Jade Hurst (Production Stage Manager) has been working freelance stage management in Knoxville since 2016. During this time, she had worked on about 30 separate shows with at least 10 different companies.  She has a BA in Film from Carson-Newman University and a MA in Cinema Studies from Savannah College of Art and Design.

Jaleria Rivera (Assistant Director/Sound Designer) is thrilled to experience her second production with the River & Rail Theatre Company. As a later-bloomed dancer with a professional background in sales marketing, her unconventional artistic path supplies a unique perspective to any project. To friends and family, she’s known as a passionate Amateur, who’s unafraid to dive into an activity with the utmost curiosity and enjoyment. Jaleria’s primary source of fulfillment derives from movement, where she dutifully practices tribal fusion, waving, and waacking. Collaboration and vulnerability influences her work, and she’s thrilled to embark on a new journey into the theatre.

Casey Sams (Intimacy Choreographer) Casey Sams (Intimacy Choreographer) Casey is a resident artist at the CBT where she regularly works as a director and choreographer. She is also interim Head of Theatre and a Professor of Theatre at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Casey last worked at River & Rail as the Intimacy Choreographer for Constellations. She has had the great good fortune to work at such theaters as Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, PlayMakers Repertory Theatre, The Roundhouse Theatre, St. Louis Repertory Theatre, Virginia Stage Company, Vermont Stage, The Utah Shakespearian Festival, Great River Shakespeare Festival, North Carolina Stage, and Knoxville Opera, among others. Casey has also written plays for young audiences which have been produced across the southeast. Her Undergraduate and Graduate degrees are both from Penn State, she is a Certified Laban Movement Analyst from the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies in New York, and she has trained in intimacy choreography with Theatrical Intimacy Educators. You can see more of her work at www.caseysamstheatremaker.squarespace.com

Claude Hardy (Technical Director)received his M.F.A. from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI.  Hardy teaches theatre design at Pellissippi State. He has worked with several theatre companies in the Knoxville area such as: Knoxville Opera, UT Opera, the Carpetbag Theatre, Theatre Downtown Knoxville, and River and Rail Theatre. Design credits include Machinal, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Great American Trailer Park Musical, Voice of the Prairie, Brighton Beach memoirs,A Doll’s House, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, Arabian Nights, The Barber of Seville, Antigone, Unnecessary Farce, Tempest, and She Kills Monsters, Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson, Stupid Fucking Bird, The Seagull, Soft Animals, These Shining Lives, SWOPERA, and Red Summer.

Carrie Ferrelli (Scenic Designer) received her MFA in Scene Design at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville after spending her undergraduate years in South Carolina at the College of Charleston. Recent credits include Cove Creek Boy and Summer Girls (Scene and Heard, Dublin, IE), Airness, People Where They Are, The Real Inspector Hound (Clarence Brown Theater), The Unusual Tale of Mary and Joseph’s Baby (River and Rail), Feathers and Teeth (What If? Productions), and the production design for the short film Manufactured Luck. As an assistant, she has worked on productions in theaters across the country including Pure Theater, Olney Theatre Centre, Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey, and most recently with scenic designer Donyale Werle at New York City Center. 

Liv Jin (Lighting Designer)is an undergraduate senior at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville double majoring in English Literature and Theatre Design and Technology (with Honors). This is their first show with River & Rail, and they will next be seen designing lights for Callaway with UTK’s All Campus Theatre and assistant designing for Always… Patsy Cline at the Clarence Brown Theatre. Outside of the theatre, Liv knits and crochets, hangs out with their cats, and contemplates raising ducks.

Erin Reed (Costume Designer) is a freelance costume designer based in Knoxville, Tennessee. Select costume design credits include: The Unusual Tale of Mary and Joseph’s Baby (River & Rail Theatre Co.), The Ant and the Grasshopper (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis), Blithe Spirit and Pinocchio (Oak Ridge Playhouse), The Madwoman of Chaillot, Alias Grace and Peter and the Starcatcher (Clarence Brown Theatre). Erin’s work was featured at the United States Institute of Theatre Technology’s Young Designers’ Forum, and the National Design Portfolio Review in New York City. She was also the recipient of the 2019 Zelma H. Weisfeld Costume Design and Technology Award. To learn more, visit www.ereedcostumedesign.com.

Dagan Pointer (Props Designer) is a recent graduated from Maryville College from Memphis, TN. Since graduating, they’ve made Maryville and Knoxville their home and continue to work for Maryville College as one of two Assistant Technical Directors for the Clayton Center for the Arts. While this is their Props debut they have worked on Shrek, Grease, and the Farnsworth Invention.

Katie Cunningham (Dialect Coach) is an Assistant Professor of Theatre at the University of Tennessee and specializes in voice, speech, and dialects. Katie previously coached Constellations at River & Rail and is resident voice and speech coach and a regular in the acting company at Clarence Brown Theatre. She is a certified teacher of Knight-Thompson Speechwork. Her writing and peer-reviewed research have been published in the Voice and Speech Review, The Conversation, and The International Dialects of English Archive. Katie holds an M.F.A. in Acting from Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training and a graduate certificate in vocology from the Department of Speech and Hearing Science at Lamar University. www.katiecunningham.com

Adam Crandall (Assistant Stage Manager/COVID Safety Manager) is super excited to be working on his first show with R & R! He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee’s Theatre program.  He previously served as the Director of Theatre Arts for Sundress Academy for the Arts, where he founded their annual OUTSpoken performance review.   Adam has been singing with the Knoxville Gay Mens’ Chorus since 2014 and currently serves as their in-house playwright. Recent local productions include A House for Mandy (Granger ,TSC’s New Play Festival) Tiger Lily’s Night of Shorts (director and actor), You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Schroeder, Foothills Community Players), The Mousetrap (Sergeant Trotter, Theatre Knoxville Downtown),  9 to 5: The Musical (Bob Enright, Maryville College), Spring Awakening (Hanschen, Sex Week UT), and Almost, Main (director, All Campus Theatre).  He’d like to thank his family, his friends, and his Nathan for their undying support of his ever-changing passions.

Keeley Wade (Assistant Costume Designer/Wardrobe Crew) Keeley Wade is happy to be assisting with costume design and wardrobe. She is currently studying history and theatre at the University of Tennessee and loves this show’s Victorian fashion.

Cameron Wilson (Light Board Operator) works behind the stage, beside the stage, and sometimes below the stage- wherever his modest skills are needed.  Often seen carrying things for his beloved wife Jade, he enjoys hot sauce, home-cooked meals, and daydreaming in his free time. Cameron is thrilled to join TVP as the board operator, since he’s not licensed to operate much else. Please enjoy the show, and always remember to practice safe techs.

Deidra Harper (Community Engagement Coordinator) a local Knoxville native, is an entrepreneur owning Elite Facility Maintenance and a Freelancer who focuses on Graphic Design. She’s also the public relations director for TENSE Summit, TENSE stands for Teaching to Eliminate Negative Stereotypes through Education,is a group of business owners and other professionals dedicated to empowering and educating youth. She’s helped raise more than $10,000 for college scholarships. She’s also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She also serves on the boards of Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum as well as the Greater Knox County Chamber of Commerce. Harper is embracing her title of business woman and active community leader, focusing on bringing effective change to East Knoxville.