Artists Talk with LVA: January 15, 2026

Woody & Barrett

J. Barrett Cooper & Steve Woodring came in to discuss their upcoming production of Samuel Beckett's Endgame at Bunbury Theatre. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM / Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists talk with LVA.

J. Barrett Cooper is an actor, director, fight director, storyteller, and acting instructor, and an avid cyclist. He has taught theatre at Walden Theatre and Idylwild Institute, and was the founder of Savage Rose Classical Theatre Company. He has worked as an actor for Stage One Family Theatre, Kentucky Shakespeare, and Bunbury Theatre.

Steve Woodring was the Director of Production and Consulting at the Kentucky Center for the Arts, and has directed many productions for Bunbury Theatre, including the upcoming production of Samuel Beckett’s Endgame, which opens January 30 and runs through February 15 at The Henry Clay Theatre on the 3rd floor of the Henry Clay building.

Endgame is an absurdist, tragicomic one-act play by the Irish playwright Samuel Beckett. First performed in London in 1957, it is about a blind, paralysed, domineering elderly man, his geriatric parents, and his servile companion in an abandoned house in a fictional post-apocalyptic wasteland, all of whom await an unspecified "end".

Artists Talk with LVA: October 12, 2023

As Open Studio begins we speak with 2 of the artists, Ton'nea Green & Victor Sweatt. Also in the studio will be J. Barrett Cooper talking about "The Weir" at Bunbury Theatre. Barrett & Victor were my 1st guests on this show as we celebrate being on WXOX/Artxfm.com for 10 YEARS! Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

J. Barrett Cooper is an Actor, Director, Fight Director, Dialect & Acting Coach, Former Prod. Dir.-Savage Rose Theatre Co. he has worked with Kentucky Shakespeare, Bunbury Theatre, CenterStage at the Trager JCC, Constellation Stage & Screen in Bloomington, IN, and recently appeared in the feature film White Noise, directed by Noah Baumbach. Currently, he is directing The Weir for Bunbury Theatre, which opens tomorrow and runs through October 28.

Ton’nea Green, a recent recipient of a Black Artists Fund grant, is a talented portrait artist. With this grant, Ton’nea aims to create beautiful paintings that reflect the lived experiences of children during this global pandemic. As a mother, Ton’nea wants this project to capture the complicated emotional experiences that many children have had to go through during this difficult time. Ton’nea will be participating In Open Studio Louisville this Saturday, October 14 at Mellwood Art Center.

Victor Sweatt is a Louisville-based, self-taught painter and muralist. Sweatt was born in Louisville. He has shown his work in both group and solo exhibitions and appears in public and private collections throughout the United States. Sweat is a signature member of Louisville Visual Art, the Kentucky Artist Pastel Society, and the Kentucky Watercolor Society. Victor is participating in Open Studio Louisville at the LVA Studios on October 14 & 21

Artists Talk with LVA: June 29, 2023

The show gets a 2nd hour this week so we are filling it with Juergen Tossmann, Patrick Tovatt, andSteve Woodring. One-Off Productions in partnership with Bunbury Theatre is mounting the world premiere of Patrick's new play, Helper, in Louisville June 30, 2023

Patrick Tovatt is an American actor and playwright. He is perhaps best known for his roles on several soap operas, He attended Harvard University and laterstudied playwriting at Antioch College where he studied playwriting. Tovatt was a member of the original company of the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. He appeared for 14 seasons at the Actors Theatre of Louisville. He was also a founding director of the Virginia Stage Company in Norfolk, Virginia. Tovatt has retired to Grants Pass, Oregon.

Steve Woodring worked his life in the theatre as a designer and director and was for many years the technical director of the Kentucky Center in Louisville. He has directed several plays for Bunbury Theatre including Buried Child, Rabbit Hole, Red, and Patrick Tovatt’s Boatwright.

Juergen Tossmann was the Producing Artistic Director at Bunbury Theatre Company sfor 30 odd years, having produced over 200 shows. He is also a writer, director, actor, and musician. He has written over 20 plays for the company and writes short stories and poetry as well. He retired in 2022.

ONE-OFF Productions in partnership with Bunbury Theatre presents Helper by Patrick Tovatt

June 30, July 1, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, & 15  @ 7:30 pm
June 2, 9, & 16 @ 2:00 pm

Artists Talk With LVA: June 23, 2022

After 30 years of leading Bunbury Theatre, Juergen Tossmann will be passing the torch to Skylar Vest and Hannah Brooks. All 3 talked with us about the importance of transition in the arts. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday to hear Artists Talk with LVA.

Juergen Tossmann has been Bunbury's Producing Artistic Director since 1991. Thirty years ago, he guided a struggling fledgling company to health and artistic prominence.

Under Juergen's leadership, Bunbury developed two venues most recently in 2007 the company turned an old gymnasium in The Henry Clay building into a 140-seat state-of-the-art theatre. The theatre currently serves two companies; Bunbury, Pandora Productions, and until very recently,  The Liminal Playhouse.

Before Bunbury, Juergen worked as an artist-in-residence, teacher, actor, freelance director, assistant director, production stage manager, stage manager, prop master, acting coach, and co-founded an improvisational theatre company. The myriad positions at theatres all over the country prepared him for a job that would last over 30 years. At Bunbury Juergen has produced over 200 shows.

In 2020 he received the Kathi EB Ellis Lifetime Achievement Award from Louisville Visual Art. ​

Skylar Vest attended Georgetown College where he earned a BA in Theatre and Directing. Since 2017 he has been working with Bunbury Theatre, most recently as an Artistic Associate.

Hannah Brooks is a local prop and costume designer who has been active in the Louisville theatre community for the last five years. They have worked primarily with Bunbury Theatre on shows including The Green Book, Grace and Glorie, Boatwright, and Visiting Edna. Recently Hannah has been a dresser for the Kentucky Opera and worked for Commonwealth Theatre Company. 

Artebella On The Radio: February 20, 2020

At the Arts-Louisville/Broadway World Theatre Awards on Feb. 24, tribute will be paid to the late Kathi Ellis of Looking for Lilith Theatre and Juergan Tossman of Bunbury Theatre. This week Juergan will be joined us along with Shannon Wooley Allison & Jennifer Thalman Kepler from Looking for Lilith. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM, or stream on Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10:00am to hear Keith Waits talk with artists.

Juergen K. Tossmann is an actor, director, and playwright and the producing artistic director of Bunbury Theatre for 30+ years. He was recruited to the position after starring in one Bunbury show and directing another. He has seen the company through a few moves, landing in the Henry Clay Building in 2008, where they now share space with two other local companies, Pandora Productions and The Liminal Playhouse. On Feb. 24 he will receive the lifetime achievement award at the Arts-Louisville/BWW Theatre Awards.

Shannon Wooley Allison was a founding member of LFL in 2001. She oversees the development of the company and the execution of our mission in creating both performances and residencies that speak to the needs of those whose voices are unheard. Shannon performs, directs, and teaches for LFL. For the last 15 years, she has free-lanced as an actor, director, and teaching artist, in addition to her work with LFL. She is proud to be a roster artist for the KY Arts Council, and a member of Alternate ROOTS, The Network of Ensemble Theatres, The Alliance for Theatre in Education, and The Theatre Alliance of Louisville.

Jennifer Thalman Kepler manages LFL’s Community Outreach department including LFL’s award winning program, CHOICES: An Interactive Play on Cyberbullying and Suicide, The Faith Stories Project, in-school drama residencies, afterschool programs and summer camps. Jennifer is also an actor, director and playwright with the company. While in NYC, Jennifer worked for five years as a freelance teaching artist, integrating drama into math and social studies curriculum, facilitating arts-based violence prevention programs and directing youth theatre.

For the 6th consecutive year, Arts-Louisville.com, a Regional Editor for Broadway World, will host an awards ceremony honoring excellence in local theatre, including live entertainment in the form of musical numbers from award recipients.

2020 Arts-Louisville.com/Broadway World Theatre Awards
February 24, 2020 - doors open at 6:00 pm
Art Sanctuary, 1433 South Shelby Street