Grease 2022 Production Team

Desiree’ Clark is the Compliance Officer with Minnesota State. She earned her B.F.A. in Dance from the Conservatory of Music & Dance at the University of Missouri- Kansas City, and in 2017 she earned a M.S. in Social Responsibility from St. Cloud State University. Desiree’ has enjoyed working with GREAT as a choreographer and volunteer since 2014.

Ross Harris (he/him/his) is from Oklahoma originally, but came to Minnesota in 2017 with a few stops along the way. While Ross originally attended NYU to pursue a BFA in acting, life took him in other directions. Ross was hired by GREAT as an overhire scenic carpenter in the latter half of the 2018-2019 season and was hired full-time the summer of 2019. Since then, Ross has grown into the role of GREAT’s Assistant Technical Director. Along with being heavily involved in the construction of sets, he runs summer camp sound, helps facilitate load-in and load-out, and manages volunteers in the Scene Shop (if you’re interested, please reach out!) In his own words, “I build structures that look alright. But then they get painted. And then they get lit. And somewhere in that process they go from being rather ordinary looking objects to being something magnificent. That magic is only possible through the collaborative efforts of all involved. The finished product is so much more than the sum of its parts and it’s that sense of creative collaboration that fills me with awe and gratitude for the work I am so lucky to take part in every day.” In his spare time Ross enjoys hiking, playing games, and performing in the occasional show– but his favorite way to spend a free day is making a long drawn out meal like gumbo or chili.

Colin Jarrell is from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Colin is the Technical Director at GREAT, which means that he coordinates the building of each set and implements their technical elements, including lights, sound, etc. Colin works alongside the production team for each GREAT show to ensure that scenic carpenters and painters have necessary guidance and tools to create sets that range from simple to complicated and dynamic. Colin enjoys seeing volunteers gain confidence as they work with him repeatedly over time.

Jasmyn Linn (she/her/hers) is an Administrative Assistant at GREAT. In this role, Jasmyn coordinates volunteers and helps facilitate education initiatives. A published illustrator, Jasmyn graduated from Luther with a B.A. in studio art and started working at GREAT shortly thereafter. Jasmyn designs marketing and educational materials, schedules volunteer opportunities, and tracks volunteer participation. During a typical show week, Jasmyn works alongside volunteer greeters in the lobby before shows and during intermission! In her free time, she draws and creates prints. One of Jasmyn’s favorite aspects of working with GREAT is getting to know more about the volunteers she works with.

Nick Loweree (he/him/his) is the Production Director and Production Stage Manager at GREAT Theatre. Over the past 14 years, he has made his career throughout the country as a freelance Stage Manager of color where he worked on productions varying from small plays to full scale ballets and operas. Nick worked with companies such as The Dallas Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Minnesota Opera, Tulsa Opera, Opera Fayetteville, Charlottesville Opera, Dallas Children’s Theatre, The Builders Association, Finger Lakes Opera, Northern Lights Music Festival, Opera Columbus, Dance Heginbotham, The Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre, Lucky Plush Productions, The Nickel City Opera, The Champaign-Urbana Ballet, The Santa Fe Opera, The American Dance Festival, and the El Paso Opera. He holds an MFA in Stage Management from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and BFA in Dance Performance from the University of Texas at El Paso. He is originally from El Paso, TX, but now calls St. Cloud his home where he lives with his beautiful wife Hannah and their adorable dachshund, Sindri.

Jessica Mancini grew up in Kimball, MN and has lived in St. Cloud, MN for more than a few years. Jessica leads a wonderful team of volunteers in the creation and care of costumes for GREAT’s productions, summer Camps and other programming. She works closely with the Resident Costume Designer to understand the costume needs for each project, and to facilitate and contribute to the realization of the Costume Design. Jessica loves spending time with members of her family, and especially finds joy in watching her nieces and nephews discover and learn.  She also enjoys books and audiobooks, logic puzzles and riddles, singing in the car, and dancing in the kitchen. For Jessica, making a contribution to a production is wonderful, but she takes even more pride in the moments when costume shop volunteers can pick out specific costume pieces they’ve worked on, and experience the feeling that comes from watching their work come to life onstage.

Grant E. Merges (Lighting Designer) GREAT THEATRE: Newsis. THEATRE (selected): Theater Latté Da: La Bohème, Once, Puttin’ On The Ritz, Steerage Song 2014 tour; Jungle Theater: Hand to God; Penumbra: Black Nativity 2012-2017; Ivey Awards 2014-2017; Alive & Kickin’ 2010-present; TaikoArts Midwest Ensō Daiko 2018-2019; Stages Theatre Company: The North Star, The Dot, James and the Giant Peach, The Three Snow Bears, The Hobbit; Artistry: The Music Man, Noises Off, The Drowsy Chaperone; Minneapolis Musical Theatre: Night of the Living Dead, Leap of Faith, The Story of My Life, Big River; Paul Bunyan Playhouse: Young Frankenstein, Little Shop of Horrors, Driving Miss Daisy, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; Lyric Arts: Revenge of the Space Pandas; PRIME Productions: The Roommate, Little Wars; River Valley Dance Academy: The Snow Queen, The Nutcracker; University of Northwestern: The Lightning Thief, Peter Pan, Emma, Bright Star, Newsies, Into the Woods; Concordia University: Die Fledermaus; Century College: Dog Sees God, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, HAIR, The Rocky Horror Show, Macbeth. EDUCATION: MFA, Minnesota State University, Mankato.

As a kid, Adelaide has acted in many productions at GREAT, but now she has found her place as the Child Guardian and Assistant Stage Manager for five GREAT shows this season. Adelaide is going into her junior year of high school and loves playing role-playing games, listening to podcasts about nerd media, and making new friends with her enthusiastic shouting. She is super excited to work on this show with both of her parents, but also thrilled to reunite with her favorite babysitter Spencer “Babababacon” Gillian.

Originally from the St. Cloud area, Aimee received a B.A. in the Theatre Arts from the University of Minnesota in 2000. After her husband, Joel, challenged her to take an Anatomy & Physiology class, Aimee became a registered nurse and worked as an inpatient labor and delivery nurse for six years. In 2013, Aimee and her family returned to St. Cloud, and she began her artistic journey with GREAT Theater. She has directed twelve Mainstage productions in the past eight years, including The Sound of Music, Elf, Chicago, Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Aimee is also passionate about arts education and has mentored GREAT Theatre’s Youth Artist Project in 2021 and 2022. Aimee is excited to be debuting a new position with GREAT for Grease in the role of Volunteer Advocate. A voice of support for the cast and crew, Aimee is having a blast rocking and rolling with these amazing humans!

Edith G. Moreno is a Salvadorian – Mexican American costume designer from Kansas City, MO.  She currently holds a position as Resident Costume Designer at the GREAT theater in St. Cloud, MN and is currently designing their production of Grease at GREAT. In the past year she created a theoretical design for a mariachi opera, Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, to submit for review at the Operas of America. Recent work includes designing Calabasas Street at Children’s Theatre of Madison in Madison, WI Mary’s Wedding at KCRep, Twelfth Night at Illinois Theatre, Matilda for GREAT, Memphis for Parkland Theatre, In the String Room, a contemporary dance piece for Dance @ Illinois. Her training background includes an MFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a BA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Kendra Norton Dando (she/her/hers) As Artistic and Education Director for GREAT, Kendra is focused on increasing access to the arts by bringing engaging theatre to our stages, developing partnerships and opportunities to tell the stories of our community, and expanding learning experiences for audiences of all ages. Kendra is originally from the Chicago area and joined GREAT as Education Director in January of 2019. She holds a Master of Theatre Studies from Southern Oregon University and brought fifteen years of experience in educational theatre to GREAT, having developed, designed, and taught theatre curricula for middle and high schools in St. Louis, MO and Madison, WI. Additionally, Kendra is an award-winning director and educator who has directed youth and adults in over fifty productions. She has presented nationally on social justice and theatre and served as the co-director of the Educational Theatre Association’s Wisconsin Thespians and on the board of Minnesota Thespians, increasing student opportunity and access to theatre arts. In addition to teaching acting and theatre courses at St. Cloud Community and Technical College, she has worked with area school districts on developing K-12 arts pathways and was recently selected to the 2022 cohort of the Minnesota Young American Leaders Program with the University of Minnesota and Harvard Business School. When not in a classroom or rehearsal, Kendra is most frequently found enjoying the sunlight, tending to houseplants, or building ginormous LEGO creations with her children.

Brad Peterson is a video and projection designer of theatre, music, performance, and immersive experiences. Recent theatre designs include Wonderland, Mary Poppins, and The Little Mermaid (Tuacahn); Cats (Broadway Revival); Fish in the Dark (Broadway); Broadway Bounty Hunter (Off-Broadway – Outer Critics Circle Award); If I Forget (Roundabout); A Sign of the Times (Delaware Theater Company); El Sitt (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia); Empire: A New Musical (Los Angeles); The Lion…Witch…Wardrobe, Carousel, and A Little Night Music (Stratford Festival); Cagney (Pioneer); The Stone Witch (Off-Broadway); The Eternal Space (Off-Broadway); Shuffle Along… (Broadway – Video Consultant); and The 2021 National High School Musical Theatre Jimmy Awards.  As an associate designer: West Side Story (Broadway 2020), Flying Over Sunset (Broadway), An American In Paris (Broadway); Oslo (Broadway), Little Dancer (Kennedy Center, 5th Ave), and First Date (Broadway).  Brad has collaborated with companies including Chipotle, TikTok, A&E Television, and Amazon Studios to create immersive storytelling environments and installations.  Upcoming designs: Sing Street (Broadway). www.bradpetersondesign.com

Allyson Richert (she/her/hers) is from St. Petersburg, FL. Allyson holds a BFA in Musical Theater Performance from the University of Florida. As a performer, she performed in three Broadway national tours: Mel Brooks-The Producers, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and Catch Me If You Can. She was also seen in regional productions including but not limited to: Wonderful Town (Off Broadway), Beehive, and South Pacific. After spending almost 10 years  teaching and performing in New York City, Allyson found her way to Minnesota permanently after performing in a production at the Guthrie Theatre. Allyson choreographed GREAT productions such as Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella and The Sound of Music, and is currently directing Mamma Mia. As Program Director Allyson takes great pride in collaborating to bring fresh, exciting and fun live theater to central Minnesota.

Hillary Vermillion (she/her/hers) is originally from Fort Collins in Colorado. Hillary is the resident Music Director at GREAT. As Music Director, Hillary has a variety of roles. She helps with the audition process for each show and teaches music to each cast. She rehearses with the pit orchestra, and conducts performances of each GREAT musical. Hillary loves instruments and plays the cello. She is also learning the bagpipes and harp. Hillary really enjoys the rehearsal process, and finds it rewarding to see GREAT casts grow and gain confidence as they learn the music for each show. Hillary also loves opening night, because the cast, crew, and production team finally get to share their hard work with amazing GREAT audiences.