ALEX Alford
Managing Director
Serving as Austin Shakespeare’s Managing Director since 2007, Alex previously worked at Austin Opera for 14 years in a variety of positions, from Director of Administration to Director of Board and Volunteer services. His previous experience includes a 12-year stint at ZACH as Box Office Manager, Volunteer Coordinator and Project InterAct Business Manager. He has worked at The Paramount Theatre, The University of Texas Performing Arts and The Harry Ransom Center. He has served as President of the Board of Austin Circle of Theaters and Treasurer of the Board of The Rude Mechanicals. Alex holds a BA in History from The University of Texas at Austin, summa cum laude.
Laura A. Walberg
ASSISTANT TO THE MANAGING DIRECTOR
Serving as Austin Shakespeare's Assistant to the Managing Director since 2014. prior to her arrival, during her tenure as President and CEO of Miniface Corp., she lent her talents in marketing & advertising, accounting, web & graphic design, project management, training, and consulting to their broad range of clients, from Fortune 500 global conglomerates to pro-bono individual artists for over 20 years. Having served in multiple, various roles throughout the Austin, Chicago, and New York professional theatrical communities both onstage and off for the past 30+ years, Laura also spent 5 years serving as the Actors' Equity Association Liaison for the Austin/San Antonio community as an actor & stage manager. She holds a BA in Theater from St. Edward's University in Austin, summa cum laude and studied acting for stage and film at the ASOLO Conservatory, FSU.
JILL SWANSON
Scansion and Text Specialist
Shakes Aloud! Instructor
Jill is an actor, director, writer and teacher with 19 years experience in Austin, mostly with Austin Shakespeare. She assistant-directed A Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo and Juliet and was dramaturg for Measure for Measure. She leads workshops for the company's 20/20 Program. Jill wrote the chapter "Introduction to Scansion" in the book 111 Shakespeare Monologues and served as its co-editor. She also is a contributor to "The Ultimate Scene Study Series for Teens Volume 1: 60 Shakespeare Scenes." Jill studied Shakespeare at Florida State University and directing at Texas State University.