Michael Shelton, Artistic Director is a founding member of HART and currently serves as Artistic Director. For HART he directed the world premiere production of Midwestern Hemisphere and HART's production of The Merchant of Venice and has been on stage for Death & the Maiden, Happy Birthday, Wanda June and An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe. Mr. Shelton has worked extensively at the Phoenix Theatre where some of his favorite credits include The Pillowman, Bug, Urinetown: The Musical, Three Days of Rain, Bluff, The Larmie Project, and Take Me Out - which he also had the privilege of performing at the Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton, FL. He has been in twenty-some shows at the Indiana Repertory Theatre, a handful at Beef & Boards, and Andy Lee in 42nd Street in Moscow, Russia. Other directorial credits include Trucker Rhapsody and La Sangre Llama at the Phoenix, the world premiere of Lies My Parents Told Me, David Mamet’s American Buffalo for the Beckmann Theatre, and a critically acclaimed independent production of Sam Shepard’s True West. 

Ryan Artzberger  has appeared with HART as Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice and as part of the 2007 Evening with Edgar Allan Poe. Other theatre credits include: Billy in Iron Kisses, Simon Stimson in Our Town, Biff in Death of a Salesman, Elijah in Inherit the Wind, Jesse in He Held Me Grand, the title role in Macbeth, and perhaps every male role but Bob Cratchit and Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at The Indiana Repertory Theatre; Pericles in Pericles and Herve Joncour in Silk at The Goodman Theatre; Jason in the world premiere of Mary Zimmerman’s Argonautika at The Lookingglass Theatre Company; Pericles in Pericles and Valvert in Cyrano at The Shakespeare Theatre in D.C.; Hamlet in Hamlet, Treplev in The Sea Gull,  Master Slenderin The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Angelo, The Goldsmith in The Comedy of Errors at Shakespeare Santa Cruz; Friar Laurence in Romeo & Juliet at Great Lakes Theater Festival; Ray Dooley in The Beauty Queen of Leenane at The Denver Center; and Orlando in As You Like It at both The Shakespeare Festival of New Jersey and Playmakers Rep. Ryan is a graduate of Ohio University and The Juilliard School.

Ben Tebbe is a founding member and Company Manager of Heartland Actors’ Repertory Theatre. He appeared as Gerardo in HART’s inaugural production of Death and the Maiden, as well as in the two staged readings of Happy Birthday, Wanda June and An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe, then in The Merchant of Venice as Gratiano. Ben also stage managed the world premiere production of Midwestern Hemisphere. Other regional credits include performances with Indiana Repertory Theatre (Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Romeo & Juliet, A Christmas Carol), Phoenix Theatre (The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Urinetown: the Musical, Orson’s Shadow), ShadowApe Theatre Company (Gorey Stories), and Contemporary American Theatre Company in Columbus, OH (Complete History of America Abridged). A proud Equity member, Ben earned his B.A. in theatre from Marian College, and when not on stage he is an Artist in the Classroom for IRT.

Michael T. Downey is a founding member of HART and earned his undergraduate degree in theatre performance from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana . Currently Michael is an MFA candidate in acting from University of South Carolina, after a seven year hiatus as a high school drama teacher in Brownsburg, Indiana. In his native state he had appeared in multiple productions including Romeo and Juliet, Urinetown, True West, The Tempest, Rounding Third, and Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge to name a few. While he may be living many states away, he is still a proud Hoosier, excited to still be a part of HART and doing what he can to help fulfill HART's artistic mission.

Sam Fain has worked with HART in numerous capacities, as Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice, Harrison in the world premiere of Midwestern Hemisphere and served as stage manager for Death and the Maiden. Other recent roles include George Milton in Of Mice and Men for Indianapolis Civic Theatre, Hawkeye in M*A*S*H for LTP, and Long John Silver and other characters in Treasure Island for Children’s Theatre Institute.  He attended the University of Indianapolis, where his favorite roles included Hamm in Endgame, Talthybius in Trojan Women, Ozzie in Sticks and Bones, Peter Patrone in The Heidi Chronicles, and Malcolm in Bedroom Farce. Sam also enjoys playing the guitar and tries to write a decent song here and there.

Scot Greenwell recently portrayed Launcelot Gobbo in HART’s The Merchant of Venice. Scot is the Literary Manager at the Phoenix Theatre, where he appeared in Dos Fallopia’s Desperate Spuddwives, Urinetown, and most recently, Some Men, to name a few. Other performances throughout Indianapolis include The Comedy of Errors, The Tempest, The Full Monty, Parade, and a few fabulous Sondheim musicals. Scot is seen five days a week in the galleries of The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, playing various characters, from Otto Frank to silly superheroes.

Lauren Morris became a member of the HART company after working on Death and the Maiden in the fall of 2006. She also appeared with HART as Penelope Ryan in the staged reading of Happy Birthday, Wanda June. Ms. Morris has performed or directed with Indiana Repertory Theatre, the Phoenix Theatre, Shadow Ape Theatre Company, Brown County Playhouse, the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, the Children's Theatre Institute, Arden Theatre Co. of Indianapolis, and Crossroads Repertory Theatre. She is an alumna of Indiana State University and currently pursuing her MFA in theatre management from California State University, Long Beach.

Robert Neal has performed with HART in the reading of Kurt Vonnegut’s Happy Birthday, Wanda June, a reading of The Duck Variations by David Mamet, and as Jerry in Midwestern Hemisphere.  Locally, he recently completed his seventh season with the Indiana Repertory Theatre and has also worked with ShadowApe Theatre Company and The Phoenix Theatre. He has worked extensively in the U.S. regional theatre and in Europe. He holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Acting from The Pennsylvania State University and is a 2007 recipient of the Arts Council of Indianapolis’ Creative Renewal Grant, which enabled him to travel to London in the summer of 2008 to study Shakespeare with the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA).

Matthew Roland has deeply enjoyed his involvement with HART which includes Old Gobbo and Tubal in The Merchant of Venice and as part of the Edgar Allan Poe Reading.  Locally, he has also performed for The Phoenix, Theatre on the Square, Indianapolis Civic Theatre, and the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, during which he became the proud father of an ulcer. As a playwright, his work has been produced in New York City, Indianapolis, Boston, and published by Baker’s Plays.  Here’s a smattering of abbreviated responses to his work so far:  “…Pathetic” (The Indianapolis Star); “like …hot butter” (Nuvo); “precious” (Boston Theatre Mirror); “…many missed this piece” (Indy.com); “Rubber-face” (The Indianapolis Star); “likes posing with …himself” (Citybeat); “mentally handicapped” (Backstage.com); “best known locally …as …disturbed” (Indiana Business Journal).

Phebe Taylor appeared as Jessica in HART's The Merchant of Venice. Other Indianapolis credits include Rachel in End Days, Boston Marriage, Ten Percent of Marta Solano, and as Little Sally in Urinetown - all at Indy's Phoenix Theatre. She is a Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama graduate and currently a company member of the Pushcart Players, a nationally touring repertory theatre for young audiences based in Verona, New Jersey. Phebe lives in Queens and gives sightseeing tours of New York City.

Diane Timmerman appeared as Nerissa in The Merchant of Venice for HART. Other acting credits include Bug at the Phoenix Theatre, Spinning into Butter at Ohio’s Human Race Theatre, Beautiful Thing at Human Race and the Phoenix, Angel Street at Indiana Repertory Theare, and American Clock and Doctor Faustus at Chicago’s Court Theatre. Directing credits include Carousel for Michigan’s Bay View Music Festival, The Ice Breaker at the Phoenix Theatre, and the upcoming Powered by Poetry! at Indy’s Central Library for this fall’s Spirit & Place Festival in Indianapolis. A Designated Linklater Voice Teacher, Diane is Professor of Theatre at Butler University, sits on the boards of the Phoenix Theatre and JourneysFire International, and will launch International Theatre Indianapolis next summer.