Nashville Shakespeare Festival Staff Members
Denice Hicks, Executive Artistic Director
Denice has been working for The Nashville Shakespeare Festival since 1990, and has held the position of Artistic Director since 2005. She has edited, directed and performed in over 50 Shakespearean productions, developed workshops for students of all ages, and created the Festival’s Apprentice Company Training and Shakespeare Allowed! programming. Educated at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA, she moved to Nashville in 1980 to perform at Opryland. Denice was an original company member of the Tennessee Repertory Theatre, and was among the founders of both the Darkhorse Theater and of People’s Branch Theatre. An Ingram Fellowship award winner, her work has been praised by the Tennessean, Nashville Scene, and BroadwayWorld.com, among other publications, from which she has received “Best Actor” and “Best Director” acknowledgments. She has been a guest lecturer at many universities and is currently serving on the advisory panel for Tennessee State U. and Lipscomb U. She was honored to sit on a review panel for the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, DC, and as a guest lecturer with the Cooperative Center for Study Abroad program in Stratford-Upon-Avon and London. In 2014, the Nashville Shakespeare Festival was chosen as one of 14 North American Shakespeare theaters to be included in the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (Stratford-Upon-Avon, UK) documentary and book on Shakespeare in America. The Nashville Scene named her one of the "Twenty-five Nashvillians who've shaped the city for the better since 1989."
Isabel Tipton-Krispin, Executive Managing Director
Isabel Tipton-Krispin has more than nine years of experience in the arts industry and was formerly the Senior Manager of Board Engagement and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Staff Lead at Nashville Ballet. Isabel has been involved with many aspects of arts organization leadership, including board governance, development, artistic operations, project management, strategic planning, and diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy. A Racial Equity in Arts Leadership program alumna, Isabel has served on the Metro Arts Committee for Antiracism and Equity and is currently a Nashville Arts Coalition board member. Isabel was a 2022 finalist for the Nashville Emerging Leader Awards in the Arts, Music, and Entertainment category and was formerly the co-president of the Emerge America’s Young Leaders Cabinet. Isabel is a graduate from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre with a focus in sound design and has a Graduate Certificate in Arts Administration from UConn. She has been selected as a member of the Volunteer 40 Under 40 Class of 2024 and will participate in the Nashville Emerging Leaders 2024 Cohort.
Robert Marigza-Yeo, Operations Manager
Robert first became involved with NSF as an actor in the 1994 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Over these 29 years, he has served The Festival as an interim managing director, actor, stage manager, designer, technical director, crew, teacher, and IT person. Since 2005, he has been the full-time Operations Manager of the company and was Producer of all NSF shows from 2006 through 2020. As an actor, Robert has also worked with Nashville Children’s Theatre, People’s Branch Theatre, Mockingbird Theatre, Nashville Repertory Theatre, Green Room Projects, and Actors’ Bridge Ensemble, as well as in commercials and independent films. He holds a BS in Mathematics from Mary Washington University.
Katie Bruno, Education Director
Katie has been a member of the NSF staff since 2018; that same year, she worked as an apprentice and actor in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. Katie is honored to serve as the Director of Education and loves sharing the gifts of Shakespeare and live theater with the Nashville community. She co-directs and manages the annual Apprentice Company training program and develops and leads summer camps and enrichment classes. Katie is a professional actor and has played on stage most recently with Nashville Repertory Theater, NSF, and Street Theatre Company.
Austin Fields, Marketing Director
Austin Fields is so excited to be a part of the Nashville Shakes team! Originally moving to Nashville in 2014, Austin is thrilled to bring his marketing and outreach skills to the Greater Nashville community. Austin is also a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and session musician who has scored several short and feature-length films over the last few years, many of which have done well on the festival circuit. He enjoys cooking, taking long walks, and spending time with his wife and little gray cat, Orville.
Bob Roberts, Grants Manager
Bob Roberts has been working in nonprofits since 2006, serving a number of roles across a myriad of organizations. Past work includes The Middle TN Association of Realtors, The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, Belcourt Theater, and Nashville Children's Theater. Bob is also a local actor and director, having performed or worked for nearly every professional theatre company (and most non-professional theatres) in Nashville over the past 20 years. He received a bachelor's in Theatre Performance from MTSU and a master's in Non-profit Leadership from Belmont University. In his spare time, he enjoys researching and documenting the rich history of Nashville's theatre community.
Will Henke, Development Coordinator
Will has been working in arts administration and nonprofits around Nashville since 2021, and he is thrilled to join the Nashville Shakespeare Festival's administrative team after appearing as Borachio in Much Ado About Nothing. After interning at OZ Arts and Kindling Arts Festival, Will joined the latter's leadership team as volunteer coordinator and associate producer. He graduated from Vanderbilt University with a B.S. in Human & Organizational Development and Theatre. When Will is not coordinating development, you can find him acting around town, most recently performing at Nashville Children's Theatre, Street Theatre Company, and, of course, Nashville Shakes.
Jan Morrison, Tour and Company Manager
Jan was a volunteer for the Nashville Shakespeare Festival in the early 1990s and is thrilled to be back promoting the Bard! After earning degrees from Belmont University and Vanderbilt University, she worked in the academic world for many years. She also enjoys choral singing, travel and writing.