About the Artists

Corrie Williamson, Poet: Corrie Williamson was born on a small farm in southwestern Virginia. She is the author of two books of poetry, most recently The River Where You Forgot My Name, which was selected by Allison Joseph for the 2018 Crab Orchard Series in Poetry, and released in October 2019. It was named a Montana Book Award Honor Book by the Montanan Library Association. Her first book, Sweet Husk, won the 2014 Perugia Press Prize, and was a finalist for the 2015 Library of Virginia Poetry Award. Corrie completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Virginia with a BA in Poetry and Anthropology, and her MFA in Poetry from the University of Arkansas, where she was a recipient of the Walton Fellowship, and a Director of the Writers in the Schools Program. She taught writing at the University of Arkansas, Helena College, and Carroll College, and worked as an educator in Yellowstone National Park. She was the recipient of the 2020 PEN Northwest/Margery Davis Boyden Wilderness Writing Residency, spending seven and a half months writing and living off-grid in a remote section of the Rogue River in southwest Oregon. Her poems have appeared in journals such as The Southern Review, Ecotone, The Missouri Review, AGNI, Poetry Daily, Verse Daily, Shenandoah, and many others. She lives in Montana. http://www.corriewilliamson.space

Kristina Smith, EPAC Artist in Residence: Kristina Smith is a lifelong artist, painter, illustrator, and nature lover. As a child, she grew up in Chicago surrounded by beautiful neighborhood murals, which inspired her to become an artist. She frequently visited the Art Institute of Chicago, where she studied painters who pushed the boundaries of what art can be and what it can do. In high school, she enrolled in the Advanced Art Program, where she received the highest possible portfolio scores two years in a row and several collegiate scholarship offers. She graduated with a BFA in Oil Painting, which remains her favorite medium due to its emphasis on craftsmanship and tactile sensation. In 2013, she was published in the Midwest Edition of New American Paintings, followed by her first solo show the following year. From 2013-2018, she taught and directed several local arts programs through After School Matters, a nonprofit community organization that helps local youth become apprentices of their chosen craft. She led several successful courses featuring landscape painting techniques. The artwork from those courses was then sold to raise funds for future programming. Recently, she has been developing her traditional sign painting technique in order to broaden her artistic scope and purpose.

Last Best Comedy: Annie and Levin O’Connor moved to Bozeman, Montana in the summer of 2018. A power couple from the improv world of Chicago and Los Angeles, they didn’t know what they would find in the small mountain town when it came to improv and comedy. That summer they met Molly Hannan and other improvisers from the troupe, The Bozeman Improverts and found a passionate and eager comedy community. Together with Molly they formed Last Best Comedy in 2019. They wanted to build on that foundation and create a space for more performance and training in Gallatin Valley. The mission of Last Best Comedy is to be a premiere place to experience, enjoy and laugh; a place for community, connection, and fun.  In September 2021 they plan to open a location in the beautiful and historic Bozeman Hotel where you will find performances of local and national stand-ups as well as produced improv shows directed by renowned improvisers near and far. You will also be able to pick from a host of classes through our LBC training center including stand-up and improv. In addition to classes and shows, Last Best Comedy intends to have a full bar where you can enjoy comedy inspired cocktails and a beer while you laugh at stuff.  https://www.lastbestcomedy.com/

Vincent: Written by Leonard Nimoy and performed by Jean-Michel Richaud opened in Los Angeles at the V.S. Theater in late 2012. The one-man show enjoyed three extensions, a 14-week sold out run and across the board excellent reviews. The production moved to the North Coast Repertory Theater in SanDiego for a sold out engagement in 2013 and, by popular demand, returned for two additional limited runs. With the steadfast support of author Leonard Nimoy, Vincent traveled to New York for a sold out engagement at Symphony Space, followed by various regional engagements in the U.S., including a sold out run at the Center for the Arts of Performance at UCLA. In 2015, Vincent was presented to help commemorate the 125th anniversary of Van Gogh’s death with the French language premiere in Paris, France at the renowned Cine XIII theatre. The show was embraced by reviewers and audiences alike and was nominated for Best Actor and Best Author at the Petits Molieres, the French Tony awards for small theaters. Vincent has been touring internationally in English and French ever since. http://www.jmrichaud.com/styled-2/index.html

Jean-Michel Richaud received his MA from Sorbonne University, and studied at Paris’s National Conservatory, Columbia University’s graduate theater program and The Actors Studio. He is a founding member of the award-winning theater company The Next Arena, starring in many company productions, including No Exit, The Angry Guy in the Pink Hat and Von Bach. Jean-Michel has appeared in numerous film and television shows, including What Just Happened with Robert De Niro, Bottle Shock opposite Alan Rickman and Agent X opposite Sharon Stone. He is recognized as one of the top European voice over talents in Los Angeles. Among the 300+ movies he has dubbed into French, he had the pleasure of voicing Al Pacino in the anniversary edition of Scarface, Academy Award winner Colin Firth in The King’s Speech and more recently Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything and Deve Patel in Lion. http://www.jmrichaud.com/

Bozeman Symphony Far Afield Ensemble Program: The Far Afield Program, established in 1992, takes Bozeman Symphony chamber ensembles to rural communities to present free performances and share their musical perspectives. Far Afield enables the audience to see, hear and feel the music being created live instead of through the media of television or radio. https://www.bozemansymphony.org/community-engagement.html

Missoula Children’s Theater: Life is no picnic when you stray from the trail! Join Red Riding Hood and her friends on a forest adventure when the Missoula Children’s Theater and over 50 local students present an original musical adaptation of this classic tale. This production is part of the Missoula Children’s Theater’s unique international touring project. https://mctinc.org/

The Fretless: A supergroup of celebrated solo artists, The Fretless has been creating a singular and signature sound that dares to expand the idea of what a string music quartet can be — transforming fiddle tunes and folk melodies into intricate, beautiful, high-energy arrangements that have quickly gained a dedicated following and accolades from around the world. Within what appears to be a simple and classical construct — two fiddles, a viola, and a cello — The Fretless has created a sound that is distinctly rich, multi-layered and uniquely percussive. This tonal quality is pushing traditional music to new heights, producing a completely fresh approach to Folk music. https://www.thefretless.com/

Shakespeare in the Parks: The mission of Montana Shakespeare in the Parks (MSIP) is to engage and enrich both rural and underserved communities with professional productions of Shakespeare and other classics and, through educational outreach, to inspire creative expression and appreciation of the arts in young audiences. MSIP opened its first season in the summer of 1973. The amateur acting company was comprised of a mixture of students and community members and was founded by Dr. Bruce Jacobsen. The company performed Shakespearean scenes only and the season consisted of thirteen performances in seven cities in Montana. The goal was to bring Shakespeare directly to the people of Montana who would not otherwise have the opportunity with an emphasis on underserved rural communities. The following summer, two full productions (The Taming of the Shrew and The Merchant of Venice) were mounted by a paid professional company and staff. The season doubled to include 26 performances in 18 cities and the Montana Shakespeare in the Parks Company as we have come to know it was born. From its humble beginnings in 1973, Shakespeare in the Parks has grown from a limited summer tour by a very small company of dedicated artists with an annual budget of less than $15,000 to a year round touring company managed by five permanent staff members and a small army of seasonal employees whose annual budget is now nearly $1,200,000. The company serves the entire state of Montana as well as communities in the surrounding states of North Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho and Washington and has become one of Montana State University's best known and most effective outreach programs. https://shakespeareintheparks.org/