EIU Department of Theatre Arts

Latrelle Bright, guest director for The Secret in the Wings.

Latrelle Bright is a director, performer and arts advocate.  Credits include Cabaret and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (Illinois Theatre); Dreamgirls (KCPA), Top Dog/Underdog (Hattiloo Theatre); Otherwise Occupied (Jump Start Performance Company); Fun Home and Men on Boats (The Station); This is the Ground (Opera on Tap).  In recent years she has devised performance pieces about water: The Water Project (IMC/Allerton Barn) and her solo piece Stories in the Water (Memphis Fringe).  She is on faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is grateful for all of the supportive folks in her life.

Kris Kirkwood, guest lighting designer for The Secret in the Wings.

Kris Kirkwood is a professional projection, lighting, and media designer based out of Kansas City, MO. He is one of the founding members of PaperMoon Opera Productions.

Recent professional work (preCovid) includes designs for Giovanni at Pensacola Opera, Hansel and Gretel at Palm Beach Opera, Madame Butterfly at Inland Northwest Opera, Carmen at Annapolis Opera, and Trouble in Tahiti at the Lexington Opera House. Recent work with universities include Chicago at Graceland University, The Theatrical Illusion at Benedictine University, and American Trailer Park at Missouri Western State University. Kris works with production and event companies across the US in lighting design, media design, and media server programming, and urges support for the arts and live event industry during the pandemic. 

Kelly Kasper Hawkinson, guest costume designer for The Elegies.

Kelly Kasper Hawkinson has been a working artist in New York City for over a decade. She has worked on Broadway Shows, such as Cinderella, Wicked, Lion King. She’s spent several seasons in the costume shop at the Metropolitan Opera. Currently, Kelly works in film and television as a Tailor. She has worked on several projects including: The Greatest Showman, CBS’s Bull, The Post, The Marvelous Ms Maisel, and many others. As a designer, she has had the opportunity to design regionally at the Virginia Stage Company, The Coterie Theatre, and at the Monomoy Theatre in Cape Cod.  In addition to her professional work, Kelly teaches costume construction and pattern making in NYU’s undergraduate design and production program.

She holds her MFA from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. She is a proud member of IATSE local 764.  Please feel free to view her work at www.kkasperhawkinson.com. 

Krystal Kennel, guest scenic designer for The Flick.

Krystal Kennel is a Professor of Theatrical Design at Columbus State University in Georgia. While at CSU, she has designed lighting, sound, and/or scenery for over fifty productions. She originally hails from Michigan, but has spent time working at various theatres and colleges across the country including The Springer Opera House, The Georgia Repertory Theatre, The Hartford Stage Company, Dallas Theater Center, Madison Repertory Theatre, The Ohio Light Opera, Meadowbrook Theatre, Wagner College in New York and the University of Wisconsin - Madison. She is an active member of the Georgia Theatre Conference, Southeastern Theatre Conference, and United States Institute of Theatrical Technology (USITT).