Meet the hardworking artists that make this company run smoothly!
Artistic Executives
“A man’s work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened.” -Albert Camus
Co-Artistic Director
Julia Bodiford (she/her) has been a proud artistic associate of Sundown Collaborative Theatre since 2017 and recently stepped into the role of Co-Artistic Director at the end of 2020. She’s been involved in multiple company productions, more notably directing The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh in 2018 and The Woman in Black adapted by Stephen Mallatratt in 2019. She holds a BA in Theatre from Texas Woman’s University and has acted in multiple productions in and around the DFW metroplex. She has two gremlin cats that listen to her make music sometimes and she currently is working on an art series by the name of The Dauphin. Sundown sits at the bottom of her heart, in the most comfortable place where home is located. Mr. Rogers once said that you don’t have to do anything sensational for people to love you and she’s pretty tickled to be doing sensational art with people who love her for who she is. She believes that Sundown is complied of artistically adaptive people that can do anything and she’s very excited for the future.
“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” – Pablo Picasso
Co-Artistic Director
Lindsey Hall (she/her) serves as co-Artistic Director for Sundown Collaborative Theatre. She graduated from UNT in 2011, with a concentration in theatre performance and theatrical makeup design. She has performed in several productions including Cafe Des Artistes (2011), Paperbacks (2014), Jacob Monroe Hates Clowns (2016), and Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons (2019), as well as Love Stories (a working title)(2020), a devised piece that she conceived and guided collaboratively. She also serves as standby makeup designer for any shows involving blood/gore (Gruesome Playground Injuries (2013), BUG (2017) and The Pillowman (2018)). She is thrilled to have found and be able to create with this theatre family that has such heart for collaborative and innovative processes and performances.
“Life isn’t a support system for art. It’s the other way around.”
― Stephen King
Treasurer & Grants Director
Robert Linder (he/him) is the Grants Director and Secretary of Sundown Collaborative Theatre. He graduated from the University of North Texas in 2009 with a BA in Theatre and English Creative Writing. Robert became passionate about Sundown in late 2008, joining the company in 2009. He has appeared in Sundown’s production of Raised in Captivity as Dylan and Roger, and as Larry in Mr. Marmalade. He was an Actor/Creator for Sundown’s devised piece (il)logical. He played Maurice in Deathwatch and the roles of Duncan/Porter/Seyton in Macbeth. He played the role of Rumpel in Happily Ever After at the 15th Annual New York International Fringe Festival in August 2011. He appeared in Sundown’s production of Carter Stubbs Takes Flight, a new play written by Brad McEntire specifically for Sundown. He portrayed Henry, the Lawyer, and a vicious Tiger. He portrayed Autolycus in (The Winter’s Tale), Todd in Far Away, and Robot in Dinosaur and Robot Stop a Train. More recently, he enjoyed playing Professor Down in Jacob Monroe Hates Clowns, Michal in The Pillowman, and Actor in The Woman in Black. He was the Assistant Director of Sundown’s production of Savage/Love. He has written, directed, and performed for many of Sundown’s short works festivals, most notably as Lizard Boy, a character created by Brad McEntire. Robert is very grateful to Sundown for giving young artists a truly unique outlet for their talents, and he hopes to be a part of this company for a long time.
“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.”
-Aristotle
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Ryan Davila (he/him) served as Technical Director for Sundown Collaborative Theatre from 2017 to 2020. He is now happy to step into the role as an Artistic Associate. He is working on his B.A. in Theatre at Texas Woman’s University. Ryan was first introduced to Sundown Collaborative Theatre when he played Big Stone in Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl. Since joining Ryan has performed in Sundown’s Short Works Festival and has designed lights for BUG, Pillowman, and Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons. He also worked on the lights and special effects for The Woman in Black. Outside of Sundown, Ryan has taught improv and stage combat for Theatre Denton’s youth education program. Ryan is hoping to be a theatre teacher someday so he can use theatre and art to inspire others the way it has inspired him.
“If music be the food of love, play on”
– William Shakespeare
SECRETARY
Emily Chambers (she/they) started working with Sundown when they attended the University of North Texas before graduating in 2021. She officially joined on as a member in the 16th season, but has worked with Sundown in the past on productions such as Woman in Black, Girl in the Machine, and Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind: 30 Plays in 60 Minutes. She looks forward to continuing supporting and growing with the Company!
Artistic Associates
“The mission of theatre, after all, is to change, to raise the consciousness of people to their human possibilities.”
-Arthur Miller
Brandy Townsend (they/them) has loved and lived theatre since high school. She joined Sundown Collaborative Theatre in December 2019 because it felt like home after doing just one show. She has performed with the Company in the 2019 Short Works, Love Stories and the 2020 Virtual Short Works.
“I just give myself permission to suck. I delete about 90 percent of my first drafts, so it doesn’t really matter much if on a particular day I write beautiful and brilliant prose that will stick in the minds of my readers forever, because there’s a 90 percent chance I’m just gonna delete whatever I write anyway. I find this hugely liberating.”
– John Green
Artistic Associate/Webminion
Criss Forshay (she/her) is excited to join Sundown and get back to stage-related shenanigans.
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”
-Pablo Picasso
Jacob Drum (he/him) graduated from TWU with his Bachelor’s in Theater in 2014. Notable past roles include Lurch in The Addams Family Musical, Quincy Morris in Dracula the Musical, Diggory and Sir Charles Marlow in She Stoops to Conquer, various roles in Sundown’s original production Love Stories, and a writer for Sundown’s online show Tiny Apocalypse. He loves to participate in any production, no matter the role, and looks forward to many future shows with Sundown.
“Theater is the art of sympathy. It’s the most ancient of the arts, and it’s always about returning us to our sympathy for other human beings.” – Sarah Ruhl
Jessica Barnes‘ (she/her) love of theatre and acting has guided and enriched her life. She has a passion for poetry, music, Shakespeare, and the absurd. Following a lengthy academic path in theatre, her recent credits include Denton Theatre’s Misery (2022), Sundown Theatre’s Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind (2023), and she also performed in Sundown Theatre’s 2024 Twenty-four Hour PlayWriting Festival. She looks forward to continuing her growth as an artist and collaborator with the talented creators at Sundown Theatre.
“Great Theater is about challenging how we think and encouraging us to fantasize about a world we aspire to.” – Willem Dafoe
Luis Aleman Alvarez (he/him) is a tenured theater maker. He loves seeing humanity through the eyes of the characters he portrays. Art (and theatre specifically) is food for the soul. Some of his favorite roles include CB in Dog Sees God, Nicky in Avenue Q, and Johnny in Let the Right One in. He was recently a part of Sundown’s 2024 24 Hour PlayWriting Festival as well as their devised peice, Body Stories (a working title). He’s incredibly honored and lucky to be part of such a wonderful company, surrounded by such amazing, beautiful, talented people. He’d like to thank everyone at Sundown for accepting him, loving him, and offering him the most important thing of them all… community. Play with love.
“What’s the world for if you can’t make it up the way you want it?”
—Toni Morrison
Michelle Henderson (she/her) is a dancer, performer and aficionado of all things art. She has performed as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, the preacher in The Amen Corner (written by James Baldwin), Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Liza Doolittle in Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, Oscar from The Odd Couple, The Woman at the Well in The Passion of Christ, and Body Stories (a working title) where she wrote and performed her own piece. She was also a part of Sundown’s 2024 24-Hour Playwriting Festival. Michelle won Top Talent for her original monologue and dance titled “What the World Needs Now” at the Miss Black Teen USA Pageant. She also had some training in Modern Jazz dance from Malcolm X College in Chicago and also performed and choreographed Spiritual Liturgical Dancing.
