Alumni & Friends News

1950's | 1960's | 1970's | 1980's | 1990's | 2000's | Friends

1950’s

M. Glen Wilson (PHD 1957) retired and moved to Charleston, WV, from Arkansas.

1960’s

Kathy Burkman (PHD 1968) reports that Open House, last spring's production written by Women At Play was one of five arts events nominated by the Greater Columbus Arts Council for an artistic excellence award. Congratulations! Women at Play’s production of It’s Academic was a funny satire on academic politics, with a scarlet and gray theme. Hmm. Wonder if it had any direct connection to Kathy’s years on the faculty of The Ohio State University?

Frank Mohler (BA 1965, PHD 1975) won the Herb Griggs Writing Award at USITT.
He and Claudia retired from Appalachian State University in the spring of 2004.

Lynn Morrow (MA 1968, PHD 1974) passed away in April from a heart attack following a lengthy hospitalization. Contributions in her memory may be made to the Albright College Department of Theatre, PO Box 15234, Reading, PA 19612-5234. She created the theatre program at Albright, retiring only recently. She leaves behind four daughters and numerous grandchildren.

Jack Wolcott (PHD 1967) and his wife Judy spent nearly a month in Europe -- Copenhagen, Vienna, Sarajevo, Dubrovnick and the beautiful island of Korcula. Much visiting of historic theatres, seeing exciting (and some not-so-exciting) productions, visiting their eldest son in Sarajevo where he’s working with a multinational agency charged with bringing peace and prosperity to Bosnia. They returned, Jack reports, to “a mess of work. We have five shows to shoot at the Seattle International Children's Festival, a piece to do for a women's poetry collective in Seattle, and four corporate shoots the following week. Then Judy is off to the National Women's Bowling Championships in Wichita and I'm going to drag my weary self off for a week of fishing with friends in British Columbia and Alberta.” Jack adds, “Folks who think retirement is relaxing haven't retired. Different, yes; relaxing, no.” More about Jack and Judy’s work at www.videoccasions-nw.com

1970’s

Gillian Schatzley Crane (MA 1974) came by unexpectedly in May, on her first visit back to Ohio State since her graduation in 1974. She spent 15 years working and doing theatre in Chicago, then moved to Baltimore. She’s been an analysist with the Social Security Adminstration for 25 years, and noted that she’s often thought what good preparation doing the research (on 18th century Italian costumes!) on her thesis wound up being. Not much performance, but she’s been singing blues and blues-type music for the past several years.

Rick Geyer (BFA 1978) moved to Los Angeles for summer theme-park work in 1979.
From 1982-1993 he did freelance makeup and wig application and design in opera and theatre in southern California, and regional opera across the country (including two productions for Opera Columbus). Rick designed wigs for fellow alum Toni-Leslie James for the premiere of Jelly’s Last Jam at Mark Taper Forum, in LA, and worked regularly at South Coast Rep and Long Beach Civic Light Opera throughout the 80’s.

From 1988 to the present Rick has served as the Wigmaster and Makeup Designer for Los Angeles Opera, now the 4th largest opera company in the United States. He built their wig department from scratch, and established the company’s first union contract with IATSE Local 706. Rick continues to train new professionals in wigs and makeup while designing and constructing 8 or more productions per season.

Artists worked with include: Zoe Caldwell, Placido Domingo, Denyce Graves, Samuel Ramey, Carol Vaness and Frederica von Stade. Directors include: William Friedkin, Sir Peter Hall, Stephen Wadsworth, Francesca Zambello, and Franco Zeffirelli. Designers include: Achim Freyer, Constance Hoffmann, Martin Pakledinaz, Gerald Scarfe, and Catherine Zuber. Rick’s commercial credits include Pepsi and Nike.

Rick recently renovated his home in Burbank, CA, with his life partner, Michael Todd, who owns a retail display manufacturing company. He sends special gratitude to Professor Michelle Guillot, who provided great encouragement in makeup.

Toni-Leslie James (BA 1979) became head costume designer for the NBC TV series Whoopi, starring Whoopi Goldberg. In spring 2004 Toni-Leslie gave the Lawrence and Lee Theatre Research Institute Annual Lecture (see the print edition of Encore for the full story).

Jim Knobeloch (MFA 1976) spent 12 years in NYC doing theatre, Off and Off-Off Broadway. He went to LA in late 1989, gaining a recurring role on The Trials of Rosie O'Neill (Sharon Gless), followed by a regular gig for six years on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, the package of which included a wife (still there) and twin boy and girl (4th season, his option). His wife was hired by PAX TV and they moved to Australia three years ago. They have been offered permanent residency, and are about to embark on a great odyssey of attempting to create world class TV programming right there in the “Land of the Wombat.”

William Over (PHD 1975) was promoted to full professor at St. John’s University, where he’s been teaching for the past 13 years. His first book, Human Rights in the International Public Sphere (Ablex, 1999), won the Best Book Award for 1999 from the International and Intercultural Division of the National Communication Association. He’s also published an essay, “New York’s African Theatre: Shakespeare Reinterpreted,” in Shakespeare Without Class (Palgrave, 2000), and his second book, Social Justice in World Cinema and Theatre, was published by Ablex in 2001.

In the late summer we learned of the recent death of Dennis Paver (MFA 1971). Dennis designed the costumes for the premiere of The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, among others, during his time in Columbus. He was assistant wardrobe supervisor on Wicked at the time of his death from cancer on August 12th. Donations in his memory may be sent to Oprah's Angel Network at PO Box 96600, Chicago, IL 60693; notes of condolence may be sent to Dennis' sister: Betty Maher, 64 Bridlepath Road, Springfield, MA 01118.

1980’s

J. Chris Baum (BC 1988) appeared as Sir Joseph Porter in H.M.S. Pinafore and Merlyn in Camelot in the 2003 Summer Season of Opera Columbus.

Mardia Bishop (MA 1988) has joined the faculty at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.

Karen Copp (PHD 1988) has retired from Seminole Community College in Central Florida. Friends and family (including Anne Herring, Van Ackerman, and Aaron Copp) surprised her with a farewell party at the beginning of June, and gifts to help a planned retirement trip to France! Karen’s last production at SCC was a lavish Damn Yankees in the winter.

Jeff Cronin (MFA 1987) is still running Theatre Guam in Guam, and teaching for the University of Maryland University Center there. Jeff was honored with the 2001 Maga'lahi Art Award for Performing Arts, in recognition of his theater work on the island and its impact on the community. More about Jeff’s work, and a photo, are at http://www.umuc.edu/fyionline/mar_02/fyionline3.html

Rich Dunham (MFA 1987) received the Herb Griggs Merit Award at USITT.

Elizabeth Cloutier Elliot (BA 1987) is busy raising three children, and is delighted to report that she is now a member of a repertory company in Plymouth, MA.

John Finnegan (MFA 1988) staged Proof at the South Bend Civic Theatre, and John W. Toth (PHD 1971) played Robert. (Playwright David Auburn was a child in Columbus when his father, Mark, was on the English faculty here.) John was nominated as the SIGGRAPH 2006 Full Conference Chair–a very big deal in the world of computer work. He directed ART by Yazmina Reza at South Bend Civic Theater. It was chosen to go on to the Indiana Community Theater League's festival and there it won Best Production, Best Ensemble and Best Director.

Jeffrey Fiske (PHD 1988) gave a lecture on the question of whether women were gladiators in ancient Rome for the Lady Cavaliers’ second annual Women at Arms Festival at the Theatre for a New City in New York in October 2003. Jeff’s new play, Boudica, was given a staged reading by the Lady Cavaliers at the Bouwerie Lane Theatre in New York in June 2003. He also directed a staged reading of Robert Bolt’s A Man For All Seasons at the Salvation Army’s Theatre 315, in Manhattan. Jeff has been teaching and advising dissertations at the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies, Drew University for some years now, and is a Playwriting Fellow for the New Jersey Council of the Arts.

Shawn Gulyas (BA 1983) is the Artistic Director for the Windfall Theatre in Milwaukee. He recently directed the Milwaukee premieres of The Laramie Project and Merrily We Roll Along.

Katrina Jeffries (BFA 1982) is on the board of Composers Collaborative, Inc., a New York-based non profit which promotes new music as an integral part of our lives and culture. They foster collaboration between composers and artists of diverse disciplines, produce programs in innovative performance settings, and expand the dialogue between performers, composers, and their audience. Her artwork was featured, most recently, at “A Blues for Nina: black women artists on Race, Gender, and the Legacy of Nina Simone,” an exhibit which opened in February at Manhattan Community College. She’s also the owner of Creative Craft Enterprises, Inc., in Brooklyn.

John Kuhn (MFA 1983) was named the new Artistic Director of Actors Theatre. He is currently the Artistic Director for Heritage Entertainment, Inc. at the Coshocton Performing Arts Center and is a Visiting Assistant Professor for Muskingham College. He appeared in The Guys for Act Out Productions in winter of 2004. The production was a fundraiser for The Central Ohio Fire Museum.

David Lander (BFA 1987) was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design for I Am My Own Wife. He also designed lights for Address Unknown, the Kathrine Kressmann Taylor play starring Jim Dale and William Atherton, which opens in June at off Broadway’s Promenade Theatre.

Dana (Miller) Landrum (BFA 1985), known to the Cleveland Browns as the “Cookie Lady,” is a homemaker, AFTRA-SAG member, master gardener, figure skater, mom, mural painter, neighborhood activist, Red Cross life time blood donor, and Pillsbury Bake-Off Winner wanna-be.

Brenda Laurel (PHD 1986) edited Design Research, Methods and Perspectives, which was published by MIT Press in 2003. The tools of design research, Brenda writes, will allow designers "to claim and direct the power of their profession." Often neglected in the various curricula of design schools, the new models of design research described in this book help designers to investigate people, form, and process in ways that can make their work more potent and more delightful. The goal of the book is to introduce designers to the many research tools that can be used to inform design as well as to ideas about how and when to deploy them effectively. The chapter authors come from diverse institutions and enterprises, including Stanford University, MIT, Intel, Maxis, Studio Anybody, Sweden’s HUMlab, and Big Blue Dot.

Gary Molina (BFA 1989) is starting his third year as managing director of Ohio Valley Summer Theater in Athens, OH. OVST is a collaboration between Ohio University and the greater Athens community. Gary also is working as a director with the Appalachian Regional Theatre Company developing THAT SHEEP MAY SAFELY GRAZE, a new script by Appalachian playwright Bob Smiddie. SHEEP will be performed this Autumn as part of the Humble Pie New Play Festival at ARTS/West, Athens Community Gateway to the Arts.

Hugh Murphy (PHD 1988) has accepted a position at Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida, which began in August 2003. He’ll be teaching acting, directing, and theatre history, and directing. Barry is a small Catholic liberal arts school run by the Dominican Sisters of Adrian, Michigan; Hugh reports that he won’t have to wear a cassock while teaching. Before donning his robes, he’ll stage Cole: The Life And Music Of Cole Porter at the Stage Door Theatre in Fort Lauderdale.

Geoff Nelson (MA 1981) directed CATCO’s Dirty Blonde. He returned to the department in Spring 2004 to teach an advanced undergraduate acting course.

Jonathan Putnam (BA 1981, MFA 1990) was a Guest Lecturer at OSU for the 2003-2004 academic year. At CATCO this season, he appeared in Dirty Blonde, Tuna Christmas, and Arsenic and Old Lace, and directed the Shorts Festival 2004. He also directed the department’s Winter 2004 production of Pentecost.

Rob Roznowski (MFA 1989) is the National Outreach and Education Coordinator for Actors' Equity Association. That's right, he’s Norma Rae. Rob gives seminars and master classes throughout the country as well as overseeing membership education and training others regionally do the same kind of work. He says that one of Equity’s most visible and vocal campaigns has been the non-union touring organizing effort. Non union touring musicals are proliferating in so called "Broadway Series' all over the U.S. Equity is working overtime to make sure that young performers aren't exploited and that producers (who usually charge the same ticket prices for their non-union shows yet pay their actors significantly less) are held accountable.

Stephen Schrum (MA 1983) was promoted to Associate Professor of Communications and Drama at the University of Charleston, WV.

Chris Shoemaker (BC 1984) directed the International Family Film Festival in Santa Clarita, CA.

James W. Swift (BA 1987) continues to work steadily as a costume/wardrobe supervisor and dresser; most recently on Broadway with Enchanted April and the Paul Newman Our Town; he toured with Blue’s Clues Live “Blue’s Birthday Party” Tour 2003, spent a year and a half with Urinetown, and on television did Law and Order SVU.

1990’s

Marge Anich (MFA 1995) is now Artistic Director of Valley Ridge Theatre in Thomas, West Virginia–the summer theatre founded by emeritus faculty member Reid Gilbert. Margie did a staged reading of Now Let Me Fly as part of the Brown vs. Board of Education celebration also. After living and working in Columbus for about 4 years after graduating, she got a job teaching at UNC-Charlotte for three years. The Valley Ridge Theatre is now doing year-round programming, including children's productions and classes. They were involved in "The Lysistrata Project" in March 2003, as was TRI and a number of other OSU-connected folk.

Frank Barnhart (MFA 1993) was hired as the Executive Director of Actors Theatre, and was named as a finalist for The Stonewall Community Service Award in November 2003. He directed The Guys for Act Out Productions in February/March 2004 as a fundraiser for The Central Ohio Fire Museum.

Kathleen Colligan Cleary (PHD 1994) has accepted the position as Chair of Theatre and Dance at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, and is also writing the instructor’s manual for the Wilson and Goldfarb theatre history text, Living Theatre.

Dana Diersen (BA 1994) and her husband Brett Buehrer joyfully announce the birth of their daughter Madeline Elizabeth. She was born May 29, 2003, weighed 8 pounds 13 ounces, and was 21 inches long.

Mary Beidler Gearen (MA 1990) directed Before I Disappear off-Broadway in NYC. In the spring of 2004, the show was performed at About Face Theatre Company in Chicago. For the last two seasons, she produced The Christmas Schooner with the Great American History Theatre in St. Paul. She taught an acting/directing workshop on Washington Island, in Door County. She acted for five years in Chicago, receiving two “After Dark” awards. She also sings occasionally with Bailiwick Rep. in Chicago. In 2005, she will be producing the Minnesota installment of the 100th anniversary of Harold Arlen and his music. She is married and has a daughter.

Anita Buhman-Wiggs (MFA 1992) and her husband Adam have two children, Ian & Emma, and are expecting a third in August 2004. Anita is currently an adjunct instructor in the Theatre Arts Department at Benedictine College in Atchison, KS, teaching Speech Communication.

Judy Chesnut (MFA 1998) designed costumes for CATCO’s productions of Dirty Blonde, Lobby Hero, Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, Later Life, and Taking Sides. She recently returned from Los Angeles, where she worked wardrobe on the film The Deep End and the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond.

Corey Frey (BA 1992) is back in Athens, Ohio after five years of teaching English in China.

Anne Diel Hannon (MFA 1997) is Director of Theatre at Ohio Dominican University, where she directed Antigone in the fall of 2003. She also appeared in CATCO’s The Shorts Festival 2004.

L.J. Houdyshell (MFA 1990) spent the last seven years as Assistant Art Director on Everybody Loves Raymond.

Michelle M. Huskey, Esq. (BA 1996) graduated from the William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas in May 2003, and successfully completed the Nevada Bar Exam in July 2003. She is currently fulfilling a judicial courtship. She continues to work as a stagehand in her spare time.

Donovan Johnson (MFA 1996) led Oberon Theatre Ensemble into its seventh season in New York City. He directed The Road to Nirvana, and . . . And They Were Lovers, a medley of Shakespeare’s lovers, in Central Park during August 2003, with Brad Fryman (MFA 1996) prominent in the cast.

Chris Jones (PHD 1988) and Gillian Darlow are the proud parents of Peter Nicholas Darlow Jones, who was born May 7 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

Varun Khanna (MFA 1993) wrote and directed the film, Beyond Honor, an official selection of the 15th Palm Springs International Festival. The film premiered January 10th, 2004.

Emily Lawson (BA 1998) served as Project Manager for the Audrey II Cultivation Team for the Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors.

J.B. Lawton (PHD 1998) was mentioned in the May 11, 2004 Washington Post article looking at the 2004 election through the lens of Ohio politics. He is now working for Community Research Partners, a non-profit organization formed by United Way of Central Ohio, the City of Columbus, and the John Glenn Institute at OSU. They help with public policy by evaluating human service and community development programs. It’s all explained at their website, http://www.communityresearchpartners.org . To celebrate JB’s new position, Sean Philip Lawton arrived on the scene on June 13, 2003. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 7 oz and was 19” long. When he’s not pursuing politics, J.B.works with Sanestorm Marketing, the "wildly logical, precisely creative marketing experts who believe that great marketing strategy must be both creative and pragmatic." (http://www.sanestorm.com)

Glenn Peters (MFA 1999) appeared in the Acting Company's Murder by Poe at the Acorn Theater on West 42nd Street in NYC. He was mentioned in a New York Times review of the piece on May 13th. He has appeared at Oberon Theatre Company in NYC. Glenn was at Shakespeare Festival/LA from June to August 2004, doing Richard III and Twelfth Night.

Mikell Pinkney (PHD 1999) staged the world premiere of ntozake shange’s new play, lavender lizards and lilac landmines: layla’s dream, at the University of Florida in April 2003, then toured the production to Atlanta and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. From there he traveled to the Utah Shakespeare Festival, where he appeared in The Winter’s Tale, Taming of the Shrew and Henry IV-Part 1.

Lisa Propes (MA 1999) is on the move; she’s accepted a position as theatre arts teacher at Washington Jr. High in Conroe ISD for fall 2004.

Brian Rose (PHD 1993) had his success as a teacher and scholar validated by being granted tenure at Adelphi University.

Jeff Stephens (PHD 1995) (Oklahoma State University) published a book review in the Fall 2003 issue of Theatre Design and Technology on the book, Moscow Art Theatre.

Michael Swanson (PHD 1991) has joined alum David Patrick (MFA 1974) at Western Illinois University, where Al Goldfarb is dean.

Kim Turney (MFA 1992) appeared as Sabine the Amazon in an episode of The New Adventures of Robin Hood. Her fights were featured in La Femme Musketeer, in which she was the horse riding and fight double for Susie Arnie; Kim got to do battle with Michael York, and reports that her face is visible several times. The film was cable cast on the Hallmark Channel in late June; watch for it in stores. Also her own website, www.theatricalcombat.com has some clips of her work with the Academy of Theatrical Combat. And Kim’s working on a text: Acting while Armed, or, Theatrical Combat from the Actor’s POV.

Steven Weiss (PHD 1994) is now acting chair of the Theatre Department at Coe College–his chair, Susan Wolverton, is also his wife, and Steven and Susan are the proud parents of Ian Lyle Wolverton-Weiss, who weighed in at 9 lbs, 5 oz. (and 22-1/2 inches long) at the end of last April.

Congrats to Chris Zinkon (BA 1997) and Ardra Starski (BA 1997), proud parents of Henry Chistopher. Henry was born on September 6th, tipping the scale at 8lb 9 oz. Chris is the Technical Director for the Alley Theatre in Houston.

2000’s

Steven Arnold (BA 2004) accepted the position of Artistic Coordinator at the Canton Players Guild Theatre in Canton, Ohio in July 2004. The Canton Players Guild is a 72 year old community theatre, operates with a full professional staff and is one of the oldest continuously operating community theatres in the country and operates a 479 seat proscenium main stage theatre and a 139 seat arena theatre. In recent years, they have produced area premieres of such shows as Titanic, Les Miserables, Bat Boy, staged a production of Little Shop of Horrors starring Canton native Lee Wilkof reprising his original New York performance, and performed Proof starring guest actor David Canary. Steven is now a resident of Canton.

Dave Atkinson (BA 2004) was the sound designer for WETCo’s Aloha Say the Pretty Girls at the Dublin Thatre in Dublin, Ohio.

Sara Borgeson (MFA 2003) was cast as Elaine, one of the Fan Dango Dance Hall girls, in the Colorado Springs' Fine Arts Center production of Sweet Charity. She was also hired by the Denver Children's Theatre for their production of The Last Paving Stone.

Jim Creighton (BA 2000) was accepted into the graduate acting program at NYU, where he'll be pursuing his M.F.A. in acting starting this fall. He is currently working on several Lift Every Voice projects in various at-risk schools in New York. These eight-week programs culminate in performance events, where the students perform their own work.

Beth Dekker (MA 2004) was offered a job as an assistant producer with Details Event Planning (http://www.detailsflorabunda.com/) in the summer of 2004. Beth reports that it is a perfect mix of multi-tasked, detail-oriented loveliness!!! Her first job is Production Manager of the holiday decorations and events happening at the Capitol and State House Lawn at Christmas.

Carie DeVito (MFA 2002) appeared in the Red Herring Theatre Ensemble’s production of Dinner With Friends in October 2003. She is an adjunct faculty member at Clark State Community College, the Columbus College of Art and Design, and at Ohio University –Lancaster. Carie married in October 2004.

Liam Dillon (BA 2002) got married in a small ceremony in Dumfries, Scotland. His wife, Allie, is in Liverpool finishing her studies and they plan on living in England. He is currently in Scottown preparing for the move to England in the fall.

Tara DiLorenzo (MA 2001) appeared in BlueForm’s The Pursuit of Happiness in May.

Dean Evans’s (BA 2003) solo show, The Magical Exploding Boy, played at the Prop Theatre in Chicago through the summer of 2004. A review in Chicago’s Weekly Reader ends with, “Evans is both precise--he trained with Marcel Marceau, after all--and imaginative . . .. Evans is an original, and his work is both startling and satisfying." We were pleased to present this show as part of the inaugural OSU-Port Clinton Performing Arts Festival in September 2004.

Keri Godsey (BA 2003) was the stage manager for the Red Herring production of Dinner with Friends.

Kathleen Gonzales (MFA 2002) was one of the cashiers (witches) in a staged reading at Washington, D.C.’s Source Theatre in February of Mcbeth's Mctragic Mcmusical by Shawn Northrip and Christian Imboden, a parody of both Shakespeare's Macbeth and fast food culture. In the burger war between McBeth's and the Burger Palace, only one will survive. McBeth literally kills his competition, and an Inspector (with the rhyming abilities of Eminem) shows up to solve the case. Meanwhile, the three cashiers (a parody of TLC, Destiny's Child, or 3LW) use Tarot to conjure up McBeth's future, not to mention a series of apparitions straight out of McDonaldland.

Robin Gordon (MFA 2000) taught part time at the University of Toledo during Spring 2004. She appeared in the CATCO Shorts Festival 2004 in April. She is an administrator for CATCO in Columbus.

Aimee J. Greer (BA 2000) is now the Costume Studio supervisor for BalletMet; Aimee and her shop were featured in the weekly Columbus paper, Alive!, in December 2003: a quote from her: “ It has been a very exciting year here and I am having a wonderful time. It amazes me every day to know that I am working in my field and am able to make a living off of it.”

Justin Hagovsky (BA 2003) was a member of the 2004 Humana Festival Design and Technical Crew.

Katy Hite (BA 2001) was offered the 2003-2004 winter/spring internship in the sound department at Steppenwolf in Chicago.

Kristen Kidd (BA 2001) was a member of the 2004 Humana Festival Design and Technical Crew. In May of 2004 she married Mike Bowen, whom she met while working at the Actors Theatre of Lousiville.

Kaizaad Kotwal (MA 1993, PHD 2000) owns a production company called Poor-Box Productions which actually started in Columbus and then eventually moved to India in 1997. They have been producing works in India since then including Shirley Valentine, ART, (W)hole in the Head!, (Two) Hot to Handle!, amonst others. In 2002 they procured the all-India rights to Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues which premiered in March 2003 in Bombay. It has been a huge success there running to packed houses each and every show since.

John Leahy (BA 2001) has been offered a position as Assistant Technical Director at The Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas.

Who Jeong Lee (MFA 2003) moved to NYC to pursue her career in stage and media design.

Greg Maier (BA 2001) played Derek and Alex Mack played Billy in WETCo’s Aloha Say the Pretty Girls at the Dublin Theatre in Dublin, Ohio.

Michael Mauldin (PHD 2000) is the director of theatre at a new arts magnet high school in Orlando, Florida. After several years in Springfield, Missouri Michael’s looking forward to new challenges, and to learning much more about tourism and entertainment!

Jeremy Meier (MFA 2002) appeared as Tony in WETCo’s production of Free Will and Wanton Lust.

Katie Miller (BA 2004), co-founder of WETco, played Joy in their production of Aloha Say the Pretty Girls.

Robert Moore (MFA 2000) is currently working in Chicago. Known at Ohio State as Robert Krege, Robert took his wife Erin’s last name when they married. He worked briefly at the Goodman as a carpenter, then did some painting at Chicago Scenic Studios which is the largest shop in Chicago producing scenery mostly for T.V. and trade shows. He’s been pretty much full time at Ravenswood studios since January. Robert also was the guest lighting designer at Indiana University in South Bend, designing Hay Fever, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and Scapino.

Jessica Morgan (MFA 2000) directed Jane Martin’s Anton in Show Business, playing the end of October 2003 at West Virginia University in Morgantown, where Jessica continues on the faculty.

Matt Owens (MA 2000) accepted a position as the head of the theatre program in Indianapolis at the International School of Indiana (preschool through 12th grade).

Val Robinson Hohman (PHD 2001), University of Arizona, published “Morris Gest and the Russian Invasion of the American Theatre” New England Theatre Journal, vol. 14, 2003. In a note of serendipity, Playwright-in-Residence (Spring 2004) Toni Press Coffman tells us that her husband, returning to graduate school, is studying with Val.

Since moving to Cleveland, Allyson Rosen (MFA 2002) has taught movement at the Beck Center Theatre Conservatory (a college preparatory program for high school aged acting students), performed comedy improv at Cabaret Dada, and appeared in Cleveland by Mac Wellman with convergence-continuum Theatre Company. This spring, she appeared in Free Will and Wanton Lust by Nicky Silver at convergence-continuum, Reefer Madness: The Musical and Miss Saigon at the Beck Center. She also helped organize a 24 Hour Performance Festival in May with the members of Experimental Behavior, a community of underground artists seeking to unify the Ohio arts scene: http://www.experimentalbehavior.com. Since moving back to Columbus in Autumn 2004, Allyson has taken adjunct faculty positions with Columbus College of Art and Design and Ohio University-Lancaster in addition to teaching for Columbus Children's Theatre.
http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Booth/5561/

Joey Schultz (BA 2003) played Peter in WETCo’s Aloha Say the Pretty Girls. He was the Assistant Stage Manager for Dinner with Friends at Red Herring in fall 2003, and is continuing to develop his one-man show, The Book of Boyhood.

Peter Schwartz (BA 2003) played Will in WETCo’s Aloha Say the Pretty Girls.

Jessica Secrest (BA 2002) did props and painting for Gallery Players’ production of Into the Woods.

Ben Shurr (BA 2001) and Liz (Waggoner) Shurr (BA 2001) were married in the fall of 2003. They now live near Dallas, Texas, where they both teach theatre at the same school! Ben works with grades 9-12, while Liz began teaching grades 7-8 in the fall of 2004. They are essentially rebuilding the theatre program after a massive overhaul to the arts programs in the entire school district. This year Ben directed his first production, 12 Angry Jurors. Under his guidance, the production of The Telltale Heart placed first in the stage management category and received an outstanding cast member award in the University Interscholastic League competition.

Laura Gale Simpson (BA 2002) is participating in a program offered by Landmark Education called the Self Expression and Leadership Program, which provides the opportunity to create and lead a community project that is an expression of one’s passions. She produced a benefit performance featuring the original work of New York City high school students from underprivileged schools and communities. She was also hired as the Director of Education by an organization called Plays for Living, a non-profit theatre company that is funding her work with Lift Every Voice.

Sean Suchan (BA 2003) was the Production Assistant for Red Herring’s production of Dinner with Friends. He designed Glengarry Glen Ross for Hand Dog Theatre Co. and has worked as an electrician on several other shows. He designed lights for Gallery Players’ production of Into the Woods. Currently, he has an internship with Diamondmine Productions, where he designed the lights on the Bicentennial stage at Red, White and Boom 2004.

Colin Sweet (BA 2003) was the Costume Designer for WETCo’s Aloha Say the Pretty Girls.

Elisha Teague (BA 2002) designed costumes for WETCo’s production of Free Will and Wanton Lust.

Cheri Walters (Minor 2001) spent September 2001- Summer of 2002 at Marcel Marceau's school of
mime in Paris. It was an intense and challenging year. When she returned to the US she worked with Cleveland's Sign Stage on a five month tour as stage manager. She now can speak in American
sign language and when one of the actors on the tour became ill, Cheri took over the role. She is now living in Washington making plans for graduate education.

Friends

Nancy L. Fox appeared in the Red Herring Theatre Ensemble production of Dinner with Friends as Karen. She has taught in the central Ohio area for the last 19 years and is a member of the Cowtown Comedy Players.

Richard Lewis has been named one of the 50 greatest stand-up comedians of all time by Comedy Central; he spent the summer of 2004 touring, and continues to appear on the HBO hit, Curb Your Enthusiasm. Lewis published a very funny screed in Daily Variety on politics and other matters, and appeared in an episode of The Dead Zone on USA in June. He also was quoted extensively in an article on curmudgeons in the AARP Magazine for November-December 2003, and is included in a separate piece, “5 Notable Curmudgeons Defend Themselves.” See the whole article at www.aarpmagazine.org/people/Articles/a20030923goodrumps.html

Caridad Svich’s series of new translations of Garcia Lorca plays continue to receive productions. The Love of Don Perlimplin for Felisa in the Garden at NYU in March 2003, As Five Years Pass at Rutgers and at Brown, both in April 2003, and Blood Wedding at Brooklyn College in May 2003. She has edited Trans-global Readings: Crossing Theatrical Boundaries: Conversations on media, language, culture and performance. It’s published by Manchester University Press/Palgrave, and features interviews with Hilary Bell, Jim Clayburgh, Jorge Ignacio Cortinas, Migdalia Cruz, Lisa D'Amour, Peter DuBois, Rinde Eckert, Erik Ehn, Dah Teater, Richard Foreman, Peter Gabriel, Tanika Gupta, John Jesurun, Joanna Laurens, Phelim McDermott, Chiori Miyagawa, Jose Esteban Munoz, Peter Sellars, Naomi Wallace, Marianne Weems, Darron West, Susan Yankowitz, Maury Yeston, and many others.

Bruce Vilanch remains on tour in the lead of Hairspray. He also was one the lead writers for the 2004 Tony Award broadcast

Luke Yankee has also joined the faculty at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy’s Los Angeles branch, teaching scene study.