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Merlyn Q. SellAssistant Director of Education and Outreach |
Merlyn Q. Sell grew up in the Black Hills and graduated Lead High School in 1999. She holds a BA in Theatre from Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park California and an MLitt and MFA in Shakespeare and Performance from Mary Baldwin University in Staunton Virginia.
As an artist/educator, Merlyn has taught at Mary Baldwin University, the College of Saint Mary (Omaha, NE), as well as leading Shakespeare workshops at local schools. It has been her great delight to work with students as a playwright in productions at The College of Saint Mary (Sweet Are the Uses), Santa Rosa Junior College (Circus Acts), and Mary Baldwin University (One Woman Town).
Merlyn was a founding member of Actor’s Basement, a theatre company in Santa Rosa California that specialized in producing new work and unique adaptations of classics. In her time there she was lucky enough to direct A Midsummer Night’s Dream staged on the heavily graffitied skate park inside the old Phoenix movie theater, as well as several other classical works. While in California she was also fortunate to work with Narrow Way Stage Company, Pegasus Theatre Company, and The Raven Theatre.
In Virginia she was a company member of Sweet Wag Shakespeare. Some favorite experiences there include playing Polonius in both Hamlet and the devised work Strange Absence, as well as directing a three person touring production of As You Like It. She was also able to direct a showcase for the American Shakespeare Center’s summer camp program.
Since returning to the hills, she has found opportunities to work virtually with Marin Shakespeare (interim Marketing Director), Sweet Tea Shakespeare (Engagement Director), and Brave Spirits Theatre (actor). Locally, she has directed for BHCT (Macbeth, Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage, In the Next Room), and Firehouse Brewing Theatre Company (Doll’s House Part 2, The Wolves), and appeared as Ginger in BHCT’s production of Book of Days.
Currently Merlyn is the co-creator and writing producer of The Horned Moon Presents, a podcast that details the behind the scenes drama of a fictional community theatre. She will also be a part of The South Dakota Change Network’s 2021-22 cohort. Additional details about her work, including her podcast, are available at merlynq.com.
As an artist/educator, Merlyn has taught at Mary Baldwin University, the College of Saint Mary (Omaha, NE), as well as leading Shakespeare workshops at local schools. It has been her great delight to work with students as a playwright in productions at The College of Saint Mary (Sweet Are the Uses), Santa Rosa Junior College (Circus Acts), and Mary Baldwin University (One Woman Town).
Merlyn was a founding member of Actor’s Basement, a theatre company in Santa Rosa California that specialized in producing new work and unique adaptations of classics. In her time there she was lucky enough to direct A Midsummer Night’s Dream staged on the heavily graffitied skate park inside the old Phoenix movie theater, as well as several other classical works. While in California she was also fortunate to work with Narrow Way Stage Company, Pegasus Theatre Company, and The Raven Theatre.
In Virginia she was a company member of Sweet Wag Shakespeare. Some favorite experiences there include playing Polonius in both Hamlet and the devised work Strange Absence, as well as directing a three person touring production of As You Like It. She was also able to direct a showcase for the American Shakespeare Center’s summer camp program.
Since returning to the hills, she has found opportunities to work virtually with Marin Shakespeare (interim Marketing Director), Sweet Tea Shakespeare (Engagement Director), and Brave Spirits Theatre (actor). Locally, she has directed for BHCT (Macbeth, Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage, In the Next Room), and Firehouse Brewing Theatre Company (Doll’s House Part 2, The Wolves), and appeared as Ginger in BHCT’s production of Book of Days.
Currently Merlyn is the co-creator and writing producer of The Horned Moon Presents, a podcast that details the behind the scenes drama of a fictional community theatre. She will also be a part of The South Dakota Change Network’s 2021-22 cohort. Additional details about her work, including her podcast, are available at merlynq.com.