Spring 2016

Newsletter

The

Stage

Door

SPRING 2016 BOUNDLESS DANCE CONCERT

The University of Central Missouri’s Department of Theatre &

Dance will present their spring dance concert, Boundless, April

22nd at 6:30 p.m. and April 23rd at 1:00 p.m. and 4:00

p.m. April 24th will be a rain date at 1:00 p.m. and 4:00

p.m. Escaping the confines of the traditional stage for the out-

side world, boundaries disappear as choreographers are present-

ed with unique opportunities to create dances at various locations

on campus.

Beginning in the Highlander Theatre, patrons will visit seven

different dance sites on the beautiful UCM campus as this “site

specific” concert unfolds. Golf carts will be available for those

in need of assistance moving between sites. Admission is $12

for the general public, $10 for faculty, staff, senior citizens and

military and $7 for students. Tickets will be available at the box

office, Wood 128 beginning Monday, April 19th through Friday,

April 22nd from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Tickets may be reserved by call-

ing the box office at 660-543-8811 and will also be available at

the door and on-line at ucmo.edu/theatretickets.

Pictured: Chris Scott as Baptista, Stephanie Laaker as Kate,

and Leah Eggimann as Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew

April 6-10, 2016.

ED SEE OUTSTANDING THEA-

TRE ALUM PRESENTATION

The Ed See Outstanding Theatre

Alumnus Award was presented

to Donald L. Johnson on Satur-

day, April 9, 2016 at the perfor-

mance of The Taming of the

Shrew.

Dr. Ed See, on his retirement

from the University of Central

Missouri, established the Ed See

Outstanding Theatre Alumnus

Award through the University

Foundation. The purpose of the

endowment is to honor Universi-

ty of Central Missouri Theatre

alumni who have in some way

distinguished themselves in thea-

tre education, community theatre, or in some area of professional theatre

and have demonstrated commitment and love for the theatre arts. The

award recognizes those alumni who have honored their alma mater

through their dedication and various theatrical achievements.

Don graduated from Central Missouri State University in 1994 with a

Bachelor of Science in Education, Speech and Theatre with a minor in

English. Don began teaching in 1999 at Raytown South High School

until 2008. He returned to CMSU in 2001 to begin his post graduate

degree in the summers. In 2006 he graduated from the University of

Central Missouri with a Master of Arts in Theatre. He has

been teaching at Liberty High School since 2008. He has directed ap-

proximately 70 productions. Some of his favorites were All My Sons,

Hello, Dolly!, The Wizard of OZ, Macbeth, Death of a Salesman, and

Steel Magnolias. In 2003-2004 he was awarded Teacher of the Year at

Raytown South High School. In 2008-2009 he was awarded the Speech

and Theatre Association of Missouri Wayne Brown Award for Out-

standing Teacher. He has directed three first place one acts at the Mis-

souri State High School Activities Association Competition (2009,

2014, 2015), and has also directed 3 Best Actresses, 2 Best Actors, 2

Best Supporting Actors, and 1 Best Supporting Actress. Since joining

the Starlight Theater’s Blue Star Awards in 2012-2013 his productions

have been nominated for Outstanding Overall Musical every year and in

2013-14, Tarzan won Outstanding Overall Musical.

Department of Theatre & Dance

MERIDITH HARMON SAUER GUEST ARTIST Todd Potter was the

guest scenic designer for The Taming of the Shrew. During his stay

he held a workshop in the scene shop

REFLECTIONS FROM THE CHAIR

As our 2015-2016 academic year and production season journeys

towards its close, I want to offer up some thanksgivings as well as

highlight some accomplishments for which our department can be

very proud. First off, we were without Dr. Julie Mollenkamp most of

the year and she was sorely missed! I am thankful to UCM alum,

Phil Kinen who filled in academically with great enthusiasm and

resilience in her absence; and another alum, Jill Szoo Wilson who

took over the directing responsibilities for The Little Foxes. Both

these Theatre and Dance alums rose to and met all their challenges

with great aplomb.

Secondly, anytime there is a change in leadership, the smoothness of

the transition really depends not only on the new person, but the

previous Chair, and of course, the faculty in general. Understanding

this truth, I am indebted to Dr. Richard Herman’s 14 years of service

as our Chair and the template of managerial success he left as his

legacy. Thanks to Buzz for not retiring during this change, but re-

maining as a highly valued faculty member and subsequent mentor

to myself! Even more appreciated is the entire faculty’s willingness

to “jump on board” with new initiatives and responsibilities and con-

tinue the tradition of being artistically and programmatically collegi-

al. But it is Colette Tilden, our Office Professional who is the real

hero of my story this year. Without her, I truly believe our depart-

ment would be ripped apart in some kind of wormhole of chaos!

There was a lot to celebrate this year! We are in the midst of a three-

year collaboration with The Acting Company out of NYC. We had

multiple guest artists visit our campus, funded by the Meridith Har-

mon Sauer Guest Artists Series. Six pair of brand new legs for the

Highlander were acquired, along with a brand new floor in our Nick-

erson Black Box—all spearheaded by our excellent Dean, Dr. Ger-

sham Nelson. We had great regional success at KCACTF, including

sending our Irene Ryan winner, Nellie Maple to Washington, DC to

compete at the national festival. And we are about to embark on our

first ever Chicago Senior Showcase! There is much more to cele-

brate; and these are hopefully signposts of greater things to come for

The Department of Theatre and Dance at UCM. Most of all, I thank

our students, our patrons and all who lovingly support our programs.

My best to all of you and my wishes for a wonderful summer!

The Stage Door

THEATRE AND DANCE DEPARTMENT INVADES NEW YORK CITY

FOR SPRING BREAK. This year over spring break, Richard and Di-

ana Herman took 62 students, alumni, retired professors and commu-

nity members to New York

City for a six day theatre

tour. Members of the group

saw a total of 23 different

Broadway shows including

Hamilton, An American in

Paris, The Curious Incident

of a Dog in the Nighttime,

Something Rotten, Phantom

of the Opera, The Crucible

and Beautiful. UCM theatre

students attended work-

shops at the Broadway

Dance Center and with The

Acting Company (where

they performed their Senior

Showcase), and toured

backstage at Radio City

Music Hall and at the Pal-

ace Theatre. Dr. Ed See,

Dave and Toni Peerbolte,

Norma Highlander and Ashley Miller were part of the group and

helped host an alumni reunion on Monday evening in Times Square.

UCM alums attending the event included Todd Potter, Matt Jones,

Tyler Mullen, Joe Burkard, Joe Reece, Matt Pedersen, Louis Wells,

Jason Bohon, Amanda Duffy, Tim Schaffer, Geoff Pottorff and Joe

Drobezko.

WHAT OUR FACULTY ARE DOING THIS SUMMER:

Victoria Depew, Assistant Professor of Theatre, will design costumes

for Our Town and Romeo and Juliet at American Shakespeare center

in Staunton, Virginia. Both productions will tour the country for six

months before being presented in residence during their spring sea-

son.

Michael Benson, Assistant Professor of Theatre, will design My Fair

Lady for Fuse Productions in State College, PA. It opens June 9th.

John Wilson will direct: ONCE IN THE TIME OF THE RAINBOW CROW

adapted from the Lenape Legend by Claudia I. Haas. This winner of

our Theatre for Young Audiences National Playwriting Contest will

tour the surrounding area. The schedule is as follows: Whiteman Air

Force Base, June 8; Camp Wonderland-Lake of the Ozarks, June 9;

Richmond, MO, June 10; Carrollton, MO, June 15; Warrensburg,

MO, June 16 and Marshall, MO, June 17. All performances will be at

10:00AM and admission is free!

In a time before humans inhabit the Earth, our story opens up with

animals experiencing their first snow. Confused by the texture and

uncomfortable with the cold, the animals elect the beautiful rainbow

crow to travel through the clouds and past the moon and stars to the

great heavens above. Her task? Find the Creator and get some much

needed help and advice in how to deal with all the white stuff! Once

In The Time Of The Rainbow Crow will teach great lessons on collab-

oration, discovery, curiosity and trust. …Rainbow Crow is a very fun

and funny show that will have the whole family smiling.

John Wilson, Chair and Professor of Theatre, along with serving as

Company Manager and Director for Central Missouri Repertory, will

travel to Athens, Greece to present from his book, The Actor As Fire

And Cloud (Bold Vision Books) at the Athens Institute for Education

and Research during their Panel on the Education and Training of

Actors. At the end of the summer, he will travel to Oklahoma City,

OK to shoot a round of commercials for Communication Federal

Credit Union, for which he is their spokesman.

AMERICAN COLLEGE THEATRE FESTIVAL REGION V

The University of Central Missouri Department of Theatre and Dance

received several honors at the Kennedy Center American College Re-

gion V Theatre Festival held in Minneapolis, MN, January 17-23,

2016.

The festival included 80 universities and over 1500 faculty and stu-

dents from theatre departments in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa,

North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. The festival presents

performances and scenes from invited productions from the top shows

in the region and hosts acting, directing, design, playwriting, stage

management, dramatic criticism and dramaturgy competitions. Five

faculty members and twenty-eight UCM students attended the event.

Nellie Maple won the Best Musical Acting Award while simultaneous-

ly winning first place overall in the Final Round of the Irene Ryan

Scholarship Auditions. She and her partner, Daniel Parman received

an all expense paid trip to the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC this

April for the National Festival where they competed against seven oth-

er regional winners for different scholarship awards and recognitions,

and participated in several different acting workshops throughout the

week. The department is proud to announce Nellie won the entire com-

petition and is the Irene Ryan National Champion! She also won the

Mark Twain Comedic Acting Award. The Preliminary rounds of the

Irene Ryan Scholarship Auditions included 335 students from around

the region. This was paired down to 64 students of which three UCM

students advanced to the semi-final round. These students included

Nellie Maple, Dane Schnake and Bryson Kenworthy. Bryson,

along with his partner, Stephanie Laaker also advanced to the Final

Round of sixteen competitors. Both Kacy Barta and Samantha Rudy

had their Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers directing

scenes of On The Verge and Clarkston advance to the final round. Ka-

cy’s cast featured UCM actors Nellie Maple, Brooke Myers and Kel-

sey Reinsfelder. Samantha’s cast included UCM actors Jessica Bax-

ter, Zachary Craft and Dane Schnake. Out of sixteen competing di-

rectors from across the region, Kacy Barta and her cast placed 2nd

overall.

During the week long festival, over a hundred students auditioned for

the Musical Theatre Intensive which showcased twenty of the region’s

best voices. Among those selected to perform at the Friday morning

showcase were UCM Musical Theatre majors Kelsey Reinsfelder and

Brooke Myers. Ty Young was the winner of the Regional Technical

Projects award for his technical direction of Vanya and Sonia and Ma-

sha and Spike. Carter Higgs was the 1st runner up for his Regional

Scenic Design of Assassins. Sarah Clifton was the 2nd runner up for

National Allied Crafts recognition for puppets she created for a one-act

production of Punch And Judy.

Students and faculty also received Meritorious Achievement awards,

which included Ashley Miller, for Choreography of Chicago; Victoria

Depew for Costume Design of Spring Awakening; John Wilson had a

Scene Invitation from the production of Under Milk Wood, Rachael

Conroy for Sound Design of Under Milk Wood; Libby Pecher for

Scenic Design of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike; Olivia

Bradshaw for Scene Design for Under Milk Wood, and Taylor

Harwerth for Sound Design for Chicago.

Richard Herman, Professor of Theatre serves on the KCACTF Na-

tional Executive Committee as Vice Chair of the National Playwriting

Program and this year served as the Region V Invited Scenes Show-

case Coordinator. Julie Mollenkamp, Professor of Theatre serves as

the Chair of Region V National Playwriting Program. Assistant Profes-

sor Victoria Depew taught three design intensives. Professor of Thea-

tre Jeff Peltz served as a Stage Crew Showdown Mentor. Associate

Professor of Dance, Ashley Miller taught a workshop on Musical The-

atre Dance and assisted with the professional auditions for Crane River

Theatre, and Professor of Theatre and Department Chair, John Wilson

served as Irene Ryan Coach and a preliminary round judge.

NEXT SEASON “SECRETS TO SHARE”:

Central Missouri Repertory—June 15-

25, 2016—Once In The Time of the

Rainbow Crow by Claudia Haas. On

tour

August 20, 21, 25-27, 2016—Avenue Q

September 22-24, 2016—Studio Theatre One Acts

October 5-9, 2016—The Secret Garden

(with Department of Music)

November 3-5, 2016—Studio Theatre One Acts

November 15-19, 2016—A Raisin In The Sun

February 2-4, 2017—Studio Theatre One Acts

February 13-20, 2017—9 Circles

February 24-25, 2017—Julius Caesar and Caesar X

(The Acting Company Guest Artists)

March 9-11, 2017—Studio Theatre One Acts

April 5-9, 2017—The Toxic Avenger

April 20-22, 2017—Spring Dance Concert

May 18-20, 23-25, 2017—The Toxic Avenger

(in KC at Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre)

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