Meet the Board of Directors
Brian Hennessy - President/Creative Director
Brian Hennessy
Brian Hennessy is a producer, editor, and Shakespeare enthusiast dedicated to bringing bold, accessible classical theatre to the high desert. As Co-Founder of the Joshua Tree Shakespeare Company, he combines professional production experience with a deep love of the Bard to help build a sustainable, community-driven Shakespeare festival in the Morongo Basin. He made his theatrical producing debut up here with The Gin Game late last summer of 2025, which received multiple Hi- Desert Ovation nominations.
Brian studied performance at Shakespeare at Winedale at the University of Texas at Austin. His Shakespeare credits include Rosencrantz in Hamlet, Fabian in Twelfth Night, and the Apothecary in Romeo and Juliet.
He brings more than two decades of experience in film and interactive media, with credits at Disney Interactive, Krafton, and Striking Distance Studios. His work spans large-scale marketing campaigns and digital storytelling across major entertainment platforms.
Brian believes Shakespeare belongs everywhere — including under desert skies — and is committed to producing work that is both timeless and rooted in the spirit of the American West.
Liz Wessel - Secretary
Liz Wessel received her BS in Theater from Illinois State University in Normal Illinois, home of the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. She has a graduate degree in English Literature from Mount Saint Mary's University in Los Angeles. She is a Shakespearean and Medieval Scholar and has presented papers at UCLA, Hawaii Pacific University, and the University of New Mexico in Alberquerque, to name a few.
She brings to the table experience as an actor, voice talent, costumer and producer. Her most recent credits include costume design for Inspiration Edge's production of The Rocky Horror Show, and co-starring in the Pulitzer Prize winning two person play, The Gin Game.
She is the owner of Delilah's Vintage in 29 Palms where she obtains, curates and sells vintage furniture, collectibles, art and clothing.
Liz has lived in Chicago, New York City and Los Angeles, but she loves being a small town girl.
Ani Crochet - Treasurer
Ani Crochet, a native of Houma, Louisiana, is delighted to join the Joshua Tree Shakespeare Company. Her theatrical journey began at NYU, where an extracurricular stint with the university’s sketch comedy troupe unexpectedly led to appearances in the HBO Kid Flicks short films Nightcrawlers and Loose Change. She later continued her training at HB Studio and T. Schreiber Studio in New York City.
While studying at T. Schreiber, Ani appeared as Laura in The Glass Menagerie, Audrey in Four Dogs and a Bone, and portrayed the title role in Mali and the Ark of the Covenant at the Manhattan Theatre Club. Back home in Louisiana, she became a familiar face to audiences at Le Petit Theatre, where she earned both the People’s Choice Award and an Esther Award for Best Actress for her performance as Judy in Perfect Wedding. Other favorite roles include Sister James in Doubt, Jane in Bull in a China Shop, and appearances in Hamlet, Savage Dilemma, Parlor Games, Yankee Tavern, Over the River and Through the Woods, and A Wind Between the Houses.
From the bayous of South Louisiana to New York City and now the high desert, Ani is grateful for every opportunity to tell stories and is especially excited to help bring Shakespeare to the Hi-Desert. She believes great theatre belongs to everyone and that shared stories have a remarkable way of building community, fostering belonging, and reminding us that—even four centuries later—we are all wrestling with the same beautifully human questions.
Of all the productions and collaborations in her life, however, her greatest remains the one she shares with her husband, Grant: creating a family and raising their son, Liam. It is a role that comes with no intermission, endless rewrites, and, happily, the best reviews she could ever hope to receive.
