Circus & The Bard: The Next Chapter

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S&Co: Director: The Tempest (2017), As You Like It (2018), Twelfth Night (2019) A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2023), Shake It Up (2024,2025), Circus & the Bard (2025). Shakespeare & Company performances: Flight of the Monarch, Henry VI, Part 2, A Walk in the Woods, King Lear, God of Carnage, Or, King John, Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry IV, Part 1, among others. As Artistic Director of Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Allyn directed and acted in numerous productions. Other Boston area performances include Can You Forgive Her (Huntington Theatre), Breaking the Code (Underground Railway Theatre), Shipwrecked (The Lyric Stage), The Seafarer and The Homecoming (Merrimack Repertory Theater), Five by Tenn (Speakeasy Stage). Elliot Norton Award for The Homecoming, King Lear, Five by Tenn; IRNE Award for Breaking the Code. Off-Broadway: Bug, Killer Joe, Louis Slotin Sonata, Closetland. Regionally: Actors’ Theatre of Louisville, American Conservatory Theatre, Long Wharf, Denver Center, Walnut St. Television: Julia,The Broad Squad, Law and Order, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Against the Law. Films include The Company Men, Julie & Julia, Manchester by the Sea, Don’t Look Up, Tony, and the forthcoming Enemy of the People.

Raised on theater and dance stages in Boston — including the A.R.T., the Huntington Theatre, and the then-named Wang Center of Performing Arts — and shaped by formative time studying at S&Co, Robin has never forgotten the visceral power of live collaborations. Certainly for the artists involved and hopefully for audiences, as well. Since those early years immersed in theater and dance, Robin has shifted, by way of Brown University and a decade in educational psychology, into developing creative cultural content. Her projects have included: directing an eight-part audio series on trauma and resilience with social psychologist Dan Ariely; producing a weekend of S&Co performances in Sarasota, FL; designing a Berkshire panel discussion among regional arts leaders about the role of performance in our lives; and now co-creating this evolving fusion of Shakespeare and circus arts. She is eager to be building Spirit of the Circus with her partner Pedro Reis.

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, Pedro Reis began his circus training at the age of 12 at a local YMCA. He developed his skills on the flying trapeze and later helped develop the first circus school in South Africa. In a land divided by color, the school ignored politics, giving students from all walks of life the opportunity to channel their energies in a positive, healthy manner.

Pedro then moved on to create The Survivors, one of the most dangerous acts in circus history performing without safety devices making their American debut with Ringling Bros. in 1984.

In 1987 Pedro became a solo artist, performing with many renowned circus companies including the Big Apple Circus in New York and The International Circus Festival of Monaco.

In 1997, he co-founded Circus Sarasota, a one-ring circus in the European tradition, and a not-for-profit organization now named the Circus Arts Conservatory (CAC). The CAC presents circus arts at the highest level - through performance, education and integrated community arts and service programs.

He has received the Sarasota County Arts Council prestigious Arts Leadership Award, and is inducted into the John and Mable Ringling Circus Museum Hall of fame and the Circus Ring of Fame at St. Armand’s Circle.

In 2017, the CAC partnered with the Smithsonian Institute to produce their Folklife Festival, which that year focused on international circus arts. Pedro led the team, setting up the Big Top on the National Mall, and producing/directing the international Circus talent.

He and Robin Eldridge have recently formed Spirit of the Circus, a company that illuminates circus arts from different angles, including original collaborations such as this production with Shakespeare & Company.

Lydia is a theatre artist based in Western Massachusetts. She was introduced to theatre through Shakespeare & Company's education programs, and continued on to study in programs at Carnegie Mellon University, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, and the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center. She earned her bachelor's degree from Bennington College, and then returned to Shakespeare & Company to take the Month-Long Intensive. This is her fourth year with the company, having performed in Circus and the Bard (2025), the staged readings of Sense & Sensibility (2025), Emma (2024), and Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley (2023), and stepped in as understudy to perform in A Body of Water (2024), and A Midsummer Night's Dream (2023).

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For the last decade, Marcus has been in and out of NYC where he was staying busy as a props carpenter for Broadway, production manager for everything from Redbull to Rhianna, and performing whenever he had the chance. He moved back to the Berkshires in 2021 and worked as Director of Production & Operations for Barrington Stage Company until 2024 when he left to be a full time Dad. He's currently working with Majestic Theater in West Springfield as a Production Manager. He'd like to thank his wife Erika for her love, his son Porter for being such an amazing person, and his daughter Lumen for being his ray of Sunshine.

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JoJo McDonald is an actor, tap dancer, and teaching artist raised and based in the Berkshires. Performance credits include Circus and The Bard (Shakespeare & Co), Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet (Northeast Regional Tour, Shakespeare & Co), Henriette in The Learned Ladies (Riggs Theatre 37), Viola in Twelfth Night (Riggs Theatre 37), co-creator and performer of Civil Motions (work in progress, premiered at the Nairobi Dance Life Festival), creator and performer of devised tap pieces for Dancers of the Berkshires, and ensemble in The People’s Tap Dance Theater (Community Access to The Arts). She teaches in Shakespeare & Co education programs including The Fall Festival of Shakespeare. Other teaching credits include community art initiatives such as ArtistYear (Americorps) in Queens, NY, and They Dance For Rain in Nairobi, Kenya. Education: BA from Williams College, Month-Long Intensive at Shakespeare & Co. Proud Fall Festival alumna. Thanks to all my loved ones. Thanks for coming!

Chris is a former Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown who spent over a decade touring The Greatest Show on Earth® before taking his talents worldwide. You may have seen him at Disney properties, on national television, or making audiences laugh across the globe. He’s thrilled to return to Circus & The Bard, where he hopes to finally answer the age-old question: “To be funny, or not to be funny… that is the question.”

Jan ("Yahn") Damm has been a professional clown and circus artist for 19 years. Originally from Maine, he learned to juggle at age 10 and trained with acclaimed clown Avner Eisenberg at 18. After graduating Bard College, he studied at Circus Center San Francisco in clown and acrobatics. Jan enjoys creating original work, but is also at home in classic circus spectacles. Career highlights include Circus Bella, Venardos Circus, Celebrity Cruises' Silhouette, Cirque Mechanics' Pedal Punk, Big Apple Circus, Ringling, and Teatro Zinzanni. He lives in Brattleboro, Vermont with his wife Ariele and their two children.

Zoë Isadora is proud to carry forward the excellence and joy of her family legacy in circus arts. She blends technical precision, intuitive flow and seamless dancing on multiple apparatuses: aerial silks, dance trapeze, aerial hoop, and more! Each sequence she performs is a fluid, expressive convs ersation with the apparatus that is unmistakably her own. Zoë experienced a unique performance upbringing, growing up on circus backlots, balancing swords on her head dancing with her mother and grandmother, and a lifelong training in both stage craft and behind-the-scenes technicalities. An honor’s graduate of Wellesley College, she has toured around the U.S. with The Wallenda Family Circus, Westchester Circus Arts, Cirque Dreams, Les Farfadais and Airotic Cirque Soirée as well as performed at corporate contracts and cabarets around Europe including Athens, the Azores and Paris.

Ariele Ebacher has been a performing circus professional for 25 years. Coming of age in the traditions of dance and theater, she takes great joy and pride in fusing the spectacle and virtuosity of circus, with the poetry and storytelling of dance and theater. She has had the great pleasure of traveling the world performing in every context imaginable, from black box theaters to international festivals; small circus tents to cruise ships; and everywhere in between. Some of the circus companies she has worked with include The Midnight Circus, Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, NoFit State Circus, Circus Flora, Cirque Mechanics, Flynn Creek Circus, Big Apple Circus, and Circus Bella. She is also a co-founder of the American Circus Alliance, which aims to unite and champion circus arts and circus workers across the nation

Seth began his rope jumping journey in kindergarten after joining the Proform Airborne Jump Rope Team. He went on to win multiple National and World titles, including an Individual World Title in 2019. After graduating from Utah State University, he began his performing career. Known for delivering a high energy performance, he combines powerful acrobatics with quick choreography to create something truly unique. He has had unforgettable experiences performing worldwide for Disney, Cirque Dreams, CirqueUS, the NBA, and countless schools! Seth hopes to make people smile, promote physical fitness, and inspire audiences everywhere, one jump at a time.

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Justin Durham is a Chicago-born handbalancer, aerialist, acrobat, and dancer whose passion for circus began at age three with the Actors Gymnasium. An honours graduate of the National Centre for Circus Arts in London, his dynamic stage presence has taken him around the world with companies including Cirque du Soleil, Cirque Dreams, and the sultry spectacle AirOtic Soirée. Justin’s artistry has earned him a Silver Medal at Viva Fest in Las Vegas and an International Circus Award at Krystallpalast in Germany. He’s thrilled to be back in the Berkshires this summer to share more of his talents at Shakespeare & Company! — @justintime.7

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Luke Willson is a NYC-based lighting designer, technician, and/or manager with a passion for unlocking the puzzles at the heart of stories. He is thrilled to be back at Shakespeare & Company for the 2026 Summer Season as the staff Lighting Supervisor, as well as the lighting designer for Shake It Up, Circus & the Bard, and The Norwegians. Luke has worked on productions at The Riverside Theatre, The Danspace Project, Theatre for a New Audience, Life World, The Humanist Project, The Tank, The Flea, La MaMa, NYC Fringe, Target Margin Theatre, and many more. He would like to give a special shoutout to Sam Hoffman and Jonah Hane for all their hard work this season. You can check out his website at lukewillsonlighting.com.

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Rey Hankinson is thrilled to be joining Circus & The Bard for its second season! Although this is their first production as a stage manager with the company, Rey is this season’s Assistant Production Manager here at S&Co, and previously joined the 2025 Fall Festival as a Production Design Coordinator. Other recent work includes the world premiere production of Like Flies: a Rage Play, A Christmas Carol (Portland Stage), The Rewards of Being Frank (Theatre at Monmouth), and Two Gentlemen of Verona (Camden Shakespeare Festival). They would like to thank their partner Rayne, the summer production staff, and YOU for supporting this incredible, collaborative work! Rey holds a BA in Theatre, focusing in Stage Management, from the University of Rochester.