2010
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in this issue: Royal Shakespeare Company partnership
department of theatre
Grayce Burian visiting the new Thompson Library Reading Room
Students participate in SITI company workshop
Remembering Joe Scharrer 1926–2009
The Three Sisters, spring 2010 Photo by Matthew J. Hazard
letter from the chair Dear Friends of Ohio State Theatre, As the “new guy” in the Chair’s office I find it a bit curious to be reflecting on the past year for this edition of encore. It wasn’t too long ago that I stopped feeling like the “new guy” in the department after being hired 14 years ago as the Resident Scenic Designer. I must admit that some of the same thoughts that swirled in my head back then have returned over the past few months. I recall being very excited by the opportunity to teach at Ohio State and confident that after ten years as a working professional I had much to offer the students. I knew that I’d be surrounded by a talented, dedicated group of faculty and staff colleagues who could help mentor me in my new position. However, I was also a bit apprehensive about taking on this new role. The simple fact was that I had never been Professor Gray before. I feel the same way about being the Acting Chair. I’m energized by the prospect of leading the department, confident I have the skills to manage this new position and encouraged by the support of an excellent faculty and staff. I’ve had the advantage of working with two strong, visionary chairs who served as fine role models and yet, I’ve never been a chair. The good news for me (and the department!) is that both Mark & Lesley are still on faculty and serve as great resources while I navigate my new role in the department. I look forward to celebrating our successes, finding creative solutions for challenges we’ll encounter and designing a plan for an exciting future. “If you like change, this is an exciting time to be at OSU” seems to best sum up the 2009-2010 academic year. The confederation of the five Colleges of the Arts and Sciences into one massive College of Arts and Sciences was approved by the Faculty Senate and the Board of Trustees in late spring. The former College of the Arts was aligned with the College of Humanities to form the Division of Arts and Humanities. In early spring Interim Dean, John Roberts, stepped down and Mark Shanda was appointed the Interim Dean of Arts & Humanities. Soon after, I was appointed as the Acting Chair of the Department of Theatre. Along with these changes came a new budgeting process. I won’t bore you with the details, but the department fared quite well under the new system and is looking forward to increased production budgets for the first time in many years! On top of all this we spent most of last year working on the calendar conversion from quarters to semesters slated to start with the 20122013 academic year. Faculty, staff and student reps gathered for several retreats and countless meetings to discuss, dismantle, examine, rearrange, reconsider and finally approve the curriculum for our NINE degree programs. This was a daunting task that could not have happened without the hard work of everyone involved. We now await approval of our plans from committees and offices outside the department and will soon begin the challenge of plugging all these courses into a master calendar. Something that hasn’t changed is our commitment to high quality productions, excellence in the classroom and creating international opportunities for our students. We opened last season with Palmer Park, a play that examined race relations in this pivotal Detroit neighborhood during the 1960’s and marked the first of what we hope will become a series of Big Ten initiatives. More than half of the Big Ten schools
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participated by producing either staged readings or full productions of the play. Our school tour, A Song for Coretta, was presented at the newly renovated Lincoln Theatre in the historic King-Lincoln district of Columbus. Students from both the Columbus and Lima campuses travelled to the Czech Republic in December on a trip led by Professor Joe Brandesky (Lima) and TRI Curator, Nena Couch and were immersed in Czech Culture. Students on the London Program, led by Professor Lesley Ferris and Resident Costume Designer, Kristine Kearney enjoyed a month of classes, great theatre and created preview performance of the upcoming Camouflage Project. And last, but certainly not least, our 10 MFA actors participated in a week long workshop in Stratford on Avon as part our partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). As you will see from the pages that follow, this is just a taste of the many highlights from another full year in the Department of Theatre. Please enjoy this issue of encore and let us know what you’ve been up to since graduation. You are an important part of the OSU theatre family and we want to share your successes in art and life. Look forward to hearing from you!
Dan Gray Acting Chair/Associate Professor
When offered the opportunity to serve the university as Interim Dean of Arts and Humanities for the 2010-2011 academic year, I was challenged as to whether to accept. I could think of no place that I would rather be than in the chair position for the Department of Theatre. However, upon further review, I had to listen to the same conversation that I had been having with students and faculty for years. “When opportunity knocks, it is important to answer.” Despite the risks and a combined feeling of excitement and fear, I decided to take on the challenge, move out of my comfort zone, and see if providing leadership in the arts and humanities at that level would be a good fit for me. As I remind everyone, I am not leaving the university, nor will I no longer be a member of the faculty of the Department of Theatre. Rather this assignment is just another “production assignment” with an expanded stage, larger cast, and some additional resources. I will dearly miss the best office on campus with the corner view of the river and our resident heron. Even more, I will miss the daily contact that I have had with the remarkable faculty, staff and students of the Department of Theatre for these past 24 years. My thanks to each and every one of you for contributing your portion of what you have made me today, and I hope that I can continue to make you proud as a leader in the future of Ohio State.
Mark Shanda Chair/Professor
Ohio State Theatre 2 0 1 0 - 2 0 11 S e a s o n
contents
Breaking Ground: A Play Reading Series
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Letter from the Chair
November 7, 14, February 20, 27 and May 8, 15
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2009-2010 Season in Review
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Guest Artist and Scholars
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Outreach and Engagement
On the Shore of the Wide World November 4 - 14 By Simon Stephens Directed by Mandy Fox Roy Bowen Theatre
Aida November 18 - 21 Music by Elton John Lyrics by Tim Rice Book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls and David Henry Hwang Directed by Jimmy Bohr Southern Theatre
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TRI Report
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Spotlight on Students
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Regional Campus Reports
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Faculty and Staff Updates
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Alumni and Friends
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Year in Review
Othello February 10 - 26 By William Shakespeare Guest Directed by RSC Voice Coach Alison Bomber Roy Bowen Theatre
Spring Awakening February 24 - March 5 By Frank Wedekind Translated by Johnathan Franzen Directed by Jimmy Bohr Thurber Theatre
A Midsummer Night’s Dream March 6 By William Shakespeare Edited by Kate Ramsey and Robin Post Directed by Robin Post Lincoln Theatre
Eurydice May 5 - 21 By Sarah Ruhl Directed by Beth Kattelman Roy Bowen Theatre
The Camouflage Project May 12 - 27 Conceived by Mary Tarantino and Lesley Ferris Directed by Lesley Ferris and Jeanine Thompson Thurber Theatre
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is the annual newsletter of The Ohio State University Department of Theatre 1089 Drake Center 1849 Cannon Drive Columbus, Ohio 43210-1208 Office: 614-292-5821 Fax: 614-292-3222 Editors-in-Chief: Dan Gray Mark Shanda
Design/Layout Shaun O’Brien
Editor: Damian Bowerman
Written and researched by the Faculty, Staff and Students of the Department of Theatre.
Contributors: Jessi Biggert, Joseph Fahey, David Fisher, Erika Hanes, Maria Ignatieva, Melissa Lee, Chris Matsos, Eric Mayer, Greg Owen, Robin Post, Ian Pugh, Bethany Rainsberg, Chris Ray, Pat Riechel, Christopher M. Roche, Beth Josephsen Simon, Mary Tarantino, David Williams, Jarod Wilson, Aaron Zook
All Alumni and Friends information is collected from Alumni, Friends, and other readers; gathered and processed at the Department of Theatre; researched, edited, and placed either in our Encore publication or the Alumni page of Encore on our website: theatre.osu.edu
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season in review Palmer Park
O Pioneers!
By Joanna McClelland Glass. Roy Bowen Theatre. Directed by Maureen Ryan. Set and Projection design by Jarod Wilson. Costume Design by Elisa Bierschenk. Lighting Design by Matt Hazard. Sound Design by Gabe Solomon and Dan Shifflet. Stage Manager Samantha Sharkey. Special thanks to Distinguished Professor of History Kevin Boyle and Kirwan Institute Senior Research Associate Stephen Menendian for sharing their knowledge and insights at “AfterWords,� our postperformance discussion for Palmer Park. This production was part of the Big Ten Common Script Project, which celebrates the creativity of each of the theatre units on the Big Ten campuses. This play was staged in some form in 2009-2010 at six of the 11 universities within the conference. November 5 - 21, 2009
Novel by Willa Cather. Book and lyrics by Darrah Cloud. Music by Kim D. Sherman. Thurber Theatre. Directed and Choreographed by Jeanine Thompson. Music Director David Radames Toro. Set Design by Victor E. Shonk. Costume Design by Elisa Bierschenk. Lighting Design by Jarod Wilson. Sound Design by Gabe Solomon. Stage Manager Alyssa Ellis. February 25 - March 6, 2010
Persians By Aeschylus. Mount Hall Studio Theatre. Directed by Matt Vadnais. Production Stage Manager Eric Mayer. November 8 - 20, 2009
Summer And Smoke By Tennessee Williams. Thurber Theatre. Directed by Jimmy Bohr. Set Design by Victor E. Shonk. Costume Design by Cat Schmeal-Swope. Lighting Design by Alex Kyle-Dipietropaolo. Sound Design by Michael Lillie. Stage Manager Kiley Morgan. November 12 - 21, 2009
Men In White By Sidney Kingsley. Roy Bowen Theatre. Directed by Woodie King, Jr. Set Design by Marty Savolskis. Costume Design by Shiree Houf. Lighting Design by Alex Kyle-Dipietropaolo. Sound Design by Dan Shifflet and Lowri Sion. Stage Manager Andrea Schimmoeller. February 18 - March 6, 2010
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A Song For Coretta By Pearl Cleage. Lincoln Theatre. Directed by Lesley Ferris. Assistant Director and Choreographer Moopi Mothibeli. Set Design by Divya Murthy. Costume Design by Ashley Wills. Lighting Design by Mary Tarantino. Stage Manager Margaret Glaser. March 5 - 7, 2010
The Three Sisters By Anton Chekov. Adapted by David Mamet. Roy Bowen Theatre. Directed by Maureen Ryan. Set Design by Dan Gray. Costume Design by Shiree Houf. Lighting Design by Jarod Wilson. Sound Design by Terita Parms. Stage Manager Andrea Schimmoeller. May 13 - 28, 2010
The Long Christmas Ride Home By Paula Vogel. Thurber Theatre. Directed by Beth Kattelman. Set Design by Marty Savolskis. Costume Design by Cat Schmeal-Swope. Lighting Design by Alex Kyle-Dipietropaolo. Sound Design by Michael Lillie. Stage Manager Alyssa Ellis. May 20 - 28, 2010
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Palmer Park
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Persians
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Summer and Smoke
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Men In White
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O Pioneers!
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A Song for Coretta
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The Three Sisters
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The Long Christmas Ride Home
Palmer Park
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“The young ensemble plays the neighbors and also seamlessly slide to a variety
of other characters. The ensemble is equally deft with the serious and the comic.
There are moments when they bring fine singing voices as well.”
-Dennis Thompson, Central Ohio Theatre Roundtable
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guest artists and scholars By Aaron Zook, M.F.A. Acting Student
Fall 2009
Winter 2010
Arts manager Silvija Stipanov visited the department as part of the CEC ArtsLink exchange program, and in November gave a presentation of her work at the Drake. Silvija is one of the main producers, program developers, and the Arts Director for the Zagreb Student Center in Croatia.
The department invited guest artist Woodie King, Jr. (Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, 2006) to direct the winter quarter production Men in White in the Thurber Theatre. He is the founder and Producing Director of the New Federal Theatre in New York City.
Anne Bogart’s SITI Company offered a weeklong training intensive. Company members Tom Nellis and Stephen Webber taught Viewpoints, Suzuki, and other topics over five six-hour-long sessions. The company also performed Who do you think you are? at the Wexner Center and led a discussion of the piece the following weekend.
Alison Bomber, Senior Text & Voice Coach at the Royal Shakespeare Company, conducted a voice workshop with students. She returns to OSU in Winter 2011 to direct Othello.
Nick Rankin presented his talk “Secrets and Lies: How the British Used Camouflage and Deception in Two World Wars,” co-sponsored by the Departments of History and Theatre, at the Mershon Center. Brooklyn-based dancer, actor and playwright Patrick Shaw offered a National Theatre Institute Movement Workshop at the Drake. The workshop included improvisational techniques for movement and writing, as well as strategies for integrating these approaches in theatrical performance. Performance artist and author Terry Galloway presented a performance and reading from her memoir Mean Little Deaf Queer at the English Commons in an event cosponsored by the Department of Theatre, Disability Studies, Sexuality Studies, and the Office of Interdisciplinary Studies.
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Katherine Whitlock offered master classes in “Interactive Art Forms” and “The Art of Theatrical Sound Design.” Katherine is a graduate of The Ohio State University where she received her Ph.D. in Theatre in 2004. She has taught at the University of Arizona, The Ohio State University, the University of Memphis, and the University of Florida.
Spring 2010 Accomplished deaf writer, poet, playwright, and director Raymond Luczak led a discussion and Q & A with students interested in acting, design, and playwriting. His play Snooty won first place in the New York Deaf Theater’s 1990 Samuel Edwards Deaf Playwrights Competition, and his essay “Notes of a Deaf Gay Writer” won acceptance as a cover story for Christopher Street magazine. Playwright Andy Bragen instructed the graduate playwriting course and presented a staged reading of his new play This Is My Office, a one-man show which was performed by the M.F.A. Acting cohort. Bragen is a graduate of Brown University’s M.F.A. Program in Literary Arts. He was a member of the Lark Play Development Center’s U.S. / Mexico Playwright Exchange Program in 2006. Scholars Anne and Thomas Heck presented The Beginnings of Stage Direction: Evidence from Perrucci’s Dell’Arte rappresentativa premeditata, ed all’improvviso... (Napoli, 1699). This co-presented paper explored the ways in which this aspect of the art of theatrical performance developed in Italy, starting with Leone de’ Sommi’s seminal (if little known) 1565 treatise, Quattro dialoghi in materia di rappresentazioni sceniche.
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Silvija Stipanov
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Stephen Webber and Tom Nellis
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Alison Bomber
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Nick Rankin
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Pat Shaw
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Terry Galloway
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Woodie King, Jr.
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Katherine Whitlock
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Raymond Luczak
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Andy Bragen
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Anne and Thomas Heck
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outreach and engagement InterACT
By Robin Post, Director of InterACT
Robin Post (center) leads a workshop performance with InterACT and Linden-McKinley students.
InterACT students performing a piece about cross-cultural misunderstandings of plagiarism and academic integrity for the University Center for the Advancement of Teaching.
“Why didn’t you speak up?” asked one of the African American graduate students. “Because I was angry and heated and I didn’t want to offend her,” replied the African American professor sitting in the faculty meeting. “So it’s OK for you to be offended but not OK to offend her?” rebuked the student. The conversation that ensued eventually ended with the graduate student stating that she counted on those few African American faculty in her college to speak out for those students who felt like they had little voice or presence.
InterACT performances highlight issues of controversy or struggle and offer a safe space for audiences to enter into a conversation that would otherwise be difficult. Performances often, but not always, focus on issues specific to diversity at The Ohio State University. The fictional quality of performance provides a distance that frees up the “real” people in the audience to engage and begin to attempt resolution. Once the performative conversation takes hold, the expectation is that the audience members realize that they really need to be talking to one another, looking for solutions and finding new and respectful ways of engaging in difficult conversation.
This conversation was part of a performance by the InterACT theatre troupe and as such was a mix of reality and fiction. The “professor” was an undergraduate theatre student at The Ohio State University; she was portraying the role of a professor in a performance that highlighted some of the issues faced by those that are underrepresented. The audience was made up of faculty, staff, administrators, and students that worked and attended the college being represented in the performance. After the performance, the audience was encouraged to ask the actress questions while she remained in character. The conversation eventually shifted from a conversation between the characters on stage and the audience, to a conversation between the audience members only; the issues were theirs to work through and this shift from audience and character interaction to problem solving among those in the audience is central to InterACT’s mission.
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The InterACT theatre program, under the leadership of Robin Post, finished its fourth year of writing and performing real life scenarios that occur on campus and in some cases, beyond. InterACT has continued to provide faculty and teaching associates with opportunities to interactively engage with characters that are either portraying problematic students or are presenting controversial situations. Quarterly workshops are held at the University Center for the Advancement of Teaching and provide an alternative method of disseminating information as well as providing instructors with a safe avenue for exploring teaching strategies. The workshops this year highlighted cross-cultural misunderstandings of plagiarism and academic integrity, keys to successful advisor/advisee relationships in graduate school, and handling disruptive and or disturbed
students in class. InterACT also continues to provide policy programming during the fall orientation for incoming graduate teaching associates. Additionally, InterACT provided interactive performances that offered assistance to the Wilce Health Center, The Graduate School, The College of Nursing, and The College of Pharmacy. The College of Pharmacy requested a piece on the rise and dangers of prescription drug abuse which was performed for both a secondary school and for the students at the College of Pharmacy. A third performance of this piece was performed
for WOSU as part of a town hall event at COSI that focused on community initiatives to prevent prescription drug abuse. The performance was filmed and then will be used as an educational tool for universities throughout the country. The demand for InterACT continues to grow as more of the university community recognizes the power of interactive theatre and the need for new and innovative methods of instruction. InterACT was nominated for the Outreach Scholarship W.K. Kellogg Foundation Engagement Award and Robin Post was nominated for the University Diversity Enhancement Award.
School Tour
By Christopher M. Roche, Ph.D. Student and Tour Manager With the play, A Song For Coretta by Pearl Cleage, The Ohio State Department of Theatre was able to increase the mission of the school tour. Not only was the play on tour to various high schools and middle schools during the month of February, but the piece was a debut of sorts for the department. A Song For Coretta also played at the the newly refurbished Lincoln Theatre in downtown Columbus. The production marked what we hope will be the first of many collaborations with the Lincoln Theatre. The talented ensemble of Coretta brought exciting performances to students during the day, and had the opportunity to entertain patrons at the Lincoln.
For everyone involved, standing on the stage of that great theatre was a treat! The gift of Pearl Cleages’ dialogue was a hit with performer and audience alike. The story centers on Coretta Scott King’s funeral at The Ebenezer Baptist Church, in Atlanta,Georgia on February 6, 2006. Women from different age groups, professional careers, educational backgrounds, and many varied social constructions find themselves becoming closer as they stand in line for Ms. King’s funeral. The story is topical, and resonated as authentic with our actors and audiences. Congrats to everyone involved with this production!
A Song for Coretta Reception at Lincoln Theatre: Front row (left to right): B.A. Students Nakia Smith, Jasmine Harris, Terita Parms, Kelsey Bates Back row (left to right): B.A. Student Tamika Thomas, Carolyn Foster, Brianna Foster, B.A. Student Sierra Hall, Gregory Foster (Coretta Scott King’s Cousin), Talea Foster, B.A. Student Breanna Lewis, B.A. Student Samantha Hunter, Reverend Joel L. King (Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Cousin), Nancy King, Lesley Ferris
B.A. Students Sierra Hall, Jasmine Harris, and Nakia Smith in a scene from A Song for Coretta.
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The Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
theatre research institute report By Mary Tarantino, Professor Director, Lawrence and Lee Theatre Research Institute
Symposia In January, a very successful symposium on the Czech theatre artist Jaroslav Malina was co-hosted by the Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute and the Department of Theatre. The speakers included Del Unruh and Dennis Christilles, who have written extensively on Malina and Czech design, Czech designer Marketa Fantova (granddaughter of great designer and Malina’s mentor František Tröster), and Ed Valentine (OSU Department of Art). Curator Nena Couch mounted a TRI exhibit in the open gallery at Thompson Library featuring work by Czech designers Tröster, Malina, Jan Sládek, Jana Zbo ilová, Helena Anýžová, Ivo Žídek, Josef Jelínek, Jan Štepánek, and Petr Matásek on large panels constructed by Harry Campbell, book and paper conservator for University Libraries. Completing the Czech design symposium experience was “Jaroslav Malina: Paintings and Designs,”
Donald Madison
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a touring exhibit at the Urban Arts Space, Columbus, curated by OSU Theatre’s Joe Brandesky, on display for two months from mid-November, coinciding with the symposium. One month later, another successful symposium took place at the 11th floor of Thompson Library, again co-hosted by the TRI and Department of Theatre. This event was centered around Sidney Kingsley’s play Men in White, directed in February by guest Woodie King, Jr. Ph.D. student Emily Davis capably organized and introduced the event. Ph.D. Chelsea Phillips spoke about the production history and dramaturgical perspective. Other speakers included TRI Associate Curator Beth Kattelman and guest Donald Madison, retired professor of social medicine, who has used the play in the instruction of medical ethics.
Ph.D. Students Johnathon Boyd, Emily Davis and Pamela Decker working on the Sidney Kingsley exhibit at the TRI.
Grayce Burian visiting the new Thompson Library reading room where she spoke to Joe Brandesky’s Czech Theatre and Culture class on her experiences with Czech theatre scholar Jarka Burian.
Nena Couch opens the symposium.
Courses Make Use of the Institute’s Resources The first ever use of the new Thompson Library special collections reading room (which opened in Autumn 2009) and TRI resources involved Worthington Kilbourne High School students and instructor Chuck Buford, as they searched for materials and inspiration for a November production of Inherit the Wind. Two theatre courses have made good use of the seminar room with TRI collections this year. Working with Nena as a result of a course enhancement grant, Guest Lecturer Phil Garrett’s undergraduate screenwriting course was able to use scripts from TRI’s Eileen Heckart, Jeff Corey, Lawrence and Lee, and Nancy Walker collections as well as scripts from Rare Books collections. Mary Tarantino taught a graduate lighting design seminar studying the work of dance and theatre designer Thomas Skelton. Beth continues to teach a very popular freshman seminar—Zombies, Chainsaws
and Screams: Horror Films and Culture, offered through the College of Arts and Sciences. Beth and Nena again taught the Research Methods course for incoming graduate students, a special pleasure this year since the special collections reading room was available for the class. One of the course assignments resulted in a lovely display by the class at the Drake Performance and Event Center on the many and varied resources that can be found at the TRI for The Tempest, and gave the students a “hands on” experience using primary source materials to foster and support research. In other classroom news, TRI has been busy with groups in the special collections seminar room including a session for Karen Mozingo’s Theatre 672 theory course, Daniel Collins’ Czech 407 second-year Czech course, a group exploration by Bebe Miller and associates of her collection for a grantfunded historiography project, and finally, Carole Finks and David Staley’s Honors History 398 course which Nena and Eric Johnson, of Rare Books recently arranged with Wes Boomgaarden, preservation officer in the University Libraries and David Lincove, political science and philosophy librarian.
Collections Activities
Detail of Box Boom Plot, Brigadoon, 7-20-80
Morag Boyd, head of special collections cataloging, Beth, and Nena have been working on and have now completed mapping the TRI database fields to PastPerfect (PP), and are looking forward to the transfer of TRI’s data. Many thanks to Morag for all her PastPerfect work.
Under Beth’s direction, work on the multi-phase Curtiss Show Print collection project is progressing well. Amy McCrory, digital imaging specialist, and her staff have done a wonderful job of scanning the many posters in the collection and thumbnails are being attached to PP records; Kathleen Kopp, Assistant Curator for the TRI and Bob Tauber, book/arts specialist, have continued to make record prints from the blocks; and TRI students are inputting PP records and scanning job tickets and the block record prints to attach to PP records. Nyle Stateler is owner of Curtiss Show Print which is still in operation in Continental, Ohio, and donor of the collection. Hot off the Presses: The Curtiss Show Print Collection, co-curated by Beth and Nena was the subject of the summer exhibit in the Thompson Library gallery. This year the TRI became the new steward of four significant collections of film ephemera -- the Philip Sills Collection, the Richard E. Teichert Collection, the Rico Long Collection and the Tom Hamilton Collection. They were transferred to us from Ohio State’s Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum. The collections contain a wealth of materials such as lobby cards, pressbooks, photographs and a huge number of posters. They greatly enhance our holdings in the area of film and video. John Giffin, professor emeritus from Dance, has donated his research materials on The Fall River Follies, Kabarett, and The Fire Still Burns, works he created at Ohio State, as well as posters documenting his performance career with Wuppertal Dance Theater and other companies. The Czech design collection now represents the Tröster family! In addition to helping us acquire designs
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of František Tröster, his granddaughter Marketa Fantova has donated two of her own dynamic costume designs.
Kramer Research Fellowship
Significant additions to established collections have come from theatre critic Alice Carter with additions to her collection; Grayce Burian for the Jarka Burian collection on Czech theatre; Joel R. Rubin for additions to the outstanding collection on Kliegl Bros. and technical theatre; Michele La Rue for additions to the East Lynne Theatre Company collection; Bob Wagner, who added to his extensive collection on film; Deborah Robison with an addition to the Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee collection; Charles McCaghy for additions to the Collection for Exotic Dance from Burlesque to Clubs; Paul Stiga with an addition of designs by Motley for The Unknown Soldier and His Wife, We Take the Town, and The Road to Rome; Chris Wilbert who made an additional donation to the Nancy Walker/David Craig collection; Nyle Stateler for additions to the Curtiss Show Print Collection; choreographer/director/dancer Randy Skinner who added to his collection; Cristian Donoso with an addition of prints to the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery collection; an addition from the American College Theatre Festival Region Three; Laura Mueller with extensive materials on Van Johnson and Laurence Olivier added to the Laura M. Mueller British and American Theatre and Film Collections, and an Old Street Diorama from toy theatre specialist Fritz Kannik.
Ph.D. candidate Ian Pugh was awarded the first annual William Case Kramer Theatre Research Fellowship. His study of the London-based Improbable Theatre Company brought him to the U.K. to assist with the set-up and audio/video documentation of the fifth annual Devoted and Disgruntled conference, hosted by the company. Ian also conducted informal interviews with Improbable Company members,
Playwrights who have added to or established collections this year are Catherine Filloux, Molly Tinsley Best, playwright/actor/director Ted Lange, Emily Davis, and Monica Raymond. Programs, books, sound recordings, and journals have come from Abe Bassett, David Woods, Lesley Ferris, Joann Lindsey, and Marvin Carlson.
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Ph.D. candidate Ian Pugh
Papers and Presentations Beth presented a paper at the National Popular Culture/American Culture Conference and was session moderator for the Society of Ohio Archivists Spring Meeting. Beth’s article, “Magic, Monsters and Movies: America’s Midnight Ghost Show” was published in Theatre Journal in March.
and following the conference, he began cataloging the company’s various materials into a manageable archive, making use of the documentation style used at the TRI. He also screened the company’s thirteen productions, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the Improbable Theatre Company, as he moves forward with work on his dissertation.
M.A. Candidate Francesca Spedalieri, winner of the second annual Kramer Theatre Research Fellowship recipient. Her project, currently titled Italian Theatre of the 21st century: from Dario Fo to Present Day, involves research travel, video interviews, and translation activities.
Nena presented a paper on the Daphne Dare Digital Collection at the U.S. Institute for Theatre Technology and met with TRI donor Joel Rubin. Mary’s article, “Uncovering Gems: Theatrical Design Collections at the Wisconsin Historical Society” was published in the America Society for Theatre Research’s publication Theatre Survey in November.
Other News
Lucy Lee, Jonathan Barlow Lee, Christopher Moore, Deborah Robison, Nena Couch, Margo Jones Awardee Bill Rauch, Janet Waldo Lee at the 2009 Margo Jones Award.
Margo Jones Award The 2009 recipient of the Margo Jones award was Oregon Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Bill Rauch, who began his acceptance speech with a memorable quote from Inherit the Wind, and went on to speak about the art and work of playwriting. Beth and Nena joined Deborah Robison, Janet Waldo Lee, Lucy Lee, and Jonathan Lee in presenting the award and seeing Bill’s direction of the world premiere of Equivocation at OSF. In March, Equivocation received the Steinberg/ American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award. For more information on the Margo Jones Award, visit: http://library.osu.edu/sites/tri/Jones.php
Remembering Friends Former TRI Director Alan Woods remembers OSU alumna Barbara Kachur. Barbara came to OSU wanting to study Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree. Her 1986 dissertation, entitled Herbert Beerbohm Tree: Shakespearean actor-
manager, runs over 1000 pages. She taught at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, becoming Theatre area chair, then English Department Chair, then Associate Dean. She is survived by her partner of more than 35 years, Joann Lindsay. In New York, longtime TRI friend Doris Davis—actress, playwright, and executor of the estate of playwright Sidney Kingsley—passed away last summer. The Department of Theatre production of Kingsley’s Men in White in February 2010 was dedicated in her memory. Fredric Woodbridge Wilson, scholar of nineteenth-century British theatre and particularly of Gilbert and Sullivan, passed away at his home in Watertown, Massachusetts in May. Curator of the Harvard Theatre Collection at the time of his death, Wilson had previously been curator of the world-renowned Gilbert and Sullivan Collection at the Pierpont Morgan Library.
In October, Grayce Burian (Jarka Burian collection) visited Joe Brandesky’s Czech Theatre and Culture course, and shared her memories of driving into Czechoslovakia and Prague in September 1968, after the Soviet invasion intended to crush the Prague Spring movement toward “socialism with a human face.” She and her husband, theatre scholar Jarka Burian, participated in underground meetings of dissident artists including playwright Vaclav Havel who, decades later, became President of the Czech Republic. Grayce has written her memoirs which Nena and Daniel Collins are editing in hopes of publishing the wonderful story of Jarka and Grayce. Beth recently heard from former public history intern Louie Bitsko who did his class project on the Jeff Corey Collection, and returned the following quarter to continue his work on the collection. We are pleased that he still finds the internship valuable: “That project was by far the most interesting work I have ever been a part of. I was just telling someone about a HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) transcript of interview I read. Unbelievable stuff.” Louie is working as a personal assistant to a television/film producer in New York, hoping that it will be a stepping stone to a career in film. We wish him the best — he was a great intern.
Oxford, Ohio, theatre critic, newspaper editor, local historian and TRI donor Robert E. White, Jr., passed away last year as encore went to press.
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spotlight on students By Damian Bowerman, Erika Hanes, Eric Mayer, and Beth Josephsen Simon
Fall 2009 Ph.D. Students Chris Matsos and Matt Yde performed for the Project Narrative Conference with Anne Bogart and SITI Company. M.F.A. Design student Victor E. Shonk successfully defended his thesis on the design and production of Summer and Smoke. This marks the culmination of Vic’s time at OSU and he leaves us with an impressive portfolio of work. B.A. Student Dan Wilburn made it to the Finals of the “Funniest Person In Columbus” stand-up comedy competition at the Funnybone Comedy Club on Tuesday, November 24th. Ph.D. Student Ian Pugh successfully passed his Candidacy Exam on Friday, October 23. His committee included Maria Ignatieva (History), Joy Reilly (Dramatic Literature), Beth Kattelman (Specialization) and Lesley Ferris (Theory and Criticism).
Rachel Deep performed in the Emerald City Players rendition of Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical from November 20 December 5. Ph.D. Student Chrisopher M. Roche successfully passed his Candidacy Exam on October 27. His committee included Richard Dutton (Specialization), Lesley Ferris (Theory and Criticism), Alan Woods (History), and Joy Reilly (Dramatic Literature). B.A. Student Kayla Jackmon was named the winner of the 2009-10 Edward S. “Beanie” Drake Student Leader Endowment Fund scholarship. She also directed The Black Student Theatre Network’s rendition of Wine in the Wilderness by Alice Childress.
B.A. Students Pedar Benson Bate and
Ph.D. Student Melissa Lee passed her Ph.D. Candidacy Exam on October 30. Her committee consisted of Richard Dutton (History), Maria Ignatieva (Dramatic Literature), Beth Kattelman
Graduate students, faculty and staff meet along the shores of the Olentangy for a welcome back barbeque.
B.A. Student Mahmoud Osman participates in a voice workshop led by Royal Shakespeare Company Voice Coach Alison Bomber.
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(Theory and Criticism) and Lesley Ferris (Specialization: The Character of the Actress in Dramatic Texts). Ph.D. Student Paul Lockwood’s theatre company, Evolution Theatre Company, joined the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA) as a resident arts group. M.A. Student Chris Hill directed the Emerald City Players’ production of Doubt and the Solstice Theatre Company’s production of The Weir. He was also dramaturg for the Contemporary American Theatre Company’s production of The Seafarer. B.A. Student Jessi Biggert played Charlotte in The Killing Room at MadLab theatre.
M.F.A. Design student Victor Shonk poses with a mural of Coretta Scott King that he painted and hung next to the Lincoln Theatre where A Song for Coretta played.
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Summer and Smoke
“The Ohio State University Department of Theatre presents an imposing production of
Tennessee Williams’ Summer and Smoke…[director] Bohr and his actors succeed when it really counts. …when the varied emotional highlights kick in, particularly at the end, we are caught up.”
-Dennis Thompson, Central Ohio Theatre Roundtable
B.A. Student Emily Mills with her display for The Last Five Years at the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum.
B.A. Student Angela Henderson with her display for The Soulmate Factory at the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum.
Winter 2010
Spring 2010
B.A. Student Bill Gordon was admitted to Northern Illinois University’s M.F.A. Acting Program.
B.A. Student Angela Henderson wrote and produced the play, The Soulmate Factory, directed by B.A. Student Megan Corbin. The Soulmate Factory explored the very real consequences of technology on our everyday lives and how it can affect us -- for the better and for the worse. Ensemble cast included B.A. Student Elissa Goonan, Liam Cronin, Emily Mills and Corbin Jones, She was also a finalist playwright in FUSION’s “The Seven: Hidden Agendas” Festival for her play The Dreamers Upstairs.
B.A. Student Cornelius Hubbard, Jr. was admitted into The Ohio State University B.F.A. Dance program. B.A. Student Spenser Morris was accepted into Teach for America. Spenser moved to Mississippi to teach 7-12th grade math in fall 2010. B.A. Students Angela Henderson and Liam Cronin wrote and directed Look Around You, A Play, on March 12-13. The cast included B.A. Students Kelsey Bates, Kristen Russell, Ben Sostrom, Mahmoud Osman, Corbin Jones, and Liam Cronin. It was stage managed by B.A. student Margaret Glaser with video by Zach Gluek, Aaron Kunkel and Kevin O’Rourke (B.A. 2009). Original Music by B.A. Student Chris Ray, Magicsauce by Shawn Hove.
Ph.D. Student Bethany Rainsberg successfully defended her dissertation. She joined the doctoral program of the Department of Theatre in September of 2006 and was awarded a University Fellowship in 2006 from the Graduate School. B.A. Student Dan Wilburn made the official four-person OSU Comedy Team in
B.A. Student Kiley Morgan with her display for Prisms in the Fountain at the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum.
the Rooftoop Comedy/National College Comedy Competition. Their sets were posted on TBS.com. Take Out Theatre, a 24-Hour Festival organized by Alpha Psi Omega, the honorary dramatic fraternity, was January 15 - 16 and April 16 - 17th. B.A. Student Rachel Deep was accepted into NYU for graduate school for Educational Theatre. B.A. Student Samantha Bowling won Best Actress at the Campus Movie Fest for The Dance. She was also nominated for a special/individual award for her acting. She won Best Actress out of the whole northern region. B.A. Student Zuri Hall (Communication major, Theatre minor) won a contest and is the new Face of MyINDY-TV! As The Face, she’ll represent the top television station, WNDY (indytv.com), in Indianapolis, with
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a one year, paid contract to be featured on channel WNDY in PSAs, commercials, weekly teases, etc., as a guest reporter on IndyStyle morning talk show, and host live events, representing the station out in the local community.
B.A. Student (English major, Theatre minor) Matthew Starr with his display for Laughter In Transition: The Applications of Improvisational Comedy to the Entertainment Industry at the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum.
M.F.A. Design student Elisa Bierschenk successfully completed her Master’s Thesis examination. The title of her thesis is Costume Design and Production for O Pioneers!, by Darrah Cloud. Her committee members consisted of Kristine Kearney (Chair), Jeanine Thompson, and Mark Shanda. Elisa accepted a tenure track position as Assistant Professor Costume Design at Troy University in Troy, Alabama. She began her new appointment July 1. Ph.D. Student Melissa Lee was one of the winners of the Arts and Humanities Post-Prospectus Research Award Competition for 2010-2011. This award will allow Melissa to concentrate on her dissertation work without any other financial or teaching responsibilities for one quarter.
B.A. Student Danny Ferguson and M.F.A. Acting student Tory Matsos strikes a pose in the Suzuki portion of the SITI residency training.
Ph.D. Student Matt Yde was awarded a one-year Presidential Fellowship to begin in fall 2010. This fellowship recognizes outstanding scholarship and research ability, plus provides recipients with the opportunity to devote full time to their dissertation research. M.A. Student Francesca Spedalieri and M.F.A. Acting student Moopi Mothibeli were recognized at the 38th Graduate School Awards Reception for receiving University Fellowships. Prisms in the Fountain, written by B.A. student Kiley Morgan and directed by B.A. student Jacob Browning was performed in the New Works Lab in April with the following B.A. student cast: Tyler - Elissa Goonan, Devin - Spenser Morris, Gia - Audrey Rush, Cole - Michael Samons, Jason - Jared Riley, Axel - Doug Davis.
Wan Wan Yang, an Accounting major from Beijing, shares her knowledge of Chinese Theatre with Joy Reilly’s Theatre 100 class.
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Ph.D. Student Emily Davis gave birth to Daniel Erik Davis on Friday, May 28th at 9:56 pm. He weighed 7.7 lbs.
M.A. Student Chris Hill successfully completed his Master’s Thesis entitled, “But It Was Changing,” “And Now I Can’t Go Back”: Reflections Of A Changing Ireland In The Work Of Conor McPherson. His committee consisted of Joy Reilly (Chair) and Alan Woods. Chris has been accepted into the doctoral program for autumn 2010 in the department. He directed Beware the Man Eating Chicken by Henry Meyerson for Evolution Theatre Company at the Riffe Center (Studio One) June 9-19 and Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel for Solstice Theatre Company on July 22-Aug 1. Solstice was also at ComFest’s Solar Stage on June 25 with a staged reading of short plays by local playwrights, which Chris also directed. For more information about Solstice visit: www.solsticetheatre. org. Ph.D. Student Chris Matsos completed the oral defense of his dissertation. Lesley Ferris served as chair of his committee, joined by Beth Kattelman (Theatre/TRI) and Virginia Cope (English) and the Graduate Faculty Representative was Professor Warren Sinnott (Department of Mathematics). The title of Chris’ dissertation is ’With Clotted Locks and Eyes Like Burning Stars’: Corporeality and the Supernatural on the Gothic Stage, 1786 - 1836. His work was acknowledged by his committee as a fascinating examination of Gothic theatre in Britain. Chris was also a recipient in fall 2009 of a Post Prospectus Research Fellowship. M.A. Student Seunghyun Hwang completed his oral defense in May and his M.A. thesis in June. His research was on Asian American theatre and the title of his thesis is Exploding Stereotypes from Inside and Out: The Theatre of Young Jean Lee and Issues of Race and Gender Identity. Lesley Ferris served as his thesis advisor and Dr. Chan Park (East Asian Languages and Literatures) was the second member of his thesis committee.
Summer 2010 B.A. Student Danny Ferguson received a Fulbright Austria scholarship and will be living in Graz, Austria near the province of Seiermark. He has been assigned to teach English at two different schools for the 2010-2011 academic school year: Die Bundeshandelsakademie und Bundeshandelsschule and Die Höhere Bundeslehranstalt für Mode
und Bekleidungstechnik. The first school is the Federal Academy for Commercial Studies and second is the Federal Higher Institute for Fashion and Clothing Engineering. Outside of his English teaching assignments, Danny plans to be involved with the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz. B.A. Student Danny Ferguson (center) in a scene from OSU’s production of Godspell, spring 2009.
2009–2010 End of Year Celebration Awards & Recognition Program June 2, 2010 2009-2010 Honorary Dramatic Fraternity Alpha Psi Omega (APO) President Liam Cronin led the newly elected 2010-2011 APO Officers in the Oath of Office: President - Carolyn Cutri, Vice President - Lesley Fisher, Business Manager - Kyler Dean Moor, Celebration Chair - Margaret Glaser, Induction Chair Paul Moon
Undergraduate Student Excellence in recognition for distinction work in Theatre: •
Angela Henderson, Creating Media-Integrated Theatre: The Role of Technology in Our Lives
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Kiley Morgan, Prisms in the Fountain: Exploring My Journey as a Survivor of Suicide
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Matthew Starr, Laughter in Transition: The Applications of Improvisational Comedy
Things APO did this year: • • • • • • •
Two 24 hour theatre festivals Staged readings of several original student plays After school teaching program (Fall-Winter quarters) with Columbus Bilingual Academy, an inner city public school Financial Support of distinction projects Sponsoring end of year activities such as dodgeball game Coordinated Backstage Live (that collected over $100 for Camp Sunrise) Assisted the Black Student Theatre Network (BSTN) with resources for their production of Romeo and Juliet
The department recognized work of the Black Student Theatre Network (BSTN).
The Ohio State University Department of Theatre Class of 2010.
Undergraduate Student Excellence for participation in the Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Colloquium: •
Angela Henderson
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Emily Mills, poster presentation for The Last Five Years
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Kiley Morgan
Convocation guest speaker and Ohio State Arts Initiative Associate Vice President Karen Bell.
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Outstanding Contribution to the 2009–2010 Production Season:
• • • • Mark Shanda and B.A Student John Jackson at the Arts and Sciences Spring Recognition Reception.
B.A. Graduates Chris Ray, Ashley Greene, Maria Borgerding, Bill Gordon and Kiley Morgan.
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(Above LEFT) Mark Shanda and B.A. Student Zacharey Owens. (Above MIDDLE) Lesley Ferris and M.F.A. Acting student Charlesanne Rabensburg. (Above RIGHT) B.A. Student Kayla Jackmon and Mark Shanda.
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• • (Above LEFT) M.F.A. Design student Cat Schmeal-Swope and Mark Shanda. (Above RIGHT) B.A. Student Bill Gordon.
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Liam Cronin in recognition of his performances in Palmer Park and O Pioneers! Amani Davidson in recognition of his exceptional assistance in O Pioneers! Alyssa Ellis in recognition of her leadership in O Pioneers! and The Long Christmas Ride Home Michelle Golden in recognition of her performances in Palmer Park and The Long Christmas Ride Home Bill Gordon in recognition of his performance, dedication, and support of the Department of Theatre Directing Courses Bill Gordon in recognition of his performance in O Pioneers! Angela Henderson in recognition of her ensemble performance in Palmer Park Zachary Houston in recognition of his performances in Summer and Smoke, O Pioneers! and The Three Sisters Kayla Jackmon in recognition of her contributions and dedication to the Department of Theatre and the Black Student Theatre Network Kayla Jackmon in recognition of her ensemble performance in Palmer Park and The Three Sisters John Jackson in recognition of his sound design for A Song for Coretta Heath Monat in recognition of his leadership as Student Technical Director on A Song for Coretta and The Three Sisters Kyler Moor in recognition of his leadership in O Pioneers! Mahmoud Osman in recognition of his ensemble performance in Palmer Park Zacharey Owens in recognition of his performance in The Three Sisters Terita Parms in recognition of her multitasking skills as a performer and assistant sound designer in A Song for Coretta Kristen Russell in recognition of her performance in Summer and Smoke Dayna Schlefstein in recognition of her exceptional assistance in The Three Sisters
O Pioneers!
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“Director Jeanine Thompson and her cast and crew bring [the script] to the stage in an admirable way. From Victor E. Shonk’s stylized set to Jarod Wilson’s lighting and Thompson’s choreography, all of the elements blend together to create a graceful, respectful portrait of rural life.”
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-Richard Ades, The Other Paper
Special Awards •
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B.A. Student Lesley Fisher received a Wolfe Study Abroad Scholarship for the London Theatre Program. Only 37 of these scholarships are awarded by the university each year. The College of Arts & Sciences awarded B.A. students Angela Henderson, John Jackson, Kristen Russell and Matthew Starr with Excellence in Scholarship at its annual reception. B.A. Students Angela Henderson, Emily Mills and Kiley Morgan were awarded Undergraduate Research Scholarships for the 2009-2010 academic year by The Arts Honors Committee. Each one received $1,000 to use on their distinction projects.
(Above LEFT) Ph.D. Student Matt Yde and Mark Shanda. (Above MIDDLE) Mark Shanda and Ph.D. Student Melissa Lee. (Above RIGHT) B.A. Student Mahmoud Osman and Mark Shanda
Undergraduate Scholarship Recipients The Gerald R. Black Scholarship Fund for Recognition of Excellence in Theatre was established in 1974 in memory of Gerald R. Black, a 1924 graduate of The Ohio State University. The scholarship is intended for undergraduate students within the Department of Theatre interested in the area of playwrighting. Recipients: Lesley Fisher, Zachary Houston, Darius Mousavi, Paul Moon The Michael Swink Fund for Talent in Theatre Technology was established in 1980 in memory of Michael Swink, B.A. 1975, and provides funding for undergraduate students who have demonstrated exceptional talent and ability in theatre in the area of design and technology. Recipients: Eric Barker, Dayna Schlefstein
B.A. Students Paul Moon, Lesley Fisher, Ben Sostrom, Kelsey Bates, Angela Cutrell, Zacharey Owens, Zachary Houston, John Houston, and Kyler Moor.
The Scarlet Mask Award was established in 1973 by members of the Scarlet Mask Society to recognize distinction and outstanding performance. Recipient: Zachary Houston The Robert Eugene Johnson Memorial Scholarship was established in 1983 with gifts from the estate of Robert Eugene Johnson, M.A. 1950, to provide one or more scholarships for Junior and/or Senior students who are majoring in Theatre and are maintaining at least a 2.5 cumulative grade point average. Recipients: Alyssa Ellis, Kara Shea McCarthy, Jared Riley B.A. Students Lesley Fisher, Eric Barker, Alyssa Ellis, Darius Mousavi, Zachary Houston, Jared Riley, Paul Moon with Mark Shanda.
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The Roy and Addeleen Bowen Fund for Exceptional Talent in Theatre was established in 1978 to honor Dr. Roy H. Bowen, Professor Emeritus of Theatre. The scholarship supports undergraduate students who have demonstrated exceptional talent in theatre. Recipients: Eric Barker, Alyssa Ellis, Margaret Glaser, Emily Mills, Paul Moon, Dayna Schlefstein Awarded annually in memory of Steven Vrba, Assistant Professor of Theatre, 1982- January 1984, this cash award is to be given to an upper division theatre major who has demonstrated high academic achievement and outstanding abilities in Theatre Technology during the year. Recipient: Heath Monat
Mark Shanda is recognized for his service to the department by Dan Gray and Rachel Barnes.
Graduate Student Excellence in recognition of their Teaching, Service, Research or Creative Activity: Recipients: Emily Davis, Teaching, Service, Research and Creative Activity; Chris Matsos, Teaching and Research; Cat Schmeal-Swope, Teaching and Creative Activity; Victor E. Shonk, Creative Activity; Matthew Yde, Teaching and Research Arts & Humanities Post-Prospectus Fellowship Recipient: Melissa Lee Graduate Presidential Fellowship Recipient: Matthew Yde William Case Kramer Fellowship Recipient: Francesca Spedalieri
Chair’s Award for Academic Achievement for Graduate Students maintaining a 4.0 cumulative grade point average: Andrew Blasenak, Pamela Decker, Melissa Lee, Tory Matsos, Chris Matsos, Eric Mayer, Kevin McClatchy, Moopi Mothibeli, Ian Pugh, Charlesanne Rabensburg, Francesca Spedalieri, Matthew Yde, Aaron Zook Chair’s Award for Academic Achievement for Undergraduate Students maintaining a 3.8 or higher cumulative grade point average: Eric Barker, Brittany Belland, Jessi Biggert, Alexander Childs, Angela Cutrell, Amani Davidson, Rachel Deep, Lesley Fisher, Ryan Harrison, Angela Henderson, Katie Howard, Alexa Irwin, John Jackson, Corbin Jones, Stephanie Keller, Breanna Lewis, Zacharey Owens, Robert Pond, Kristen Russell, Dayna Schlefstein, Nakia Smith, John Sorenson, Jamie Strack, Nathan Varrone, Daniel Wilburn
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B.A. Student Liam Cronin’s APO Presentation
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Creative Development in Video Production: Amany Seleem, Francesca Spedalieri
Mandy Fox and B.A. Student Eric Barker.
O Pioneers!
“[O Pioneers!] has moments of magic, which
arise organically out of the novel’s landscape…
Director Jeanine Thompson successfully uses
stylized movement to convey a sense of the
many actions involved in the day to day life of
a farming community…”
-Margaret Quamme, The Columbus Dispatch
regional campus reports
Parents and child struggle over the finished portrait in Painting Churches.
Gar (Eric Ingram) menaces Sunny (Hannah Schweiterman) in her dominatrix den in Psych.
Ohio State Newark By Dave Williams, Associate Professor
The 2009-2010 season at Ohio State Newark consisted of three full productions: Painting Churches, by Tina Howe, Psych, by Evan Smith, and 30 Plays From “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind,” by the Neo-Futurists. The selections ran the gamut from pathos to comedy, and from traditional to cutting-edge. The autumn quarter saw Tina Howe’s 1983 play Painting Churches take the stage in the Black Box Theater. This work won its author a Pulitzer Prize, and the title has nothing to do with structures of worship; rather, it presents the struggle of a young artist, Maggie Church, to paint a portrait of her parents, Fannie and Gardner, and a readjustment of that family’s dynamic. In the winter quarter, Evan Smith’s Psych required the reconfiguration of the Black Box theater. The play deals with a psychology graduate student whose part-time job as a dominatrix costs her not only her place in the training program, but also her dearest friend, Sunny. The play also introduced a host of colorful minor characters, including Dr. Cox, a humorless administrator, Gar, a dangerous street thug, and Dominique, a hard-edged dominatrix. Research for this play involved a visit to one of Columbus’ 7 actual BDSM dens and a clothing store specializing in the gear required for such activities. Despite (or perhaps because of) the edgy nature of the text, the play drew the largest audience of any Black Box production during my time as director.
The spring production, 30 Plays From “Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind” opened on May 27. Neo-Futurism is a presentational form of theater developed by Ohio native Greg Allen, and it can be quite challenging for audiences used to more traditional work. Since the audience determines the order of the plays, which differs every night, this production is a wonderful tool for actor training. My 8-person ensemble rose to this challenge quite well, and despite the scarcity of scenery (black curtains and a clothesline comprise the set), there were six successful performances.
Ohio State Mansfield By Joseph Fahey, Assistant Professor
The 2009-2010 theatre season at Ohio State Mansfield brought many exciting opportunities to our theatre program. Our fall show was a contemporary adaptation of the classic Frankenstein story: Playing With Fire (After Frankenstein). This award winning play was developed by the Guthrie theatre and written by playwright Barbara Field. Post performance discussions with our English faculty, a Halloween week-end midnight showing, and a Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) response were all part of this thrilling weekend of performances. In February 2010 guest director Ken Barnett brought Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park to our theatre. Our audiences
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Playing With Fire (After Frankenstein) L to R: Scott Shag (Frankenstein), Kurtis Donnersbach (Adam), Andrew Schottleutner (Victor)
Little Shop of Horrors L to R: Scott Schag (Seymour), Ben Lowery (Audrey II Puppeteer), Sarah Robertson (Audrey), Beau Roberts (Mushnik)
loved seeing this work from Simon’s early career brought back to our stage, and the students enjoyed working with a wellestablished local director. The mix of sharp comic dialogue and endearing characters was a great break from the winter blues. In May we presented Little Shop of Horrors as our spring musical. Large, enthusiastic crowds enjoyed a rousing performance, and we even managed a few cameo plant consumptions of our science faculty and Dean Evelyn Freeman. Beyond our mainstage season, several other exciting developments took place this year. We continued our collaboration with the Mansfield Youth Theatre, co-producing Beauty and the Beast Jr. in January. Four students traveled to the KCACTF Region II festival to witness award-winning college theatre productions and participate in workshops on directing, acting, and audition technique. Our student-directed studio efforts had their best year yet, performing two seating-on-thestage productions: Recent Tragic Events in the fall, and a Winter Shorts Festival in the winter term. The caliber of production and the student ownership of the process both increased notably from previous efforts.
Ohio State Lima
By Maria Ignatieva, Associate Professor During 2009-2010 season, three shows were produced by the Ohio State Lima Department of Theatre: The Reluctant Banshee, written and directed by Brian Keegan (Theatre for the Young Audiences) in the autumn quarter, Antigone by Sophocles, directed by Melanie House in the winter quarter, and An Inspector Calls by J. B. Priestley, directed by Maria Ignatieva. All productions were designed by Greg Owen. The department offered for the first time classes Theatre 531 and 532 to fulfill the academic requirements for theatre majors. The classes were taught by Maria Ignatieva. The 2010-2011 academic year will mark the 50th anniversary of Ohio State Lima. Kashtanka, the Buckeye Dog, based on Anton Chekhov’s short story, will be directed in the autumn quarter by Maria Ignatieva. A Lie of the Mind, by Sam Shepard, will be directed in the winter quarter by Joe Brandesky. I Hate Hamlet, by Paul Rudnick, will be directed in the spring quarter by Brian Keegan.
Finally, under the guidance of Jim Knapp and his Columbus campus class in sound design and technology, we replaced the Founders Auditorium sound system with a state-of-theart system. Jim’s class received a unique training opportunity in real-world problem solving, and our campus received a new system at a fraction of the commercial cost. This system will serve all events in our campus’s primary lecture and performance space, Founders Auditorium, for years to come. Thanks, Jim (and Jim’s very smart students)!
An Inspector Calls, by J.B. Priestley, directed by Maria Ignatieva
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faculty and staff updates Rachel Barnes Box Office Manager / Fiscal Officer •
Received the Arts and Sciences Outstanding Staff Award
Joe Brandesky Professor Ohio State Lima Campus •
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Organized and served as Curator for the Jaroslav Malina: Paintings and Designs exhibit, January 2009–December 2009; 4 destinations: McNay Museum of Art, San Antonio, TX; Center for Visual Art, Toledo, Ohio; Martha W. Farmer Theatre Gallery, Lima, Ohio; Urban Arts Space, Columbus, Ohio. The final destination will be at Alfred University, New York in October 2010. Contributing Editor for Jaroslav Malina: Paintings and Designs, exhibit catalog. Presented Jaroslav Malina: Paintings and Designs, Curator’s Perspective at the Martha W. Farmer Theatre Gallery, Lima, OH; October 2009 and Urban Arts Space, Columbus, OH; December 2009. Developed and organized study tour for 18 travelers to Prague. Served as Resident Director. Highlights: Saw 5 professional productions; toured National Theatre, Estates Theatre, National Museum Theatre Collection with Vlasta Koubska, JAMU Scene and Costume design classes in Brno with Jan Štepánek and Jana Prekova, Masaryk University Theatre faculty in Brno, Jaroslav Malina Presentation in Tabor. Personally arranged the visits with Jan Štepánek, Jana Prekova, Vlasta Koubská and Jaroslav Malina, Czech Theatre Professionals. Named Guest Curator for Czech Puppetry Exhibit at the Columbus Museum of Art. Exhibit is scheduled for 2013-14.
Jimmy Bohr Assistant Professor Acting and Directing •
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Directed the Tennesseee Williams classic Summer and Smoke for the Department of Theatre in autumn 2009. Was instrumental in guiding the M.F.A. Actors into their collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Rachel Barnes (fifth from left) receives the Arts and Sciences Outstanding Staff Award, presented by Executive Dean Joe Steinmetz (center).
Damian Bowerman Graduate Studies and Publicity Coordinator •
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Active member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. Played Ivan in the Contemporary American Theatre Company production of The Seafarer. Performed his solo show John D. Rockefeller: Get Money, Get It Honestly, Then Give It Wisely for Cleveland Metro Parks’ Canalway Visitor Center. Conducted a workshop at Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center for “Career Days”. Served as a member of the High Street Neighborhoods Board of Directors and as a group member of the Columbus Arts Marketing Association (CAMA). Represented the department at Theatre Roundtable meetings.
Stratos Constantinidis Professor History, Literature and Criticism •
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Stratos’ translation of Aeschylus’ Persians had six staged readings in Columbus in autumn 2010. Published Text & Presentation, 2008: The Comparative Drama Conference Series. Received a study grant of $4,100 from the Office of International Affairs, and a research grant of $14,700 from Arts and Sciences. Organized a two-day interdisciplinary symposium on “Tragedy, Translation, Ethnicity, and Imperialism” at The Blackwell Inn, Columbus, Ohio, November 19-20, 2009.
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Nena Couch Professor, University Libraries Curator, The Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute •
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Published “Costume Design Resources of The Ohio State University” in Documenting: Costume Design, Performance Arts Resources, 2010. Presented “Daphne Dare Collection: A Digital Project of the Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute, The Ohio State University” at USITT in Kansas City in April. Continued as Re:Sources editor for Theatre Survey. Co-curated with Beth Kattelman, Hot Off the Presses: The Curtiss Show Print Collection. Made a successful proposal to the Dance Preservation Fund to support a dance G.A. to work on the Dance Notation Bureau collection in 2009-2010. Worked with Phil Garrett on his successful OSU Libraries’ course enhancement grant proposal and implementation for Theatre 636: Exploration of Creative Script-Writing, using resources of the Lawrence and Lee Theatre Research Institute and the OSU Libraries. Is co-principal investigator with Bebe Miller and Maria Palazzi in The Historiography Project, an archival and documentary exploration of Miller’s creative process. Serves on the SIBMAS council, the Dance Heritage Coalition board, and the OhioLINK Digital Resources Management Committee.
Joseph Fahey Assistant Professor OSU Mansfield Campus •
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Conducted workshops and conference presentations for The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, and the Association for Theatre in Higher Education Annual Conference. Presented two show responses for Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival performances in Ohio, one response in West Virginia, and coordinated the financing and planning for a trip to the 2010 regional KCACTF festival for four Mansfield theatre students. Served on the board for Pioneer Vocational School’s Performing Arts Academy and made significant progress toward an articulation agreement between Pioneer and OSU. Collaborated with the Children’s Theatre Foundation to produce a high school matinee of an adaptation of Frankenstein. Served on the Educational Advisory Committee for the Renaissance Theatre and on the board of the Mansfield Conversion Schools serving at-risk youth. Served on the board of the Ohio Theatre Alliance, where he was responsible for retention of producers and recruiting new producers for OTA’s annual auditions and technical interviews. Co-produced a youth theatre production of Disney’s Aladdin, Jr. in cooperation with the Mansfield Youth Theatre.
Nicholas Dekker Lecturer Theatre 100 Administrator
Lesley Ferris Arts and Humanities Distinguished Professor History, Literature and Criticism
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Co-produced McPherson’s The Weir with Solstice Theatre Company in October 2009. Presented on “The Modern Catalyst: Edwardian English Views of German Theatre” at Mid-America Theatre Conference, March 2010. Served as dramaturg for Contemporary American Theatre Company’s production of Evie’s Waltz, by Carter W. Lewis. Published review in Theatre Journal of Improbable Theatre’s Panic and Hoipolloi’s Story of a Rabbit at the Wexner Center. Continued work as founder and board member for arts non-profit Wild Goose Creative. Served as Board Member for Columbus-based nonprofit Xclaim Dance Company. Appeared in national PBS documentary Breakfast Special in July 2010.
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Invited to co-edit a special issue for Theatre Journal on Contemporary Women Playwrights. Published “Lear’s Daughters and Sons: Twisting the Canonical Landscape” in Feminist Theatrical Revisions of Classic Works: Critical Essays, edited by Sharon Friedman (McFarland, 2009), pp. 97-112 .
David Fisher Lecturer/Buckeye TV Coordinator •
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Selected as a Fellow for the National Television Academy of Arts and Sciences Faculty Seminar in Hollywood, California. Buckeye TV continues to upgrade the facility to further enhance student opportunities to explore the world of television production.
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• Ph.D. Student Matthew Yde, Lesley Ferris and Pamela Decker at the graduate student welcome barbeque.
Mandy Fox Assistant Professor Acting and Directing •
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Active member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. Played Gloria in Evie’s Waltz at the Contemporary American Theatre Company. Directed The Seafarer at the Contemporary American Theatre Company, which was awarded “Best Direction” and “Best Comedy” by The Other Paper and “Best of 2009” by The Columbus Dispatch. “Best of 2009, The Columbus Dispatch, for Frozen at The Evolution Theatre Company, acting. Feature Story on ArtZine (PBS), “Brave Young Woman Directs 5 Men in Conor McPherson’s, The Seafarer.”
Phil Garrett Lecturer Screenwriting • •
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Received Course Enhancement research grant from University Libraries. Received research grant as part of his work on the educational film The Other Men in Black for the Melton Center for Jewish Studies. Wrote and produced HD short film Eroded. The film premiered in Columbus in June, and is beginning its festival run. Produced the avant garde 35mm short film Had - the film is in post-production. Previous film, Measured Sacrifice received
the following awards and screened at the following venues: • Best Film, Best Actress, and Best Editing: Underneath Cincinnati Film Festival • Best Family Drama, Indie Gathering • Best Film, Geauga Film Festival • Best Film, Harmony Ridge Film Festival • Additional Screenings: Wexner Center Ohio Film Showcase, Madlab Volatility Festival, Oxford International Film Festival • Best Film, Harmony Ridge Film Festival Served as jury member for the Columbus International Film and Video Festival. Served as jury member for the Columbus 48 Hour Film Festival. Featured guest speaker on screenwriting at the Indie Gathering, a regional independent filmmaker conference/festival. 614 Magazine published article about The Other Men In Black, a project for the Melton Center for Jewish Studies.
Dan Gray Associate Professor Design and Technology •
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DayTony Award winning production of Ears on a Beatle at the Human Race Theatre in Dayton, OH. Designed set for critically acclaimed production of The Seafarer at CATCO, Columbus, OH. Invitation to Adjudicate the Design/Tech Exhibit at the KC/ACTF Region 7 Festival in Reno, NV, February, 2010. Named Acting Chair of the Department of Theatre for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Anthony Hill Associate Professor History, Literature and Criticism •
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Published The A to Z of African American Theater (Scarecrow Press, 2009, 542 pages, paperback edition of Historical Dictionary of African American Theatre, 2008.) Recognized for outstanding achievements in the arts at Ohio State for his book by the Office of Minority Affairs, Arts and Humanities, Ohio Student Union, and Department of African American and African Studies. Received favorable reviews of his book in American Theatre, Theatre Journal, Black Mask, African American Review as well as Choice, ARBA, Booklist, and The Seattle Times. Presented “Black Theatre from Birth to Rebirth to Survival” at the African American and African Studies Community Extension Center. Presented “Profiling the New Wave of Black
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Women of Theatre in Historical Dictionary of African American Theatre” at the National Black Theatre Network Conference in WinstonSalem, North Carolina. Presented lecture on the history of African American theater in the United States at the Douglass-Truth Library in Seattle, Washington.
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• Maria Ignatieva Associate Professor Ohio State Lima Campus •
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Was a presenter at the AAASS (American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies) convention in Boston (Autumn 2009) at the round table dedicated to the Cultural Influence of the Russian Immigration on the American Culture. Gave lectures about her book Stanislavsky and Female Actors in Moscow, Boston, Montreal, Lima, Ada, Van Wert. Was a key-note speaker at the OSU Graduate Symposium “Chekhov and After”. Published an essay “Chekhov in America” in Nezavisimaya Gaseta, Moscow, winter 2010. Is a member of the organizing committee of the International North American Conference dedicated to Anton Chekhov’s 150th birthday, and to be held in Columbus, 2010.
Beth Kattelman Associate Professor, University Libraries Curator, The Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute •
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Elected to a 3-year term on the national board of trustees for the Theatre Library Association. Published “Shadows of Magic: Shadowgraphy and Shadow Illusion” in the Fall/Winter 2009 issue of Puppetry International. Published “Magic, Monsters and Movies: America’s Midnight Ghost Shows” in the March 2010 issue of Theatre Journal. Named editor of Re:Sources column for Theatre Survey. Received an Award of Excellence in Puppet Design from the Central Ohio Theatre Roundtable for her work on Actors’ Theatre’s production of As You Like It. Co-directed As You Like It with John Kuhn at Actors’ Theatre. The production was recognized as one of the most innovative of 2009 by the Central Ohio Theatre Roundtable. Directed The Long Christmas Ride Home, Ohio State Theatre Department, spring 2010.
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Presented “A Bloody Good Show: Hype, immersion and the selling of horrific theatrical illusion” at the Mid-America Theatre Conference. Presented “Expressing the Mind of a Serial Killer: Redeeming Alexandre Aja’s High Tension” at the Popular Culture Association/ American Culture Association national conference. Co-curated with Nena Couch Hot Off The Presses: The Curtiss Show Print Collection an exhibit of materials from the Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute that will be featured during the summer of 2010.
Kristine Kearney Associate Professor Design and Technology • •
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Promoted to rank of Associate Professor. Designed costumes for Contemporary American Theatre Company’s production of Blackbird. Designed costumes for a new version of Jane Austen’s Emma at The Cleveland Playhouse. Designed Handel’s Faramondo for the OSU School of Music. Continued to make patterns from clothing contained in the OSU Historic Costume Collection. Co-leader of the London Theatre Study Abroad tour in summer 2010. Member in good standing of the United Scenic Artists Union, Local #825. Supervised four students, two graduate and two undergraduate, in the design and creation of four themed Halloween costumes for the Short North Highball fashion show presented on Halloween night, 2009. The costumes were very well received and Shiree Houf’s costume “The Queen Bee” won first prize.
Eric Mayer Administrative Coordinator •
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Continued his part-time pursuit of an M.F.A. in Stage and Theatre Management at OSU, which included serving as the Production Stage Manager for the 2009-2010 production season. Served as the Stage Manager for the Columbus Youth Ballet’s Nutcracker in Columbus and Chillicothe. Interned for five weeks during the summer of 2010 as a production assistant to the stage management team of Wicked in New York City.
State University. October 28, 2008. [dist.] Distribution in process.
Greg Owen Assistant Professor Ohio State Lima Campus •
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Co-Scenic Designed/Technical Directed Woman in Black for Whistling in the Dark Theatre Co., September 25 - October 30, 2009. Designed lights for tribal belly dance troupe Sacred Shimmy for OSU-Lima’s PALS program (Performance And Lecture Series) October 5, 2009. Designed lights and was Technical Director for “Shiver and Shake– a fund raiser benefitting the Ohio Children’s Hunger Alliance” at Junctionview Studios in Grandview, Oct 24, 2009. Designed lights, set and was Technical Director for The Reluctant Banshee, Ohio State at Lima, November 18-22, 2009. Designed lights for Lena Lauer Dance Ensemble for Ohio State-Lima’s PALS program (Performance And Lecture Series) Janurary 10, 2010. Designed set, lights and was Technical Director for Ohio State-Lima’s production of Antigone, February 25-28, 2010. Designed lights for The Baker and Tarpaga Dance Project present Sira Kan/On the Road for Ohio State-Lima’s PALS program, April 21, 2010. Designed set, lights and was Technical Director for Ohio State-Lima’s production of An Inspector Calls, May 20-23, 2010. Was Technical Director for The Perry Mansfield Performing Arts Camp, Steamboat Springs Colorado, June 9–August 11, 2010.
Janet Parrott Assistant Professor Design and Technology •
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Video interview director/producer. High Definition video interviews for a forthcoming documentary on the founders of Optical Art. [High Definition Video]. [dir.] Janet Parrott. Video interviews, Contemporary Collections, Ltd. 2007. (Forthcoming) Consulted, directed and produced high definition video taping of Op Art founding artists and some of their work as exhibited at the Columbus Museum of Art Optic Nerve exhibition. Director/Producer/Editor. “Song of the Soul: Stories of Hospice in South Africa” [Video Documentary made possible by a major donation from Arthur and Sara Jo Kobacker. Presented at The Wexner Center for the Arts sponsored by The Africa Network, The Ohio
Robin Post Lecturer InterACT Facilitator and Director InterACT Performances and Projects: • Health Center performance at the Wilce Health Center. • What Are You Accusing Me Of? CrossCultural Misunderstandings of Plagiarism and Academic Integrity. (University Center for the Advancement of Teaching (UCAT) & Graduate School). • A failure to Communicate, Keys to a Successful Advisor/Advisee Relationship in Graduate School (UCAT & Grad school). • Distressed & Disruptive students in the classroom (UCAT). • Underepresented in the Field (College of Nursing). • Prescription Drug Use (The College of Pharmacy). Supervisor and facilitator on this project. B.A. Student Liam Cronin director/ writer. This will be performed a second time at COSI on September 14th, 2010. • OSU/RSC partnership (Primary work with Math & Science teacher and students at Linden-Mckinley High School. Joy Reilly Associate Professor History, Literature and Criticism •
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Visited alumni Joe Maloney and Bonnie Milligan to see a rehearsal of their musical Hint, A Murderous New Musical in summer 2009. The production was selected for the Fringe Festival in NYC. Created a digital video about her Howling at the Moon Company that has been featured
Janet Parrott (center) accepting Dr. Robert Wagner’s University Film and Video Association Lifetime Service Award at the 2009 UFVA Conference at The University of New Orleans.
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in presentations at OSU through the Digital Union. Check it out at www.howlingatthemoon.org. Freshman comedy seminar resulted in two follow-up NYC internships for two students on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Samantha Bowling and Matt Starr), and for Starr also on Late Night with Dave Letterman.
Maureen Ryan Associate Professor Acting and Directing •
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Participated in a week-long residency at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratfordupon-Avon which was part of the OSU “Stand Up for Shakespeare” partnership. Directed Palmer Park at OSU which was part of the Big Ten “Common Script” initiative. Reprised her role as Dr. Barlow in a piece for InterAct that focuses on graduate advising and was written and directed by Robin Post. Directed Anton Chekhov’s The Three Sisters at OSU.
Mary Tarantino presents her Arts and Humanities Inaugural Lecture, “Visualizing Lighting Design: Exploring Art, Craft, Research and Collaboration.”
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Beth Josephsen Simon Undergraduate Studies Coordinator
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Performed the role of Mother in the Arbor Avenue Film production of Eroded which premiered in June 2010. Performed the role of Hetty in Solstice Theatre Company’s production of Overtones in April 2010. Performed the roles of Jim’s Mother/Anne Bonny in Actors’ Theatre of Columbus production of Treasure Island from May June 2010.
Mark Shanda Chair and Professor Design and Technology •
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Chaired the University Level Advisory Committee on General Education that developed the new semester based general education requirements. Chaired the search committee for the new Director of the School of Music. Member of the Board of Directors of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) and was elected Vice President for Communications for that organization. Led a workshop at the USITT National Conference and Stage Expo and exhibited, along with Jim Knapp, the “Turntable Drive Mechanism” from March of 1997 as part of the Tech Expo retrospective. Attended on behalf of the department, the Big Ten Theatre Chairs conference in
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Madison, WI and the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST) Retreat in Boston, MA. Conducted the program review of Cleveland State University and served on the NAST program review team for Montclair State. Consulted on the renovation of the Weathervane Playhouse in Newark, OH. Served as an external tenure reviewer for Michigan State and Arizona State Universities. Published “Jaroslav Malina Paintings and Design – Exhibiting a Master” in Theatre Design and Technology and “Tracking Down Tenure” in Stage Directions. Celebrated his 25th Wedding Anniversary with his wife Ginny.
Mary Tarantino Professor Design and Technology Director, The Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute • •
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Promoted to the Rank of Full Professor. Inaugural Lecture, “Visualizing Lighting Design: Exploring Art, Craft, Research and Collaboration,” Wednesday, November 18, 2009, Faculty Club-Grand Lounge. Lighting Designer for A Song for Coretta Department of Theatre. Lighting Designer for The Mystery of Irma Vep - Contemporary American Theatre Company. Had an article published in the American Society for Theatre Research’s Resources. Completed essay for the United States Institute for Theatre Technology publication Late and Great. Appointed Director of the Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute.
Jeanine Thompson Associate Professor Acting and Directing • •
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O Pioneers!: Researched, conceived and prepared to direct and choreograph this OSU production. Movement Coach for Palmer Park at OSU directed by Mo Ryan. Co-Directed (with Geoff Nelson) The Mystery of Irma Vep, a two-person, multiple character farce for CATCO, with the Artistic Director, Geoff Nelson, and Associate Director, Jon Putnam, cast as the actors.
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Drama for Seniors Competition, and from the Institute’s archives. Last year, readings were held of Nancy Gall-Clayton’s The Snowflake Theory, in conjunction with the Hillel Foundation and the Columbus Jewish Foundation, and scenes from Pinter’s works to mark his Nobel Prize. Conducted a week-long workshop for playwrights at the Senior Theatre U.S.A. Conference in Asheville, N.C., in early June. Both Alan and Joy Reilly are founding members of the STUSA Board of Directors. Led a discussion on the African Queen at the Gateway Cinema as part of the Kiss Me c/Kate Film Discussion Series.
Dave Williams Associate Professor Ohio State Newark Campus
Chris Zinkon Lecturer Assistant Technical Director
Improv performances: • Instructed, rehearsed, and performed with “Outside the Box” weekly, autumn and winter quarters, 2009-2010; performances on campus, December 9, 2009 and March 10, 2010.
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Readings: • Director, Performer. October 2, 2009. “Richard Armour’s Poetry (reading)”. Newark, OH. • Director, Performer, April 9, 2010. “Selections From Beowulf (reading)”. Newark, OH. Full productions: • Painting Churches, November 12–21 • (director, set designer, lighting designer, sound designer, carpenter, performer and publicist.) • Psych, March 4–13 (director, set designer, • lighting designer, sound designer, carpenter, and publicist.) •
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Provided Technical Direction for OSU productions of Summer and Smoke and Men in White. Attended and participated in the 50th anniversary USITT convention in Kansas City. Designed, created, transported and helped staff a new department display booth at the USITT convention stage expo. Participated in a Stage Automation Workshop in Rhode Island. Served as Sound Designer and Scenery Automation Designer for Pickerington High School North productions of White Christmas and The Outsiders.
Published article, “Peripheral Expressions: Marginal Drawings in Samuel Beckett’s Endgame: The Journal of Beckett Studies, May 2010. Presented “Peripheral Expressions: Marginal Drawings in Samuel Beckett’s Endgame MATC Conference, Cleveland, March 5, 2010.
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Theatre students constructing a set as guided by Assistant Technical Director Chris Zinkon (far left).
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alumni and friends Alumni and Friends News Compiled, Researched and Edited by Damian Bowerman and Erika Hanes
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Diane Borger (M.A. 1980) According to Stage Directions magazine, “Diane Borger joined the American Repertory Theatre in fall 2009 as the Executive Producer for Sleep No More, and will now be taking on the full-time position of Producer for the A.R.T. Diane spent over a decade as General Manager at the Royal Court Theatre in London, where she produced over one hundred and fifty productions, including The Seagull, Rock’n’Roll, and The Weir, which she also transferred to Broadway in New York. Previously Diane spent thirteen years as Deputy Head of the National Theatre of Great Britain’s Studio, where she oversaw the readings and workshops and classes for some of the most prominent playwrights, actors and directors in the United Kingdom.”
L.J. Houdyshell (M.F.A. 1990) L.J. worked as the Art Director on the television shows Chuck and Melrose Place.
Kevin Connell (B.F.A. 1987) Kevin directed a reading of Marivaux’s The Triumph of Love (1732) at the National Black Theatre in October 2009. He is an Associate Professor of Theatre Arts at Marymount Manhattan College. John S. Kuhn (M.F.A. 1983) John directed Treasure Island and Much Ado About Nothing for Actors’ Theatre of Columbus in summer 2010. Diane Wondisford (M.F.A. 1982) Music-Theatre Group opened its doors to summer long theater activities dedicated entirely to adolescent girls. The brand new program called GUMBO (GIRLS. Under.the.Manhattan.Bridge.Overpass) was originated by Vibe Theater’s Dana Edell, and in collaboration with Brenda Currin (co-founder, What Girls Know), Lesley Mazzotta & Music-Theatre Group’s Producing Director Diane Wondisford. Diane also produced a new music theatre work in process called Saturnalia with the Music-Theatre Group.
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Michael Milligan (B.A 1995) and John Kuhn (B.A. 1995) Michael wrote Heroine, which was directed by John Kuhn and presented by On the Verge Productions in association with ad hoc theatre company at Madlab Theater. It is the story of an actor struggling with addiction and his sister’s undaunted attempt to save him. Michael was in the cast of the Broadway production of August: Osage County by Tracy Letts in 2009. Glenn Peters (M.F.A. 1999) Glenn played Howie Newsome in a production of Our Town at Pioneer Theatre in Salt Lake City. Mikell Pinkney (Ph.D. 1999) Mikell worked a newly created production based on student travels to Rwanda during spring break called WHERE CAN WE RUN?: USE YOUR WORDS.
2000s David Atkinson (B.A. 2004) and Anjeanette Stokes (M.F.A. 2005) David was Project Manager and Anjeannette was Associate Lighting Designer for the Blaze Nightclub On Royal Caribbean’s Oasis Of The Seas. The installation received an excellence award from Live Design. Xela Batchelder (Ph.D. 2006) Xela has been a professor of Entertainment and Arts Management at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania since 2008. Her career also includes 13 years experience as an Executive and Artistic Director for Rocket Venues, one of the venues at the world’s
largest arts festival – the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Betty Blockinger (B.A. 2006) Betty performed in the Solstice Theatre Company’s production of Overtones at the Gateway Film Center in April 2010. Laura Butler (B.A. 2003) Laura completed her album, Crushing Blue Cupcakes, and had a CD release party in May at Sidewalk Cafe in New York. Go to to her website: www.laurabutlernyc.com to get more information. Lise “Kat” Evans (M.F.A. 2006) Lise was a performer in the Nutcracker at Jedlicka Performing Arts Centre. She also performed in A Year In the Death of Eddie Jester. Laura (Simpson) Gale (B.A. 2002), Allyson Morgan (B.A. 2004), and Joseph Schultz (B.A. 2003) continue their work with the New York Theatre Experiment. Their 2010 season included One NYTE Stands, a free monthly reading series including Take Me Out, The Crucible, and Tartuffe. NYTE launched its newly expanded Lift Every Voice program in the spring. It is an evening of new works by New York City high school students, created and performed in collaboration with members of the NYTE community, including three B.A. Theatre students from OSU. The NYTE 2010 mainstage production was the world premiere of Up, Up, Down, Down by acclaimed playwright Barton Bishop. Antonio Garcia (M.F.A. 2006) Antonio’s solo show Nobody was part of a series of new works at Manhattan Theatre Source. Kathleen Gonzales (M.F.A. 2002) Kathleen performed her piece The Bridge of Bodies - A Haitian American Tale of Self and Cultural Discovery at
Tanya McBride (M.F.A. 2006) Tanya played Sue Giki in the Pavement Group production of punkplay by Gregory Moss and directed by David Perez at the Steppenwolf Garage. Check out www.pavementgroup.org for more information.
Kiana Harris and John Wesley Shipp in a scene from Separation Anxiety.
the Atlas Performing Arts Center as a benefit performance for Haiti earthquake relief efforts. The performance was part of Intersections - A New America Arts Festival.
Gordon Holey (B.A. 2001) Gordon is a trained Master Puppeteer in Texas. He recently worked on Little Shop of Horrors with Benjamin Shurr (B.A. 2001).
Robin Gordon (M.F.A. 2000) Robin accepted a teaching position at Warner Pacific College in Portland, Oregon.
Laura Hum (B.A. 2008) Laura was hired to work with The Second City in Chicago as an understudy stage manager for three touring companies. She took over one of the tours called GreenCo on March 1st and toured with them as an Equity Stage Manager.
Justin Hagovsky (B.A. 2003) Justin is now the Technical Director at Carolina Ballet in Raleigh, North Carolina. Kiana Harris (M.F.A. 2009) Kiana was nominated for best actress at the Trail Dance Film Festival and Naperville Independent Film Festival for her role in Glass City. She played Jess in the Glass City Film Separation Anxiety with Polly Adams and two-time Emmy award winner John Wesley Shipp. She directed Same Time, Next Year for Oil Lamp Theatre, performed in Gilgamesh at New Leaf Theatre, movement directed and acted in Street Scene with National Pastime Theatre Ensemble, directed for the Prologue Theatre Company at the Landmark Festival, directed the Prologue Theatre production of Social Movements and Lesser Wars by Jess Gyori-Eisenberg, and played the title role in Traveling Lantern Theatre Company’s touring production of Pinocchio. Kiana teaches for The Beverly Arts Center of Chicago.
Jordan Kardasz (M.F.A. 2008) Jordan lives in Chicago where she has been working on several productions as a lighting designer. Brittany Kiefer (B.A. 2007) Brittany has been touring with Walking with Dinosaurs for the past two years. She has moved from working on dino skins to carpentry. Robert Lublin (Ph.D. 2003) Robert was granted tenure and promoted to Associate Professor at UMass Boston. He teaches a course called “Theatre in London.” As a part of this class, he and a group of students went to London for 10 days during which they attended 11 theatrical productions, including two at the Globe, two at the Old Vic, productions at the National, the New Vic, the West End, and more. He is also involved with the Research Center for Urban Cultural History, a research center on campus that invites speakers to campus.
Julie Ann McMillan (M.F.A. 2009) Julie Ann taught acting and directing in “A Summer of Shakespeare” as Drama Director at Wagon Road Day Camp in Chappaqua, NY. She also worked for Kid’s Theatrix Summer Camp in Scarsdale where she directed Peter Pan, The Wizard of Oz, and Annie, each in just five days. She is now a teaching artist at Porch Light Productions in Glen Rock, NJ. Check it out at: www.porchlightproductions.org.
Tanya McBride (far left) in a scene from punkplay.
Johamy Morales (M.F.A. 2009) Johamy lives in New Orleans where she stage managed a production of The Wizard of Oz for St. Martins private school with elementary, middle, and high school kids. She married Matt McCarren (M.F.A. 2008) in May 2010. Joe Neikirk (B.A. 2003) and Emily Matthews (B.A. 2001) Congratulations to Joe and Emily on the birth of their son, Ezekiel David Neikirk. Ezekiel was born on March 18, 2010 at 1:36pm. He was 7 lbs, 11 oz and 19 inches long. Shane Needham (B.A. 2008) Shane was an extra in Ironman 2.
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Cole Simon (center) on the set of Separation Anxiety.
Kal Poole (M.F.A. 2009) and Dwayne Blackaller (M.F.A. 2009) Kal and Dwayne spent much of the year working on projects with their theatre company, Whistling in the Dark, a new Columbus theatre company composed of ‘tinkerers, tipplers, and theatrical alchemists’ dedicated to the invention of new works and the reanimation of the classics. With each performance WITD provides internships and educational opportunities for emerging artists and students to work alongside professionals of the highest caliber. In October 2009, they staged The Woman in Black at the Columbus Performing Arts Center. Kal also taught at OSU Marion and Clark State Community College. Dwayne was a performer for the Titanic exhibit at COSI. Terry Schoone-Jongen (Ph.D. 2007) Terry completed law school at The George Washington University Law School and has applied for the Maryland bar exam. Megan Schutt (M.F.A. 2006) Megan was named Director of Educational Outreach for First Folio Theatre, the Oak Brook-based Equity company founded in 1996 as First Folio Shakespeare Festival. Megan will take the reins of First Folio’s educational programming, building on burgeoning outreach efforts that Vesely estimates have already reached
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over 125,000 Illinois students through programs including Master Shakespeare and his Stories (for elementary schoolers) and the high-school friendly, 50-minute Midsummer Night’s Dream. For more infomation about First Folio, go to www. firstfolio.org. Megan also appeared in The Wonder: A Woman Keeps a Secret in August with the Boho Theatre at Heartland Studio. Joel Searls (B.A. 2007) Joel was promoted to First Lieutenant in the United States Marines in August 2009. Has now served in billets of Platoon Commander, Battery Executive Officer, Acting Battery Commander along with Battalion Adjutant, Legal Officer and Safety Officer. He successfully assisted in the 2010 Commanding Generals Inspection for the unit. Also, Joel was sent to Yuma, AZ to support the Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course (WTI) with 50 Marines as the Acting Battery Commander for Bravo Battery. He is now augmented to MTACS-28 (Marine Tactical Air Command Squadron-28) and is preparing to deploy for 1-11 to Operation Enduring Freedom. Elizabeth Shurr (B.A. 2001) and Benjamin Shurr (B.A. 2001) Elizabeth teaches at Staley Middle School in Texas where she directed Beauty and the Beast. She is also the head
costumer for the Frisco Rough Riders (minor league baseball team to the Texas Rangers). Liz was nominated to be the Head of Communications of the South West United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) symposium. Benjamin is the Technical Theatre Director at Frisco High School in Texas where he worked on Little Shop of Horrors with Gordon Holey (B.A. 2001). They attended the Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas in summer 2009 to study moulage make-up. Cole Simon (B.A. 2007) Cole continued to work with Glass City Films. Their first film, Glass City, was nominated at the Trail Dance Film Festival in Oklahoma for Best Actor (Scott Wilson, M.F.A. 2009), Best Actress (Kiana Harris, M.F.A. 2009), and Best Director (Cole Simon), and won the coveted Golden Drover award for Best Drama. His second big project was directing and performing in a film adaptation of the play Separation Anxiety by Jeremy Sony. Cole also appeared in the Promethean Theatre Ensemble production of Spring Awakening at The Artistic Home in Chicago. Jody Stevenson (B.A. 2003) Jody was featured in a music video for See What I’m Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary, a feature
film directed and produced by Hilari Scarl which premiered at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood on March 18, 2010. For more information visit: seewhatimsayingmovie.com Jennifer Stoessner (Ph.D. 2008) Jennifer is the author of Kermit Culture: Critical Perspectives on Jim Henson’s Muppets. She was also published in Puppetry International, writing a profile on Heather Henson and one on Basil Twist. She currently works at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, California as the education programs associate. Katherine Blair Thornton (B.A. 2007) Katherine completed an internship in technical theatre at the Olney Theatre Center in Olney Maryland. She then accepted a position as a Properties Carpenter in St. Louis, Missouri at Stages St. Louis where she built props and furniture for their season of Broadway musicals. She is currently working backstage at a small performing arts center in California and working with the Education Department at the Norris Performing Arts Center. Scott Wilson (M.F.A. 2009) Scott Douglas Wilson is working as an actor at The Performance Project / Puppet Network. He also won Best Actor for the film Glass City at the Naperville Film Festival. Nar Williams a.k.a. Brian Otting (B.A. 2006) After graduating from OSU, Nar Williams became an Acting Fellow at the Contemporary American Theater Company (CATCO), a stage he frequented for many years, perhaps most notably in the role of Jeff in Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero, for which he was honored with CATCO’s Artist of the Year Award in 2003. Nar performed in several stage productions in Ohio, including his dream role of Edmund Tyrone in Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night at Stage First Cincinnati. Nar moved to Hollywood, where he’s starred in countless TV pilots, voice over spots, online videos, and films, including a turn as the quintessential Pizza Guy opposite Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones in the comedy Man of the House. Nar also began a career as a TV host
and producer. He’s hosted G4’s Attack of the Show, served as a film critic for Current TV’s Rotten Tomatoes Show, and is currently the host of Science of the Movies on the Discovery Science Channel, which provided him with one of his childhood dreams: his very own Nar Williams action figure! Amy Witherby (B.A. 2009) Amy is is currently interning at the Trinity Repertory in Providence. She benefited greatly by some Kirby Wyatt Scholarship funds to attend USITT and launch her career. She applied for the Yale School of Drama for autumn 2010 admission.
Friends News Albert H. Martin Albert retired after 62 years in academic, amateur and summer theatre. Judi Ann Mason Judi died in July 2009. After a private family ceremony in Los Angeles, she was cremated and taken to Africa where her new movie was being filmed. Rex McGraw Rex directed and played Serebryakov in the Marion Arts Center production of Uncle Vanya in November 2009.
Don Nigro Don, an English graduate of The Ohio State University, has written over 300 plays, which are being published by Samuel French. Craig Pentak (B.A. Film Studies, Video Production, 2009) Craig, who graduated from OSU with an undergraduate degree in film studies received “Best Editing” Award at the Palermo International Awards in Italy. Thanks to funding from a donor account in theatre, Craig was able to attend the Festival. Craig grew up in Columbus, was in the OSU Honors Program and created a Personalized Study Program in film studies for his undergraduate degree. His advisor in theatre was Professor Janet Parrott. Craig’s website (www.craigpentak.com) speaks to his video projects, clients for whom he’s shot video, including National Geographic, and other awards he’s won. He is also a working editor at WOSU-TV, including when he was a full-time student. Dana P. Rowe and John Dempsey Ohio State Alums Dana and John are the authors of The Fix and The Witches of Eastwick. Most recently, their musical Zombie Prom: A Musical has been adapted for film. The movie stars RuPaul as the strict teacher.
Alumni and Friends We want to hear from you! Please send updates and photos to: theatre@osu.edu or encore The Ohio State University Department of Theatre 1089 Drake Performance & Event Center 1849 Cannon Drive Columbus, OH 43210-1208
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year in review Jaroslav Malina: Crossing Paths in Painting and Design By Damian Bowerman, Graduate Studies and Publicity Coordinator “Jaroslav Malina: Crossing Paths in Painting and Design,” was held in conjunction with the OSU Urban Artspace exhibit “Jaroslav Malina: Paintings and Designs” January 13, 2010 on the 11th floor of the Thompson Memorial Library. The symposium was convened by Joe Brandesky, curator of the Jaroslav Malina exhibit and Professor of Theatre at The Ohio State University, Lima. Participants included Dennis Christilles, University of Kansas; Marketa Fantova, Alfred University; Del Unruh, University of Kansas; Ed Valentine, The Ohio State University. Recognized as one of the most influential theatre designers in the world, Jaroslav Malina is a pioneer of “action design,” using non-traditional materials and techniques to transform the stage. Born in Prague in 1937, Malina studied at Charles University and the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. He has served as a faculty member at universities in the United States, Japan, Finland and Great Britain, and as the general commissioner of the Prague Quadrennial (International Theatre Design and Architecture Exposition). In recent years his designs for operas have been staged in Germany and Italy. His career spans more than 40 years and includes more than 450 set and costume designs for theatre, film, and television, as well as 30 one-man exhibitions of his scenography, paintings, graphics, and posters. His non-stage work, or “free work” as he calls it, and his scenic designs are inextricably linked. “Jaroslav Malina: Paintings and Designs” was at the OSU Urban Space through
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Joe Brandesky (far right) convenes the symposium and presents the exhibit catalogue.
Friday, January 15, 2010. This exhibition featured more than 65 works of art including his lyrical, layered paintings along with set-designs and posters from the mid-1960s to the present. Viewers also had the opportunity to see sketches, photography and a video interview of Malina himself.
commercial production to fringe and experimental theatre. Highlights include a new English translation and reimagining of the Puccini opera La Bohème; new plays by Howard Brenton, Alan Bennett, Moira Buffini, and Anya Reiss; and The Great Game: Afghanistan, a three-part, nine-hour cycle exploring the social and political complexities of Afghan history.
London Study Abroad By Melissa Lee (Ph.D. Student) In August 2010, Arts and Humanities Distinguished Professor of Theatre Lesley Ferris led a group of eleven undergraduate and seven graduate students on a five-week long study abroad program in London, England. Resident Director Ferris was assisted in-country by Associate Professor of Theatre Kristine Kearney and three Department of Theatre graduate students Jarod Wilson (M.F.A), Melissa Lee (Ph.D.), and Ian Pugh (Ph.D.). The group took up residence in central London and attended 23 performances as part of the program’s required full academic course load. Ferris and Kearney co-taught Theatre 674: Contemporary British Theatre.Designed to take advantage of the diverse British theatre scene, the course balanced classroom work with theatre-going, exposing students to the full spectrum of performance and production, from new works to classics, from West End
Students participating in Fox Carnival Band dance workshop.
There was also a rich offering of Shakespeare, including productions at the reconstructed Globe Theatre on London’s South Bank and a two-night trip to Stratford-upon-Avon. In Stratford, the group attended four RSC productions, including Michael Fentiman’s innovative version of Hamlet designed specifically for younger audiences, part of the RSC’s Stand up for Shakespeare program. Following the performance, students participated in a workshop led by Fentiman where they worked with RSC actors Dharmesh Patel and David Rubin, who played Hamlet and Claudius respectively. While in Stratford, students
who will work on OSU’s production of Othello in Winter 2011 were able to meet with RSC’s Alison Bomber who will join the OSU Department of Theatre as director-in-residence to produce Othello featuring OSU’s M.F.A acting students. London’s Notting Hill Carnival, which takes place the final Bank Holiday weekend in August, was another focus of the program and provided additional opportunity to combine classroom study with hands-on experience. In the pre-departure course at OSU spring 2010, Ferris focused on the history of the Trinidadian-derived carnival tradition in London and its performative roots. In London, the group paired up with Fox Carnival Band, a children’s “mas band” and took to the streets of Notting Hill enjoying soca music, parading children’s art, and promoting Fox’s 2010 theme of “A Sea of Just People!”
Zackary Houston, Kelsey Bates, Jarod Wilson, Peter Cutts, Marty Savolskis, Audrey Rush, Chelsea Phillips, Lesley Ferris, Aaron Zook, Carolyn Cutri, Charlesanne Rabensburg, and Lesley Fisher celebrating the success of The Camouflage Project.
Students also pursued their own research through various internships. Several students were full-time interns at Fox Carnival Band, while others, doing advanced graduate work, were able to conduct interviews with British theatre artists and do archival research. M.F.A. Designers interned at the Royal Court Theatre and spent a one-on-one session with designer Jo Town, a former associate at the Royal Court. Other guest lecturers included Carnival Studies specialist Adela Ruth Tompsett on the roots of Notting Hill Carnival; playwright and actor Kwame Kwei-Armah on Black British theatre; Jatinder Verma, Artistic Director of Tara Arts, on multiculturalism; and Matt Woolf, theatre critic for the International Herald
When it comes down to it I am hard pressed to come up with a favorite in a trip filled with amazing experiences. It could be seeing a baroque opera in the Estates Theatre in Old Town Prague. The Estates was the stomping grounds for W.A. Mozart and was where he premiered Don Giovanni.
David Rubin and Dharmesh Patel with students at RSC workshop led by Michael Fentiman
Tribune, on the state of British theatre. The trip culminated in a workshop production of The Camouflage Project: Disguise and Deception—The Making of an SOE Secret Agent at Theatro Technis on September 1. Part of a larger collaboration between the OSU Department of Theatre and the Advanced Computing Center for Art and Design (ACCAD), co-project director Ferris teamed up with British theatre director Peter Cutts to work with the student ensemble over the London program’s five weeks to devise an original work based on Special Operation Executive (SOE) oral histories, interviews, and military documentation. Following the performance, there was a panel discussion which included Ferris, Cutts, and Nicholas Rankin, author of Churchill’s Wizards: The British Genius for Deception 1914-1945. The Camouflage Project will have its world premiere May 12–27, 2011 at OSU.
Trip to Czech Republic
It could be Old Town Square decked out for the winter holidays with lights, music and horse and carriage rides. Wine and food stalls and stages with live music, giving the crowd varied excuses to socialize and make merry while waiting for the elaborate display of the Millennia Clock striking the hour. Perhaps it was strolling in and out of shops looking for cool Christmas gifts and enjoying the hand crafted marionettes (a Czech tradition dating back centuries) and the myriad shapes and sizes of the different elaborate designs possible, from the marionette shops.
The Czech Republic Study Abroad Class of 2009.
Maybe it was the cabaret theatre we saw in Brno….or it could have been the hysterical satire about Hitler rising to power that was so funny and well done it didn’t matter that it was not in English. Maybe it was the bawdy marionette version of Don Giovanni. Who knows?!!
By Greg Owen, Assistant Professor Going to the Czech Republic with Joe Brandesky’s Czech theatre class was even more fun and interesting the second time. I went the first time in the summer of 2007, when I was in graduate school and that was an amazing time. Accompanying the trip, as a newly (ish) minted faculty member was even better in the winter of 2009.
The thing that made the biggest singular impression had to have been Ceský Krumlov and the actual complete working Baroque theatre (one of two on the whole planet) with the raked stage and working wing panels and flying pieces. Not only did we see it!...We got the back stage tour of how it all worked from underneath! We saw how centuries ago, it only took a few of my bretheren stage hands less than fifteen seconds to change
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Students enjoying the sights outside of St. Barbara in Kutná Hora, CZ.
Caption: M.F.A. Acting student Hannah Rockey as Diana Vreeland in an excerpt from Full Gallop, by Mark Hampton & Mary Louise Wilson in the Department of Theatre New Works Lab, May 2010.
from one complete stage setting to the next with no electricity, no modern machinery, just simple and intelligent rigging mechanics….and plenty of royal patronage.
was there to watch the world shrink and open up to some first time travelers-abroad. As well as reinforcing that there is more to my planet and my species than my tiny corner of Ohio.
We toured all over the city by foot and by train, we even took a dinner cruise down the Vltava river on our last night. We saw so much history and cultural richness. Architecture, museums, castles…we saw the beautiful and the less than beautiful.
Students strike a familiar pose in front of the 15th C. Astronomical clock on Old Town Street in Prague, CZ.
Going on this trip after studying Czech theatre history was just so filled with so many moments of connection between what we had studied and where we were specifically standing at a given moment. As someone who has traveled plenty by his intrepid lonesome, taking this trip with a specific focus, with a group of people was fantastic. I learned so much about the history and the art, but I also learned a lot by traveling with a group. I grew closer to the people I knew, and I made some new friends as well. I am particularly pleased to say I
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Remembering Joe
the director and the design team, and provide gossip and details about how well everyone got along … or did not. Joe stayed in touch with multiple alumni and as one former colleague wrote, “If Roy Bowen was Mr. Theatre in Ohio, than Joe Scharrer was Mr. Theatre Box Office.”
On November 27, 2009, our longtime box office manager Joe Scharrer died after a short stay in hospice care. Joe was a lifelong Buckeye having received his B.A. degree in 1948 and his M.A. degree in 1955 from Ohio State. The employment records for those early years of Joe’s life on the campus are a bit sketchy, but his first recorded payment for services to the Department of Theatre that we can find occurred in the 1953-54 season working as a “speech technician” charged with operating the box office. However, we are quite certain that Joe was engaged with the OSU theatre activities several years before that.
Over 75 people attended a special service held in the Roy Bowen Theatre on February 28, 2010 celebrating Joe. To find a way to honor Joe’s memory the Ohio State Department of Theatre in conjunction with the Central Ohio Theatre Roundtable launched the “Joseph F. Scharrer – Phantom of the Theatre Award.” This award will be given annually to a person or persons who provide critical tasks to make a production company work, but are truly an unsung hero. The award will be presented at the annual Roundtable awards ceremony. In addition, memorial funds are being accepted by the department in Joe’s honor and being added to the Bowen Theatre fund for physical improvements to the theatre space.
In 1956, Joe accepted a half-time Graduate Teaching Associate position with a salary of $200 per year to operate the box office while pursuing his Ph.D. Shortly thereafter, Joe moved from half time to full time in 1958 and took complete charge of box office operations for the Department of Theatre, holding that post until he retired in 2002. In addition to operating the box office, Joe became the institutional memory for the department. He could cite every show that was produced during his tenure, remember who performed what role and what they were now doing, list
Joe Scharrer
By Mark Shanda, Chair and Professor
Pentak Receives ‘Best Editing’ Award Originally posted by Michael Grossberg on his Theatre Talk blog
achieved as much as I did during my time at Ohio State,” he wrote her. Pentak’s website covers his video projects, clients for whom he’s shot video, including National Geographic, and other awards he’s won. He is also a working editor at WOSU-TV, including when he was a full-time student. For more information, visit Craig’s website: craigpentak.com
Lift Every Voice Craig Pentak accepts the award for Best Editing at the Palermo International Awards.
Thanks to funding from a donor account in Ohio State University’s theater program, recent graduate Craig Pentak (B.A. Film Studies, Video Production 2009) was able to attend the Palermo International Awards festival in Italy, where he won a ‘Best Editing’ award.
Every year, the Department of Theatre partners to support New York Theatre Experiment’s (NYTE) Lift Every Voice program, an innovative new arts education program committed to using theatre to reach out to New York City’s young people. Three company members who form the New York Theatre Experiment (NYTE) are OSU Alumni: Laura Gale (B.A. 2002) Allyson Morgan (B.A. 2004) and Joey Schultz (B.A. 2003). Here are reflections from two B.A. Theatre Students who participated in the program this year.
Pentak, who graduated from OSU with an undergraduate degree in film studies By Jessi Biggert on December 13, grew up in Columbus, was in the OSU Honors Program and During my participation in the Lift Every created a Personalized Study Program in film studies for his undergraduate degree. Voice program I witnessed the true transformative power of theatre. In a mere 12 hours these kids accomplished Janet Parrott, a recipient of the something that seemed insurmountable; university’s Distinguished Teaching starting from a handful of scripts to Award, was his advisor in theater. producing an entire show. The students directed and acted in the plays they “The ceremony was really nice, they held had written; accomplishing much. They it in a nice opera house, and a popular gained confidence in their abilities, not Italian TV personality was the host. It just in theatre. If they can accomplish was a bit nerveracking because the something as big as producing their entire thing was in Italian, but I don’t think I bumbled around too much when I very own show, then they can overcome future obstacles in their life. accepted the award (hopefully),” Pentak wrote Parrott in an email. It was such a rewarding experience to participate as a staff member in “Thanks for being my adviser on the this program. Being able to assist and project, and thanks for being my adviser facilitate this impactful experience was all throughout college. Without your life changing for me as well. I realized guidance I certainly would not have how powerful a single day can be in
someone’s life. Some of the kids we work with face unimaginable hardships. Just showing up is half the battle. If we can give them just one day, we can make a difference. I believe every city needs a program like this. By Chris Ray Lift Every Voice is not just another activity that kids do in which they sit and listen to lectures and are told how to do something. Lift Every Voice is not average, plain, or dull. Lift Every Voice is an incredible, life-changing opportunity that I was graciously given the ability to partake in. I not only learned new things for my future career in theatre education, but learned how important and special children truly are and how artistic and creative they can be in such a short amount of time. I saw risks, jaw-ripping emotions, and talent. These things I saw from children who at first glance look like any others - boy, was I wrong. They are creative individuals with a passion in the theatre arts who simply need an opportunity to share their craft with the world. From the moment these young adults walked in the room until our final goodbyes on the performance night I was blown away. Just when I thought the students had given everything they had to offer - they pushed the envelope even more. This was certainly an eyeopener for me because these are exactly the kind of students I would love to work with someday. This program reasserted my mission statement: all children have creative juices flowing, they simply need a little push to put them on display. Lift Every Voice took many studentwritten scripts and brought them to life - something that few children, sadly, actually get the opportunity to do. They were able to act, write, or direct these plays. During this weekend, I had the privilege to act in two student-written scripts and from the moment I read them I could not believe that they were indeed student-written. Such deep and truthful meanings from kids, whom I thought, hadn’t even experienced that much. I was wrong - and it was beautiful to realize how wrong I was. The direction I received was mature and specific and I forgot after a while that my director was actually a
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student involved in the program. This Lift Every Voice program broke down walls between staff and the students. We all became one entity striving towards a common goal: a performance.
Wexner Center Residencies By Jarod Wilson (M.F.A. Design Student) As an M.F.A. Design student, I have found the Wexner Center Residencies to be a fascinating opportunity to observe some new and innovative explorations of design and technology in action. Many of the pieces presented, including Panic and Continuous City, incorporated a heavy use of projections and video in a very integrated manner that was eye-opening for me as a lighting and scenic designer. The shows were great examples enhancing the live theatrical experience through pre-generated and live multimedia, which is an area in which I personally have had very little prior experience. In addition, the opportunity to converse with the performers and directors of the residency pieces is always very interesting and informative. Since virtually all of the pieces presented are ensemble-based new works that are still in progress in some way or other, it provides an opportunity to learn about the development process for a new work and to discover how it is still changing. It also is fascinating, as a designer, to learn how much some of the works were
M.F.A. Acting and B.A. Theatre students in the SITI Company Residency Workshop led by Tom Nellis (center).
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guided by technology throughout the process, and how the designers were an integral part of the rehearsals from the beginning, rather than arriving for technical rehearsals at the last minute. Overall, I have very much enjoyed getting a very different perspective of how theatre can be done by attending the Wexner Center Residencies, and I look forward to more in the coming year. By Aaron Zook (M.F.A. Acting Student) The Wexner Center welcomed world class theatre artists for performance/ residencies in 2009/2010, including the SITI Company and the Druid Theatre. I was consistently surprised and delighted at the caliber of work brought in by the Wexner Center. It was inspiring to observe how fearlessly theatre artists have continued to innovate outside of the constraints of the commercial theatre, while still securing appreciative audiences throughout the world. Talkback sessions and roundtable discussions made these events all the more valuable for students and faculty alike; the companies were consistently generous in sharing insights into their production/development process, as well as the guiding principles of their work. At times, the revelations provided were truly startling—as though a great magician had shared the trick behind a particularly impressive illusion. We were exposed to a great diversity of styles and philosophies, ranging from minimalist (Tim Crouch) to collaborative (SITI) to aggressively multimedia (Hotel Modern and Reid Farrington); observed the painstaking technical challenges of Gin & “IT” at an invited dress rehearsal; and learned at a talkback with Nature Theatre of Oklahoma that their performances are not memorized, but repeated in real time from recordings fed to the actors through earpieces. This terrific creative variety was not only inspiring, but has proved tremendously useful to the M.F.A. cohort as we begin to develop new works and
expand our notions of what is possible in the theatre. Perhaps most valuable was the SITI company’s weeklong residency, which included four days of intensive workshops in Viewpoints and Suzuki conducted by company members Stephen Webber and Tom Nellis. For several of us, this was a first glimpse into this kind of training; the insights gained informed our work, not only in our subsequent movement classes, but in our production work and teaching for the rest of the year.
Syndicate Hosts Second Annual Academic Symposium By Chris Matsos, Ph.D. Student and Syndicate President In conjunction with its May 2010 production of Anton Chekhov’s The Three Sisters, the Department of Theatre and The Syndicate, the theatre graduate student organization, hosted their second annual academic symposium, “Chekhov and After: Russian Theatre in a Revolutionary Age.” In recognition of the 150th anniversary of Chekhov’s birth, this two-day event explored the myriad ways in which Russian theatre of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century made an indelible mark on Western theatre history and practice. The symposium was very well attended, and featured presentations from OSU Theatre graduate students as well as students and faculty members from institutions around the world. Keynote speakers included Dr. Valleri J. Hohman, Assistant Professor of Theatre at the University of Illinois and a doctoral graduate of the Ohio State Department of Theatre, and Maria Ignatieva, Associate Professor of Theatre at The Ohio State University at Lima.
Grant Dollars Awarded A Sampling of Your Donations at Work By Eric Mayer, Administrative Coordinator Students in the Department of Theatre received over $50,000 in grants to support their research, internships and conference presentations. Here is a sample of some of the many special opportunities made possible by your donations to various department funds.
B.A. Students Kirby Wyatt Fund and American Playwrights Fund Eric Barker: Attended United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) Conference in Kansas City, MO. Jessi Biggert: Lift Every Voice Internship in New York, NY. Michelle Golden: Lift Every Voice Internship in New York, NY. Heath Monat: Attended United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) Conference in Kansas City, MO. Chris Ray: Lift Every Voice Internship in New York, NY. Kyle Rutkowski: Attended USITT Conference in Kansas City, MO. Andrea Schimmoeller: Attended USITT Conference in Kansas City, MO. Gabriel Solomon: Attended USITT Conference in Kansas City, MO.
Francis W. Davis Photography and Cinema Fund Craig Pentak: Attended Palermo International Awards Festival to receive “Best Editing” Award in Parlermo, Italy.
M.A. Students John C. Morrow Fund, Aida Cannarsa Snow Fund and Theatre Development Fund Chris Hill: Presented paper at the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) Conference in Los Angeles, CA. Gianna Pandolfi de Rinaldis: Participated in the American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR) Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico and participated in the London Theatre Program in London, United Kingdom. Francesca Spedalieri: Presented paper in the New Scholars Forum at the IFTR Conference in Munich, Germany and presented paper at the Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA) Conference in Montreal, Canada.
William Case Kramer Fellowship Francesca Spedalieri: Researched for thesis in Rome, Italy.
Ph.D. Students John C. Morrow Fund, Aida Cannarsa Snow Fund, Theatre Development and Other Funds Andrew Blasenak: Presented paper at the Blackfriar’s Conference in Stanton, VA. Johnathon Boyd: Attended American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR) Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico and presented paper at the Association for Hispanic Classical Theatre (AHCT) Conference in El Paso, TX. Jason Bush: Presented a paper at Hemispheric Institute of Performing and Politics Encuentro Conference in Bogota, Columbia and attended The American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR) Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Min A. Choi: Researched for ASTR working session on contemporary women playwrights in New York, NY.
for Asian Performance and ATHE Conference in New York, NY and conducted dissertation research and watched Seoul International Performing Arts festival in Seoul, People’s Republic of Korea. Emily Davis: Presented paper at The MidAmerica Theatre Conference (MATC) in Cleveland, OH. Pamela Decker: Attended the ATHE Conference in New York, NY and presented paper at IFTR Conference in Munich, Germany. Also received an Arts and Humanities Grant for the IFTR Conference. Seunghyun Hwang: Presented paper at the ASTR Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Charmel Joiner: Presented paper at the ASTR Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Melissa Lee: Presented paper IFTR Conference in Munic, Germany; participated in London Theatre Program in London, United Kingdom and participated in ASTR Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Also received and Arts and Humanities Grant for the ASTR Conference. Chris Matsos: Presented research as part of the Religion and Theatre Focus Group at the ATHE Conference in New York, NY. Chelsea Phillips: Participated in the London Theatre Program in London, United Kingdom and presented paper at the Blackfriars Conference in Stanton, VA. Ian Pugh: Presented paper at the IFTR Conference in Munich, Germany. Christopher M. Roche: Presented paper at the IFTR Conference in Munich, Germany. Matthew Yde: Presented a paper at the IFTR Conference in Munich, Germany and presented a paper at the ATHE Conference in New York, NY. Also received Arts and Humanities Grant for IFTR Conference.
Chu Young Chon: Attended Association
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William Kase Kramer Fellowship Ian Pugh: Researched for dissertation in London, United Kingdom.
M.F.A. Students Department Fund, John C. Morrow Memorial Fund, Aida Cannarsa Snow Fund and Theatre Development Fund Shiree Houf: Presented paper at Scenographer’s Conference as part of IFTR Conference in Lisbon, Portugal. Eric Mayer: Stage Management Internship with Wicked in New York, NY. Also received Arts and Sciences Grant for internship. Divya Nagarathinam Shenbaga Murthy: Participated in London Theatre Program in London, United Kingdom. Charlesanne Rabensburg: Participated in London Theatre Program in London, United Kingdom. Alison Vasquez: Attended the Voice And Speech Trainers Association, Inc. (VASTA) Conference in Mexico City, Mexico. Jarod Wilson: Attended the USITT Conference in Kansas City, MO. Aaron Zook: Participated in the London Theatre Program in London, United Kingdom.
Kirby Wyatt Fund Alex Kyle-DiPietropaolo: Summer Lighting Design and Technology Internship in New York, NY.
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William Case Kramer Theatre Research Fellowship Impact Statement – Devoted and Disgruntled with the Improbable Theatre Company Ian Pugh (Ph.D. Student) I arrived in London planning to attend the fifth annual Devoted and Disgruntled conference hosted by Improbable Theatre. I had previously traveled to New York City at the end of January 2010 to see the first Devoted and Disgruntled conference in the United States. This conference was also hosted by Improbable Theatre, and several of the theatre’s members were in New York working on the new Broadway musical The Addams Family. This experience primed me for the much larger conference in London. It was also at this time that I realized that while the focus I intended, spotlighting Improbable Theatre and their unique style in devising their plays, might not be the most revolutionary thing about this company. These conferences seemed to be on the cutting edge, supporting and exploring the theatre community’s potential and passion to reach far beyond the improbable. These conferences are a sort of devised performance in themselves, fitting with the culture and philosophy of Improbable’s company. The Devoted and Disgruntled event is built upon the ideas in Open Space Technology: A User’s Guide, by Harrison Owen. While I read about the Devoted and Disgruntled conference in a few theatre blogs when I started my study of the company, by and large, no academic attention has been paid to this conference, a conference aimed at theatre practitioners, but welcoming anyone who wants to attend. However, I was skeptical that an entire multi-day conference could come together with almost no planning and still accomplish anything of value for those
attending. Yet with several simple rules, the conference self assembled, issues were addressed, projects got started, new ideas were explored, and plans of action developed. This incidental experience, which I had planned as a small introduction to the London theatre scene, now piqued my academic interest and helped refocus my energies onto a different aspect of the theatre company than I had initially planned to study. After attending my second Devoted and Disgruntled conference, I became an advocate for the power of this experience in helping to guide, motivate, and unite disparate arts groups with the intention of bringing this type of conference to the Columbus community. The yearly Devoted and Disgruntled event is so popular that people don’t want to let the feeling of community, enthusiasm, and call to action to stop. To this end, there are now multiple groups throughout England that hold monthly Devoted and Disgruntled meetings. Using the same open space system, the meetings focus on single issues facing the theatrical community. The day before I returned to the United States, I was invited to come to the monthly London meeting through the friends I made at the annual event. The monthly meeting was much more informal but still boasted an impressive forty people (the annual event drew some 300 people this year). The group was just as friendly and enthusiastic (even when disgruntled) as at the larger conference. With so many Devoted and Disgruntled conferences taking place, I am reassured that this is an area of study that will
Lesley Ferris and Ian Pugh at the Department of Theatre End of Year Celebration.
provide ample material for rich academic discourse. Being able to attend conferences, rehearsals, and spending time working with the people at the center of the Improbable Theatre was a fruitful academic enterprise as well as a terrific life experience. The connections and information that I gathered could have been acquired no other way than to spend prolonged time working with Improbable’s company and staff. Not only was I afforded the opportunity to conduct and collect primary source material, I was able to live in the community, to see how the London theatre culture interacts with the work done by Improbable (and vice versus). The friendships and professional connections made during my time on the Kramer Fellowship are invaluable to my academic studies and future career aspirations. Because of my positive experiences from my academic trips, when I finish my studies at The Ohio State University, I plan to move to London to continue working in its dynamic, vibrant theatre scene.
“Tragedy, Translation, Ethnicity, and Imperialism” By Bethany Rainsberg (Ph.D. Student)
The cast of Persians in a scene from the staged reading.
In November, 2009, The Ohio State University’s Department of Theatre, Department of Classics, Department of English, The Middle East Studies Center, and the Creative Writing Program cosponsored a two-day interdisciplinary symposium “Tragedy, Translation, Ethnicity, and Imperialism” at the Blackwell Inn, Columbus, on the campus of The Ohio
State University. Sponsored by a Grant for Research and Creative Activity in the Arts and Humanities and a Grant for Faculty Study from the Office of International Education at The Ohio State University the symposium was held in conjunction with the Department of Theatre’s presentation of Stratos E. Constantinidis’ new translation of Aeschylus’ Classical Greek tragedy, Persians. Two Department of Theatre Ph.D. students, Matt Vadnais and Bethany Rainsberg, presented papers on the staging of Constantinidis’ translation of Aeschylus’ Persians. Vadnais, director of Persians, addressed the complexities of staging a Classical Greek Tragedy for twenty-first century audiences and Rainsberg, dramaturg of Persians, analyzed Constantinidis’ translation
The cast of Persians in a scene from the staged reading.
in relationship to other performance rewrites of Aeschylus’ plays in English and presented research from her dissertation, “Rewriting the Greeks: The Translations, Adaptations, Distant Relatives and Productions of Aeschylus’ Tragedies in the United States of America from 1900 to 2009.” The symposium included sessions on “The Persians in America,” “The Greeks in Persia,” “Herodotus and the Persians,” “Ethnicity and Colonialism,” and “Tragedy and Translation” and concluded with “An Essay/Performance on Translation” by Key-note speaker, Anne Carson (New York University) at the Roy Bowen Theatre, Drake Center.
Semester Conversion Update By Dan Gray, Associate Professor and Acting Chair In 2008 Chancellor Eric Fingerhut mandated that all four year colleges and universities in Ohio should be on a unified semester system. On March 12, 2009 the University Faculty Senate voted to support the conversion from quarters to semesters beginning in the 2012-13 academic year. Consequently, starting in the fall of 2009, the Department of Theatre faculty and staff began the somewhat daunting process of evaluating our current curriculum and how to best adapt it to the new semester calendar. We began the process by addressing the undergraduate major. The faculty and staff met several times to discuss requirements for the degree. In December of ’09 we gathered for a retreat to hammer out the details of the undergraduate major. After much productive work we developed a framework that re-affirmed our commitment to a B.A. which allowed a bit more flexibility for students to craft a more specialized major. Next came the task of re-examining the M.A., M.F.A. and Ph.D. programs. Each area of specialization (Acting/Directing, Design/Tech & HLC) met to determine what, if any, changes should be made to these programs. Each area took great care to evaluate the current curriculum, have frank discussions about what’s working and what could be better and make crucial changes to improve all our programs. As I write this article, our course and program templates are being forwarded to the Division of Arts and Humanities for initial screening. Once approved at that level they will move through the pipeline and eventually be approved by the Office of Academic Affairs. There are still several issues to be addressed in the upcoming year. All this will have significant impact on season planning. We continue working on a production calendar that addresses our production and curricular needs. We will also be fleshing out new course content,
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adapt existing syllabi and creating a workable course matrix. The calendar for the 2012-13 academic year is as follows. Autumn classes start August 22. Finals are December 6-12. Winter term starts January 7. Finals are April 24-30. There will be a May term that runs from May 6-31. Summer term runs June 10- July 31.
Royal Shakespeare Company Partnership
By Aaron Zook (M.F.A. Acting Student) The RSC partnership was an enormous factor in my choice of OSU for graduate study. The training in Stratford-upon-Avon, along with follow-up work in Columbus with our RSC partners, proved even more inspiring than I anticipated. “Stand up for Shakespeare” not only provides valuable tools for educators at the primary and secondary levels (while hopefully awakening a lifelong interest in Shakespeare’s plays in young people), but offers a series of valuable tools to the theatre artist, enriching script analysis through the lively and engaging process of dramatic inquiry. I have tended to take a “go it alone” approach to text—slogging it out alone at a desk with book in hand. The ensemble-based approach to interpretation was unfailingly
surprising, awakening multiple meanings (or stagings) of text that had grown sleepy with over-familiarity, or illuminating obscure passages that I had previously glossed over. I found the time in Stratford particularly valuable due to the reinforcement of our work sessions with observation of these approaches to text in action— for example, working on sections of Antony and Cleopatra by day, then seeing the play in production at the Courtyard Theatre that night. Invariably, spirited discussions of both the production and the text would follow—sometimes with members of the company. And it is impossible to describe the thrill of tackling text with members of the RSC– Voice/Speech Coach Alison Bomber, movement specialist Struan Leslie, and Artistic Director Michael Boyd all were most generous in their insight and guidance. Perhaps most remarkable was the readiness with which twenty teachers, ten actors, and a group of instructor/facilitators cohered into a working ensemble. The teachers were consistently adventurous, generous, and willing to play; as a result, every day was a journey of surprise and delight that left me thinking about the text differently— either in terms of my own rehearsal process or of the myriad processes available to arrive at the sharing of meaning (known more prosaically as “teaching”).
The implications of ensemble-building, as practiced by the RSC and demonstrated in the Stand up for Shakespeare curriculum, go far beyond what is necessary and useful on the stage; this training made me think about how it can be applied to virtually every situation in which one has to work with other human beings, whether in education, business, family, or living as a citizen of the world.
M.F.A. Acting students Tory Matsos and Kevin McClatchy work on a scene with RSC Voice Coach Alison Bomber in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Two Ohio State Theatre Lighting Design Alumni Honored By Pat Riechel, Arts and Sciences Communications Director Anjeannette Stokes and David Atkinson, both graduates of the lighting design program at Ohio State’s Department of Theatre received a “2010 Excellence in Live Design Award” from Live Design. This is the third annual Excellence in Live Design Awards, giving industry professionals the opportunity to be recognized among their peers. The award honors their work as part of a six-member team creating the lighting design installation for “Blaze”, a dance nightclub. What makes this particular nightclub special is that it is located on Royal Caribbean’s new cruise ship Oasis of the Sea. The ship is the largest to date.
M.F.A. Acting student Kevin McClatchy (standing left) works with several Columbus school teachers in a workshop with the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon.
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The design team chose fire as the central image and theme. Stokes, a 2005 M.F.A. graduate was associate lighting designer on the project, and Atkinson, who received his B.A. in 2004, was project manager. Atkinson, who has lighting, electrical, and programming expertise spent time in the shipyard, located in Tuku, Finland. “I helped supervise and install programming of the six entertainment spaces we designed,” said Atkinson.
By David Fisher, Lecturer and Buckeye TV Coordinator
The Blaze nightclub aboard Oasis of the Sea.
Stokes and Atkinson are involved in some land-based projects. One is working on designs to re-light Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. On a recent trip there, they explored the caves and inspected existing lighting.
News Director Rob Munoz continued the Buckeye TV streak by landing a job with KXXV TV in Waco, Texas. Rob follows the previous news directors Cara Shirley and Rob Sneed who both succeeded in securing employment in television straight from graduating from The Ohio State University. This year Buckeye TV students pioneered several new programs, including “OSU: Live”, and “Know It All” to complement the regular slate of “Buckeye 19 News”, “Music on Campus”, and the “Sport Perspective.” Tune in to Buckeye TV channel 19 or www.buckeyetv.com for all your campus news.
“It has been exciting to learn about how light affects the natural elements,” said Stokes. “We are really looking forward to enhancing the cave experience, while being responsible and respectful of the delicate environment.”
Anjeannette Stokes and David Atkinson.
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The Long Christmas Ride Home, spring 2010 Photo by Matthew J. Hazard
encore 2010