Dr. William Conte, Artistic Director

William (Bill) Conte is the 2024 Wyoming Arts Council Fellow for the Performing Arts in Theatre. A New York City native, he was born in Brooklyn, raised on Staten Island, and educated in Manhattan. Since the 1980s he has produced, directed, written, and/or acted in nearly one hundred productions. Bill pioneered the use of found spaces on Staten Island for unprecedented productions of T.S. Eliot’s poem, “The Waste Land,” on an abandoned industrial site adjacent New York harbor, a production of Prometheus staged over five acres on the grounds and monuments of Snug Harbor Cultural Center, and other shows staged in bars, on the street, on rooftops, in parks, and on beaches. In the late 1990s Bill received funding from the New York State Council on the Arts to translate and stage Dante’s Inferno; the five year long project resulted in a critically acclaimed off-off-Broadway production of Inferno at Synchronicity Space in Soho, Manhattan, in 1998, and a 2001 performance of Paradiso on a Staten Island beach featuring a live orchestra, as well as earth works and sculptures made from found objects. For this work he was honored by the Italian-American cultural organization Fieri, and was the recipient of numerous grants and awards from the New York State Council on the Arts. As artistic director of Theatre SanGreal, Bill entered into partnership with the New York City Department of Parks in the early 2000s and staged Macbeth, The Tempest, and City Dionysia on the beaches of Staten Island. During his time in New York he worked as an adjunct lecturer for seven different colleges simultaneously, teaching dozens of classes in writing, literature, history, and theatre.

Bill earned a Ph.D. in Theatre from the City University of New York Graduate Center in 2010. He was then appointed as the Instructor of Theatre History and Literature for the Department of Theatre and Dance, Casper College, in central Wyoming. Before retiring from academia in December 2020, he staged or acted in nineteen productions at the college. He also found time to publish peer reviewed scholarship and to translate from Latin an obscure Renaissance treatise on ballet.

Since founding the Theatre of the Poor in 2016 he has staged and acted in twenty-four shows, including a “motorcycle” staging in Newcastle, Wyoming, of Macbeth, which coincided with the Sturges Rally in 2016; a production of his adaptation of Prometheus, in which the theft of fire from the sun coincided exactly with the total solar eclipse over Casper in August 2017; a verse adaptation of Oedipus Tyrannos for the “Staircase to Heaven” in Casper (August 2020); an 18 hour marathon performance of The Bald Soprano (October 2021); a production of American Buffalo staged in an actual thrift store (May 2022); and his new translation of Plautus’s Menaechmi from the original Latin, staged at the Washington Park Band Shell (June 2023). Since opening their Studio Theatre in October 2020, the Theatre of the Poor has produced four seasons of classics both ancient and modern under Bill’s leadership, including The Inspector General (2022), Hamlet (2022), Miss Julie (2023), Largo Desolato (2022), and The Imaginary Invalid (2024). In September 2023, Bill had the pleasure of collaborating with historian Johanna Wickman and the Fort Caspar Museum on the revival of The Senator, a long forgotten melodrama based on the life of Senator Preston B. Plumb, which he staged at Natrona County High School in collaboration with several local non-profits and government agencies.

His commitment to great teaching was acknowledged by an Excellence Award from the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) in 2014; in 2019 he received Honorable Mention for the Wyoming Arts Council Performing Arts Fellowship in Theatre and Dance for his work in Casper theatre. Bill is married to elementary school teacher and tutor Jacquelyn Navarro, and one of the great joys of his life is working on plays with their daughter Julia. He is deeply honored to be this year’s Performing Arts/Theatre and Dance Fellow and thanks his family and the “Grex,” without whom none of it would have been possible.

Asheton Capps

Asheton has been performing on stage for 15 years. He completed the TotP Apprenticeship in 2022, and joined the ensemble. He continues his education in Theatre History under Dr. William Conte. In the 22/23 season he was in Inspector General, Largo Desolato, and Menaechmi. He recently had the joy of being in a historical production of The Senator, and this season is appearing as Jaxton in The Thanksgiving Play.

Julia Conte

Julia Conte is a 25 year old bartender who has been involved in performing arts for most of her life. She is a board member at Theatre of the Poor, and has been working with the theatre since its beginnings in 2016. You might recognize Julia from Theatre of the Poor productions such as The Senator, in which she played Josie, No Exit, playing the role of Estelle, Hamlet as Ophelia, Largo Desolato as Lucy, The Bald Soprano as Mrs. Martin,Inspector General as a few side characters, or offstage as director of American Buffalo. Theatre of the Poor has created a community in which people are free to express themselves through art in non conventional ways and impact the community of Casper with art, offering them unique experiences, and a wonderful support system. Julia is thankful for the opportunity to be involved with something she is so passionate about, make art that is important to her, and work with people she loves.

Vincent Grund

Vincent Grund has been in theatre since 2021. You may recognize him TotP shows such as, Bobby from American Buffalo, Luka Lukavich from Inspector General, Mr. Martin from The Bald Soprano, Jean from Miss Julie, and most recently, Richard Vance in The Senator. He enjoys working on sets and tech and made his directorial debut with No Exit in February 2023. When he’s not helping with the theatre, he’s either playing a good game or spending time with his beautiful girlfriend Julia.

Daniel Igleheart

Daniel is always enthusiastic about working with Theatre of the Poor. From overly serious, to the goofy comedy relief, any opportunity to act with his friends and family is a welcome one. Previously appearing as George in The Senator, Garcin in No Exit, Sosicles in Menaechmus, and the title role in The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Seeing and meeting recurring audience members recognize, and enjoy, his performances mean the world to him. He hopes the upcoming and future performances will only add to his repertoire of his acting range he has learned from experience, studies, and imagination.

Drew Stratton

Drew is a lifelong Casper resident who has been active in theatre since he was in Middle School at Dean Morgan Jr. High in 2011. Since then he has performed in many of the major theatres in Casper including Stage III, Casper Theatre Company, and of course, Theatre of the Poor! Recently, he has portrayed Leopold Nettles in Largo Desolato, Menaechmus in Menaechmi, and Isaiah Sharpless in the revival of The Senator. Drew has found his place at TotP and appreciates the historical, artistic, and often strange material being explored here.