WHO'S WHERE DOING WHAT?
Information on our Alumni - If you're not included or your entry is old, please send us an update. Just click the "Let us hear from you!" link, fill it in, and send it back to us on-line. Alumni are listed alphabetically. All entries were updated 2005 unless indicated.
Another way to keep in touch is to register with the Alumni Association. You can do it on line at
http://www.siualumni.com/ and register with them online. It doesn’t cost anything (but they will ask for donations).
Melissa Albertario, BA 2003
An update on my activities:
Since the last newsletter, I have been fortunate enough to continue working all
around Chicago- I even had a small acting gig as the Mortimer to John Dooley's
Henry in "The Fantasticks"! I
made my directorial debut in September with "Prometheus Bound" at the
Around the Coyote Arts Festival. (The show was awarded Curator's Choice!) As of January, 2005, I am directing my first
professional production, "Lysistrata" at Lake Forest College. The show opens at the end of February, and
is already generating quite a buzz in the area! Chicago's Bohemian Theatre Ensemble recently elected me onto their
executive board, and I will be stage managing their inaugural production of
"Art" at the Bailiwick Theater in March. I also had a great experience visiting Stevenson High School as
their guest career speaker, and shared my relative (in)experience with some
very eager students- it was a blast!
On a personal note, I have moved
into my own place close to Wrigley Field and the lake, and I am LOVING
city-life! Still planning on grad school soon, just don't know where yet...
looking forward to it, though! Please
email me any time at funnygrl_22@hotmail.com.
melissa@jrkatz.com
Just wanted to give you a quick update on my life. I am currently the Production Manager for the Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival. Our website is www.shakespearefest.org We currently run an eight show season from September - May. pzjuh@yahoo.com
Is pursuing her Ph.D. at UM – Kansas City. She has just been cast as the lead, Blanche, in a production of Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelite. She says that she likes Kansas City. There’s more to do than in Carbondale, but it’s not too big.
Kent J. Andel, MFA Lighting Design 2000
Life in Detroit is fine and I enjoy working for the Michigan Opera Theater,
although it has been difficult for JoAnne to find work outside of the opera
season. That, and no one here
understands football - it's very discouraging. kandel@motopera.org
Grace continues to work for Gary Musick in Nashville, TN grace@garymusick.com
Nathan is a full time music faculty member at John A.
Logan College in Carterville, IL where he conducts two choirs, teaches several
music classes, and directs the annual spring musical. He is the Productions Director for the Christian Life Center in
Herrin, IL. nathanarnett@jalc.edu
Lauren is the choral music director for the Zeigler-Royalton School
District. She maintains a private vocal
studio as well and is the Assistant Director of the Southern Illinois
Children's Choir at SIUC. laurenarnett@hotmail.com Nathan and
Lauren are expecting their first child in June of 2005.
What I am doing besides getting married next Labor Day weekend is working as a first-hand at Muto-Little, a union Costume House in LA, working on various film, television, and live theater productions. Right now we are working on a production of Snow White and the 7 Dwarves for Disneyland. I am a member of IATSE Local 705 Motion Picture Costumers. I guess that is about it. I do hope to meet up with people if they are out here for USITT. I know my employers are going to be there somewhere to participate in a lecture or panel or something.
Eddie Barber MA 1966
Eddie passed away in the spring of 2004. While his death was unexpected his children felt he died while fox hunting which was his favorite pastime. Eddie’s children have asked that donations be sent to SIUC Theater Department in lieu of flowers and memorial tributes.
Is Operations Assistant/Branch Systems Administrator for AG Edwards in Carbondale. scottb.barnett@agedwards.com
Returned from Iraq in fall 2004 to resume her studies at SIUC. We are so glad she is home safe and sound. She just completed the costume designs for Commodore (Don) Pasquale for the Marjorie Lawrence Opera Theater. heat23her@hotmail.com
I am in Las Vegas now. I am a partner and General Director of a production company called Worldwide Productions. Working my ass off. I have done a couple of plays here (wrote two, acted in one, directed one), and mostly doing video and photography projects. I am working on a feature film right now that we hope to get before the cameras in the spring. I have also been lecturing sporadically at various institutions around the country where I happen to know faculty. It's a lot of fun to do those one or two day things. jimgbarth@yahoo.com
Paul Bawek (MFA Directing 2000)
After graduation I spent six months in London where I taught acting
part-time at a private boys school, directed the world premier of the British
comedy "Average" at the Bolivar Theatre in London (fringe) and
performed on the West End in the new British musical "Dare". On my
return to the USA I took a position at Southwest State University - now
Southwest Minnesota State - where the two shows I directed received Kennedy
Center American College Theatre Festival Awards for Best Ensemble Acting. I
also received a KCACTF award for my fight choreography in "Romeo &
Juliet." I accepted a position at Florida Southern College in Lakeland
Florida. FYI. My main focus thus far at FSC - beyond the classroom (my number
one priority)- has been curriculum revision for the department and recruiting.
The performance division was fading and needed a shot in the arm. I am glad to
report, due to efforts at the Florida Theatre Conference and trips to area high
schools, we already have three new performance majors admitted for next year
and another was on campus today to see the department, meet students, and sit
in on one of my classes. I have a huge challenge to build our department....
and that is one of the reasons - other than the weather and the small class
size - I took the job. My opening show "Lend Me A Tenor" went very
well and I think Florida Southern College may be home for some time. pdjbawek@hotmail.com
Brandon Burton Belzer, MFA Directing
Has anyone heard from Brandon?
Has anyone heard from David?
Jim is the Production Manager for the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Cape Cod, MA. He just hired recent graduate Kevin Crispin as a carpenter for the 2004 summer season. jebernhard@msn.com
Has anyone heard from Randy?
Sarah directed Arcadia in fall semester, served on the Presidential Search committee, 3rd year as Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts. We went to Australia for 3 weeks last Christmas, going to Hawaii for 10 days this Christmas, spending lots of time with grandkids, bought a used Miata so I can look California-cool, lost Tucker last winter, Irv gardens and loves retirement, we supply the local ice cream store with about 500 lbs. of boysenberries every May.
My wife got transferred to Princeton a couple of years ago. I continue to work a lot out west, This year I’m the production Director at Des Moines Metro (So much for being a full time stay home dad). I do get to come home for about six months each year between shows, and that time is dedicated to my girls: Maggie, 3 and Katie, 11 months.
MBlice@aol.com mblice@dmmo.org
Janet and I just moved to Indiana PA, where she is Assistant Professor of Fashion Merchandising. I am still Web Programming and occasionally getting the opportunity to design the front end of a website or two. Thanks to you; I took the model building to heart and now build dollhouses and mini furniture, but I think you already knew that. We are enjoying the East Coast again but not looking forward to shoveling snow. Janet loves her job and her students. I've been roped into helping out with the fashion show and building the fashion association website, should be cool when its done. jasonb@bloodlinedesigns.com http://www.bloodlinedesigns.com/
Recently worked in the costume shop at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. masquerade50@hotmail.com
Gordon Boos
Gordon died April 3 2004
at his sister's home in Oswego after a long battle with brain cancer. Gordon
was a film director in Hollywood working as an assistant to Oliver Stone on
“Platoon” and directed four films “The Vivero Letter” and “Perfect Assassins,”
both released in 1998; “Touch Me” released in 1997; and “Red Surf.'' in 1990.
His friends have set up a website for him with information, memorial services,
pictures, and trust fund for his son Keegan. www.gordonboos.com
Earnesto D. Borges
Has his own law firm in Chicago. EBorges105@aol.com
SIUC’s former Costume Shop manager is retired and living in Missouri. elby6@hotmail.com
Mike currently lives in
the suburbs of Chicago with his wife Abby and works at The Field Museum. He is also an improviser at ImprovOlympic
with the team Children of God, is half of a two-person improv and sketch show
named Duplex, and is an understudy for the Second City's
Touring Company. He also still enjoys
working with Chicago's Foundation Theatre Group, an organization created (and
still run almost entirely) by SIU-C alumni.
In conjunction with FTG, Mike wrote two award-winning short films in
2003. He is still annoying. mike.bradecich@gmail.com
Eddie is an Assistant Professor in the Dept of Theater at Spelman College. ebradley@spelman.edu
Since I left SIU I pursued my Masters in Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University where Noreen Barnes McLain now teaches. My focus was Theater Pedagogy/ Directing. While there I designed shows for Theater Four, Dogwood Dell, and VCU Second Stage. I also taught Stagecraft, Intro to Drama, Public Speaking and Speech for the Business Student. I directed a number of pieces for the various student groups at VCU and had a brief stint at being a lead singer for a local death metal band. After graduating I left for Phoenix AZ and ran into Ruth George. Not finding a lot of palm trees to shade me out there I came back to my hometown in Rockford Ill 70 miles west of Chicago where I have been seeking a teaching position with the City Colleges of Chicago and Madison Area Tech College. I still write and attend poetry readings and am currently working on starting up a performance art troupe in Rockford, we have the space, we just need the talent. If any alumni are interested in working on performance art I may be able to hire them up and get them some good experience. timothykimo@hotmail.com
OK - an update. I am still in NYC acting and singing. I just finished the national Tour of Sound of Music and am in rehearsals for A Christmas Carol under the direction of Susan Stroman. I am singing some Broadway "pops" style concerts here and there and continue to do various readings and workshops of new musicals, which are always rewarding and creative! I am married to Tim Shew, also an actor/singer who is currently in the revival of Wonderful Town. We have a 16 yr. old son who is a junior in High School and all around terrific young man. I also teach private voice and I do many workshops and master classes at Universities and High Schools across the country and in New York!!!! JbrockNY@aol.com
Tracey Brouillete-Webb, BA
Is Head of the Theater program at Rend Lake College in Benton, IL and works with recent alumnus Therese Howard. webbt@rlc.edu
Dave Burke, Ph.D.
Recent collaboration with several composers has enabled me to publish five Christmas or Easter cantatas. I’ve produced an original series of children’s audio dramas available at www.needcomfort.org as well as writing a few teleplays for independent Christian video production. On stage, I directed my own adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice last year set on a proscenium-filling, Regency writer’s desk and I’ll direct HAMLET next year in a gilded Byzantine Elsinore. Last year’s Iago was my first ever villain—way too much fun. And Charlotte, son Austin (11 now) and I acted together for the first time this year in the Scottish play. Char and I are fond of the quote: “the lines have fallen unto us in pleasant places.” DBURKE@bju.edu
John Callahan, MA 1967
Since I left SIU in 1967 with my MA, I have taught college courses, both undergraduate and graduate, in theatre in Ohio, Missouri, Texas, and Pennsylvania. I earned my PhD in theatre from Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, in 1974. I have been married to Pat, an SIU alumnus, for 37 years. We met at SIU. We have one daughter, Kerry Kathleen. I have published one book on Eugene O'Neill and dozens of articles on stage combat. Most importantly, I have retired, effective October 19, 2003, from Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA, and have been named Professor Emeritus of Theatre. patcnjohn@aol.com I have published one book on Eugene O'Neill and dozens of articles on stage combat.
Bill is the Assistant Technical Director at the Goodman Theater in Chicago. carz10@aol.com
After college I was a professional Stage Manager for a small theatre company in Chicago. I was big fish in a little pond for three years and it was great. I got worn out on theatre along with the cold weather and moved to LA to try my hand at the acting scene. Even though I got my SAG card on the sixth day out as an extra I didn't want to pursue acting in this huge ocean. So I fell back on my technical background and produced a couple of theatre projects as well as became an Associate Producer for a small production company. I worked on Miss America and other documentary DVD's but after a year I moved on to work on various reality TV shows (The Bachelor and High School Reunion). My pride and joy was working for a Court TV interstitial show as a coordinator. Since then, I've produced two independent features along with numerous shorts and will be Producing my first 'big' budget movie come September. I find that I enjoy writing and though my first two attempts at a screenplay were disastrous, I've found my niche in supernatural thrillers. "Dominique" my screenplay about a 9 year old girl as the grim-reaper has found an investor and is slated to shoot in 2005 for which I will produce under my own production company banner: Ursa Major Productions. Don't get me wrong, I am in no way rolling in dough and I can't get into the hoity-toity clubs but I'm completely comfortable in the independent world without the big dogs tell me what to do. I haven't given up acting entirely. I've done enough acting in this town that I don't have to audition but my friends and colleagues call me when they have a project they know I'd be perfect for. I act now for fun rather than money which makes me still appreciate it for what it is. The other great thing about producing is I can cast myself in the smaller fun roles. On Oct 6th, I'm having a short play I wrote premiere in New York City for which I am very excited about. As a day job, I'm working and the Post-Coordinator for the new Bravo show Man Hunt. And as my side project, I am shooting my first (very experimental) film for which I'm starring in - so we'll see how that goes. carriecerta@hotmail.com
Jonathan Chambers Ph.D.
I’m still teaching at Bowling Green State University where I serve as the graduate studies coordinator in the Department of Theatre and Film. I am currently the president of the American Theatre and Drama Society. I am also the co-editor of Theatre Topics, and will serve as senior editor from September 2005-August 2007. Barring some unforeseen disaster, my book on John Howard Lawson will be out next summer. Last year I directed She Stoops to Conquer. This February I will be directing Quiet in the Land. I am still devilishly handsome and have a rapier wit. jonathc@bgnet.bgsu.edu
Lives and works in Los Angeles. cartertribe@juno.com
This past fall I worked on Arts in Celebration here with Ron Naversen, heading up a giant cardboard puppet making workshop for The Puppets, Painting and Poetry theme, and enjoyed the company of the Actors from the London Stage and a workshop with Commedia master from Italy. I have a piece in an online art exhibit I can invite you to see! It is at www.imaginestation.net and is part of the current Landscape exhibit. I was also a runner up and will be having a solo show at this site sometime within the next year. I also had an exhibit here in Carbondale in October at The Longbranch Coffeehouse. hilseacloud@hotmail.com
My husband Matt and I have been married for 6 years, and we just celebrated the birth of our third child, Joshua Daniel, born September 23, 2003. Josh joins his older sister Emily Grace, 3 1/2, and Anna Joy, 2. Needless to say it's been a whirlwind couple of years! Matt and I met through his uncle, with whom I worked in Chicago. After a few emails and tons of letters and phone calls, we met face to face in Corpus Christi, Texas. I got to assistant direct with Brandon Belzer, SIUC Theater alum from the graduate directing program while I was in Corpus Christie! Small world! Along the way I have been able to teach acting and do a little directing and radio voice work, which has been a blast, but my first priorities are my husband and children. Two of our "kids" from the youth group are Salukis this year, and so I am reliving the fun I had as a Saluki through them. I have such great memories of my years at SIU, and the incredible people I met there, most of which, to my shame, I have lost contact with. But I have delighted in picking up the Chicago Tribune and reading theater reviews and even watching television and spotting some alumni. It's awesome. And I am so looking forward to reading all about what's been going on in your lives. Please feel free to email me anytime! nicolegiven@hotmail.com
Charles is the Technical Director at Millikin University Department of Theater and Dance where he works with alumnus Barbara Mangrum. cchapman@mail.millikin.edu
Right now I'm wrapping up my Stage Management internship with The Shakespeare Theatre. I have three more weeks working on Henry IV Part 2 and then I'll be working on Much Ado About Nothing for the Free For All park show. I'm heading home to Nashville for the summer since I'm unable to do summer stock anywhere. The park show ends in the middle of June, and most summer stocks are already well into their season by that point. From there, who knows? I'm waiting to hear back on applications I've put out for Fall/Spring work. So I'm going to just enjoy the summer, make some extra cash, and relax. I feel like I've been going non-stop since graduation so it will be nice to have the down time omilc@hotmail.com
Jessica Coale, BA 91
I am still freelancing as a Lighting Designer in Atlanta, Georgia. I returned
the end of November from 16 days in Shanghai, China. As resident LD at 7
stages, I was part of a group of nine that took Ionesco's "The
Chairs" to the 5th Annual Shanghai Arts Festival. We also added
on three university theater stops as well. We took the set, we took the props,
we took the costumes and we even took two of the three actors’, but the
lighting was what it was! The festival, held at Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center,
was magnificent for lighting! Knock-off Source 4's. no kidding, copied in Japan.
Exactly the same, yet different in voltage and other small outer shell details.
I do believe the lenses were from ETC because same writing inside the tube and
degree stickers. I am also an Artistic Associate with Synchronicity Performance
Group. This past fall they challenged me to design the set and lights for Lobster
Alice by Kira Obolensky and a children's show, newly adapted Alice
through the Wonderglass. The shows ran in rep in a 70-seat black box
theater. It was a great experience and growth for me to take on more than just
the lighting. I have one show running that I have designed lights for,
"The Santa Land Diaries" at Horizon Theatre. I am also the production
electrician for The Atlanta Opera. I basically maintain their warehouse of
stock electrics and supervise the Opera load-in's at The Atlanta Civic center.
I work closely with the local stagehand union 927, which I am joining early
2004. I consider myself an Illumination Practitioner; at least that's what my
cards say. I especially love to design for new productions, where there is more
collaboration between playwright, director and designers. This past summer was the passing of one of
my most treasured friends, Joseph Chaikin. I was lucky enough to have design
seven productions with Joe at 7 Stages. We last worked together this past May
on Broken Glass by Arthur Miller. We were set to work on an anniversary
production of Waiting for Godot this spring but now Del Hamilton,
Artistic Director at 7 Stages has invited Walter Asmus a former prodigy of
Joe's to direct. I look forward to this production. jcoale@bellsouth.net
I am working to complete my dissertation. I am in my new position as Director of Theatre Augusta State University, Augusta, GA. We are producing two plays next year: Guernica, a new play based on the Picasso painting and I will be directing Harvey in March. ccope@aug.edu
Sabrinna Cox, BA
I am still working full time at the Arts Center of Costal
Carolina as the scenic artist. Currently I am putting up a set I co-designed
for Cole. Its big and art deco. scprops@excite.com
Michael is Artistic Director for the Market House Theater in Paducah, KY. He directed Oklahoma last summer with Ron Naversen as his set designer. m.cochran@mht.com
K.L. (Kenny) is the associate dean for undergraduates at Prescott College. He also teaches creative writing and literature courses in the Arts & Letters Program. His new book, Last Call, winner of the first annual Prairie Schooner Prize for Fiction, will be published by the University of Nebraska Press this fall. He also won the 2002 Santa Fe Writers Project Grand Prize, and he has been awarded residency fellowships to the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center. All four of his children are now, unbelievably, in school. kcook@prescott.edu
I just finished my summer carpenter position in Cape Cod for the Cape Playhouse working under alumnus James Bernhardt with an all too brief stop at a theatre in Boston. I am at home for a couple more weeks before I leave for the Nebraska Theatre Caravan's touring production of A Christmas Carol. I am on the crew and it should be a good time. My next definite theatre gig is in March on a children's tour out of New Hampshire. The company is called the Hampstead players and I get to play multiple characters in another production of Irma Vep. As far as January and February go, I am not sure yet what I am doing. I will probably end up in either LA or Chicago working over hire if I can. I am definitely looking for something to do that has nothing to do with sleeping in my Mom's basement. As I am at home and just finishing my transition job (nothing like entering data into a computer eight hours a day), I just might swing down through Carbondale again to beat the doldrums of Monticello. It seemed like SIU was doing great and that makes me smile. That theatre department was extremely special to me. Anyway, I must get going but I hope to hear from you soon. Best of luck on all artistic endeavors down there and maybe I'll be there again someday soon.
Ronnie Crum
Ron is the Operations Manager for Fourth Phase in Los Angeles, California. rcrume@fourthphase.com
Dan is an Engineering
Manager at SECOA Inc., a leading theatre equipment manufacturer of rigging,
orchestra shells and portable staging.
Dan is a veteran of the industry spending 15 years as a Technical
Director at: Great Lakes Theatre Festival, Cleveland, OH; StageWest,
Springfield, MA; The Children’s Theatre Company, Minneapolis, MN; and The
Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, MN. He also has an MFA in Theatre Technology ‘85
from University of Wisconsin - Madison. Dan serves on the ESTA - Technical
Standards Program, Rigging Working Group and is a member of the Manual
Counterweight Rigging and Fire Safety Curtain Task Groups, writing rigging
standards for our industry. He is also
a Task Group member of NFPA helping to write a code for Fire Safety Curtains.
He has authored an article on cable terminations for TD&T and several
articles for Yale Technical Briefs. Dan is married to Tree O’Halloran, has two
children and lives in Minneapolis, MN. d.culhane@secoa.com
Heather is an assistant
professor of theatre in the Department of Performing Arts, where she teaches
Introductory Acting and Advanced Acting, Voice for the Stage and Theatre
Appreciation. She serves as an adviser and director for the Clemson Players.
She is a recognized actor/combatant with the American Society of Fight
Directors and is a membership candidate of the Actor's Equity Association. hcurrie@clemson.edu
I graduated from the SIU
Theater Dept, with a concentration in dance.
I got my Equity card 5 days after graduation have bounced in and out of
the business ever since. (mostly in, I'm happy to say) I've worked at theaters all over the
country, toured nationally with Sesame St. Live, and had the honor of
performing at the White House in 1981. Since 1993, I've lived in Richmond, VA,
where my wife, Laura, and I moved to start our own production company: Mystery
Dinner Playhouse. I write and produce
comedy/mystery dinner shows. We
currently employ three separate casts of actors, with venues in Richmond,
Williamsburg, and Virginia Beach. We've
also been able to tap into the Internet to license performance rights for these
shows. I have several full time
producers, and numerous nonprofit groups using my scripts, throughout the US
and Canada. laurjam@i2020.net info@mysterydinner.com
Donald Sinclair Davis,
Ph.D.
Continues in his role as the General Hammond in the successful SciFi Channel series Stargate.
James Deanes MFA Costume Design
Some of you, well, most of you probably didn't know, but my world has been
added to yet again in a most FAB'D way; Sol Asher (middle name) was born, Nov.
22! He's a lil guy who's on pace with his now BIG brother, Kofi, in terms of
energy! Being well, eating, relaxing - he has the greatest life, eh? Oh, by the
way, he was born on the 22nd as I said, which happens to be the K'-sters
birthday (2yrs old that day) as well! & it wasn't planned, as Sol was a
week early & Kofi was a week late! Hmmmmm...jadnia@hotmail.com
I have been Assistant Professor of Drama, English, and Speech at a small Liberal Arts College (Our Lady of Corpus Christi) here in Texas. I am the head of the department(s) actually, but the funny part is that I am really the only person in the department(s)...ha ha...works fine for me. This semester I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to direct ANTIGONE for the end of the semester program on campus and next semester we are planning to stage selections from Chaucer's THE CANTERBURY TALES, that should be interesting and challenging all at the same time. I have learned so much since coming here in September; it has been a wonderful experience so far. bdesorbo@hotmail.com
James has just been accepted as a non-declared graduate student at SIUC, so we will be seeing him again in the fall. jamesdiemer@yahoo.com
I am currently in the middle of my second year of grad school at Ohio University. We are finishing with Shakespeare and groovin' on the greeks. Next year we move to Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park for our last year. This summer I worked in Chatham, MA, out on the Cape and had the fortune of working with and becoming friends with Miss Julie Harris. Yep the legend. I just got off the phone with her this afternoon in fact. I was cast with a major role in all of our 8 shows (8 shows 12 weeks). The faculty and staff at Southern Illinois University were instrumental in my growth and development as an actor, and that experience has helped me handle grad school quite nicely. I hope all is well at SIU and I hope to return there on my spring break for a few days or so. Good luck with the 40th anniversary thing. take care and give everyone there my best. alex_dittmer@yahoo.com
John is currently working on Hamlet for the Trama Theatre Company in Naperville, Illinois. The show premiers in late May. This year, John has worked with the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, New York on a tour of Julius Caesar as the title role. He currently finished a run of "Phaedra" and "Andromache" for the Keyhole Theatre Company in Chicago. John has previously worked with the Williamstown Theatre Festival and the Minnesota Fringe Festival, and plans on returning to the Twin Cities after Hamlet. He is also currently writing three shorts for a 30-minute show called 'Baseball Series' that will be premiering in July in San Francisco. jdoolsiu@yahoo.com
Kip Dooley, BA 2004
I am currently living in Chicago. I started my own personal training company and that's going ok. As far as acting goes I'm currently talking and networking with a movie producer and writer so keep your fingers crossed for this one. I'm looking for an agent and just trying to do whatever comes my way. Life is good when you remain positive. Also if you find yourself in the Chicago area and need to get into shape well then I'm your man. Hit me on my email or cell phone. kd308@hotmail.com Follow your dreams.
Kevin lives in Dallas and works as a Senior Marketing Manager for the French telecommunication company Alcatel. He and his wife, Angela, have two beautiful daugthers, Emma (3 yrs.) and Lauren (2 yrs.). Kevin can be reached at keveast@msn.com.
Oh my goodness, talk about a blast from the past namelist... I relocated to Tucson Arizona in 1989 and after the usual trials and tribulations of youth emerged a computer operations expert. Today I am the COO of Tierra Caliente a software company and consult in computer operations triage. fico@fico.com
Timothy Fink, MFA Directing,
Tim Fink spent part of last summer music directing CATS and 42nd
STREET at Bigfork Summer Playhouse.
He directed Jason Robert Brown’s musical PARADE last spring and is directing DON “COMMODORE” PASQUALE This fall. Plans are underway to revive
McLeod Summer Playhouse this coming summer in a new format. tjfink@siu.edu
Recently appeared in 1776 at Parkland College in Champaign as Ben Franklin. This is my second appearance on that stage. Serving as the Academic Advisor and Placement Coordinator for the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Father of two, 6yr old Mitchell and 4 yr old Maggie. Husband and chief trash taker-outer and Lawn personnel. flanagin@uiuc.edu
Mary Ellen Ford-Douglas MFA Acting
First off, I left the Walnut Street Playhouse after my daughter Becca was
born in 1990. Did a few stints locally
at a few theatres as a stage manager but found that it was really hard trying
to find child care with both of us working nights...so I went back to school
(yes, again!) at Temple and received certifications in recreation and
gerontology. I worked many years as an
activity director in an assisted living facility (my stage managing and acting
come in really handy with the old folks!)
Even held drama classes for them!
They loved it. Put on a few
plays with my past residents and even started a few choirs! I now have grown in this profession and work
for a healthcare management company and serve as a consultant and trainer for
them and am an approved trainer for the state of PA in assisted living. Even spoke at a few state conferences (with
added drama and flair, of course!) I
really like what I do, but I miss the hustle and bustle of my past life! Becca is twelve going on 25. She is a beautiful girl with long curly dark
hair, blue eyes and very pale skin (the Scottish and Italian blood in
her). She looks like snow white! I have her enrolled in Summer Stock this
summer (last summer, too) and she has now announced that she is going to
Princeton and wants to be an actress!
Ahhh, its in the blood, I guess!
How I am ever going to pay for Princeton is another story--but I have 5
more years to save! Hah! Medouglass106616@cs.com
http://www.siu.edu/~oirs/SRC_Tour_pages/alumniwall.html#Franz
After graduating from SIUC in May 1999, I moved to New York
City. Although my day job was in
advertising, I took classes in stand-up comedy, voice-over, and improv. I also got to do several voice-overs for my
employer. After tiring of big-city
life, I moved to Portland, Oregon, in August 2003, with no idea as to what I'd
do here. However, I recently had an
epiphany of sorts and decided that I wanted to pursue acting (as opposed to
opera, which I was pursuing at SIUC).
Portland is a great place to explore one's creative side, as the people
here are
generally very appreciative of the arts.
At the time of this writing, I'm taking an improv class at a place
called the Brody Theater and preparing to do a puppet show for children at a
local church. I'm also investigating
voice-over work. Overall I'm doing well
and enjoying life in Portland. Not long
ago I was in a play called "A Grimm Look," based on Grimm's fairy
tales. I also served as an extra for a
scene from the movie "Nearing Grace," due out sometime next
year. The scene was shot at the high
school where much of "Mr. Holland's Opus" was filmed. And yesterday I auditioned for a
(presumably) low-budget film project; I'll find out tomorrow whether I've been
cast!
Is back at SIUC working in the scheduling office at Woody Hall scchabot@siu.edu
I have some exciting things happening, just got back from two months in L.A., couple of pilots and have decided to move from NYC, to L.A. in the fall. Have just signed with two big companies in L.A....very exciting. Just finished a lead role here in a romantic comedy from the people who made "Office Space", and Bella Donna who made "L.I.E.", "Buffalo 66", etc. Some things really, finally starting to happen. Chris Mitchell just got married. My wife and I went out to California for the wedding. WolfGant@aol.com
I am still at the Beverly Arts Center on the south side of Chicago, www.beverlyartcenter.org. It has been a great learning experience, and thanks to my theater management class, I'm able to hold my own. I am listed as the production manager, but I am on the program committee and I am beginning to book acts. My latest deal is with a local musician, Michael McDermott, whose new album is being played constantly on XRT. It really is a dream job, since I am still able to direct, teach and do the techie thing, in between meetings. puttanita@yahoo.com
Lets see it has been a while since I have told you what I have been up to. I have been moonlighting with some other companies, and I have actually been doing some scene design-3 shows actually 2 are one acts for Stray Cat Theatre (Patty Red Pants and Hysteric Studs) and the other is for Greasepaint Theatre (Big, the Musical) www.greasepaint.org (painted the piano flat he is on) it is a small children theatre (children actors) with a very minimal budget, but the extra cash came in at a good time. It is so small that I am designing, painting, and propping. And of course Childsplay. The puppet theater I work for, just opened a new show, The Imaginators, (where the costume shop and I worked together on creating a 12' and a 3' monster tail) Very fun, very Ed Wood in the attack scene:) We are also going into the 16th year of Velveteen Rabbit. This year I am updating more of the props, like the toy bi-plane, once again it was cardboard and pencils that were holding it together and now it is all wood. So in a nutshell that is what has been going on. randybaby7@hotmail.com http://www.straycattheatre.org
http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/babyroot79/album?.tok=phYe6qBBJWACRXVJ&.dir=/4c36&.src=ph
Steven is a Media Specialist in Theater at Virginia Commonwealth University working with former SIUC faculty Noreen Barnes Mclain scgerlach@vcu.edu
Leo is a tenured faculty member in the Radio and Television Department at SIUC. leogher@siu.edu
Just a quick note from Boston, I have been working at Mystic Scenic Studio and things are going well. I am in the front office, drafting parts of a large show for Busch Gardens in Tampa. It is huge and design decisions and approvals are coming slowly. But all is going well so far. I maybe going to Tampa for the loading in of the production at Busch Gardens. We shall see. I could be there for one week or eight. The money would be good for the extended stay. If all goes well I maybe able to visit OPY, PJ and the rest of the old gang at Orlando Shakespeare Festival Orlando. We shall see. dgied68@yahoo.com
We enjoyed the last newsletter
very much. In fact, as a result of your
newsletter we made contact with Roger Long, who we hadn't seen or heard
from in more than 40 years. Peggy and I will leave in three weeks for a ten day
visit to Israel. We want to travel some
of the roads and see some of the sights that were previously visited by
Jesus. For those who don't know, we
suffered four hurricanes in six weeks this year. We left for one and stayed for three. Jeanne came right through our back yard. That was an experience to remember. I
retired as Corporate Director of Public Affairs for the General Dynamics
Corporation, where I was responsible for worldwide news media relations. This
was after 30 years in the military (eight years in the U.S. Navy and 22 years
in the U.S. Air Force), and ten years in the defense industry after leaving
SIUC. Although I didn't pursue theater
after college, everything I learned about communications at SIU was put to good
use. I spent a lifetime in public
relations and retired as the Corporate Director of Public Affairs for the
General Dynamics Corporation. There may
be a message here for some of your students who do not pursue professional
theater. In retirement I have become a freelance writer and has had more than
80 articles published in various metropolitan newspapers and defense oriented
internationally circulated magazines.
Enroute to Alton this spring we stopped by SIU to look at the
campus. We had not been back there
since graduation in 1960. As you can imagine, we were more than a little bit
impressed at the many changes on the campus and in the city. We literally did not recognize
anything. But we found the theater
department easily. Since it was a Sunday, everything on campus was closed. However, we also one door open to the McLeod
Theater, so we walked around in the dark, including a trip back stage. Your students cannot imagine how lucky they
are to have such modern technology and such a wonderful place to study. I
wanted you to know we were very impressed with everything we saw as we walked
through the building. What a wonderful
experience theater department students must have now. We had a great SIU experience from 1957-1960, but the department
was very modest in comparison. With all the anniversary tributes to McLeod,
Payne, and Moe, I wish there was also some memorial for Sherwin Abrams--a
contemporary of Dr. McLeod’s who also made a major contribution to the SIU
Theater Department.dgill000@aol.com
Has anyone heard from Kerry?
JoAnn is currently working for Kaskaskia College in the area
of Workforce Development. She also does
consulting work in the areas of marketing, human resource, and training and
development. Her most recent theatre projects
have been portraying Sister Leo for Centralia Cultural Society productions of Nunsense I & II and as Anna in a
Rend Lake College production of Meet Me
In St. Louis. She works out of the
Salem, Illinois extension center and
looks forward to getting involved with the local theatre group there, which is
in the process of renovating the old Salem Theatre. She lives in the country on a lake between Vandalia and Salem,
Illinois and thoroughly enjoys country living.
She would love to hear from anyone affiliated with SIU theatre past or
present and can be emailed at jgivens@kaskaskia.edu
or lehde@hotmail.com
I am in my second year of doctoral studies. This last semester we in had some great visiting artists. I worked as dramaturg for Tim Bond of Oregon Shakespeare festival on our University Theatre production of Lorraine Hansberry's Les Blancs. We also had Richard Gough of the Center for Performance Studies in Wales in to teach classes and devise a performance focusing on food. I was fortunate enough to take his class on food and performance theory. I hope to go to Wales and continue my studies with Richard in their summer program and learn more about devising theatre/performance. I am a teaching assistant for a writing intensive version of our introduction to theatre, and last fall was a teaching fellow and trained others in how to teach this type of writing intensive class across disciplines. In the spring, our department is hosting a Graduate Theatre and Drama Conference and I am serving on that committee.
Here is an update on us: Peter played the role of the father, Joe, in Arthur Miller's play All My Son" at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, January 2003 through April, 2003; Arthur Miller was in the audience one night and the cast was thrilled to meet this amazing playwright. In June our second son got married, now we have two beautiful daughters-in-law. From October 2003 until the end of December 2003, Peter is playing the role of Scrooge in the Guthrie Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol in Minneapolis. We celebrate our 38th wedding anniversary in June (our honeymoon was spent in summer stock with Chris Moe!)
Not too much new in LA. I've finished writing my second book, and have finally heard from an agent interested in reading the full manuscript. So keep your fingers crossed! Other than that, it's all work, work, work. Oh yeah... I'm getting married in July! Whee! I'm also maintaining my website, www.monkeywright.com, and doing web work for a few others (www.luchalibre.com - where I took professional wrestling lessons) and a few others.
I am still on the acting
faculty of Los Angeles City College. I have been working there for the past 4
years teaching acting, advanced scene study, improvisation and orientation to
the profession (a goal setting class for actors). Let me know when you want me
to come back to SIU and teach it... It's a pretty cool class. Also on the
faculty is Jim Moody (lighting designer and proud Saluki). We catch up
about Southern days a lot. By the way, he is working on his PhD right now. I
also am working as an assistant to the Producer on the TV show, The West Wing.
We are wrapping up our 5th season. The job allows me to continue to
teach part-time. We'll see what happens with it next year. I am teaching improvisation privately with Carolyn
Wilson and see several of the old gang - Scott West, Marybeth
Scheer, Rich Carter. dtg13@sbcglobal.net
Chad Gross, MFA Technical Direction 2002 & Jamie
(Bays) Gross
Chad recently completed his first year as Technical Director for Idaho State University and is currently working over the summer on opening a new Performing Arts Center for the Department which you can see on his website www.isu.edu. Chad also just finished our production of Something's Afoot. Jamie is working with Chad in the front office doing Box Office work. Besides moving into a new facility over the summer they plan on doing as much fishing as possible. Feel free to email us at groschad@isu.edu or Jamie at directorchik@hotmail.com
Has anyone heard from Liz?
After leaving SIU, I spent
some time in Chicago and worked with First Born Productions as a TD and
designer. I soon decided I needed to
make some money doing what I liked so, I got into the film business. I moved to Hollywood 7 years ago and have
worked steady ever since. Most of my
work started out in film, but is almost exclusively TV now with the exception
of commercials. I’ve only been involved
in two plays in Hollywood, both of which I was the lighting designer. For the
second show, Driving while Black in
Beverly Hills, I was nominated for best lighting design by the NAACP. Most of the TV work I do is as a Best Boy
or Gaffer not a designer. I did five
season of The Man Show, several
Richard Simmons videos and talk shows, Cupid,
Paradise Hotel, Russian Roulette, American Juniors, Swan, 6 Feet Under, and am now finishing up my
third season on American Idol. Our second season of American Idol we were Emmy nominated for best lighting design. I’m very lucky to work with some incredible
talented people. I opened up my own photo studio last year, something to keep
me busy when I’m not working. I run
into a few alumni from time to time, but would like to hear from more of
you. Please feel free to contact me at gary@pixelperfectla.com
I'm the Director for Illinois State University's new Center for the Performing Arts. I teach arts management here as well. I just received my Project Management Professional Certification (PMP), so now I can up my consulting fees. I have my own arts management consulting agency on the side, Bishop and Bishop. I just returned from Montana, where I was contracted as a consultant for the old theatre where I used to be executive director ...that was kind of weird. Fun but weird. My husband and I have a two year old daughter, Miranda. When I'm not wooing corporate sponsors, dealing with union contracts and being a typical type-A manager, I moonlight in massage therapy for pure enjoyment. I'm directing a commedia play, The Clever Thieves right now. And I'm debating what to go back and get a PhD in..business or theatre. I'd love to hear from friends! kgrounds@mchsi.com or klgroun@ilstu.edu
I'm a resident DJ/VJ (Disc Jockey and Music Video Jockey), Program Manager and Audio/ Visual Production Specialist for one of the major Music Video Dance Clubs out here in Hollywood. The club is called 'Micky's' www.mickys.com and is located in West Hollywood. I've also acted since I've been back. A month ago, I was cast in a scene for a Director's Directing class. I hadn't acted since my time at SIUC (2000) and I wondered as I memorized, rehearsed and prepared with my fellow acting partner if I would be able to just pick up where I left off. YES! The scene exceeded all my expectations. Since SIUC, I've had experiences in life that have made it so much easier to access my motions and the peaks and valleys in my work in the scene traveled the gamut of anger and sorrow to sadness and crying. Everyone in the class had to write a critique of the scene, actors, and director. From what I was told, pretty much everyone said that I ruled the scene and was the best they had seen in the course. I can't tell you how proud, fulfilled and rejuvenated that made me. Whether I achieve the success most have in mind when they come to Hollywood isn't the point for me. More so, my goal is to pursue acting for the sake of acting. If given the opportunity, I want to inspire, learn, and grow as an actor/performer and contribute to the positive rather than negative. All the best in Carbondale! www.mylesmatisse.com
Manabu Hasegawa BA
Is working in Japan at an Oil Refinery off the coast of the Sea of Japan. gsr7fruck5abbnkxre@dmocomo.ne.jp
Chip Haas, MFA 94,
Starting in the Fall 2004 semester, Chip is the new TD at the University of North Carolina - Greensboro. Prior to that he spent four years as the TD/Sound Supervisor at Ball State University in Muncie, IN. On a personal note, since he hasn't kept folks updated very well, he is the proud father of Tyler (8), Jackson (3) and Natalie (6 months) (yes we are done now with having kids). He is still married to Wendy, who is extremely happy to be moving back to North Carolina and leaving behind the cold of Indiana. chaas@bsu.edu
I just wanted to write and let you all know that I am moving to Boston in a few weeks. I am currently finishing up Turandot with Virginia Opera. It's been an experience (and they all are right?) But opera is great and it was a fun short gig. I was recently offered the chance to be the assistant production manager of Chamber Theatre Productions, a company in Boston. They produce touring children's theatre all over the country. And I am excited about the chance to have a full time job in theatre for a while. I'm not going to lie I will miss SMing but I'm very excited at the chance for some normalcy in my life for a while and I hear Boston is a great town.
lilplasticcastle22@hotmail.com
LaQuesha Harris, BA
I'm the Praise Dance
Instructor @ Church of Living God, Asst. Choreographer/Dancer/and Make-up
Artist in the up coming play 'I've Never Heard' @ Powell Symphony Hall in St.
Louis, Mo in July (Please look out for it), and member of MyJeriah Productions
as actress/dancer/choreographer. laqueshaharris@hotmail.com
I stayed around St. Louis for a year after graduating in '93, doing various things: A few voice-overs, live industrials, a couple Sondheim’s at SIUE (because working in live theater in St. Louis early 90's was like panning for gold in the Mississippi river. Besides, SIUE had a budget for costumes). I also became familiar with unemployment benefits, telemarketing, and working in graveyard. In October '94 I moved to Chicago where all my friends were and started auditioning and temping. In a nutshell, for the past 8 or nine years I was in Chicago (still the best theater town) doing tons of work at small theaters for small money, with the occasional "make a living" show thrown in here and there. I became an ensemble member at an amazing theater company called Roadworks Productions in the spring of '95, and we did some great, gutsy work. At one time we were thought of as the next Steppenwolf...but we weren't. The company sort of bit it a few months ago. In Jan. of 2003, I started doing "Zazu" in the Chicago production of THE LION KING, which ran for ten months, and I'm still doing it in the San Francisco production. In November 04, we head to Seattle; basically starting the west coast leg of the Broadway National Tour (we're called the Cheetah Company. Go Figure.) In summer 2005 it heads back to Chicago, but we'll see if I make it. So. There. My past ten years. It's hard to "blurb" ten years. We're all old now, aren't we? Show Bio-wise: Broadway Tour: The Lion King ("Zazu"). Regional: Metamorphoses (Mark Taper Forum). Chicago: Sunday in the Park with George (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Phyro-Giants!, Dealer's Choice (Roadworks Productions, ensemble member); Disappeared (Steppenwolf Studio); Cloud Nine (After Dark Award) and A Home at the End of the World (Jeff nomination, About Face Theater); Pride's Crossing (Famous Door Theater); I Hate Hamlet, The Foreigner (After Dark Award, Drury Lane Oakbrook). Film: Totally Confused. Hasenstab@mac.com
Was honored as the Theater Department’s Distinguished Alumni at Alumni Day on March 18th. Corlis has been brought in as a guest artist with Black American Studies developing an ensemble theatre performance based on African American tales. The performance was held in the McLeod Theater. The ensemble now called the Back Porch Players plans to continue develop stories and takes them to local area schools. Corlis is Associate Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Chair of the Department of Theatre Arts and Communications at Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina. She has been active with the Charlotte Repertory Theatre and Theatre Charlotte as a Board Member, performer and director. chayes@livingstone.edu
Once leaving college Elizabeth worked in Arkansas doing a children’s touring show. Then she moved to Atlanta to work The 1996 Summer Olympics. Staying in Atlanta, she began her career in the convention business. She moved to Ft. Lauderdale, FL to be closer to family and took a job as an Audio Visual manager at the Miami Beach Convention Center. While dating her current boyfriend they moved to Orlando, FL where they currently reside in their new home. She is going to receive a Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management from the University of Central Florida. Currently, she works at doctor’s office and is in charge of medical records. She enjoy working and going to school and looks forward to a career in the health profession.elizabethhearst@hotmail.com
Dan Hechenberger
Dan has returned to SIUC where he is pursuing masters in Curriculum and
Instruction. Dan is also an Illinois
Roads Scholar traveling to various schools ad events giving a first person,
living history presentation of the character of Pere Jacques Gravier, a Jesuit
missionary who came to the “Illinois Country” not long after the explorations
of Marquette and Joliet. Gravier spent many years and had strong ties with the
Illinois people, compiling a written dictionary of their language, experiencing
firsthand the wars between the Illinois and Iroquois and sharing in Illinois
daily life and ritual. dhechenb@siu.edu
The only change is that I have opened my own law office in Murphysboro and no longer work for my previous firm. heinslaw@neondsl.com
Is an event coordinator for Steller Events in Dallas
Has anyone heard from Jeff?
I wrote a memoir structured like a documentary that tells the story of a spiritual awakening. I'm cleaning it up now and working on the perfect query. We'll see. Right now I'm working at a cool grocery store and editing my book. (Did you know that I wrote a book last fall?). Once I get that cleaned up a bit, I'm going to be sending it out trying to find agents and the like. Michael Gonzales and I ran into each other downtown and I’d like to meet some of the other alumni out here. marc.herb@earthlink.net
Has anyone heard from Danny?
Jeff Herrmann ('87) is the Director of Drama at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio During the summer months, he is a resident designer for Cain Park, in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Jeff is currently designing Songs for a New World for Cain Park. Later this year, he will design A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum for the Idaho Shakespeare Company in Boise, Idaho. Jeff and his partner Bob reside in Lakewood, Ohio.You can contact Jeff at jeherrma@bw.edu. You can also see some of Jeff's designs on his website: http://hometown.aol.com/opieone59/index.html opieone59@yahoo.com
Alex and I are in fact parents; we have a beautiful baby boy. Ethan Lee Hilgenkamp was born on April 6th. We are doing pretty well with figuring out how to be parents, Ethan is teaching us new things everyday. Alex will be going back to work soon at a veterinarian clinic. She will also start classes veterinarian in the fall. Yes classes, she is working on a pre-vet degree. My first summer season as Scenic Director is starting this week. The season is looking pretty good. hilgenkamp@suu.edu
Rodney has directed for professional, community, and college theatres in Chicagoland for several years. He frequently teaches Introduction to Theatre, Voice and Diction, Improvisation, History of Theatre, Nonverbal Communication, Dramatic Theory, among other courses. He previously served as acting chair of the Department of Communication, Media and Theatre at Northeastern Illinois University and currently holds the position of Managing and Artistic Director of the Stage Center Theatre. Rodney can be reached at r-higginbotham1@neiu.edu http://www.neiu.edu/~rghiggin/ Julie can be reached at: urghiggi@yahoo.com www.neiu.edu/~rghiggin/Thaiadopt/start.html
Thomas Hischak, MFA Playwriting, 1978
Tom is Professor of Theatre at the
State University of New York College at Cortland. He has published 13 books on
theatre, musical theatre, film musicals, and Tin Pan Alley. His most recent
book is the third edition of the OXFORD COMPANION TO AMERICAN THEATRE. He has
also published 18 plays, mostly classics adapted for the stage for schools.
Last spring he received the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarly and
Creative Activity. He lives in Cortland, NY, with his wife and two children,
Mark and Karen. hischakt@cortland.edu
Is a faculty member in the Art Department at Rend Lake College and will continue to design scenery for alumnus Tracey Brouillette-Webb. HOWARD@RLC.CC.IL.US
Is a graduate Student inn Costume Design at the University of Idaho. “I had a great time in Santa Fe this summer working for the opera company. I saw Adam Rowe in Santa Fe. I designed costumes for A Chorus Line this semester. It was an OK job, I think. This is my first time to design the show. I become bored not acting. I will have free time after Chorus Line is over. So, I plan to make a short play and perform here. Nobody may be interested, however it makes me happy.” Masako also won a regional ACTF award for technical excellence in costuming last January.
Not much going on in my life right now other than law school. I'm attending law school here at SIUC, and am part of the class of 2006. I'm still not married and don't have any kids. I haven't done any theater for a while, not since working with Jenny Holcombe in Lincoln as her stage manager for King and I in summer of 2002. Right now I'm just focusing on my studies in law and that's about all I have time for. They work us pretty hard. I'm excited to see this newsletter. theaterdva@hotmail.com
trickyp23@hotmail.com Patrick.Higgs@BASES.com
Teaches in the Speech Communications Department at SIUC. maryhp@siu.edu
Shirlene Holmes, MFA Acting 1985, Ph.D. 1991 Performance Studies
Shirlene recently visited when she performed for the Kleinau Theater’s Returning Artist Series. She is an associate professor at Georgia State University teaching in Communications and African American Studies. joushh@panther.gsu.edu
Brain has lived in Chicago for over 11 years where he directed and produced for the SIU alum-founded theater company Firstborn Productions. After receiving an MA in Counseling Psychology from Northwestern University and practicing as an adolescent psychotherapist for a number of years, Brian now applies those skills as Director of Customer Support for an Internet software company. He also runs HoltzMedia, a web development business on the side. brian@holtzmedia.com http://www.holtzmedia.com
Well. I am in the
process of designing for our spring production of "Chicago. I handed the
maintenance crew (who is building the set, yet again) a 1/2 inch scale white
model last Monday and they were thrilled.
From this they have already built quite a bit of the unit set and will
be starting on the wagons, soon.
If ANYONE knows of a
Doctoral program that deals with interdisciplinary arts--also known as
comparative arts-- (I am looking for something that incorporates fine art and
theater), please give me a heads up. So
far, the only one I have found is in
Athens, Ohio and that is quite a distance to commute! I am looking for
something that might be done as an
independent program, meeting every few months for a concentrated 1-2 weeks
program of work. tdhoward@midwest.net
Is currently a doctoral student in Performance Studies here at SIUC. steph@siu.edu
I was a (design-tech) graduate 1974, working under Darwin Payne with grad-assistant Bruce Cameron and Randy Moreland. Currently, I am working as a Systems Specialist for an Elmhurst, IL sound contracting firm, servicing and doing performance measurements on new theater sound systems. Most recently the (still under construction) Rochelle, H.S. auditorium and previously the new Lake Zurich H.S. and Lake Forest H.S. performance spaces.
Motoi Ibaraki, BA
rozie@jp-t.ne.jp saigetsu@hotmail.com
I have just recently been promoted to Assistant Professor / Lighting & Scenic Designer at Northwest Missouri State University where I am finishing my 7th. year. I am a Vice-Commissioner for Web Publications for the USITT Technical Production Commission as well as serving as editor for "Technical Source Guide". Terry and I are approaching our 13th wedding anniversary and we are blessed to have two wonderful kids, Madison who is 7 and Michael who is 4! pimmel@mail.nwmissouri.edu http://info.nwmissouri.edu/~pimmel/pats_web/INDEX.html
Whitney Johnson (Smith)
2002 BA Musical Theater
Whitney is currently working on her Master's of Science in the Department of Speech Communication at SIUC, with an emphasis in performance studies. Bulah5@hotmail.com
After graduation Star went to Ireland and the UK. Star recently appeared in the Stage Company’s production of Proof at the Stage Company and Lobby Hero for the Main Street Players here in southern Illinois as well as a performance in St. Louis for West End Players. starina27@hotmail.com
Tara Marshall-Johnson, BA, MFA Costume Design 2002
I have been enjoying the western mountain ranges since leaving SIU-C to
work at Idaho State University as an Assistant Professor in Costume
Design. Working along with Alumnus, Chad
Gross our department is currently organizing a move into a new $35 million
Performing Arts Center. Other exciting
news: Tyler learned how to down hill ski and is now a dare-devil in the
mountains and just graduated from Kindergarten, Wow!!! johntar2@isu.edu
My life has changed a lot in the last few years. I'm living with my boyfriend Robin and we are raising 3 of his children together. I'm not working in the theatre anymore, the hours are hard with the kids and the stability just isn't there. Anyway, right now I work for MetLife and I'm doing pretty well for myself. I wanted to send you a little note to thank you for all the support you and the rest of the theatre department gave me while I was there. I loved my experience at Southern and it was mainly because of the people. Thank you for providing such an excellent technical theatre program. For the 2 years after graduation that I did work in professional theatre, Southern provided me with the skills to work wherever I wanted (Steppenwolf) I will always appreciate that. Thank you and the rest of the faculty for making it such a great place to learn and grow, not only as a theatre technician, but as a person as well. dharma333@hotmail.com
Is an associate professor in the English Dept at U of Missouri, Springfield where he teaches playwriting. rmj526f@smsu.edu martinjones@mchsi.com
After graduating Jombi began his first year of graduate school here working towards his MFA in Lighting Design under Mark Varns. Jombi has just finished his last semester on the GI Bill and is looking forward to a graduate assistantship in the theater where he will teach basic lighting and supervise lab students in the electrics area. Jombi designed lights for Guest Director Shirley Jo Finney’s production of In the Blood and Tom Kidd’s recent production of The Green Bird.. beartrack76@hotmail.com
Has anyone heard from
Jeni?
Connie (Juranek) Petersen, MFA Costume and Scenic Design, 2002. Since graduation, I went back to Des Moines Metro Opera for my 9th and last season as Costume Designer. It was time to move on. I went on to Central City Opera as Assistant Designer and Wardrobe Supervisor. I was then given a one-year contract as Costume Shop Manager and Designer while a good friend; Tina Campbell was on maternity leave. The following spring, she decided to stay home, in which I was given another one-year contract. Last summer, I had a wonderful experience as a set costumer for the upcoming Disney film, Mr. 3000 with Bernie Mac. We did almost all the filming here in Milwaukee at Miller Park. It is set to be released this September. This spring I went through the interview process in which I was given the position of Adjunct Assistant Professor of Performing Arts at Marquette University. I am pleased to have this position permanently. Our whole department has been fighting university politics to get us on tenure track. What a challenge to have this university understand creative works. I enjoy running the shop along with being able to design 2 or 3 shows a year. Mostly when my colleague, Deb Krajec is directing. We had an exciting year having an original script being produced at ACTF at the Kennedy Center. Our student, Garrett Zuercher, who is deaf, wrote and directed Quid Pro Quo. I never thought I would enjoy the academic world as much as I do. I was married to Heath Petersen Labor Day weekend. We had a beautiful day, even with the Cornhuskers playing. I am very grateful for all the friends from SIU and NWMSU that was able to make the trip. connie.petersen@marquette.edu
After graduation in
January 92 I married Tricia, a fellow SIU grad in Forestry. We moved to Wilmington, NC and lived there
for 7 years. I was a carpenter at
Dupont, a sign maker, and in July of 92 was offered a job as Assistant
Technical Director of a Historic Theater - Thalian Hall. I held that position for 3 years until I was
promoted to Technical Director. The
space was a historic 1000 seat proscenium theater. I was the TD for the next 4 years. In 1998 I was freelancing for a show in Durham’s historic
Carolina Theatre and was offered a chance to work in Duke University’s Theatre
Operations Department. I also became an
adjunct professor in their theatre department.
I had seven theatre spaces to over see, dealt with groups ranging from
college theatre groups to off Broadway productions like “Birdy”. I was offered and took the position of
Assistant Manager over Special Events. I dealt with everything from setting up basketball
and foot ball games to the annual reunion and graduation. Two years ago I was offered the position of
Director of Administration/Operations at Sarah P. Duke Gardens where I am
now. I still am trying to continue my
involvement with the performance side of things; I am looking for ways to bring
theatre into the Gardens and other special events. Tricia and I have two kids, Madison age 7 and Zachary age 4. kart4@mindspring.com (h) paul.kartcheske@duke.edu (w) www.hr.duke.edu/dukegardens
Jen currently works as Publications Manager/Director for The National Center for Family Literacy here in Louisville. I'm working at the Louisville Zoo doing in marketing. It's not the highest paying job in the universe, but it's always interesting and sometimes I even get to pet a tiger baby, get up close to a gorilla or get splashed by a sea lion. And because I'm the only one in the department who understands PhotoShop, Web development or even how to change the colors on my desktop, people leave me alone.
Jennifer and I were
married on April 1st, 2000 in Las Vegas.
Yes, the date seemed fitting.
Rob Boostrom, Dave McKay and Jeff Lewis attended the wedding along with
our families and assorted friends from Louisville and beyond. It was a wonderful time and Jenn and I
re-experienced it when we went to Vegas last April for our 4th anniversary and
to be witnesses at Jeff Lewis’s wedding. robertkemnitz@loukymetro.org
Harrison Scott Key
Ph.D. Playwriting 2003
Right now, I'm awaiting
the publication of UP ON MOUNT NEBO, after it was part of ATHE's New Play
Development Workshop in New York, NY, just a few floors above the Marriot
Marquis Theater on Times Square. I
enjoyed making copies of the play at the Kinko's on Broadway, which I'm sure is
where Mamet would make his copies if he still wrote plays and cared to make
copies of them himself. I spent the
fall and spring working on my comedy about Cupid, retiled THE NEW Q. After the
success of AVENUE Q in NYC, I will
likely change the title again or add puppets.
The first act of THE NEW Q was
staged here at Mississippi State, by a very funny cast with day jobs. I also have news that my new short comedy, A PRIMER FOR CHARLIE SUTTON AND OTHER SECRET
TRAVELERS, is tentatively scheduled for inclusion in "The Fall
Collection," an Off-Off Broadway play and film festival in the downtown
area. After the end of the spring term,
Lauren and I plan on moving to New Orleans or at least closer to the Gulf of
Mexico. hkey@comm.msstate.edu hskey@hotmail.com
I have been working as a live concert lighting designer for such acts as Joshua Redman, Barbara Cook, Indigo Girls, Cecil Bridgewater and Clark Terry. The list of jazz artist goes on. In the not so distant past I worked as resident lighting designer for a small South West Florida venue. Designing La Cage, 42nd Street, Nunsense to name a few. I was also the TD at that venue.
(See New Faculty Profiles above)
Currently head of the acting MFA program at Western Illinois University's department of theatre, where I recently directed Fuddy Meers. This summer, will musical direct the inaugural season of Johnny Appleseed Historical Outdoor Drama. After that, he performed in New England Shakespeare Festival's production of Richard III as Lord Stanley, and is returning to Brown County Playhouse to direct The Odd Couple there. Bill also understudied the role of Kent for Elizabeth Carlin’s production of King Lear at the Vitalist Theater in Chicago. BKincaid@wiu.edu
Barry Kleinbort
Has worked as a composer, lyricist, librettist and director over the last twenty years, earning the prestigious Edward Kleban Foundation Award for Lyric Writing, a 2002 & 2003 Gilman-Gonzalez Musical Theatre Commendation Award, the 2001 Second Stage Constance Klinsky music theater award, two Back Stage Bistro awards, ten Manhattan Association of Cabarets (MAC) awards, and two Cable "Telly" awards for his efforts. For PBS, he wrote the continuity for A Washington Opera Celebration and the 2003 presentation of Die Fledermaus" and is currently providing a similar service for Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Orchestra. In New York and in Europe, Mr. Kleinbort has directed and/or written special musical material for such cabaret/theater luminaries as Kaye Ballard, Regis Philbin, Marcia Lewis, Mary Cleere Haran, John Epperson (aka Lypsinka), Karen Mason, Rita Gardner, Brent Barrett, John Barrowman, Sylvia McNair, Harolyn Blackwell, Jeff Harnar, Heather MacRae, Rodney Gilfry, and many, many others. He wrote the incidental music and songs for the off-Broadway production of SECOND AVENUE by Allan Knee and the book, music and lyrics for ANGELINA, a musical based on That Summer-That Fall by Frank D. Gilroy, which had its world premiere at the Cohoes Playhouse in Albany. He also contributed additional lyrics to the musical ONE TOUGH COOKIE starring Karen Mason for the Apple Tree Theater in Chicago. As librettist, he co-wrote with David Levy, PERFECT HARMONY, and a musical play about the lives of the Barry Sisters, which completed a highly acclaimed and successful Florida run. Also for Florida, he provided the script for the premiere engagement of The Broadway Tenors starring Brent Barrett, Hugh Panaro, and Alan Campbell and Bruce Adler’s musical revue, ABC. Latest projects: With composer Joseph Thalken, a musical version of Geoff Ryman's cult classic, WAS, (workshopped at Lincoln Center under the direction of Tina Landau and scheduled for full productions at the Human Race Company of Dayton, Ohio in October, 2004 and Boston’s Speakeasy Theater in April, 2005); an intimate musical with songwriter Ben Moore, HENRY AND CO., for Metropolitan Opera star, Jerry Hadley (recently workshopped at the Appalachian State Music Festival in Boone, North Carolina); and a musical biography about the life of the legendary jazz vocalist, Lee Wiley. A highly acclaimed revue of his theater songs, BIG CITY RHYTHM, which played the Triad Theater in New York City, is available on Harbinger Records. LITTLEBORT@aol.com
I'm finally writing you with an update because I finally have something going on. Jombi may have already told you that I am now the staff technical director for Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse in Rock Island, Illinois. I haven't actually begun any of the duties of TD yet. I start building our Christmas show next week, but it's really cool because I have keys and an office space in the shop and even my very own voice mail extension. I don't know what it is off hand, but I know I have one and that's cool. I'm a little scared that I may be slightly over my head, but I'm never going to be able to do it until I try to do it. I also figured that since I'm 27 years old, I may as well start challenging myself a little bit. I'm going to try very hard to get down there to see The Green Bird , but that may be our changeover weekend. Regardless I will come to visit as soon as possible so I can let everyone pat me on the back. mknepp77@hotmail.com
Mark is the Technical Director in the Theater Program at Creighton University in Omaha, NB mkrejci@creighton.edu
Larry is the Director of a multidiscipline fine arts facility in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC since March of 2002. The facility houses a 209-seat European-style concert hall, three art galleries, a dance studio, and classrooms for instruction in the visual and performing arts. Arts/Harmony Hall Regional Center, a facility of the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission, presents over 30 music, dance, and theatre performances each year. In addition, the Center offers classes in drama, creative dramatics, ballet, ceramics, pottery, painting, and children's crafts, as well a theatre and visual arts "camps" for children. The facility also provides rental performance space for over 200 groups annually. Lawrence.Knowles@pgparks.com
Is the Master carpenter at
Alabama Shakespeare Festival arcane4@hotmail.com
Has any one heard from Ben?
Teaching theatre at the University of Wisconsin Sheboygan since graduating from SIU in 2000. As Director of University Theatre, I direct all of the shows here. We finished a wonderful production of Oklahoma two weeks ago at a beautifully restored Vaudeville theatre downtown. I got a $10,000 grant to sponsor the show and after spending $55,000 we made about $8000 in profit. I was real pleased. We have auditions for The Foreigner in a couple weeks. Next semester I'm doing Grease. I'm writing and producing a show called In the Mood, 1940 based on big band and the Andrews Sisters. I'm also doing a class that is producing A Tale of Two Cities. Teaching is going very well. I'm enjoying it and improving a lot I feel every semester. So life is pretty good. ckrebs@uwc.edu
John works with the Foundation
Theater producing the scariest Haunted House in the Greater Chicago Area.
He also has performed for a variety of theater companies in Chicago. umbra23@hotmail.com
Lisa Lantz- Costume Design and Technology MFA 2002 Lisa left SIUC for the Eastern Shore of Maryland to become an Assistant Professor of Costume Design at Salisbury University, where she teaches classes in costume construction, costume design and makeup. She also designs the shows produced by the department and advises the student theatre organization, Sophanes. All of this is done along side cohort and fellow SIUC alumni, Gerry Patt, her devoted mentor. Lisa has been working professionally with the Pensacola Opera in Florida and will be returning to the Des Moines Metro Opera in Indianola, Iowa for the summer as Head Costumer with Head of Props, Ruth George (2002 SIUC alumni). You never know where those crazy Theatre Salukies will end up! lllantz@salisbury.edu
Dawn Larsen, Ph.D.
I'm OK. Notice the dept chair title below. That is some exciting news.
Also, I'm doing an acting gig with the state of KY. I received a Kentucky
Humanities Grant to write a one-woman show with some help from fellow alumni Gene
Biby. I now perform it all over the
state. I’m still in charge of the Tent/Rep Conference in Iowa and look forward
to seeing Sarah Blackstone again. At SETC this spring I gave a panel
presentation with Gene on the development of the one woman show. I then went to
dinner with SIU alumni Ron Naversen, Hilary Chandler, Gene Biby, Paul Bawek
and Shelly Stubbs. So many alumni
out there! Check out my websites below
for information. Dawn.Larsen@volstate.edu http://www2.volstate.edu/dlarsen http://www2.volstate.edu/tobyshow
I finished my MFA, went back to Utah Shakespearean Festival, and now I'm in Montgomery at the Alabama Shakespearean Festival. I drove out here with friends, stopping for a short time to visit Carbondale, and it was quite the adventure. I've been here about three weeks and to my surprise I'm truly having a great time. The weather is fabulous, the job is great, and the absolutely best part -- NO Homework at night! I'm working as the Festival’s milliner (hat builder) a job I've always wanted and worked toward for a long time. The only down fall is this contract is ten months, and so I won't be returning to USF for the summer build. roxiestyle@mac.com
In October I received Bethany College's Mortvedt Award for Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership. The award carries a cash award for both the recipient and his department. Earlier this year, the Bethany Theatre Department brought in Mike Speller, a Chicago-based actor, playwright and storyteller for a one-man performance of Sugarplum Variations, a collection of monologues written by Mike and myself. Also featured that evening were Bethany theatre students performing short selections from other pieces written by the two of us. My newest play, Painting Medusa, has been sent out to one competition and will soon be going out to two others. I taught Playwriting for the first time this semester and am happy to announce that the class has been a success. Both professor and students have enjoyed it very much. I continue to work on my dissertation. On good days I feel like Hillary on Everest; most others, like Sisyphus in Hades. legaultg@swedes.bethanylb.edu legault@kans.com
Liza is an internationally produced and award-winning playwright. Her works have been staged in such cities as London, Boston and Chicago and she has worked with such companies as The Women’s Project and Chicago Dramatists. In New York City she has received over a dozen productions, including an extended run of Drowning in Euphoria at Off-Broadway’s McGinn/Cazale Theatre.
She’s the recipient of a Playwrights Theater of New York Fellowship, a commission from the City of New York, and a Playwriting Residency from Silk Rd Theatre Company. Most recently her play The Return won the Playwrights Roundtable Award and received a production in the summer of 2003 in Orlando, just one of three regional productions of her work that year. In Chicago, her play The Wicked Quarter Mile will receive a production in May of 2004, and she is developing her script Becoming Ingrid with Stockyards Theatre Company, both directed by fellow SIUC alum Greg Gerhard.
Liza teaches a playwriting workshop in Midtown Manhattan and is a regular panelist and lecturer on women in theatre. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild and was recently elected to the Board of the New York Coalition of Professional Women in the Arts and Media. www.LizaLentini.com lizalentini@yahoo.com
After graduation Sandy left for Florida where she designed scenery for Always, Patsy Cline, Proof, and The Legend of Pecos Bill for the Seaside Repertory Theater with Jeremy Olson as lighting design and Paul Flint as TD. Now Sandy is a scenic artist at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. sandy1800@hotmail.com www.angelfire.com\mo2\sandy1800
I've been working at the same place now for over 7yrs. I'm the Vice President of Certified Financial Services, a mortgage broker here in Eugene. I just bought this house on Greenwich and am dealing with all the typical homeowner stuff. I haven't been able to get involved in theater even though there are a lot of solid community theaters here in this college town. This business has kept me busy over the last 3yrs. I'm hoping to get more involved in the future. Of course my son Jordan, now 7 and in 2nd grade, is keeping me very entertained. I have joint custody and have him 50% of time. It's been that way since he was about 2yr old. So, not much else to report except that I would be very interested in coming back to SIU for a reunion. This e-mail you sent me actually brought back a lot of memories as I looked over all the names in the directory. It's a great list to save so I can reach out to some old friends. jeff@cfseugene.com
Sharon Lewkuc,
(formerly Moran) BA 1989
for what I am currently doing...my
son was diagnosed as autistic in 2002 and I quit working soon after to devote
myself to his care. I still keep my
hand in the business of event production and management by organizing charity
fundraising events for a couple of local charities dealing with homelessness
and autism/PDD. I may not travel as
much nor have the budgets that I used to, but I find this work to be much more
rewarding and satisfying. I look
forward to the day that I can devote more of my time to these worthwhile
causes. The more that I come in contact
with the people affected by autism the more I am in awe of their courage and
determination. slewkuc@hotmail.com
Has anyone heard from Mike?
Bethany and I moved to Chicago, IL where I began my career as an actor; selling empty cardboard boxes for a company called Smurfit Stone Container. After a year of that mess, I was fortunate to land my first job in Chicago with the Marriott Lincolnshire's production of 1776. I have since done seven productions with the Marriott, including the role of Old Deuteronomy in the first regional theater production of CATS (that's right, I was in CATS). I earned my Equity card in 2002, and have continued to work steadily in Chicago at theaters including The Apple Tree, Court, and Chicago Shakespeare. Bethany and I feel truly blessed to have such a great life in Chicago, even though Mike Bradecich still lives around the corner. Bethany & I are currently in a production of Sweeney Todd with a company called Porchlight Theatre. I am reprising the role of Sweeney, and Bethany is playing my daughter Johanna. The show is a huge hit, and has received rave reviews from the Tribune, Sun-Times and the Chicago Reader as well as others. malindner@juno.com
Roger Long, BA 61
Here's a brief list of some of my activities in the past year or so that
you might consider for the newsletter.
1. Nov. 03: Co-produced and participated in "Aji Norantoko" a
Javanese wayang kulit (shadow theatre) production at the University of Hawai'i
at Manoa. Six professional and/or
Yoygakarta royal palace guest artists, including puppeteers, musicians and
singers, were brought from Central Java for a month to perform, teach and work
with students.
2. June 03: Spent three weeks in Java working on performance translations
with colleagues from Gadjah Mada University in Yoygakarta.
3. Feb. 04: Invited to teach a seminar on Cultural Tourism and Management for
the MA Program in Cultural Management at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
4. I continue my work at the University
of Hawai'i at Manoa as the Associate Dean of the College of Arts and
Humanities.
I'll be interested to know how many of the gang from 57-61 are still in
touch. Best to Chris and Darwin
if they still drop in from time to time. long@hawaii.edu
Tom works as a stunt coordinator out of Chicago. TLow902@aol.com
After earning her BA from the Theatre Brandy stayed at SIU for one year to finish her BS in Journalism/ Advertising. Since then, she has been working in the Chicago Advertising industry in account management. She's lead advertising and marketing efforts for brands such as Southwest Airlines, Qwest Telecommunications and JCPenney, and has had the pleasure of shooting TV commercials nationally and internationally, most exciting locations being Argentina - Buenos Aires and Western Argentina in the Andes Mountains. Currently, Brandy works for DDB Chicago where she leads all the recruiting, performance management and training efforts for the agency's account management department. Brandy married in June '02, and she and her husband, Mike, are expecting their first child in June '04. b.isaac@sbcglobal.net
It has been a long time, hasn't it? Actually, I'm doing
quite fine, and so is the burgeoning theatre program here at NGCSU. We just
finished a season that included A Shot in
the Dark in the fall of 2003, and Driving
Miss Daisy just this April. I directed both of those productions, while
overseeing student productions of David Ives' Seven Menus and Eve Ensler's The
Vagina Monologues.
Since I came to North Georgia College and State University in 1999, I have directed 12 productions, and I have acted in one. Some of the shows I have done are Sylvia (in which I also portrayed Paul, the extremely befuddled owner of Sylvia), A Few Good Men, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, G. B. Shaw's Man of Destiny, and One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. For this Halloween, I'll be staging The Passion of Dracula. Currently, I am working on a play about Helen Kane, my wife's great aunt, who was the original inspiration and voice of Betty Boop. Unfortunately, the world has forgotten this fact about Betty, which hopefully I can rectify with this play. In fact, Helen Kane would find herself haunted by Betty Boop up until she died in 1966. I live in Dahlonega, GA, which is where NGCSU is located. Last week on May 6, Tammy and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary. Our two sons, Scott and Alex, are doing fine. Scott lives in Gainesville, GA, and Alex is in the Navy, the submarine service, to be exact, and he will be shipping out on the USS Maryland this fall. Say hello to all those who are still from the old Moe regime, and please keep me posted about upcoming events. kmace@ngcsu.edu
Jenny MacMurdo-Holcombe
Recently Jenny started her own theater company called Little Coat Players at the Liberty Theater in Murphysboro. Her first production of Little Women featured Andrea White and Emily Fink with the set by Bob Holcombe and scene painting by Hilary Chandler. jmariemac@hotmail.com
Nicole Madison, BA
I’ve started singing
private parties, weddings, etc. Still doing the weddings (yes, I even sing,
"I Will Survive") But I perform with Keith and our bass player at
several different venues around Jackson Hole.
Jazz has become my main focus. Exciting news...was asked to record a
demo for—get this-- Christian Pop...which this writer is sending to
Nashville...maybe I've found my calling, praise Jesus. All in all, I am living in an incredibly
gorgeous place and doing what I love to do.... AND MAKING A LIVING AT IT!!!!!
best news of all...I'm engaged. Getting
married in June. Great guy. His name is Greg. He's been out here for 20 some years. Skier, climber, free spirit...but business mind as well... he's
got a great head on his shoulders, and an INCREDIBLE heart. NicoleMadison01@yahoo.com
Has anyone heard from
Brenda?
Barbara Mangrum, MFA Costume Design 1988
Barbara is the Head of
Design in the Department of Theater and Dance at Millikin University in
Decatur, IL bmangrum@mail.millikin.edu
Lee Maples
Chris appeared in Main Street Players of Murphysboro productions of Lobby Hero and True West. He’s packing his bags to look for acting gigs in Chicago. marcums@hotmail.com
Robert May received his M.F.A. from the University of Arizona in 1998. He has acted at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and at various theatres in Chicago and San Diego. Currently his emphasis is on directing. His recent directorial efforts include Experiment With An Air Pump by Shelagh Stephenson, Ashes to Ashes and The Lover by Harold Pinter, Peaches in Regalia by Steven A. Lyons, State of the Art by Craig Abernethy, a staged reading of Remains by Seema Sueko, A Prayer for my Daughter by Thomas Babe, and The Misanthrope by Moliere, adapted by Andrew Gall and Megan Powell. Robert also works as a sound designer and actor, and dabbles in website design. He was married in May 2003 to D. Candis Paule. www.robertmay.info candisandrobert@juno.com
Has anyone heard from Anne?
I am working with Andrea Berry as her assistant in
Nashville, TN. She is the rep for Manny Puig (the sharkman) and extreme camera
man Mark Rackley. Her contacts are insane. Animal Planet, MTV, Discovery
Channel, not to mention marketing with Mercury and Trophy. We'll have a website
up and going in a few weeks, promoting their upcoming appearances, events, and
adventures. I'm also excited to see this production company launch. libbymcdermott@hotmail.com
Is an assistant professor of acting & directing at Indiana University. One of South Africa's leading stage directors and producers, Murray was the recipient of the South African Airways Young Artists Award (1989) and the American Biographical Association Distinguished Young Leadership Award (1990). He was awarded a Fulbright scholarship in 1993, which enabled him to undertake his graduate studies in the USA. Murray McGibbon has won South Africa's highest theatrical award, the VITA, five times. For six years he served as Artistic Director of Drama for the Playhouse Company in Durban, South Africa, where he directed 40 productions and produced 122. He also founded The Loft Schools' Company, The Playhouse Puppets and introduced the pay-what-you-can scheme to South Africa. Murray recently directed Scapino!, which opened in the new Theatre and Drama Center's Wells-Metz Theatre in March 2002, Cole, which opened the 2002 Brown County Playhouse season, and ART, the first production of the 2002-2003 Theatre and Drama Center season. mcgibbon@indiana.edu edfp22a@prodigy.com
Is returning to school at SIUC this coming Spring 2005 semester. pjmc81@hotmail.com
At the present time, I work for Xerox Capital Services (which as of Sept. 11, 2001 is owned by GE)as a billing auditor/inspector. Just marked my five year anniversary here. In terms of acting, I have worked with a few different colleges and community groups. The highlights? Playing Christopher Wren in The Mouse Trap. Playing Ellard in The Foreigner, playing Froggy (different production) in the Foreigner, Mike from the Second Time Around, The boss (don't remember the characters name) from The Nerd, and a couple of Shakespeare in the Park Productions (minor parts) in Elk Grove Village Should be getting engaged later this summer to a gal I have been dating for almost two years. David_mky@yahoo.com
Mark Mendelsohn, BA
Updates: Married life is a hoot. We just returned from the Stratford Fest in Ontario, where we helped chaperone a bunch of my students. Saw great productions of Noises Off and Guys and Dolls a so-so production of Count of Monte Cristo, and a dreadful productions of "Macbeth" and "Henry VII." Stratford's a cute town, though. I'm in my fifth (and tenured) year at Proviso West High School, and things are going pretty well. I just got cast in a show--Father Dewis in Shepard's Buried Child. We'll see how rusty the old actin' skills are--it's been a while, but it should be fun. Is my old spandex Tybalt costume lying around? That might liven up the production...mmendelsohn@sbcglobal.net
Charissa is the chair of the Arts & Letters Program at Prescott College. She is also head of Performing Arts, manages the Granite Performing Arts Center, and teaches theatre, communication, and writing courses. She initiated a new play development process this year, with plays from the fall playwriting class seeing full production in the spring term. Her own play, The Figurehead, was featured in the Plays-in-Progress Series at the Utah Shakespearean Festival in 2001. She also performs off and on--and wants more on--as a singer, actor, and comedian. All four of her children are now, unbelievably, in school. cmenefee@prescott.edu
Larry Menefee,
Larry is a Professor and Director of Theatre at Cumberland University. doclm@cumberland.edu
Well it's time to start another year at SIUC and I'm not there (tear). But I've been keeping busy. LET ME TELL YOU: (That's the best transition I’ve ever written) Last summer I was at Cortland Repertory Theatre where I played Nick Davies in BEDROOM FARCE and Clifford Anderson in DEATHTRAP. The two plays were before and after their STATE FAIR and they didn't want to send me home for a week while STATE FAIR ran and before DEATHRAP started rehearsals so I worked in there shop with Russell Holman and Kevin Crispin. Good times. It was a great experience and it felt so good to act and get paid. When I got back home I started back working for Office Depot while auditioning at a few places in Chicago. I got a lot of auditions right away by going to www.performink.com They post equity theater, non-equity theater, TV, film, directing and more auditions throughout Chicago. I had about 2-3 auditions a week for a solid Month and I got offered a lot of things but I turned them down due to the theater being "shady mcshade". What was encouraging was I got offered Macomb in MACBETH and Benvolio in ROMEO AND JUILET at Oak Brook Shakespeare Theater aka First Folio Theater of Oak Brook. But I had to turn them down. BECAUSE... (another good transition...I"M ON FIRE! I got an email asking me if I wanted to be in the equity production of OTHELLO at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey as a non-equity. DUH I accepted it. So I left Sept. 27th to start rehearsals and it runs from Oct. 28th to November 23. And just so you know how important my technical classes were on top of the shop hours I put in from this summer. New Jersey isn't paying me much but I’m doing some over hire work in their shop and when I was there last summer I was the only person besides the TD who could weld. That TD is still there and when the Assistant Artistic Director told the TD I was coming back, the TD put me on the top of the list for his over hire. The BA degree is getting me into places a lot more than some people's BFA. Well I'll let you guys go ...for now. DrBocsh007@aol.com
Mike Myers, ABD
Mike is the head of the Theatre Program at Central Wyoming College, where he teaches theatre history, acting, and directing. He directs three productions a year. Recent shows include Our Town, Black Comedy, Meet Me in St. Louis, and Death of a Salesman. Mike’s wife, Patrice, is a special Ed teacher. His nine-year old son, Sam, is working on his first novel. mmyers@cwc.edu
Dan is a stage manager in Chicago as is currently stage managing Drink Me for Seanachai Theatre for which he is an ensemble member. Dan also worked on Necessary Targets at Apple Tree and Nickel and Dimed with Naked Eye in association with Steppenwolf. In addition, he stage manages the cabaret room once a week at Davenport's Piano Bar and Cabaret. By day he still does web work for America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest hunger-relief organization. dpmichel@aol.com
Thom Miller,
Thom has finished his
second year in the MFA Playwriting Program at SIUC. His thesis play, Three, will be produced this summer for
the Summer Playwrights Workshop. thomj64@aol.com
Since leaving SIU,
Margaret Megumi Miles moved to NYC and worked in various theatres there,
Broadway and off, as well as opera.
Summer stints at the Spoleto Opera Festival in South Carolina followed,
which led to some contracts with several rock and pop tours across the U.S.,
including an interesting year touring with Metallica, the Nickelodeon Rugrats
Pink Card tour, as well as David Copperfield in Japan. The last tour landed her in Las Vegas, and
subsequently in Los Angeles, where she works as a film and television
Production Designer. Her current
project is on a feature film with the producing team of "Curb Your Enthusiasm",
shot in Los Angeles and Chicago. mmiles@chaosmgmt.net
Ray Mines
I'm in Sacramento, Ca still and have set a goal of being in San Diego or LA
no later than August '04. Right now I
am heard all over the central California valley reporting new for various
stations and I am broadcasting live updates from the Sacramento Kings games on
ESPN/ FOX/ and AP affiliated stations nationwide. I have recently auditioned for two films being shot here in Sac,
waiting to hear about those. I guess
that's my major news for now. Have a
great holiday season and thanks for doing this newsletter, there are a number
of people I'd like to find out about and get back in touch with this is
great. belayray@hotmail.com rbm@intergate.com
Has anyone heard from Chris? Mblueshirt@aol.com
Well, what am I up to...keeping busy here at The Theatre Academy designing, I just designed the lighting for "Picasso at the Lapin Agile” I am re-designing the News and Morning shows for Univision's station here in LA, KMEX Spanish Language Network. I am preparing three shows for Telluride Colorado (Lizard Head Theatre Company {the name of a mountain peak near town} ) this summer, two of which I will do the lighting design; How I learned to Drive and All in the Timing. I still have to design "The Importance of Being Earnest" here at LACC before school gets out. Lastly I have started work on the 3rd edition of Concert Lighting and continue to work on my Doctorate. moodyjl@lacitycollege.edu
I’m touring the U.S. and Canada with his one-man show, Moliere Than Thou, getting rave reviews. He has written 15 new rhymed, iambic pentameter versions of Moliere's best-loved plays, and is hoping to one day complete the canon. As he travels, he enjoys catching up with SIU alums, and asks everyone to please drop him a line! This year he has added a new show: a comic one-man sci-fi thriller, Criteria, to the mix, which he will be taking around on the "Fringe Festival" circuit. tim_mooney@earthlink.net www.moliere-in-english.com
Mike is an Assistant Professor in Theatre at Northwest Missouri State University mmorris@mail.nwmissouri.edu
Last year I performed a workshop version of my solo show, Pop Culture Whore, at a space in Los Angeles, and will have the full-length version up sometime this year. My freelance writing can be found in variety of publications including RESCUE Magazine, Citizenrobot.com and Tanashabitat.com. I also worked last year as a print model for Microsoft and signed with an agent who specializes in print and hosting work. I'm Segment Producer for HGTV's show "Designed To Sell," and I still write a weekly column for the Los Angeles-based film industry site, hollywood-elsewhere.com. I started songwriting with a jazz musician last year and look forward to producing more music in 2005. dezhmo@att.net
Since finishing up my thesis I have kept quite busy. After the summer I left to go out on tour with the Nebraska Theatre Caravan. I served as their lighting director for their east coast tour of A Christmas Carol, which was a liberating experience that I thoroughly enjoyed. After ending the tour I returned to Bismarck, North Dakota and got a job at Bismarck State College as their resident designer and technical director. I was hired to do the scenic, lighting, and sound design for their spring musical and serve as the technical director for the show as well as any other show that came into the theater. I oversaw to the student workers, shop, and all the other functions that fall under the realm of Technical Director. Although the department is quite small I enjoy the people that I work with, and have done some good work. I didn’t think that I would be doing scenic design or technical direction but have enjoyed every last bit of it. Jkafka23@aol.com
I was on the tour with SPAC (Shizuoka Performing Art Center) from the beginning of December till today. I am working at Tadashi Suzuki's company still. It's been a year and 3 months. I learned Suzuki method with actors, and operate the sound of Suzuki method. I also had chance to work with Yuri Lyubimov's company and other theater companies from abroad, which gives me lots of experiences. However, I decided to leave SPAC soon because there are very few technical jobs available. I prefer to create the different shows rather than rebuild the set for the same play over and over again. I haven't found the job that I want to do now, but I am looking for something else. themauma@hotmail.com
I am currently opening the Little Coat Theatre Company with Jenny MacMurdo-Holcombe in Murphysboro, IL. I am also pursuing a visual art career that began at SIU (in the form of crayons, some of you might remember.) I am still writing and working on a piece called the Cheese Monologues, performing (mainly in my living room, by myself with a towel on my head pretending to be Cher-I'm on my third farewell tour.) But my main focus right now is opening up the theatre/art gallery with Jenny Mac. If anyone is interested, they can contact myself or Jenny via email. I would love to hear from anyone. jmurph5@sbcglobal.net
For the past five years I
have been working as a producer with a company called MOM AND DAD
PRODUCTIONS. They have me doing
everything from acting to Press. I have
been their chief set designer. Most
recently I've been taking classes at Second City and am getting ready to go out
and find myself an agent. Also I am in
the beginning stages of starting my own theatre company here in Chicago.gtmjr@hotmail.com
David is the founder and director of The American Shakespeare Project, which is headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He recently earned a J.D. degree from the University of New Mexico, passed the NM Bar exam and is employed as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Albuquerque. He most recently directed Measure for Measure and Twelfth Night and will direct Othello in March of 2004. He can be reached at nava@comcast.net
I just opened a production of King Lear in Chicago for Vitalist Theater directed by former SIUC acting/voice teacher Liz Carlin. Alumnus Bill Kincaid will be understudying the role of Kent so we will try to have an SIUC Chicago area reunion sometime this fall. This summer I designed Oklahoma for alumnus Michael Cochran at Market House Theater in Paducah. Adjunct faculty and alumnus Hilary Chandler & new faculty Segun Ojewuyi and I are developing an interdisciplinary exhibition and conference on Masks here at SIUC in 2005. If you’d like information on these events just e-mail me rnav@siu.edu and asked to be put on the mailing list. Finally my updated website has some new shows, articles I’ve written and a gallery of masks that I’ve designed over the years. http://www.ronaldnaversen.com/
I’m gainfully employed at ABC/Touchstone TV, which is a good thing. Jobs aren’t so easy to come by out here these days, so when this one came along in January I latched on to it. I miss southern Illinois this time-o-year & in the fall. They were my favorite times to be there. Hanging out on Fountain Bluff watching the barges roll along the river. Instead I’m in this hermetically sealed office bldg at Disney studios. Life turns out strange sometimes, you know? zooey72@earthlink.net
Hasn’t been doing much. Spent the worst part of the winter in Key West working with the oldest surviving community theatre in the US, the Waterfront Playhouse. We had a good season, attendance was way up. Maybe because they did mostly shows that are interesting to the audience base and not just the "artists." Back in WI now enjoying the happenings of Spring. Will see Randy Moreland next month when Phantom comes to the Appleton PAC - I'm working the show. Yes, re-upped my IATSE card and enjoying being just a grunt and not in charge. MikeN@direcway.com
I’m working as Lighting and Sound Designer for Cornell College in Mount Vernon Iowa. It is very hard to go from Student to Teacher. The responsibility of budgets, classes, and not having enough time for the shop/show work. Ah the life of academia. Cornell College is very good for and to me. I have really brushed up on my time management skills, delegation ability, and counseling of students. The line between professor and student is somewhat hard to define in such a small department. The show produced here are ambitious technically and the acting is much better that I thought it would be. I am starting to feel like a miracle maker, I am given a small budget and we produce these grand, sometimes elaborate sets for virtually nothing. I am impressed with my co-workers and myself. This has been a trial by fire four months and the learning curve and been steep, hard, but very rewarding. In February I start teaching my first class that should be interesting. frozzenland@hotmail.com
Opy (Kevin Opasinski)
This will be my final season at Orlando Shakespeare Festival as the Technical Director. Season number six (2 as ATD, 4 as TD)!! I can't believe it’s been that long. PJ Albert is still our production manager, and doing well. Our designer works with Sabrinna Cox at the Arts Center of Costal Carolina. opyosf@yahoo.com
John is the scene shop supervisor for the Missouri rep in Kansas City. Gabby1776@aol.com
Max (dog) is doing fine, she’s nearly 80 pounds, and just as strong headed and stubborn as Amy (wife). I’m doing well, just a little overwhelmed at the recent tasks at work, and the amount of painting and flooring and un-wallpapering at the new home. The blue truck had passed away, and now I have a Black Dodge Ram – that I gave a jump-start and $100 for. It used to be Shad Ramsey’s, but it runs well enough after a little work. Any good & fast carpenter resumes can go to clarkjcf@umkc.edu, and grad student apps can go to hayesc@umkc.edu
Eric Pals MFA Playwriting 2004
Eric is off to New Hampshire with his fiancé. ericpals@hotmail.com
Has anyone heard from
Valerie?
Bavesh just finished his
contract with the Cincinnati Shakespeare festival and is preparing for Graduate
Study at NYU in the fall of 2004.
Gerry Patt, (M.S. 1966, M.F.A. 1992
Is in his twenty-first year as designer/scenic artist at Salisbury University on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Last season he collaborated with the newest member of his design team, Lisa Lantz on HAMLET, directed by Charles Duff of the Globe Theatre, London. I would like to hear from alums and faculty I worked with at SIU. gdpatt@salisbury.edu
Darwin Reid Payne
Lang Reynolds and Ron Naversen are planning an exhibition of Darwin’s models and renderings for the alumni reunion and the 2006 USITT conference in Louisville. drp@wfu.edu
Bob and Beverly
Pevitts MA & Ph.D.
Beverly
is President of Park College in Missouri. Bob has started his own scenic studio
and continues his research on his teacher and SIUC Research professor Mordecai
Gorelik. bandb@byerspevitts.com
Has anyone heard from
Scott?
Started Trama Theater Company with Paul Jenkins, Mindy Youroukos and John Dooley who are currently working on a production of Hamlet at the Crossroads Theater. vestalvirgin@earthlink.net www.crossroadstheater.tv
George Pinney, MFA Directing
1980
George was nominated for 2001 Tony Award and National Broadway Theatre Award in choreography for BLAST! He received a 2001 Emmy Award for outstanding choreography for the PBS Broadcast of BLAST! He is a member of the creative team, acting director, and one of three choreographers for Cyberjam, which played at the Queen’s Theatre in the West End of London last fall. George, a Professor of Theatre and Drama and the Head of Acting/Directing at Indiana University, has directed and or choreographed over 100 productions for regional and university theatres. Recognized as a master teacher George was awarded the prestigious Friederich Herman Lieber Award for Distinguished Teaching and was selected for membership in the honorary Faculty Colloquium of Excellence in Teaching. George also received the SIUC Department of Theater Outstanding Alumni Award in 2002. pinneyg@indiana.edu
Paul David Popp spent the first two years after graduating (‘92) in Palm Springs, CA and the next three in Syracuse, NY. He moved back to Chicago almost 8 years ago and started working with many of his SIU-C buddies who started Firstborn Productions, and helped them in their production of 4 seasons. After taking some time off, he has been hitting the pavement for the last three years. He has been taking some classes, got some new headshots, and landed an agent. He has had a small amount of success commercially, and has been lucky enough theatrically to have been working consistently over the last year and a half. ppopp@rvionline.com
Julia Pachoud Bennett, BA Theater, MA & PH.D Performance Studies
Julia is the Chair of the Communication & Theater Dept. at Augustana College, Sioux Falls, SD. julia_pachoud@augie.edu
Jody Price MFA Playwriting 2002
I'm teaching Oral Interpretation at Central Michigan University in Mount
Pleasant, MI. In October I staged a reading here of THE SCULPTOR'S PEACE. Recently, I joined the Chicago Dramatists
Playwrights' Network and I submitted a play there. This email is still the best
way to reach me. Baby Chloe is two and has recently been biting her friends. I
still write but my spelling hasn't improved. jodzilla98@yahoo.com
In twenty thousand words or less.... for the last six years I have been working for myself as a Mediator and trainer. My clients are government agencies and nonprofit agencies. For example, I have a contract with the California Department of Education to work with parents and school districts that disagree regarding special education services, so prior to the parties going to a hearing they will hopefully try mediation first. The non-profits consist of working with boards and Executive Directors and helping them move forward form a conflict(s). They consist from termination, sexual harassment or simply mission differences.
I am also on the faculty in the school of nonprofit management at the University of Judaism where I have been employed since 1994. I use improvisation in my mediations and training to allow the parties to see other points of views. I learned at SIU that one can never say NO or BUT in improve and I have found that also applies to conflict resolution. So, I am happy to use acting in my career. Mpurch@aol.com
Kevin Rayman '97
I hope all is well in the Dale of Carbon. I am currently still working for the Madison County Probation department in East Alton, IL as an Adult Probation Officer assigned to the Field service unit. I do have some big news.... I just got married one week ago to a wonderful woman named Peggy Emling. She is a teacher with the Edwardsville school district. We currently reside in Collinsville IL and have a dog named Luther! My job is very interesting, but still miss working on the sets at McLeod and cleaning the Lab at 5:00am. Ha-Ha! I do miss Carbondale and will be down to visit soon! Kcrayman@co.madison.il.us
Jim Reed, MFA Playwriting
Designs websites in San Francisco.
He and wife Dani Malik have twins Miles Owen Reed born April 14, 2003
7:02 AM 5 lbs, 12 oz & Lola Angelina Reed born April 14, 2003 7:27 AM 6
lbs, 2 oz. Check out the twins
continuing adventures at miles_and_lola@jimreed.net http://twins.jimreed.net
Joe Robinette, Ph.D. 1970, Helen Robinette MA 1970
Not much in the way of update. My
dramatization of Sarah, Plain and Tall
was awarded play of the year by the American Alliance for Theatre and Education
at their annual conference in July. One
of my plays was the subject of a Master’s thesis at Emerson College this past
spring. 49th published play came off the press last September. 2nd grandkid came off the press last May.
Helen recently retired as Academic Advisor to the College of Communication here
at Rowan U. (formerly Glassboro State College jrobinette02@comcast.net hrobinette02@comcast.net
Erin Beth Rodgers, BA 2004
This is Erin Rogers. I'm finally getting
around to emailing you, sorry!! Other than moving from
Carbondale to home and preparing to move into my apartment in the fall I've
only been doing two things. My family went to England and Scotland. Since we got back from England I've been
working on school things for the fall. I'll be going to Parkland Community
College in the Art and Design department and living in Champaign. frukid82@yahoo.com
Malcolm Rothman
At
present, I'm in Tech week for the Marriott Lincolnshire Theater production of The Pajama Game; I'll be playing Old Man
Haler, the factory owner. These past
few years, I've also been teaching ESL in the Chicago City Colleges and am a
concierge at the Crowne-Plaza, The Silversmith in the heart of "The
Loop". malrothman@hotmail.com
I am working on The Laramie Project for Parkland Community
College and I am also working on the U of Illinois production of Gross Indecency... so I have come to
know Moises Kaufman's work pretty well and really respect the guy greatly. Anyway... the production of The Laramie
Project has been so inspirational and just an amazing journey. To date it is the most complicated and
involved design I have done. The
director and I decided that the play would be more effective to cast all 75
parts instead of just 8. Well the plan worked to our advantage because Moises
Kaufman was in town staying at a near by hotel... he is working a new
production about Beethoven. Anyway...
He gets a newspaper covering the play delivered to this hotel room and decides
to call up the director and see what the hell is up with casting 72
people. Once he got his mind wrapped
around the idea he was so excited that he wanted to meet the cast and what not. I also had another spout of celebrity
mayhem... This summer I was able to work with the writer of the musical Hairspray, the composer of Annie, and the writer of Spaceballs the movie and The Producers the musical. I got to see a staged reading of their new
musical. All three of them are teaming
up to do a new musical opening on Broadway in two years. It's Robin Hood... but a very different take
on it. rowea12@hotmail.com
I am in Shanghai working as a General Manager for the sales department for the clothing company I worked for in Tokyo. It’s not quite theater, but it’s interesting and makes me feel good. And there is no bad news as long as I am in good health. If anyone visits Shanghai, please let me know. I think I can help to see many places for sight seeing.
Is the Director of Design in the Division of Theater at East Tennessee State University. shaferm@etsu.edu
I am currently in my sixteenth season with the Omaha Playhouse and Nebraska Theatre Caravan as Production Coordinator. We produced thirteen productions this season and four national tours, a new record. I am a Journeyman in the local IATSE union. We just finished working on Cats and Starlight Express. I am also a Reserve Deputy Sheriff with Douglas County Nebraska. I needed to find one job/hobby that didn’t involve working in theatre. I work about twenty-five hours a month in Road Patrol, Fugitive Warrants and Drug Interdiction. I was recently promoted to Assistant Reserve Coordinator of our thirty-member unit. I got married a year and a half ago to a local Lighting Designer. She just finished lighting Noises Off for the Playhouse, and is ALD for Opera Omaha. We close on a new house in May and have a new golden retriever puppy named Zoey. Zoey is getting along great with our five year old golden Katy but not so good with the cat Harley. gscheer@omahaplayhouse.com
MaryBeth has been living
in the LA area since 1990. She is married and has two boys Henry (5) and Mason
(3). She has been working as an actress in theatre, film and TV. Some credits
include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Strong Medicine and the recently
released controversial mocumentary A DAY
WITHOUT A MEXICAN. MBScherr@aol.com
Mike Seagle, BA
is an Associate Professor of Theater, and the Theater Coordinator. He attended John A. Logan College from 1982 to 1984. After graduating from Logan, he went to Southern Illinois University where he received a bachelors degree in acting and directing for theater. Mike then moved to Florida where he was the Artistic Director of the Boatyard Stage Company in Clearwater. In 1989, he was accepted as one of two candidates in the University of Illinois Theater Department's graduate directing program. After three years of study, Mike was awarded a Master of Fine Arts degree and graduated with final honors in 1991. He was first hired at John A. Logan College in the spring of 1992. Mike teaches Theater Appreciation, Acting I & II, and Art of the Cinema. Mike has worked professionally as an actor and stage manager but is primarily a director. He has been directing shows at John A. Logan College since 1993. His favorites include Rituals and Recollections (which he wrote and directed), Lips Together, Teeth Apart, Noises Off!, Grease!, 12 Angry Men, Oleanna, I Do! I Do!, Redemption: A Dream Play about the Herrin Massacre (which he also wrote and directed), Wild Honey, Anton in Show Business, and Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992.
Is the Assistant to the Director at Gordon Tech High School in Chicago, IL Unclehank7@aol.com
What do you do with an MFA
in Acting and Directing? Become a
playwright, of course, and that's what Lee's been doing since graduating in
1986. His play Holmes & Watson enjoyed a successful run off-Broadway (with Lee
as Holmes), and from NYC he flew to the other coast to write stories for Star Trek: the Next Generation. Currently he's the Playwright-in-Residence
at one of his alma maters (University of Alabama at Birmingham) and
participating in the Kennedy Center's Playwriting Intensive program. leeshack@uab.edu www.gulliver.cc
Kara & Josh Shaw,
MFA Marjorie Lawrence Opera Theater, 2004.
We're at Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre in Indianapolis right now
then will be at Cornwell's Dinner Theatre in Michigan until the end of October
doing Damn Yankees. It's nice to be
able to just perform and not worry about class work and projects as well! Hope
everyone is well in Carbondale! snofro1@yahoo.com,
joshshawtenor@yahoo.com
I am the program director/ assistant camp director for
Paradise Farm Camps in Downingtown, PA.
We run a day camp and a residential camp during the summer months and I
am working with both of those. I am
also in charge of our Mother's Program, which is where we bring out single moms
from Philly with their small children.
I do the hiring, the scheduling, the programming, the promotions and
advertisements, along with much more.
During the school year we do a lot of environmental education programs
along with teambuilding activities. I
work closely with that staff along with lending a helping hand when
needed. I travel to a lot of different
areas of Philadelphia to discuss our programs with parents, school
administrators and foster care facilities.
We were founded in 1875 to give children from the city a chance to experience
life in the country. That is a good
fifteen years before the fresh air fund originated. Most of our campers from our residential camp are from lower
income families of Philadelphia. I make
a lot of pleas for money since close to 98% of our campers come on scholarships
and most of our money comes from private donations, rather than governmental
money. During the summer of course, I run around camp with the campers making
sure everyone is doing their job and no one is sticking marbles up their nose or
eating glue, campers and staff alike! kaeti@paradisefarmcamps.org or daycamp@paradisefarmcamps.org
I am currently working for
AIG as the Area Sales Manager for Illinois.
We live in Springfield where we bought a house and we constantly hang
out with Brent Hand and a number of other people from the department. I'll pass your e-mail onto Brent if you'd
like. Cassia is still with me....
she'll wise up eventually. She is
working at Family Video here and is looking for a full time job. That's the basic information on us. Outside of that I enjoy sunsets and long
walks on the beach. Mark.Sickles@aig.com
Marvin passed away on Christmas Day 2003 of a heart attack while visiting friends in Florida. Marvin became the Head of the Performance program at Virginia Commonwealth University after he graduated from Southern in 1997, and was responsible for teaching graduate and undergraduate directing classes. Marvin was also president of the Association for Theater in Higher Education and the Black Theater Network. VCU is preparing a scholarship in Marvin’s name and anyone wishing to contribute should contact Noreen Barnes McLain at nbarnesm@vcu.edu
Dr. Leslie Sloan Orr is the School of Theatre’s primary playwriting and black theatre teacher. In addition, she is the Artistic Director for the School’s Crossroads Theatre, a multicultural theatre that explores plays, musicals, and dances depicting the African-American experience as well as its interconnection with other cultures. This year, Dr. Orr became the recipient of the ISU Office of Intercultural Programs and Services’ “Outstanding Faculty Award.” Currently, Orr, who is the Co-Chair for the national Mid-America Theatre Conference (MATC) Playwriting Symposium, is revising her own play, “Break Away,” which dramatizes the lives of Black women living an American nightmare in urban centers. Before joining Illinois State University, Orr was an Assistant Professor of Directing at Indiana State University. In 1997, she created the Theatre Department’s Black Theatre Program - making Indiana State the only traditional institution of higher education in the State of Indiana with a Black Theatre Program. Other credits include writing and directing “Goin’ Underground,” a 15-minute video and 30-minute stage play dramatizing an enslaved family’s search for freedom via the Underground Railroad. Her credits also include founding Eastside Theatre in Springfield, Illinois, for which she was named by former President George Bush one of his Thousand Points of Light. Orr holds a Ph.D. from Wayne State University in Detroit. Her dissertation is entitled: Gender Role Strain in Selected Plays by August Wilson. She also holds an M.F.A. in playwriting from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. In her spare time, she enjoys attending football and basketball games with her husband, Rickey (the first), and their son, Rickey (the second).
Gretchen Smith, MFA Playwriting 1989
I received tenure at Southern Methodist University and promotion to Associate
Professor. I am now Head of Theatre
Studies in the division, as well. Last
summer, I presented a paper at the Prague Quadrennial at the IFTR
(International Federation for Theatre Research) conference on the performances
of Moliere's come’ dies-ballets in the gardens of Versailles. I also taught a course on British comedy
from TWELFTH NIGHT to NOISES OFF at University College,
Oxford, for the SMU-in-Oxford program.
Currently, I am finishing the revisions on my study of Moliere's come’
dies-ballets, focusing on the representation of noble masculinity, for Ashgate
Publishing Company, forthcoming 2004, and preparing to teach at Oxford again in
summer 2004. I am also the National
Awards Administrator for the Jane Chambers Playwriting Award, which is
currently accepting entries for the 2004 award. gesmith@mail.smu.edu
Profession: Real Estate Broker (residential sales) at Keller
Williams Realty I am no longer active in theatre. I performed two one-woman
shows locally (Judy, Judy, Judy and These Are a Few of My Favorite Songs –
selections from past performances plus Porter, Gershwin, and a little opera) to
sold out houses, and decided to retire while my voice was still at its best. I
was a featured actress in an independent film (2001) starring David Carradine
and Darren Burroughs (Northern Exposure). Steven Root (News Radio) played my
husband. I had no lines but cried creatively in two big scenes. Several takes
in the summer Texas heat convinced me that this was not a career path I would
choose to pursue. My nephew (by marriage) was the story board artist for
The Alamo, so we got to tour the movie set (it filmed in the Austin area). It
was huge (they rebuilt historic San Antonio) and very impressive. And I guess
that's it for any theatre related activity. Looking forward to the 40th
anniversary & reunion.. jscott82@austin.rr.com
www.steveandjudyscott.com
Jack is the new Costume Design faculty at Elon College in
Elon, North Carolina. jsmith40@elon.edu
Since leaving SIUC, Kathy has been spending a majority of
here time at Arkansas Repertory Theater in Little Rock. After a year and a half internship she
earned her Equity card on the Rep's national tour of Art (with SIU student Kyle Toth as Sound Engineer). She has just finished a tour of Romeo and
Juliet, which was part of the NEA's National Shakespeare tour. Kathy's summers are spent in Northampton MA
at New Century Theater. Currently
looking to move from Little Rock (a bit further north perhaps) if anyone needs
a good equity SM, please contact Kathy. kathrock77@hotmail.com
I'm in my 4th year here as an Assistant Prof. of Theatre at Drury and plan to stay here long term as director, designer, and historian. I design scenery, direct, teach history and playwriting -- all of the things I like to do. Good people to work with. msokol@drury.edu
John Stowers, BA
I'm still working as a salesman for
Rhopac Fabricators. Esther, the Boys,
and myself have all had an eventful year.
Stimpson, who turned 5 years old yesterday, began piano lessons last
summer at age 4. I'm not certain if
he's learned anything or not. He isn't
a great fan of organized instruction and prefers to just goof around on his
own. I've heard him picking out
"Deck the Halls" several times lately. Unfortunately for his teacher, that was never one of his
lessons. In fact, we don't have the
sheet music for it either. He's pretty
good at picking out melodies by ear.
I'm pretty impressed, but then I'm his dad. Dignan, our 2 year old, is learning to talk finally. I'm not so sure I like what he is saying,
however. Mostly he says,
"NO!" Although he can recite
several passages from P.D. Eastman's immortal classic, "Go, Dog, Go."
And of course the biggest news of the year was our return to the wonderful
world of academia. Esther and I have
just completed our first semester of graduate school at Roosevelt
University. We are both studying
secondary education. This will be my
second graduate degree. As you may
recall SIU was kind enough to award me an MBA in 1999. Hopefully, I will be able to pass along that
knowledge as a high school business teacher. (More business teaching gigs than
theatre). Of course my real motivation
is getting back to a lifestyle that includes a 3-month summer vacation. chihuahua33@hotmail.com
Sherry S. Strain, Ph.D.
After spending thirteen
years as Director of Theatre at Keystone College, I went into
administration. I now serve as
Assistant to the President and Senior Director of Institutional Effectiveness
at Keystone. I am in charge of
retention, institutional planning, institutional research, and college-wide
outcomes assessment. I recently chaired
Keystone's Middle States Re-Accreditation Self-Study, for which we earned the
only two commendations Middle States gives for a Self-Study. I also spearhead several projects for the
President such as convocations and commencement. But even more importantly, my partner Rose and I are looking
forward to our twin sons, Bill and Geno, graduating from Bishop O'Hara High
School in May. They both plan to attend
Keystone in the fall, majoring in Communications, with an emphasis in Technical
Theatre drshersher@adelphia.net
I just got some fabulous news. I'm going to be designing at the Goodman
Theater up here in Chicago. A play I
did last year at The Next Theatre is being remounted and I get to go along for
the ride. The show is called AMONG THE THUGS. It's an original piece
based on the book, Aaron Christiansen is in it too, he was a Clinton show boat
person, so Mark Varns would probably like to know that. Sorry I don't write more often, but here is
a typical run down of the week. I am currently working on two shows for
Dominican University (I just closed Much Ado About Nothing for them). One is a children’s touring show called
Wiley and the Hairy Man, the other is a small production of The Runner Stumbles. I am also doing THE INCIDENT based on the 1970's movie
for The Next Theatre. Today I performed in a children's show that I also wrote
and directed that we tour to different schools in the area, and our group The
Foundation Theatre Group is doing Accidental Death of an Anarchist at the end
of May. After that we go into a series
of theatre camps at local YMCAs. Crazy life!!!! msvicky23@hotmail.com
Shelly Stubbs, BA
I am now an MFA candidate at UA-Tuscaloosa in Arts Administration. I have just started my first semester and
will remain here for nine months. After
that, I will transfer to Montgomery, to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival where
I'll be working full-time while taking coursework at the theatre. What's great about this program is that it
is pragmatically oriented. I will spend
far more time working as a staff member in various admin department than
taking coursework. When I graduate I
will not only have an MFA in arts admin but I can also say I have two plus
years of work experience. I do miss theatre history and critical analysis very
much but I am enjoying this program and Tuscaloosa. (Now I just check out books
from the libe, mostly Provincetown Player/Greenwich Village/American theatre
history for my own enjoyment). I
cannot wait to get to the Festival where I'll be rotating through financial
management, fundraising /grants writing, education, marketing, etc. shelleygrrrl@hotmail.com
Amy Sunshine
Amy
continues on staff at the Dining Room of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Watertower
Place, and is preparing to pursue a career in fine-dining management. asunshy9@hotmail.com
Kirk Surrey, BA
Moved to Spain for a year after graduating and taught
English as a second language, then to Chicago to start my career in public
relations. Now I’m moving to Hawaii where I’ll be back packing and camping for
a month and a half, then working as a vegetarian cook at a wellness retreat...
then possibly opening a vegan restaurant in Pahoa, near Hilo next year... lots of possibilities... and just taking
time to do what I've really been wanting to do for such a long time. Look me up if you ever visit Hawaii. kirksurry@cox.net
Right now I am still bartending at Applebee’s in Carbondale and will be bartending until January. Plus, I will be helping my parents on their sheep farm. As for acting...it is in the heart and body...if I make a person laugh at my bar whether it be booze or me...it is laughter and acting all the same. In January, I hope to move out to LA with my girlfriend and see what the Fates have in store for Joshua Alan Taylor. Love to all. Cloak_of_night@hotmail.com
Kevin H. Taylor
Things are going well here in Louisville.
I just bought a house this fall and am working on getting it all fixed
up. Things are good at Stage One and I am
also teaching karate at a former student's school. Hope that all is well in Carbondale. Tell anyone still around that I said hello. kevinhtaylor@mac.com
I'm still teaching dramatic lit. continental lit., and playwriting at Western Kentucky Univ. in Bowling Green, KY. I spent last fall in Cambridge, England, with twenty students from WKU, where I taught them 19th cent English novel, theatre of the absurd, modern British theatre, Irish drama, and creative writing. I still work with Bowling Green's professional theatre, The Public Theatre of Kentucky. We start rehearsals next week on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. I'll be playing Mariah. In March we open with Arsenic and Old Lace, and I get to play one of the crazy little aunts, so I'll have a busy spring. This past summer and fall I was a guest lecturer at Horse Cave Theatre in their new academic lecture series. I lectured on sacrifice in The Glass Menagerie while that show was running in early summer and finished with a lecture on Mary Shelly's Frankenstein when they produced that show in October. pat.taylor@wku.edu
I'm doing fine. I'm in my second semester of my Ph.D. program in Education. I'm also designing makeup and hair for a production of Sweeney Todd up at the Univ. of Northern Iowa--opens in April. And I'm teaching a Stage Makeup class at Cornell College this semester. I also have a part time position with Pearson Educational Measurement--they're the folks who write and score most of the standardized tests in this country and around the world.....I'll be a Senior Representative--mostly answering questions at-home scorers have about how to use our website. I begin that job in about 2 weeks. So, I'm keeping busy! Ron is doing well and so are our 2 dogs------you remember Guinan? Ron's dog is Ali--the black lab. They're good "kids" and don't cause too much trouble except when I'm trying to write at the computer and they want to bark and play right behind me!LAURAJTHUDIUM@cs.com http://www.laurathudium.com
Sachiko is the makeup director for Universal Studios in
Osaka, Japan. stefx@pastel.ocn.ne.jp
Trama Theater (Chicago) is presenting Macbeth. This company was started by alums Margie Pignataro, Mindy Yourkos, Adam Meyer, and Paul Anderson.
I guess I'm a shining
example of how to use your theater degree anywhere but in show business. After
graduation, I became a Jackson County Deputy Sheriff, where I worked from
mid-1996 through late 1999 as a correctional officer. I graduated from SIUC School of Law in May 2000. I was a visiting student at John Marshall
School of Law here in Chicago for my final semester. I started my legal career in a small boutique law firm doing a
little bit of everything -- environmental, employment and commercial law. In January 2001 I moved to a defense firm,
where I tried about 20 to 25 cases to jury verdict. My verdicts were "wins" about 70% - 75% of the
time. In February of 2003 I came to
General Electric. Unbeknownst to many, GE has an insurance division. I am now a corporate employee and spend my
8:00 to 4:00 working as a legal malpractice insurance claims specialist.
Oh
yeah: cop, lawyer and insurance claims
specialist. Can you smell the glamour?
The most amusing part is how much I've enjoyed all of it ... you would
not believe how much fodder I have if I ever decide to sit down and write
something. I am in the process of
creating an independent film studio with a couple of my friends, one of whom
I've known since my first days at SIU.
He is also Saluki alum with a degree in cinema and photography. His "real" job is as an executive
of a local carpet company. Our plan is
to have the company up and running by July or August of this year. It may not
seem like I've done much with the theater degree. I haven't acted or directed since I left Carbondale. Honestly, though, the confidence,
self-awareness and creativity that have given me the ability to accomplish
everything I have thus far were discovered and developed during my training in
the theater program. I would like to
express my sincere gratitude to all of you for that. And theater and the arts
will always be a part of my life, even if it isn't obvious from where I am,
occupationally speaking, now. I'm
curious to see where I'll be in another ten years. dawnwall13@yahoo.com
Cheryl is an assistant professor in the Theater and Dance Department at SweetBriar College in Virginia cwarnock@sbc.edu
Kirk and I were both very
fortunate to be busy over the last few years with a lot of theatre work but
have recently had a baby so right now our lives pretty much revolve around
her! Her name is Lana Lisa and she is 5
months old. She's great. We're just taking it easy, doing some
readings and other small projects for now.
Enjoying hanging out with the baby right now! andreaw@ameritech.net
I have just completed my first year at Ohio University. I am at OU to get my MFA in Lighting Design. I just finished the design for Romeo and Juliet the 2nd show of winter quarter. I am also designing a new work by one of our 3rd year playwrights. This show goes up in May. I hope you are still doing the chili cook-off. aflounder4u@hotmail.com
John's book The Undertow of Small Town Dreams recently won the Norumbega Fiction Award for Best Short Story Collection. The book is available from Twilight Tales Publications http://www.twilighttales.com He has short stories and poems coming up in several publications. He also has a couple of plays on deck at theaters around the country. He lives in Chicago. Feel free to visit John's website at http://www.johnweagly.com jmweagly@hotmail.com
I just moved out of the NY
area to Minneapolis working for a company called AVFG (Audio Visual Film Group)
as the in house LD. They do a lot of
corporate lighting design as well as small commercial shoots and films. Needless to say it put me a lot closer to
home, I'm making a lot more money with a lot of benefits including time to do
freelance stuff here in there as well and make more on top of it. Just to give you an idea of the scope of
what we do, I had to put a proposal together for the equipment that I need for
the Winnebago Meeting at the Paris Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for later next
month. I'm going to Tempe, AZ next
month for a design and we have people going to Greece it looks like for the
Summer Olympics for NBC. It should be
cool. jasonweible@hotmail.com
After working at Conus Communications in St. Paul, MN for 4 years they decided to shut down operations last November. After that I worked as a freelance television engineer until being hired full time at Colorado Studios September 1st, based in Denver, CO. Colorado Studios has television production trucks that provide coverage for regional sports. Mostly basketball, hockey and baseball. Our main markets are Denver, Salt Lake City, Dallas, Tampa/Orlando, Phoenix, and Anaheim, CA. I mostly work for Mountain Mobile and Lone Star Television. (Companies under the ownership of Colorado Studios.) So I have moved to Denver, CO. My job involves a lot of travel so I haven’t gotten much time to explore the area, but I am sure I will get out soon. I don’t ski but everybody tells me I have to learn. If you would like more information the Colorado studios website is: www.coloradostudios.com pwehner@coloradostudios.com
Mark & Julia Wetstein BA,
After 16 years Mark made the jump from Shryock Auditorium to WSIU where he is resposible for all production aspects of local programming for two television stations. This past year he was honored with a regional Emmy nomination for his work on the lighting team of the WSIU PBS station production of The Legend of Charlie Birger mark_wetstein@wsiu.pbs.org jwetste@siu.edu
Julia (Niekamp) Wetstein BA
Julia works as Assistant Dean for External Affairs in the College of Agricultural Sciences where she spearheads the fund raising and alumni contacts. She also serves as President of the Board of Directors for the Boys and Girls Club of Carbondale.
Just completed my 25th year of teaching at Southeast Mo State U. this year. In 2003-2004, Whitlow directed Two Rooms, by Lee Blessing, to open the University Theatre and Dance season. She then played Amanda Wingfield in the 2nd show of the season, The Glass Menagerie (having played Laura Wingfield 32 years earlier on the same stage). Whitlow continues as Director of Oral Communication across the Curriculum and coordinates the Staged Reading Series. Whitlow is active in community work and is in her 2nd season as writer/director of the Scallywag Theatre in Old Town Cape, where their production of The Mighty Mississippi Melodrama or...Do I Smell a River Rat? Plays to tourist groups and organizations. Roseanna is also a board member of River City Players Community Theatre where, in 2003-2004 she directed A. R. Gurney's Sylvia. Acted in the comedy, Dearly Departed, and is planning a summer production of Neil Simon's Star-Spangled Girl rwhitlow@semo.edu
Mike Wilhm, BA 2003
After graduating from SIU,
I was an extra in Crystal a Billy Bob
Thorton independent feature. I haven't
seen it yet, but if they used any of the takes I was in, I should be in it for
about 1 1/2 seconds. Then I moved to
Austin to start life after school. Was
really slow due to the fact I didn't know the area, but after awhile started
doing some work. Was a stadium extra in
a Prilosec commercial that never aired, which is good because the stupidity of
the commercial would have put Prilosec out of business. Was also an extra in The Ringer which is coming out soon... if they used the take I was
in, you can see me pass the camera, and it gets a nice shot of my SIU parking
stickers. After that, been doing some
small independent work in Austin. In
total I think I've made about $300 from acting work. :) In the time between
projects, I've been working at a video game company (which is as equally hard
to get into as the entertainment industry) while doing acting when I can. Honestly, out of all the things I've
auditioned for, I've always gotten a role, but they have only been non-paid
gigs. But thanks to the SAG low budget
guidelines, new indy features will now be required to offer some form of
payment, so I guess I can look forward to future of indy films. Still working on a reel that I can put up a
small file of some work I've done.mwilhm@hotmail.com
I am back at Wichita State University as their Technical Director. I will be going up for tenure in the fall. Denise and I are getting married. The wedding will be August 7 in Wilner Auditorium here at the University. My most recent design has been scenic design for the debut of an opera based on a Oscar wild short story entitled The Nightingale and the Rose. The show was done here at the university and next month it is being done at a national opera conference at the University of Missouri Kansas City.daniel.williams@wichita.edu
Is in New York City fulfilling her dream of being a waitress (!?!). After completing her MFA at Purdue University in 1999, Julie moved to NYC where she has appeared on the Cabaret circuit at Danny’s Skylight Room, The Duplex Cabaret Theatre, and Judy’s Chelsea. She has also appeared with Expanded Arts in The Merry Wives of Windsor and the Gallery Players production of Falsettoland. Julie has worked extensively as an actor for the New York University Graduate Musical Playwriting Program. julie1215@hotmail.com
I'm still in LA working on the acting thing. I've had a few costarring roles this year on PASSIONS and GILMORE GIRLS. I'm still earning money as a substitute teacher, but it's just a "job". I'm the Casting Associate for the TV show That '70s Show. I hope you're all doing well. carolyn.wilson@sbcglobal.net
I have taught Theatre and Speech at The University of Maine at Fort Kent, and I'm currently Associate Professor of Theatre at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri. I have directed and designed numerous productions, been technical director and coordinator of a university theatre, and helped develop theatre education programs. twunder@culver.edu
Jeff Yates, BA
I've just closed The Unexpected Guest, by Agatha Christie at the Phipps Center for Performing Arts in Hudson, WI. It's right across the river from St. Paul. It was good to be back on stage. In the meantime, I'm finishing up projects around our new house. I'll keep you updated, because there are more shows to come from the Twin Cities area. Jyates824@aol.com
I am still painting during the day for South Coast Rep. I
job around a little at nite, I have recently been promoted to lead scenic for
opera pacific, for their side jobs.
With the budget cuts, big shows are out, but there are always galas to
paint. (I hope the company doesn't go
under, but things are looking iffy at this point.) I am also taking classes, woodworking (weekend fun), securities
investment (ick.), and an art history class this semester. My partner is now
working at both the large musical house, CLOSBC, and Disney. So New York, much as I love the city, is out
at this point. I think that we will be
here for a while, before moving someplace smaller and more affordable. skippymonster@yahoo.com
In the Spotlight
The Keyhole Theatre Company in Chicago is presenting Phaedra and Andromache. SIUC alums John Dooley and Melissa Albertario are involved in this show which has gotten very good reviews. The shows were “recommended” by critics.
Chicago Critic.com commented:
On Andromache: “I was extremely impressed with all eight ensemble members who had to stretch emotionally to land their roles. John Dooley was strong as Orestes.” On Phaedra: “John Dooley who, once he relaxed, did yeoman work as Hippolytus.” Unfortunately for Melissa, they don’t review Stage Managers!
Lori Merrill-Fink is continuing her training in Authentic Movement at the Naropa Institute in Boulder, CO and will complete her Level III Certification this fall. She presented workshops in Energy Management for the Actor at the Undergraduate Theater Festival, and at the Illinois Theater Festival's Annual Convention. This past year she performed the role of Dr. Livingstone in "Agnes of God" with SIUC students Lynne Farrell & Shvon Wagner for the Main Street Players. Lori Merrill-Fink was Guest Artist and Director for the Summer Musical Theater Clinic at UW-Madison. In September, she began a 14 month certification training in Laban Movement Analysis in the Dance/Movement Therapy program at Columbia College in Chicago. At SIUC she directed "On the Verge" which opened this year's season, and is looking forward to her second sabbatical leave in the spring semester.
Tom Kidd (see above in New Faces)
Ron Naversen just wrapped up a production of King Lear for the Vitalist Theater of Chicago this fall. Alumnus Bill Kincaid played Kent for
two weeks of the run. Ron and Hilary
Chandler are in the planning stages for an interdisciplinary Mask
Exhibition and Conference to be held here at SIUC. The exhibition will
open in June 6th and run until December 18th.
The conference will be held October 5th through 8th.
Segun Ojewuyi (see above in New Faces)
I've had several important readings of new plays: GERMINOUS SEEDS at Los Angeles' Odyssey Theater,
GERMINOUS SEEDS coming up at Orlando Shakespeare Festival, ESTELLE SINGERMAN at
Chicago Dramatists. My one-act OREGON FEVER was co-winner of 2003-4 ATHE
One-Act Play Contest. It was also
published by HaveScripts.com. My musical, PRAIRIE LIGHTS (lyrics) was published
by Dramatic Publishing Company. My ten-minute, I'LL FLAY AWAY will be published
by Dramatic Publishing Company. My musical, FEATHERS IN
THE WIND is now under option for production in Chicago, spring 2006
Spent this past summer very busy designing three shows--The Glass Menagerie for Summerfest at UIUC, Hello, Dolly! and The Boyfriend for Sullivan's Little Theater on the Square. I also attended a symposium sponsored by the Costume Commission of USITT. Current student Jennifer Peterson and I traveled to the symposium which discussed strategies for teaching all aspects of costume design. Also in attendance was former student Lisa Lantz. Recently I submitted two designs for inclusion in the World Stage Design 2005 digital exhibit. The designs included puppetry designs for Chagall's Arabian Nights, and costume designs for King Lear.