Wayne State University

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Maggie Allesee

Theatre and Dance

Theatre - Guest artists

Frannie Shepherd-Bates

Frannie Shepherd-Bates is an accomplished theatre practitioner whose award-winning work includes directing, sound design, and choreography, with a focus on applied theatre for social justice within and beyond the carceral environment. Frannie co-founded Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company (2008-2013), where she founded Shakespeare in Prison (which moved to Detroit Public Theatre in 2015) in 2012. She was director of the program for nearly 12 years. Frannie’s work as a prison theatre practitioner has been recognized locally, nationally, and internationally in publications such as Prison Theatre and the Global Crisis of Mass Incarceration (Ashley Lucas, Methuen, 2021), Multisensory Shakespeare and Specialized Communities (Sheila Cavanagh, Arden, 2024), and Creating Space for Shakespeare (Rowan Mackenzie, Arden, 2023). She co-authored a chapter in Shakespeare & Social Engagement (Berghan Books, 2023) and is a contributor to the upcoming Shakespeare in the Age of Mass Incarceration (Routledge, 2024 (anticipated)). Lectures and panels include Shakespeare Association of America, Shakespearean Theatre Conference, Literary Managers & Dramaturgs of America, Northeast Modern Language Association, Wooden O Symposium, Shakespeare Beyond Borders Alliance, Shakespeare in Prisons, Theater of War, and Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed. Frannie is an active member of the Shakespeare in Prisons Network and the Art + Justice National Collective. She has directed and/or designed sound for a number of theatres in southeast Michigan, including Williamston Theatre, Tipping Point Theatre, Open Book Theatre, Shakespeare Royal Oak, Shakespeare in Detroit, Detroit Public Theatre, and Planet Ant Theatre. A lifelong Michigander, Frannie graduated from Wayne State University with a BFA in Theatre.

Headshot of guest director Frannie Shepherd-Bates

Past guest artists

  • Photo of Janice L Blixt
    Janice L Blixt

    Guest Director for Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express

  • Sherrine Azab
    Sherrine Azab

    Guest director of "The Wolves"

  • Joe Bailey Smiling in front of a brown backdrop
    Joe Bailey

    Guest Director for The Rocky Horror Show

  • Photo of James Kuhl
    James Kuhl

    Guest director of "Silent Sky" by Lauren Gunderson

  • Ruben Santiago smiling and standing in front of a Tribeca Film Institute backdrop
    Ruben Santiago-Hudson

    2022 Apple Award recipient

  • Photo of Jeffery Seller
    Jeffrey Seller

    2019 Apple Award recipient

  • S. Epatha Merkerson
  • Deborah Joy Winans
  • George Abud
  • Natasha Katz
  • Thorsten Kaye
  • Michael Boudewyns
  • Allegra Libonati
  • David DiChiera
  • Dominique Morriseau
  • David Ramsey
  • Lenny Banovez
  • Mandy Patinkin
  • Patti LuPone
  • Shelley Butler
  • Syd Mead
  • Tim Rhoze
  • Tom Skerritt
  • Valerie Pettiford