Gina Braswell

Director & Theatre Arts Teacher

     Gina Braswell is the Theatre teacher at Jefferson High School, director of the Mainstage production and Co-Sponsor of the Jefferson Players. In additions to directing productions with Jefferson Players this year, she will also be directing Jefferson High School’s annual musical. Her most recent role in a production at Jeff was serving as the director of She Kills Monsters.
     Gina has lived a life centered on theatre. Originally from West Texas, Gina was raised performing in professional Shakespearean productions at The Globe of the Great Southwest. She earned her undergraduate degree in theatrical directing from Columbia College Chicago while working as an actor in Chicago’s bustling theatre scene. Gina earned her masters degree in Theatre and Performance Studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder where she worked as a dramaturg and teaching artist for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. Gina’s love for storytelling and the social impact of theatre has led her to teach all age groups throughout her career and direct for multiple non-profit groups such as ArtsUnderground in Colorado and GuideRight in Chicago. Her goal is ultimately to share the joy of theatre making with her students and inspire social change through storytelling. 
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Tim Franklin

Improv Coach

     ​Tim Franklin is a math teacher and improv coach working with Jefferson Players. This is his first year working with the theater department at Jefferson High School.
     Tim became involved in improvisational theater while attending Purdue University as an undergrad. He was a part of the improv comedy group The Crazy Monkeys from 2006 – 2009. After college, he helped found a long form improv comedy group called Ad Liberation. He was a part of that group from its inception in 2010 until 2014, when he left to join Lafayette’s local improv group One Size Fits All.
     Improvisational skills are important not just in theater, but for developing creativity and flexibility in all aspects of life. Tim believes that by practicing the art of improvisation, students will gain confidence in public speaking and networking skills which will benefit them beyond high school.
     But mainly, he thinks improv is just super fun and that more people should be doing it! 

Raeanne O'Day

Director & Improv Coach

     Raeanne O'Day is a Director of the Mainstage Show and a Co-Sponsor of Jefferson Players. In the past seasons, she has directed Puffs, She Kills Monsters and Peter and the Starcatcher, and led the Improv groups.
     Born and raised in St. John, Indiana, Raeanne graduated from Indiana University Bloomington in 2018 with a Bachelor's degree in English Education and a minor in Counseling. Raeanne was offered a teaching position at Lafayette Jefferson High School in July of 2018 and has been a director and sponsor of Jefferson Players ever since.
     She believes theatre is a place of empathy and expression: a place for students to explore new stories and learn more about themselves and the world. Raeanne wholeheartedly believes that theatre helps foster kindness and bravery--two traits that help create empathetic and well-rounded individuals. Her goal is to help her students become bolder, better, and kinder people through the magic of theatre.