Guest Artists

We regularly engage with industry-leading theatre professionals who bring insight, creativity, and excellence from the working-world of theatre. These guest artists support the excellence of the FAC Theatre department.

Shelly Butler

Shelley Butler has over thirty Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional credits to date and has worked extensively with writers on new plays and musicals. Recent productions include the world premiere of Lucas Hnath’s A Doll’s House Part 2 at South Coast Repertory and the Japanese premiere of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo. She has directed and developed work across the country for theaters including: Ars Nova, Primary Stages, E.S.T., WP Theater, Hartford Stage, South Coast Repertory, Denver Center Theatre Company, Pioneer Theatre Company, Geva, The Old Globe, Contemporary American Theater Festival, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, New York Stage and Film, Dallas Lyric Stage, PlayPenn, New Dramatists, the Lark, New Georges, Dixon Place, The Playwright’s Realm, Wellfleet Harbor Actor’s Theatre and Keen Company. Shelley is the recipient of a Drama League Directing Fellowship, a 2005 Director’s Guild of America Trainee, a member of SDC, the Lincoln Center Directors’ Lab and the Women’s Project Directors Lab. Shelley spent two seasons as artistic associate in charge of new play development for Hartford Stage and three seasons as artistic associate for Great Lakes Theater Festival.

Javon Johnson

Native of Anderson, S.C., and a founding ensemble member/resident playwright of Congo Square Theatre Company in Chicago. Johnson is also a member of The Dramatist Guild, SAG, AEA, AFTRA, an MFA graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, BA recipient from S.C. State University, and has served as NEA and TCG panelist.

Fulton Burns

T. FULTON BURNS (SDC & MFA) is a professional educator, performer, director and fight choreographer, and a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. He has worked as an assistant director with Moises Kaufman, collaborated & performed with the Living Theatre, danced with Charleston Ballet Theater & Greenville Ballet, and has worked in leadership roles with Cirque du Soleil.

Fulton attended Winthrop University where he earned his BA in Theatre Performance and completed his graduate work at Western Illinois University specializing in Directing for the Stage (MFA). He has taught in higher education for over a decade with schools like University of North Carolina School of the Arts, University of Nevada Las Vegas, University of South Alabama, The University of Montana, and Illinois College. Burns is also professionally accredited as a Certified Teacher with the Expressive Actor Technique, Certified Teacher with the Society of American Fight Directors, Registered Yoga Teacher (200 Hour RYT & 100 Hour Warrior RYT) with YogaFit & Yoga Alliance, an Associate Instructor with Dueling Arts International, and a Certified Teacher with the National Michael Chekhov Association.

West Hyler

West Hyler was the Producing Artistic Director of the New York Musical Festival, co-Artistic Director of Drama-League nominated Artistic Stamp, and the Scene Director and Story Writer for Cirque Du Soleil Paramour, Cirque's first Broadway Musical. Directing work includes Shrek! The Musical (National Opera House of Bulgaria), Piff, the Magic Dragon (Flamingo Hotel and Casino), Avenue Q (State Puppet Theater of Bulgaria), Air Play (New Victory, Int’l tour), Mortality Play, Wingman, Kid who would be Pope (Ars Nova), H2O (59E59), Getting My Act Together, Game of Love (York Theater Company), Tempest, Love's Labours Lost, Merry Wives of Windsor (Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival), Georama, The Disappearing Man (St Louis Rep), Legendarium and Metamorphosis (Big Apple Circus, Lincoln Center) and Panda! (Beijing State Theater, Palazzo Hotel and Casino), amongst others. Other Broadway work includes associate director on Jersey Boys, associate director on How The Grinch Stole Christmas, and he directed Vanessa Carlton into Beautiful, the Carole King Musical. He has been a Drama League fall directing fellow as well as a Drama League Resident Artist and holds an MFA from UCSD.