City and start auditioning, with the hope of someday
becoming a professional actor. Kyler Chase is a recent graduate of Southwestern College in
Winfield, KS where he received his B.A. in Musical Theatre
Performance and his Masters in Business Administration. He has
performed in numerous productions with roles including Tom in The
Norman Conquests, Officer Lockstock in Urinetown and Baker in Into
the Woods. For the past few summers Kyler has been teaching acting
and improvisational comedy workshops for area youth and performing
with the 9 Lives Laughatorium and Good Times Improvisational Comedy
Troup. His future plans are to pursue a career in professional
acting. Ryan Thomas is a third year student at North Dakota State
University. He is pursuing a major in Theatre Arts and a minor in
Management Communications. Ryan has been very active both on and
backstage at NDSU. He has participated in NDSU’s Musical Theatre
Troupe for two years and was Dickon in The Secret Garden with the
music department. Ryan was the Assistant Stage Manager, Assistant
Scenic Designer and Properties Manager for Carmen with the
Fargo-Moorhead Opera and had an internship in the Costume Crafts
Department at Trollwood Performing Arts School. When he finishes his
undergraduate degree Ryan hopes to pursue a Masters degree in
Theatre. Nissa Nordland graduated from Southwest Minnesota State University
with a BA in Theatre Arts. She has acted in 26 productions at SMSU
in both the main stage and black box theatres. Her roles include
Titania/Hippoltya in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Elvira in Blithe
Spirit, Paulina in Death and the Maiden, Laura in The Glass
Menagerie, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Evelyn in The Shape of Things
and Estelle in No Exit. Nissa has received five Kennedy
Center/American College Theatre Festival Irene Ryan Acting
Nominations, and advanced to the Semi-Final round in 2010. At SMSU
she has also directed The Graduate, Scotland Road, I Love You,
You’re Perfect, Now Change, and Inventing Van Gogh. This is Nissa’s
fourth summer at BVT. Her previous roles included, Claire in Rumors,
Ginger in Time Out for Ginger, Kate in Never Too Late, Rosebud in
Natalie Needs a Nightie and The Mute in The Fantasticks. Last year
she made her directing debut at BVT with The Uninvited. Nissa will
also be returning as Box Office Supervisor. Lee Ann Hibbert is excited to be a part of the 2010 season. She
graduated in 2008 from Brandon University with a degree in
Psychology and is a member of Psi Chi. Her recent credits include:
Sister Cecilia in The Secret Affairs of Mildred Wild, Margaret, in
Much Ado About Nothing, and Belle, in Christmas Carol, shehas been a
part of the Black Hills Passion Play for 10 years, in the roles of
Salome, Veronica, and Rachel . She is also the wife of Casey. Sarah Frazier, graduated this past May from Southwestern College in
Winfield, KS with a B.A. in Liberal Arts and a Minor in Music. At
Southwestern she sang in the choirs, played cello in the orchestra
and played percussion in the band. Some of her favorite role include
Hope in Urinetown, Annie in The Norman Conquest, and Cinderella, in
Into the Woods. In her free time Sarah enjoys dancing, reading,
painting and quoting from The Office. Future plans include pursing
her dream of becoming a professional actress.  Danielle Herren, has graduated from the Studio Program at the
American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York. She worked at the
La Commedia Dinner Theatre in Springboro, Ohio. This past May she
graduated from University of South Dakota with a BFA in Theatre.
While at USD she was in numerous productions, and became very
involved in designing and working in the costumes. This fall she
plans on moving to New York to pursue both her acting and costume
designing career. Heather Smith, a junior at Iowa State University, is pursuing a
double major in Music and Performing Arts. Her acting credits at ISU
include roles in Guys and Dolls, Sweeney Todd, Gypsy, and Tartuffe,
as well as various student-directed shows. Heather is a member of
the ISU mixed choir and the Iowa State Singers. After graduation,
Heather plans to continue her education at an actor training program
or graduate school. Amy Giesler will be a senior this fall at Southwest Minnesota State
University. She is majoring in Secondary Education/English with a
Theatre minor. Amy has acted in multiple main stage productions at
SMSU and has been very active working backstage with props and stage
managing. After graduation she hope to teach and direct in a small
rural town Jordan Brennan will be a junior this fall at Central Methodist
University, where he is perusing a BA in Theatre with a minor in
English. He has been writing a fantasy book series that he hopes to
have published someday. Acting professionally or perhaps teaching
are also part of his future plans. Margaux Mireault will be a senior this fall at Iowa State
University. She is a Performing Arts major and Advertising minor.
Margaux has been very active on the ISU stage. A few of the
productions she has been in are: Fifth of July, Antony and
Cleopatra, and Love and Honor. Recently she was in two commercials
for the local CW television station; She is looking forward to being
involved in more. Following graduation she hopes to move to L.A. and
audition for a sitcom. Jeff White is junior Performing Arts major at Iowa State University.
He was nominated as an Irene Ryan Scholarship candidate for his work
in Pillowman at ISU this past year. In his free time he plays video
games and listens to a staggering variety of music.Jody Anderson returns for a second summer as Music Director and Accompanist. The success last summer of the musical, Fanstastics, was due in large part to Jody’s willingness to go the extra mile with the singers. Jody has a B.A. in English and Vocal Music and her M.E Master’s in Secondary Ed. She has taught English, speech, vocal music and gives private piano and voice lessons. 2009 CAST  Nissa
Nordland is a senior Theatre Arts major at Southwest Minnesota State
University. Her hometown is Albert Lea, MN. Nissa has been in eleven
main stage productions at SMSU, including the roles of Lady Macbeth
in Macbeth, Laura in The Glass Menagerie and Suzanne in Picasso at
the Lapin Agile. Nissa has also been in six studio productions at
SMSU, including Bernadette in Raised in Captivity, Mindy in Five
Women Wearing the Same Dress, and Evelyn in The Shape of Things. She
has been nominated for the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre
Festival Irene Ryan acting scholarship three times for her roles in
Macbeth, Harvey, and The Glass Menagerie. Nissa received a American
College Theatre Festival Region V honor for Cast Ensemble in The
Glass Menagerie Fall ’07. This is Nissa’s second year at Brownville
Village Theatre. She was seen last year as Kate in Never Too Late,
Cecily in 84 Charing Cross Road, and Kathy in Design for Murder.
This summer at BVT, Nissa moves from the Scenery crew, to helping
manage the Box Office. Eric
Niece
is also returning for his second summer at BVT. He is a recent
graduate of Northwest Missouri State University where he earned his
degree in Theatre Performance. While at Northwest, Eric was seen in
several productions in several different venues. He was most
recently seen on the Northwest stage as Mushnik in Little Shop of
Horrors and Pridefly in The Ash Girl, a role that he earned an Irene
Ryan scholarship nomination. Last year Eric was seen as Charlie, the
constantly berated son-in-law in Never to Late, John Smith, the taxi
driver with two wives in Caught in the Net, and played David and
designed the set for Design for Murder. He would like to thank his
friends and family for always supporting him and standing by him
through everything. Eric is looking forward to performing on the BVT
stage again. Heather
Meyer graduated this spring from Culver Stockton College in Canton,
MO with a B.A. in Theatre. She hopes to attend graduate school at
Oklahoma State this fall in pursuit of an MA in Theatre Arts. Last
year she was President of the national theatre fraternity, Theta
Alpha Phi. Heather has been nominated for three Irene Ryan awards;
one for Catherine in Proof, a second for Harper in Angels in America
Part One, and just recently, for Mona in Come Back to the Five and
Dime. Heather has also been part of the scene showcase at American
College Theatre Festival region V for the past two years. She has
been privileged to work with four guest artists at Culver Stockton
including: Michael Brainard from All My Children, Michael Boatman
from Spin City, Jane Lind from Return to the Lonesome Dove and
Robert Costanzo from several different movies and TV shows.
Jarvis Jahner graduated from Dickinson State University in 2004 with a B. A. in Theatre. Since then he has worked as a carpenter for Theatre IV in Richmond, VA, and as the Technical Director/Scene Designer for the Brownville Village Theatre. He later returned to Dickinson State University to teach and complete a B.A. in Art. Jarvis is in his first year of the M.F.A. Scene Design program at the University of Oregon. This is his first summer away from BVT in six years and he misses Brownville very much.
|
 Jarvis
Jahner, Technical Supervisor, Set Designer and Director, returns for
his sixth year at BVT. In 2004, he received a B.A. in Theatre from
Dickinson State University in Dickinson, ND. In his years at DSU he
acted, directed, designed and built many shows. After graduation he
spent one year with Theatre IV, the second largest touring
children’s theatre in the U. S., as a shop carpenter. Since last
summer he has been teaching art and theatre classes at DSU as well
as finishing a degree in art. Most recently he designed and directed
a production of James and the Giant Peach, at DSU. On May 17th he
married the beautiful and talented Alexandra Kreidt. He has been
accepted into the MFA Scene Design program at University of Oregon
in Eugene, OR where he will be attending classes this fall. Jarvis
has become not only my right hand man, but also a very good friend.
We wish him the best of luck in Oregon. |
|
 William
Hickman is very excited to be returning for his fourth year at BVT.
Some of his favorite roles here in Brownville include Stanley
Gardener in Run for Your Wife and Caught in the Net, Ronnie in
Murder in Company, and Peter Fisher in Look, No Hans! He also
directed Out of the Frying Pan and Never Too Late. William is a
graduate of theUniversity of Montevallo with a BFA in acting/ directing. Since graduation he has performed in NYC and with regional theatres around the country. William’s favorite regional theatre shows include: New Stage Theatre’s The Woman in Black, Moby Dick and A Christmas Carol, Theatre IV’s Stuart Little and The Ugly Duckling; and First Frontier’s Blue Jacket. In NYC, William performed in the premiere of Elvira at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange, and built scenery for The New York Theatre Workshop’s The Misanthrope and The Beckett Shorts (starring Mikhail Baryshnikov), was Master Carpenter for Oh, the Humanity at The Flea Theatre, was an electrician for the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society at Ethical Culture, and a production assistant for the premiere of Boom! at Arts Nova. William would like to thank his parents and sister for their constant love and support. Will, like Jarvis, has become a very integral part of BVT. |
|
 Richard
Stephenson returns for his third season, after a year away from BVT.
He was in Run for Your Wife, The Mousetrap and Your Flake Or Mine in
2005. In 2006 he appeared in Out of the Frying Pan, Right Bed, Wrong
Husband, and This Must Be The Place. Aside from BVT, he has also
worked for the Horsefeather’s and Applesauce company in Winfield,
KS. Currently, Richard is pursuing a double major at Emporia State
University, a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, and a Bachelor of
Science in Physics. He intends on becoming a science teacher in
Chicago, as well as a supporter of the arts in secondary education. |
|
 Alexandra
Jahner returns for her second year at BVT. You may remember her as
the flighty Hattie in last year production of Breath of Spring, or
as Maxine in 84 Charing Cross Road. She graduated, with honors, this
May from Dickinson State University with a B.S. in Composite Social
Science and Theatre. She has been the primary properties person at
DSU for the last five years. At DSU, she received two best
supporting actress awards as well as several awards for technical
work. This last year she received an Irene Ryan nomination for her
role as Nat in The Rabbit Hole. She also played the Narrator in
James and the Giant Peach. On May 17, 2008 she married the equally
talented Jarvis Jahner and they plan on moving to Eugene, OR and
going to graduate school in the fall. |
|
 Nissa
Nordland is a senior Theatre Arts major at Southwest Minnesota State
University. Her hometown is Albert Lea, MN. Nissa has been in eleven
main stage productions at SMSU, including the roles of Lady Macbeth
in Macbeth, Laura in The Glass Menagerie and Suzanne in Picasso at
the Lapin Agile. Nissa has also been in six studio productions at
SMSU, including Bernadette in Raised in Captivity, Mindy in Five
Women Wearing the Same Dress, and Evelyn in The Shape of Things. She
has been nominated for the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre
Festival Irene Ryan acting scholarship three times for her roles in
Macbeth, Harvey, and The Glass Menagerie. Nissa received a American
College Theatre Festival Region V honor for Cast Ensemble in The
Glass Menagerie Fall ’07. This is Nissa’s second year at Brownville
Village Theatre. She was seen last year as Kate in Never Too Late,
Cecily in 84 Charing Cross Road, and Kathy in Design for Murder.
This summer at BVT, Nissa moves from the Scenery crew, to helping
manage the Box Office. |
|
 Eric
Niece is also returning for his second summer at BVT. He is a recent
graduate of Northwest Missouri State University where he earned his
degree in Theatre Performance. While at Northwest, Eric was seen in
several productions in several different venues. He was most
recently seen on the Northwest stage as Mushnik in Little Shop of
Horrors and Pridefly in The Ash Girl, a role that he earned an Irene
Ryan scholarship nomination. Last year Eric was seen as Charlie, the
constantly berated son-in-law in Never to Late, John Smith, the taxi
driver with two wives in Caught in the Net, and played David and
designed the set for Design for Murder. He would like to thank his
friends and family for always supporting him and standing by him
through everything. Eric is looking forward to performing on the BVT
stage again. |
|
 Hali
Jewell returns for her second year at BVT. Last summer she played
Vicki Smith in Caught in the Net, Megan in 84 Charing Cross Road,
and Lily in Breath of Spring. She has performed in 16 shows at Baker
University. Among these are Helen, in Baby with the Bathwater,
Elvira in Blithe Spirit, Bella in Angel Street, Jenn in The Distance
from Here, Lucianna in A Comedy of Errors, and Maggie in Lend Me a
Tenor. This year Hali was a semifinalist Irene Ryan competitor at
American College Theatre Festival Region V in Omaha. She has been an
Irene Ryan nominee for the past two years. Among her awards at Baker
University are Best Actress in 2007 and Best Supporting Actress in
2006. She also serves as Vice President for Alpha Psi Omega in the
BU Theatre Department. |
|
 Andrew
Rosdial is returning for his second summer at BVT. Andrew is a 2007
graduate of Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa. He has a
double-major in Theatre Arts and Creative Writing with a minor in
Humanities. While at Waldorf, he appeared in numerous productions.
He has also directed a Kennedy Center/American College Theatre
Festival nominated production of Steve Martin’s the Underpants in
2006. For two consecutive summers, Andrew performed as part of the
adult troupe of the Pella Shakespeare Festival, appearing in Much
Ado About Nothing and Comedy of Errors. In his first year at BVT, he
appeared in Design for Murder, Never Too Late, and 84 Charing Cross
Road. In 2008 Andrew returned to Waldorf to guest direct and costar
in Martin McDonagh’s the Pillowman, performed in the college’s new
black lab theatre. In April of this year, he appeared as a
guest-artist in the Highland Community College production of
Riverwind in Kansas. In addition to his theatrical pursuits, Andrew
has also recently completed work on his first two novels and is in
the process of trying to get them represented. |
|
 Sarah
Howes will be a senior this fall at the College of St. Benedict/St.
John’s University where she is majoring in Political Science and Th
eater. Her concentrations in the Theater Arts are: acting,
playwriting and dramaturgy. Over the last year, she has played
Louison in Moliere’s Imaginary Invalid and Mag Folan in McDonagh’s
The Beauty Queen of Leenane. Next year, Sarah will be working on the
part of Estelle in Sarte’s No Exit, and A Night of Sarah Ruhl and
Jane Martin. Apart from acting, she has written two screenplays; The
Sunday Paper and Tete-a-Tete, produced by the CSBSJU Sommer’s film
department, and a one-act play State Line that was produced this
spring by the Theatre Department. Backstage she has experience in
costume construction and sound design. In the future, Sarah hopes to
be a professional actor and to continue her aspirations as a
screenwriter for the independent fi lm industry. |
|
 Heather
Meyer, graduated this spring from Culver Stockton College in Canton,
MO with a B.A. in Theatre. She hopes to attend graduate school at
Oklahoma State this fall in pursuit of an MA in Theatre Arts. Last
year she was President of the national theatre fraternity, Theta
Alpha Phi. Heather has been nominated for three Irene Ryan awards;
one for Catherine in Proof, a second for Harper in Angels in America
Part One, and just recently, for Mona in Come Back to the Five and
Dime. Heather has also been part of the scene showcase at American
College Theatre Festival region V for the past two years. She has
been privileged to work with four guest artists at Culver Stockton
including: Michael Brainard from All My Children, Michael Boatman
from Spin City, Jane Lind from Return to the Lonesome Dove and
Robert Costanzo from several different movies and TV shows. |
|
 Kimberly
Mortenson will be a senior this fall, and is pursuing a BFA in
Performance at the University of ND, Grand Forks. She is a girl who
finally settled in Minot, ND after hopping from Air Base to Air
Base. She is of Korean, Norwegian and Swedish ancestry and is
developing an interest in Asian-American drama. Kimberly is hopeful
for a career as an actress or a costume designer, both of which she
is glad to be doing at the BVT. Her favorite plays include King
Lear, The Adding Machine, Sylvia, and Bus Stop. She recently was
lucky enough to be cast as Marilyn Monroe’s character, Cherie, in
the latter play. |
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 Mara
Van Ells recently completed her first year at Dickinson State
University as a Theatre Major. According to Mara, since the age of
four, she has always wanted to be an actress. Her passions are
theatre and gymnastics. She has been coaching gymnastics since 8th
grade. Mara also loves to dance, sing, and play piano Her favorite
roles are Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, Gooch in Auntie Mame, and
Little Becky Two Shoes in Urinetown, The Musical. She has also spent
five summers at International Music Camp for drama. |
|
 Jacob
Mack is a senior at Dickinson State University majoring in Theatre.
His first acting role was the part of Oliver in Oliver! at DSU, at
the age of eleven. Since then he has continued to act both in and
out of the Dickinson community. He loves theatre and has been in
productions of A Midsummer Nights Dream, Guys and Dolls, The
Crucible, Urinetown, The Musical!, Love’s Labors Lost, and City of
Angels. He is hoping to finish his theatre degree this year at
Dickinson State University in order to move on to graduate school. |
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 Adam
Larson will be a junior Musical Theatre major at University of South
Dakota in Vermillion. He experienced his first major role when he
played Matt in The Fantasticks. At USD, Adam had the lead role of
Tripper in Between a Frog and Mike Belzer, and was a part of the
dancing ensemble for the musical, Chicago. At Vermillion Community
Theatre he had the opportunity to revive his role in The Fantasticks,
as well as playing three roles in Neal Simon’s The Good Doctor. Last
summer he was part of the Prairie Repertory Theatre in Brooking, SD
where he played Charley and a dancer in Dames at Sea, and the Crown
Prince Chulalongkorn in The King and I. He is excited to be working
at BVT—an added bonus is having the privilege of working with Dr.
Harper, who directed and taught Adam’s father, Aaron B. Larson, at
Peru State College many years ago. |
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Andrew Canada will be a junior this fall at Truman State University in Kirksville,
MO. He is pursuing a B.A. in Theatre. He has worked as assistant
stage manager for Quixotic Performance Fusion, a performance
ensemble in Kansas City, where he was responsible for transportation
of performers and technical personnel, and coordinated rehearsal
schedules for over 25 performers. Acting is his main area of
concentration, but he also enjoys working set construction, props
crew/construction, stage management, and light board operating.
Noah
Price recently graduated from Graceland
University with a degree in Theatre Performance. During his years at
Graceland he was very active both on stage and backstage. According
to Noah he is a huge movie buff. He owns over 250 DVD’s. Noah’s
future plans, once BVT’s season ends, is to become a full-time
real-estate agent in the state of Missouri.
Janae Hohbien
graduated this spring from Iowa State University with a double major
in Performing Arts/Microbiology, Pre-Med. According to Janae, she
can isolate and identify bacterial species. If anyone in the company
gets sick guess who is going to be asked to identify the illness!
Janae has performed in commercials for the ISU Vet College and New
Generation Project. She is also a singer and Hip Hop choreographer.
Being EMT-B certified Janae volunteers with ER crew near the Ames
area. This fall she hopes to attend Medical School while
specializing in infectious disease. 
Jamie Lin
will be a senior at NWMSU
this fall. According to Jamie, she is a Secondary English Education
Major, but the teaching degree is just a fall back plan if the
acting doesn’t work. Jamie has not only been very active in all
aspects of theatre, but in her free time she also sketches, paints
and knits. Scrapbooking all the shows she has been in is also one of
her hobbies. She loves Beauty and the Beast
and has an extremely large co 
