Shakespeare In the Schools Education Tour: Meet the Team for Henry IV

By Liz Armstrong, guest writer

The Utah Shakespeare Festival is thrilled to announce its 2025 touring team for Shakespeare in the Schools, its annual education tour production. This year, the touring team of nine artists will tour to bring Shakespeare’s Henry IV to elementary through high school students across the region. 

Throughout the Intermountain West, the Festival’s touring program serves both rural and urban students and communities, providing access to professional theatre. This year, a condensed version of Henry IV Part I will highlight power, honor, and rebellion. 

Actor Lucas Prizant notes that the production is a war drama, but “it is also a coming-of-age story about two teenage boys with tremendous responsibilities,” making it the ideal play to share with young students.

Meet the lead creative team:

Stewart Shelley, Education Director and Producer

Along with producing this year’s Shakespeare in the Schools tour, Shelley is the Festival’s education director. He has also filled the roles of associate education director, education programs manager, and summer camp coordinator for the Festival and has directed over 50 plays in educational and community theatre.

“It’s such a powerful story for students to see themselves in,” Shelley said about Henry IV. While Shelley won’t tour with the group, he was essential in preparing the group to hit the road. 

He received a Master of Arts in Education Administration from Grand Canyon University and is part of both the Utah Advisory Council of Theatre Teachers and the Shakespeare Theatre Association.

Marcella Kearns, Director

Making her debut at the Festival, Kearns is also the artistic associate of Forward Theater Company and former education director of Milwaukee Shakespeare. She boasts teaching credits at First Stage’s Young Company, Marquette University, and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

“Henry IV was not only something that was personally of great passion to me, but something that will speak to young people everywhere,” Kearns said. As a point of excitement, this is the first time this Shakespeare play has been used for the Festival’s Shakespeare in the Schools.

Kearns received a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from University of South Carolina and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Canisius University. She is a member of Actors’ Equity Association. She, too, will not go on tour with the group.     

Other members of the artistic team include Scenic Designer Benjamin Hohman, Costume Designer Diana Girtain, Props Designer Marielle Boneau, Voice and Text Coach Evelyn Carol Case, and Fight Director Amie Root.

The touring company includes:               

Darin F. Earl II, Tour Manager 

Earl II is taking on a new role, moving from actor to tour manager, having performed in last year’s Hamlet tour and Othello the year before. He was also in the 2023 season’s main stage productions of Timon of Athens and Coriolanus.

Earl II’s acting credits also include productions of Ye Bear & Ye off-Broadway, and A Midwinter’s Night Dream, Romeo and Juliet, and more at Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Rider University.

Fiona Misiura, Stage Manager 

Misiura is returning as stage manager, having filled this role for Hamlet last year. Previously at the Festival, she was stage manager for Much Ado About Nothing in 2024 and the production assistant for Jane Austen’s Emma The Musical and The Play That Goes Wrong in 2023. 

She has also worked at Urban Stages and United Solo Festival as a stage manager, and American Academy of Dramatic Arts Company as a production stage manager. Misiura received a Bachelor of Arts in Theater and History from Ramapo College of New Jersey.

Calvin Adams, Actor––Northumberland/Falstaff/Glendower

Joining the tour for the first time, Adams’ acting credits include Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, A Christmas Carol at Guthrie Theater, and Romeo and Juliet at Park Square Theatre. 

Adams received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from University of Minnesota. 

Elijah Eliakim Hernandez, Actor––Hotspur/Gadshill/Traveler/Sheriff

Hernandez performed in Twelfth Night and Romeo and Juliet at Wisconsin Shakespeare, and Hamlet and The Tempest at Tennessee Shakespeare Company. This is their debut at the Festival. 

They received a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Performance at University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley.

Adam Koda, Actor––Lancaster/Poins/Martimer/Douglas

Koda is a returning actor, having played Hamlet in last year’s tour. Some other productions have included Romeo and Juliet at Texas Shakespeare Festival, Sense and Sensibility at Pittsburgh Playhouse, and Twelfth Night at The Playground Theatre in London.

Koda received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Point Park University and has been in American Rust on Showtime.

For Koda, the tour is important because of his own childhood. 

“I hardly had access to arts education. I was lucky enough to have some great teachers later in life who showed me how exciting, relatable, and important Shakespeare can be today,” Koda said. “This tour is a way to make classical theater accessible for the next generation of artists.”

Kenneth Miller, Actor––King Henry IV/Peto/Traveler

Joining the tour for the first time, Miller performed in The Last White Man at Next Act Theatre, The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry IV at Door Shakespeare, and The Merchant of Venice and Othello at Shakespeare at Notre Dame.

He boasts teaching credits at First Stage, Carthage College, Northern Illinois University, and more. Miller received a Master of Fine Arts from Northern Illinois University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Millikin University. 

When Miller first experienced Shakespeare, he felt like another world had opened up to him.

“I’m looking forward to being a part of introducing students to not only Shakespeare and history but new ideas and ways to see the world.” 

Lucas Prizant, Actor––Prince Hal

A first time tour member, Prizant acted in The Comedy of Errors and As You Like It at Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Oak Park Festival Theatre, and A Christmas Carol at Richmond Shakespeare Festival. 

Television and film credits include Paper Girls, Chicago Fire, and Save Face. He has taught at Montana Shakespeare in the Parks and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from University of Cincinnati.

Prizant is thrilled to be making his debut at the Festival.

“To be a part of the season means that I get to contribute to that high bar of excellence,” Prizant said. “The Festival has a vested interest in pulling back the curtain on the professional actor’s process. It is our hope that our presence in the schools will empower the students to try something new or further refine their performance skills.”

Anna Rock, Actor––Worcerster/Bardolph/Traveler/Carrier

This is Rock’s first time on this tour. She has been in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Comedy of Errors at Shakespeare and Company, The Taming of the Shrew at Texas Shakespeare Festival, and The Tempest at The Rooted Voyageurs. 

The actor boasts teaching credits from Shakespeare and Company, Story Pirates, and Lost Nation Theater. She received a Bachelor of Arts from Sarah Lawrence College.

Rock is excited to bring her experience to the tour and learn along the way. 

“I was eager to do so because I haven’t explored this part of the country and I’ve never professionally performed one of Shakespeare’s history plays,” Rock said. 

Sierra Miguela Tune, Actor––Westmorland/First Traveler/Hostess/Vernon 

Tune performed in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Othello at TheatreWorks and The City Dog and the Prairie Dog and ROY G. BIV at Creede Repertory Theatre. This is her debut at the Festival. 

She received a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Dance form University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.

About the Tour

Shakespeare in the Schools brings quality Shakespeare performances and workshops to schools and communities throughout the Intermountain West, and has been doing so since 1993.

The tour offers either a 75-minute fully produced performance of the play, or an interactive 45-minute assembly designed for elementary audiences that explores elements of theatre and Shakespeare. Post-performance talkbacks and educational workshops are also included in the tour.

Funded by the State of Utah, the tour is offered free to all Utah public and public charter schools. At-cost and discounted rates are also available for private schools, public venues, and out-of-state locations.

The tour will start February 3 and run through April 18, 2025. 

There will be a free public performance in Cedar City, UT, on February 7th in Southern Utah University’s Auditorium Theatre at 7:30 pm. Entrance is free.  

“It’s an opportunity to welcome our community into this experience and share that the tour is integral to educating our future audience members,” Shelley said.  

For more information on the tour, click here.