BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The path to gaining professional theater experience can mean traveling far from home and spending months with a new theater company. This summer, several members of the Illinois Wesleyan community found that opportunity much closer to home.
IWU students, faculty and alumni contributed to the Illinois Shakespeare Festival’s (ISF) 2026 season in Bloomington, gaining professional experience while remaining connected to the Central Illinois community.
For Assistant Professor of Costume Design and Technology Zandra Siple, who made her ISF debut this season as costume designer for “The Two Gentlemen of Verona,” the opportunity provided experience she has sought throughout her professional career without requiring her to relocate.
“I got to work at a regional theater in the town that I live in,” Siple said. “It’s so cool that the Shakespeare Festival for the state of Illinois is right in our backyard.”
Siple previously spent four summers at the Glimmerglass Festival in New York and has worked at theaters across the country. Summer stock theaters typically produce multiple shows during the summer months, creating a fast-paced professional environment.
For IWU acting student Wade Schacht ‘27, the Festival offered a valuable introduction to professional theater. Schacht performed in “Romeo & Juliet,” “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” and “Our Town.”
“My summer with the Illinois Shakespeare Festival was transformative,” Schacht said. “The opportunity to breathe in the work of professional actors, directors, designers and crew from around the country, and work with them, hand-in-hand, was an incredible experience.”
The Festival also offered an experience distinct from university productions, said Nancy Steele Brokaw ‘71, who has written the Festival’s Theatre for Young Audiences productions for many years.
Brokaw’s work with the Festival showcases the range of opportunities within the theater community. For this season’s Theatre for Young Audiences production, “Get Set Romeo & Juliet,” she adapted Shakespeare’s tragedy into an interactive experience in which young audiences could “rewind” the action and help characters make different choices.
“I have a passion for bringing the arts to young people,” Brokaw said.
Throughout the Festival, students worked alongside industry professionals while learning the schedules, responsibilities and expectations of a professional theater company.
Schacht credits his IWU education with preparing him for these high standards.
“From your first year at the School of Theatre Arts, you are taught not only how to act with the best, but also how to work with the best,” he said.
The emphasis on being a small part of a much greater production is essential in a professional theater setting.
“The environment at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival was remarkable, from top to bottom,” Schacht said. “Given how wonderful this summer was, I fear I may have been spoiled, so other playhouses will have a lot to live up to.”
Other IWU community members also contributed to the Festival’s production work behind the scenes. Hanna Laible-Seif ‘27 worked as a carpentry intern and as part of the changeover crew, while IWU’s Scenic Shop Foreman Jason Stern served as a scenic installation and changeover supervisor.
For IWU students, faculty and alumni, the Illinois Shakespeare Festival provided an opportunity to put their training into practice while contributing to the cultural scene of their own community.