Jackob Hofmann has been working professionally in the theatre since the early 1990s. His NY directing credits include an array of Off-Broadway productions, and staged readings, for Abingdon Theatre including the NY premieres of John Morogiello's Engaging Shaw (NY Times Critics' Pick) and Blame it on Beckett. Additional NY directing credits include productions of: Unwrap Your Candy, Test Patterns, Xavier Speaks, Tracking Gertrude Tredwell, and Tales From The Wichita Skyline. Notable acting credits include Theatre Row productions of: Marat/Sade, Holy Ghosts, Dark of the Moon, Footprints on the Moon, and The Tempest.

Also a playwright, Jackob's drama, A Persistent Memory, was produced Off-Broadway at The Beckett Theatre, in 2016, by MBL Productions. He is also a proud finalist of Samuel French's annual OOB Short Play Festival with his original works: The Speed Date and Tower of Toys.

As an actor instructor, Jackob teaches acting and directs at The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, NYC.  He also works as an adjunct theatre professor/director at Fairfield University. NYU, Strasberg, and Theatre Fairfield directing credits include: You On The Moors Now, Avenue Q, Rhinoceros, Mask Play, Authenticity, The Thanksgiving Play, and Silent Sky.  

Lynne Porter is a theatre professor and the Resident Designer of Theatre Fairfield.  At Fairfield, Lynne has designed numerous productions such as Avenue Q, Stop Kiss, Rhinoceros, The Rocky Horror Show, She Stoops to Conquer, Lend Me a Tenor, and Waiting for Godot.  In addition to her work with Theatre Fairfield, Lynne has designed extensively with Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, where she is an Affiliated Artist of the Ensemble. She has also designed for CT Lyric Opera, Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival, Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre, Arden Theatre, Horizon Theatre, Penobscot Theatre, and the Maine Shakespeare Festival, among others.  Lynne is also the Founding Artistic Director of Shakespeare Ventures, a professional classical summer theatre, where she both directed and designed.  Over the past few years, Lynne has done extensive research on creativity and the design process, culminating in her book, Unmasking Theatre Design    which was recently published by Focal Press.  lynneporter.com

Jan Mason is proud to be an instructor and director in the Fairfield University Theatre Program since 2014. In New York city she developed new plays as a director with Ensemble Studio Theatre (Theatre Lab Member); The Women’s Project (Director’s Forum Member); Rattlestick (Artistic Associate); and New Georges (Affiliated Artist and Roaring Girl). In 2023 her play Lost & Found was produced in a festival of new work in Vermont. Her play Jack & Jill was published in the inaugural June ’23 edition of Mini Plays Magazine and in the July ’23 edition of Literature Today. Jan is a member of Wild Geese Writers, a national, award-winning group of playwrights. She teaches playwriting at Hartford Stage and her dramatic writing is available through New Play Exchange. Jan is an Affiliated Artist with Hartford-based Capital Classics Theatre Company, and Associate Artistic Director for Connecticut Lyric Opera where she teaches master classes in acting and directs opera in Connecticut and Italy. Jan is a proud alumna of Punahou School in Honolulu; Emerson College in Boston; and holds her MFA in Directing from the University of Virginia. www.janmason.net

As Costume Director for the Fairfield University Theatre Program, Julie designs and builds costumes for TF productions, manages the costume shop, and mentors student theatre artists and technicians. Her TF costume design credits include Silent Sky, The Taming of the Shrew, Dead Man’s Cellphone, The Arabian Nights, and The Rocky Horror Show,   among many others. She also collaborated with Shakesperience Productions in Waterbury, CT, costuming Shakespeare from Comedy of Errors  to King Lear, as well as The Sword in the Stone    and Alice in Wonderland.  Before coming to Fairfield, Julie was an Assistant Professor of English at Westfield State College, the Assistant Costume Designer at Chicago’s The Goodman Theatre, and a freelance costume designer at Organic Theatre Company (Mere Mortals), Pyewackett Theatre (The Belle of Amherst), and Emerald City Children’s Theatre (The Wizard of Oz). She holds an MFA in Costume Design from Northwestern University, and a BA in Theatre and English Literature from the University of New Hampshire.

​​Lynne Chase (lighting designer) has lit over 200 productions nationwide. Highlights include Doubt (Portland Stage Company), As You Like It and Enchanted April (Pioneer Theatre), Light Up the Sky  and La Bête (Two River Theatre) and Speed-the-Plow and Over the Tavern  (Merrimack Repertory Theatre.) She has spent 17 summers working in rotating repertory and counts among her favorite shows Pericles, King Lear, Hamlet  and The Glass Menagerie  (Theater at Monmouth.) She has worked extensively at Horse Cave Theatre and Penobscot Theatre Company (Art, Betrayal, The Crucible, and Skylight  among others.) Memorable shows at Fairfield include Arabian Nights, Cabaret, Three Sisters, Romeo & Juliet, Dancing at Lughnasa, Avenue Q and The Spitfire Grill. Lynne is a graduate of Cornell, Harvard and the Yale School of Drama and is a member of United Scenic Artists Local USA 829. www.lynnechaselights.com

Rachel Landy is thrilled to join Fairfield University’s production of Steel Magnolias  as Sound Designer. She works full time as the Audio Engineer for the University of Hartford’s Hartt School. Her previous credits include Sound Designer of TF' production of DollHouse, Sound Designer of Capital Classic’s production of Water by the Spoonful, Sound Designer and Engineer at Derby Dinner Playhouse and Sound Engineer at Cortland Repertory Theater and Indiana Repertory Theater. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from Elon University in Audio Engineering. Email: rjlandy18@gmail.com

Anne is the Technical Director and Production Manager for Theatre Fairfield. She also teaches courses in Entertainment Technology, Prop Construction, and Lighting Design.

Jamie Monahan is an award-winning filmmaker, director, actress,  intimacy director (theatre), and certified intimacy coordinator (film/TV). Jamie completed IDC’s Intimacy Coordinator training, fostering intimate, safe spaces for performers. She is currently listed on the SAG-AFTRA Intimacy Coordinator Pre-Registry. Jamie intimacy coordinated the short films: ONLY THE DEAD, IN THE NIGHT, HEALING TREE, BETTY BITES BACK, and THE BIG 3-OH to name a few. She also intimacy coordinated the award-winning feature film ESCAPING OHIO, and I’LL FIND YOU. Jamie intimacy directed POWERHOUSE Off-Broadway, GREASE at The Wilton Playshop, 9 to 5 at the Downtown Cabaret Theatre, and she is going into her third year at Fairfield University as resident intimacy director and adjunct professor for their 2024-2025 season.

Jessie Lizotte is a proud alumna of the Theatre Fairfield program. Previous design credits include The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)[revised][again] (Theatre Fairfield), The Thanksgiving Play (Theatre Fairfield), and Twelfth Night (Shakesperience Productions). She was previously the resident scenic designer for Music Theatre of Connecticut's 2019 and 2020 seasons (Ragtime, Steel Magnolias, Sylvia, Fully Committed, RFK, and It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play). She is currently the resident scenic designer for The Fairfield Prep Players (Little Shop of Horrors, Puffs, Pippin, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Something Rotten). 

Hi everyone! My name is Kylee Faulkner and I am so excited to be the light board op on this production of Steel Magnolias. This is my third year with The Fairfield University Theatre Program and my first year as their Tech intern! My past TF acting credits include: Kiley (Mask Play), Maureen ("Director's Cut": Playtime). Past TF crew/production credits include: Director and Tech Director (Next to Normal), Wardrobe Crew (Eurydice, The Lightning Thief, The Complete Works), Tech Apprentice (2023-2024 season). I hope you enjoy the show!

Hi there, I’m Samantha Learson and I’m a junior at Fairfield University. This is my 5th show at Theatre Fairfield. Previously, I’ve enjoyed being ASM for DollHouse, and performing on stage during The Lightning Thief as Mrs Dodds and other characters and as myself in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)[revised][again]. I’ve been so excited to officially put on this show for you all, and I hope you enjoyed watching it as much as I do! 

Hi! My name is Molly and I am a freshman. I am studying English and my main interests are writing and listening to music. I am working in the hair and wardrobe department for Steel Magnolias, and i’m super excited to get more involved in TF for the rest of my time at Fairfield!

Hello! My name is Jacobo Merino Fernandez. I'm a Freshman English, creative writing and Theatre double major. This is my third show in Theatre Fairfield and I am very excited to be on the props crew. Previous TF credits include: Assistant Stage Manager for The Compelte Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)[revised][again] and Props Crew for Next to Normal. I've loved my experience so far and everyone from the cast to the production team have been amazing. This show has been super fun to work on and to witness it grow from the words on the page to what it is now. Thank you for watching the show!

Hello! My name is Nathanael Wilhelm and I am a Sophomore Film Major and Creative Writing Minor. I am a writer for The Rearview, a student-run digital media organization, and an active writer for Inkwell, a student-run creative writing magazine. This is my third time working with Theatre Fairfield and I’ve also worked on several independent, original productions with SAY, the Stuttering Association for the Young, in NYC. It’s been great meeting so many creative people through Theatre Fairfield and I look forward to being a part of so much more in the future! 

Hello! I'm Oliver Merriam, a sophomore Spanish major. I've been in a few Theatre Fairfield shows on stage, including Next to Normal, The 39 Steps, and Mask Play. Now, I'm excited to be helping out behind the scenes as Front of House. Best of luck to everyone involved- your hard work shows!

Hi everyone! I am Nora Jacobi and I am a senior double major in Theatre and Marketing serving as the Marketing Intern and actor playing Ouiser! Past TF credits include Diana in Next to Normal (2025), Clarisse in The Lightning Thief (2024), Christine in DollHouse (2023), Loud Stone in Eurydice (2023), Sugar in Tiny Beautiful Things (2022), Lydia Bennet and Lady Catherine in Pride and Prejudice (2022), Wardrobe Crew for Project X (2022), and Sound Board Op and Turktok actor in The Thanksgiving Play (2021). I also assistant directed and designed lighting for Next to Normal and assistant directed The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (2024) and directed The 39 Steps: Even More Abridged (2024) and Lillian Goes to the Mirror (2023). I'm so grateful for the last four years with TF and there are not enough words to thank the amazing team of faculty and students we have! I can't wait for everyone to have so much fun with us in the theatre!