FACULTY AND STAFF
Brenda Shows
Owner / Artistic Director
Brenda discovered a love for musical theatre at R.H. Watkins High School in Laurel where she performed the leading female roles in The Sound of Music and Annie Get Your Gun under the direction of Michael Howard. She went on to play Domina in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Abigail in The Crucible at the University of Southern Mississippi. At Laurel Little Theatre and Hattiesburg Civic Light Opera she has played such quintessential leading ladies as Maria Von Trap, Nellie Forbush, Mame, Dolly Levi and Mama Rose. In 1989, she was selected Best Actress by the Mississippi Theatre Association for her portrayal of Daisy in Driving Miss Daisy which she also produced and directed. She reprised this role with Laurel Little Theater in 2014. In 2019 she played Mother Superior in Hub City Player’s production of Sister Act. Brenda has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Southern Mississippi where she studied theatre, voice, radio, television and film and received her teaching certification in English, Reading and Speech. She is perhaps best known as the former host of MIDDAY, a local community affairs and interview television program she hosted for 10 years on the local NBC affiliate where she also served as Marketing Manager.
Jo Ignatius
Costume Design/ Construction
Jo is a native of Sutton Coldfield, England. She came over to the United Stages in 1997 on a golf scholarship to the University of Mississippi. She was a 4-year letter winner while earning a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. After graduating college, Jo moved to Chicago where she worked as a Sales and Marketing Director for a national golf management company. In 2006, Jo moved back to Mississippi, and currently lives in Hattiesburg with her husband Joe and her two children, Caldwell and Bodacious. Jo first got involved in building costumes for StageStruck Performance Studio’s The Little Mermaid Jr. in 2013, and has since designed and built costumes for StageStruck’s productions of Seussical Jr. (2014), Shrek Jr. (2015), The Lion King Jr. (2016), Madagascar a Musical Adventure Jr. (2017) and Beauty and the Beast Jr. (2018), Elf Jr. (2018) and Aladdin Jr. (2019).
Jennifer Timidaiski
Jennifer is currently the elementary music teacher at Longleaf Elementary School and the children’s events coordinator for FestivalSouth. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music in Choral Conducting from The University of Southern Mississippi. While a student at Southern Miss, Jennifer was a member of The Southern Chorale, Carillon Handbell Choir, and Chamber Singers. She traveled extensively with those performing ensembles including tours of Italy, France, Scotland, Estonia, and Jamaica as well as many stateside tours. Prior to attending graduate school at Southern Miss, she served as the choral director at Bayou View Middle School in Gulfport. She previously served as the StageStruck Music Director from 2014 to 2017. Her experience at StageStruck includes Into the Woods Jr., Shrek Jr., The Lion King Jr., and Madagascar A Musical Adventure Jr. She resides in Hattiesburg with her husband, Grayson, and children, Margo and Cannon.
Rachel Claire Stevens
Rachel Claire Stevens is from Sumrall Mississippi. She has been performing from a very young age doing shows with StageStruck, Hattiesburg Civic Light Opera, Hattiesburg Community Theater, and other companies around the Pine Belt area. Some of her roles include Fiona in Shrek the Musical, Mazie in Seussical, Marty in Madagascar, Ariel in the Little Mermaid, and many others. She was captain of the Sumrall High School award winning A Capella group, Traces Of Blue, was a member of Concert Choir all four years of high school, and was the Assistant Choreographer at StageStruck Performance Studio under the direction of Brenda Shows in 2018/2019. She has sung in USM’s Southern Chorale and Southern Miss’s acapella group and has done multiple shows with Southern Opera and Musical Theater Program. While in school she studied voice under Dr. Jonathan Yarrington and over the summer made her debut with The Hub City Players. She is currently doing music freelance with bands around the Hattiesburg area and has returned to StageStruck to continue teaching what she loves.
Hannah Reid
Hannah Reid has recently joined the staff of Stagestruck Performance Studio as an assistant instructor. She was a student at StageStruck for six years where she played The Mad Hatter in Shrek, Zazu in The Lion King, Julian in Madagascar, Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast and the Genie in Aladdin.
Hannah also painted the murals you see on the walls at StageStruck.
She is now attending Jones College and wants to further her studies to pursue a career in the field in mathematics.
Hannah is the oldest of five sisters and her hobbies include painting drawing and dancing!
Rachel Boutwell
Choreographer / Social Media & Website Management
Rachel's lifelong immersion in music, dance, and singing began at the tender age of 3, shaping her into the versatile artist she is today. At Oak Grove High School, she showcased her talents as a member of the Golden Spirits Dance Team and the CenterStage! Show Choir, while also honing her skills through regional dance competitions. Transitioning to Mississippi State University, Rachel not only danced with the Pom Squad but also discovered a passion for marketing and graphic design through her business classes. Graduating from The University of Southern Mississippi with a BSBA, she seamlessly merged her artistic and business talents. Joining StageStruck Performance Studio, Rachel crafted captivating marketing content while lending her choreographic prowess to productions such as Shrek The Musical Jr., Madagascar Jr., Beauty and the Beast Jr., Elf Jr., and Aladdin Jr. With her creative vision and strategic insight, Rachel continues to leave an unforgettable impact on every project she undertakes