All State Theatre Conference

All State Conference Guest Artist Bios

Jon Royal – All State Acting

Jon Royal is a director, teaching artist, and facilitator from Nashville, TN. He studied with Ming Cho Lee and Constance Hoffman during the Kennedy Center Approach to Design Intensive, forever changing his approach to art, work, and life. In 2016, he was a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation’s National Observership Class, in which he had the privilege of shadowing Liesl Tommy on the Public Theater’s production of Party People. He was named Best Theatre Director of 2019 by the Nashville Scene. In 2020 he received the Tennessee Arts Commission’s Individual Artist Fellowship for his work in the field. This past year he directed the world premieres of The Forgotten Girl at First Stage in Milwaukee and Fences at Nashville Repertory Theatre, and he staged the world premiere of Hannibal Lokumbei’s opera The Jonah People: A Legacy of Struggle and Triumph with the Nashville Symphony. Other directing credits include Pipeline, Topdog/Underdog, Smart People for Nashville Repertory Theatre, Ghost (world premiere), And In This Corner: Cassius Clay, Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott for Nashville Children’s Theatre, Once On This Island, Hairspray, The Colored Museum, Passing Strange for Street Theatre Company, Othello for Nashville Shakespeare Festival, and Citizen: An American Lyric for Actor’s Bridge Ensemble. He also works behind the camera. Recent film projects have seen him directing the concert documentary Walk Together Children: The 150th Anniversary of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, which has been distributed nationally on PBS, and producing The Creswell Story, a student-driven film project that studies the history of Nashville’s Arts Middle Magnet School for the Performing Arts and its namesake. As an educator he serves on the Theatre faculty for Governor’s School for the Arts of Tennessee, teaching Devising and Community Building. He also co-leads the Nashville Children’s Theatre’s Teaching Artists of Color training cohort, and teaches for Tennessee Performing Art Center’s Disney Musicals In Schools, and Shakespeare Center Los Angeles’ Write On!, Willpower to Youth, and works on their national design team to develop Shakespeare and Social Justice curriculum for high school classrooms around the country. This past fall he facilitated workshops for RACE FORWARD’s most recent Government Alliance on Race and Equity cohort, helping public servants engage with artistic practice to deepen their sense of collaboration in their work.

Kevin Rigdon – All State & Regional Design Tech

Kevin Rigdon is a scenic designer and lighting designer He taught at the University of Houston and is the Associate Director/Design for Houston ’s Alley Theatre.

Rigdon's career in theatre began in 1974, when he joined classmates Gary Sinise and Jeff Perry as the resident designer for the newly formed Steppenwolf Theatre Company Since then, Rigdon has designed over 345 productions including several productions for Broadway, the West End in London, the Goodman, the Alley Theatre, and several other theaters around the world.

Rigdon has been honored with two Tony Award nominations, seven Joseph Jefferson Awards, four

Drama Desk Awards, 1986; 1990 American Theatre Wing Design Awards, and a Drama-Logue Award. In 2003, his designs for American Buffalo were exhibited in Prague, Czech Republic as a part of the United States National Exhibit of the Prague Quadrennial Sceneography Exposition.

Brian Martin – All State & Regional Musical Theatre

Brian Martin is currently in the Original Broadway cast of SOME LIKE IT HOT and most recently was seen in MRS. DOUBTFIRE! National tours: BULLETS OVER BROADWAY (u/s Cheech), BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (u/s Lumiere), ELF, GUYS AND DOLLS. Regional: CHICAGO (Fred Casley, u/s Billy Flynn) at Fulton Theatre, MARY POPPINS at Paper Mill Playhouse, SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS (Daniel) and OKLAHOMA! at Ogunquit Playhouse, A CHORUS LINE (Bobby) at Surflight, and TARZAN (Tarzan) at Wagon Wheel Theatre. Brian originally caught the “theatre bug” performing locally in his hometown of Grand Rapids, MI and went on to receive a BFA in Music Theatre Performance from Western Michigan University. He also studied abroad at RADA in London obtaining a certificate in Shakespeare performance. Brian is enthusiastic about life and has a passion for connecting with developing artists! He has taught for the Open Jar Institute, Broadway Connection, and also worked with numerous college and high school programs.

Shawn Whitsell – All State Playwriting & Regional Acting

Shawn Whitsell is an actor, writer, director, producer, and casting director for stage and screen. He is the founder of the Destiny Theatre Experience and has written, produced and directed a number of theatrical works addressing social issues. His one-man show 23/1 was named "Best Blend of Theater and Activism" in 2019 by the Nashville Scene. As a poet, Shawn creates content and performs regularly for various causes and private events. When he’s not performing, Shawn engages Tennessee-area schools, teaching literacy through spoken word poetry in English classes, as a representative of Southern Word, Inc. He also teaches drama at Nashville Children’s Theatre. Shawn is currently working on the Gideon 2.0 Project, a multi-media initiative elevating the stories of individuals and families who have experienced injustice