Stories Under the Land

Stories Under the Land

September 21 - 22, 2024: Tinworks Art, Bozeman

Nadja Simmonds, author and director of “Soiling the Seasons”. Nadja Simmonds is an actor and director originally from Cincinnati, Ohio and is incredibly excited to work with MIST this season! Since graduating from Marquette University, she has travelled regionally performing and directing with Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, Glimmerglass Festival, Florentine Opera, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Forward Theater, Cincinnati Playhouse and more. Up next she directs Sanctuary City at Marquette University, then assists Brenna Corner and Francesca Zambello with Washington National Opera on the Jungle Book.

In Stories Under The Land, Montana InSite Theatre will present dramatic performances, poetry, and songs that showcase ancient agricultural stories. In the Tinworks Art courtyard and in the vicinity of Agnes Denes’ Wheatfield installation, actors will turn from statues into poets who bring to life stories from around the globe that tell of the seasons and the earth’s remarkable ability to feed us. This first half of our production is called “Harvest Stories”.

The audience will then move inside Chris Fraser’s Asterisms installation for a short play called “Soiling the Seasons”. In this performance Montana InSite Theatre performers will present an adaptation of the ancient Greek myth about Demeter (the goddess of the harvest) and her daughter Persephone, who was abducted by Hades and fated to dwell half the year on earth, and the other half in the underworld. These timeless tales engage with the earth’s cycles of fertility, seasonal shifts, and what it means to expect the land to produce sustenance for us all.

Stories Under The Land opens on September 21 and closes on September 22. We will present three shows each day. Performances are one hour-long with performances beginning at 3 pm, 4 pm, and 5 pm both days. This is a ticketed event, with all tickets being purchased through Tinworks Art.

These buttons provide quick access to Tinwork’s ticketing page for our Stories Under the Land tickets:

Click on any performer’s name below to see their bio:

  • Marc Beaudin is a poet and theatre artist (director, scenic designer, tech director, educator and occasional actor), based in Livingston where he co-owns Elk River Books. He is the author of These Creatures of a Day and a handful of other books, and frequently performs his poetry with various jazz and rock musicians. More at CrowVoice.com.

  • Lauren Chavez is a writer fascinated by languages and vocabularies that emerge from the landscapes she encounters. A lover of poetry, music, and nature, Lauren is at her happiest when these three loves coalesce.

  • Jenna Ciralli is an Actor and Filmmaker based in Livingston, MT. Training: Meisner Technique - Terry Knickerbocker, William Esper Studio, NYC, Willamette University Theatre (BFA -Theatre Arts, Acting, with Honors, Minor - English Literature), NYC Master Classes: Terry Knickerbocker, Maggie Flanigan. Recent Theater: "Wait Until Dark" - Emerson Center, "Angels in America" by Tony Kushner - Emerson Center, "Mary Page Marlow" by Tracy Letts, "A Lie of the Mind" by Sam Shepard - Blue Slipper Theater. Film highlights: award-winning shorts "Willow Creek Road" (Online Omeleto Premiere) and "Homestead," 2017 Webby Award (viral video honoree) "Casting Call | The Project," which RogerEbert.com declared "A Must See Video," covered by Indiewire, New York Magazine, Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, Nylon, Los Angeles Magazine, Cosmo, Daily Mirror, Broadway World, WifeyTV, ID-Vice, Adweek, APlus and Women You Should Know, feature "The New Frontier" on Amazon Prime. Upcoming: Features "Tokyo Cowboy," "Rust" & Western Ghost Story feature, "Clara Boone."

  • Kirsten Daniels is a MN native who has lived and worked in Chicago, LA, India, Paris, and Bozeman. She loves storytelling through theatre, film, real estate (her current paid gig), family, dogs, coffee, and cocktails.

  • Charlotte Mae Ellison is back with MIST after "Animal Encounters"! Bozeman is now home after traveling back and forth for 7 years, working with Montana Shakespeare in the Parks and Montana Theater Works. In Chicago, she performed with A Red Orchid, Chicago Shakespeare, Writer's, and Red Tape, as well as Arkansas Shakes and the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Charlotte is a dialect coach and costume designer, most recently on the web series "Collaborate & Listen."

  • Angela Espinosa grew up in Bozeman, Montana. From a musical family, Angela began piano lessons at the age of five when her parents heard her playing her siblings’ piano pieces by ear. She continued piano lessons through the first year of college. At the age of nine, Angela began harp lessons with Nancy Wilson. Nancy is a true inspiration to all her students and Angela thrived under her tutelage. During high school, Angela was given the opportunity to play with the All-State Orchestra and All-State Band three years. She also performed with the Bozeman Symphony for the first time while high school. After completing high school, Angela attended Biola University in La Mirada, California. There, she studied with Mindy Ball for four years and completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Harp Performance. But the big city life was not for Angela, and in 2009 she returned to Bozeman shortly after being married.

    Currently, Angela resides in Bozeman, Montana. She continues to play with the Bozeman Symphony and other symphonies around Montana on an as needed basis. Along with tuning pianos, Angela also loves teaching private harp and piano lessons and playing harp for various events around the Gallatin Valley area.

  • Mikey is so thrilled to be performing in collab with MIST and Tinworks! She has just completed her fourth summer season with Montana Shakespeare in the Parks! Other highlighted credits: Thicket (Dixon Place NYC); The Wolves (McCarter Theatre); A Woman in Black (A.C.T.); The Book of Joseph (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); among some commercials, TV, and films! More at www.mikeygray.org

  • No bio.

  • Sean Hecock is excited to begin his debut with Montana Insight Theater! He has been active in the theater community for about 4 years now. You may have seen him in the Verge Theater's "Assassins; The Musical" as Sam Byck. And he runs behind the scenes as a Stage Manager for Bozeman Actors Theater. Enjoy the show!

  • Shandiin Kaline is a jingle dress dancer from the Northern Cheyenne tribe of Montana. She is 2024-2025 Miss Northern Cheyenne whose goal is to dance to empower and carry on cultural knowledge.

  • Nadja Simmonds is an actor and director originally from Cincinnati, Ohio and is incredibly excited to work with MIST this season! Since graduating from Marquette University, she has travelled regionally performing and directing with Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, Glimmerglass Festival, Florentine Opera, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Forward Theater, Cincinnati Playhouse and more. Up next she directs Sanctuary City at Marquette University, then assists Brenna Corner and Francesca Zambello with Washington National Opera on the Jungle Book.