Niess
Associate Professor in Performance Dance/Movement
Department Chair
407-823-2862
www.CNiess.com

Christopher Niess is an Associate Professor specializing in acting, movement and dance. He came to UCF in 2001, having taught previously at Murray State University and Kent State University. He most recently was selected to co-present a paper, with Dr. Julia Listengarten, at the International Federation for Theatre Research in Lisbon, Portugal in July. Mr. Niess will also be on the faculty of the International Performing Arts Institute in Germany later this summer. For UCF, Mr. Niess staged the department's first foray into devised theatre - 'a reality show' - that examined the reality TV phenomenon. Other recent work includes directing a production of Godspell for the Balhaus-Rosenheim and the Kursaal-Oberaudorf, Germany featuring a cast from the U.S., Netherlands and Slovenia, performing in Ken Gray's original play Something's Missing ("...frightening and moving..." - Three Weeks, "...very fine performances..." - The Scotsman) at the Edinburgh International Festival Fringe in Scotland, and directing Lend Me A Tenor for the return of SummerStage in 2007. Mr. Niess has also served as choreographer for Urinetown the Musical! And Movement Choreographer for Marisol, the Lark, West Side Story as well as many others.

Mr. Niess has worked on over 150 productions as director, choreographer, actor, dancer, performance artist or movement coach throughout the U.S., and in Canada, Germany and Scotland. He has served as Artistic Director for the Great Lakes Festival Ballet and for Ballet Theatre Ohio, staging works including Giselle, The Firebird and an original Alice In Wonderland with commissioned score; performed for companies including the Cleveland Play House, Nebraska Repertory Theatre, Porthouse Theatre, the Berkshire Ballet and the Lexington Ballet; danced a good share of the classical repertoire and noted as a "memorably fine-scaled" performer by critic Jennifer Dunning (NYTimes); acted in productions of Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, The Country Wife, Equus, Life Is A Dream, as Richard in a Suzuki-style Richard III, and Off-Off Broadway in Tap Shoes; and coached dance, combat and movement in a variety of productions. ' directing credits include Bye Bye Birdie, You Can't Take It With You, Grease and the premier of Guy Lombardo Views the End of the World; as well as The Trickeries of Scapin, Waiting for Godot, 5 Women Wearing the Same Dress, Lips Together, Teeth Apart and The Marriage of Bette and Boo for UCF. Recent film roles include Real Premonition, which opened in Casablanca this past July and received several Crystal Reel Awards. Mr. Niess played the role of 'John' (F.B.I. agent).

Christopher studied at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and later attended Kent State University where he received his MFA in acting. He has also studied at the Royal National Theatre Studio in London and is a member of Actors' Equity Association, ATHE, SETC and the Association of Theatre Movement Educators (whom he has served as national representative and national conference planner).

Kristina Tollefson
Associate Professor
407-823-2862
ktollefs@mail.ucf.edu

Kristina Tollefson is an Associate Professor, Resident Costume Designer, and Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. She holds an MFA from Purdue University in Costume Design and Technology and BA Degrees from South Dakota State University in Theatre and English. Among her notable designs for UCF are The Mikado, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Waiting for Godot. In addition to her work at UCF she has designed costumes all over the country including The Phoenix Theatre, Prairie Repertory Theatre, Summer Stage Repertory Theatre, Emporia Summer Theatre, Purdue University, Sioux Falls Playhouse, South Dakota State University, and the East Dakota Water Development District. She is the recipient of three ACTF Design awards. She serves as the Vice-Commissioner for Communication and moderates the email listserve for the Costume Design & Technology Commission for USITT which puts her in daily contact with over 400 costuming professionals worldwide. You can view her work at www.tollefsondesigns.com.

Bert Scott
Associate Professor
Director of Production
407-823-2862
hscott@mail.ucf.edu

Bert Scott has taught on the faculties of The University of Michigan, Southwest Missouri State, and the State University of New York. His professional design credits include Stages St. Louis, Theatre West Virginia (where he served for seven seasons as Resident Designer), The Opera Company of Philadelphia, The Mark Twain Playhouse, and Theatre By the Blind in New York City. Bert recently relocated to Orlando from New York City and continues to work as a consultant for Philip Baloun Designs, a New York-based company designing special events worldwide. He has designed over 100 productions and has been recognized three times by the American College Theatre Festival for excellence in scenic design. Bert earned his MFA in Theatre from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and his BS in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech. He is a member of United Scenic Artists.

Katherine Ingram
Associate Professor
Coordinator of Graduate Acting
407-823-4872
khingram@mail.ucf.edu

Kate Ingram, an Associate Professor at UCF, recently served as Artistic Director for the UCF Department of Theatre, in addition to being Graduate Coordinator of the MFA Acting program. She has taught acting, Shakespeare, classical dramatic literature, and voice and speech to graduate and undergraduate students for over twenty years. Ms. Ingram's training and experience embrace both British and American techniques, balancing comprehensive study with Cicely Berry of the Royal Shakespeare Company with the intensive Meisner training of William Esper and Robert X. Modica in New York City. Her special focus is voice and speech: she is an active member of VASTA (Voice and Speech Trainers Association), she is a Certified Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voice Work, and a Certified Lessac Voicework Associate. Ms. Ingram is also a professional AEA actress whose work has been seen at the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre as Desiree in A Little Night Music, Gertrude in Hamlet, Elmire in Tartuffe, and Beline in The Imaginary Invalid. She has appeared on the UCF Conservatory Stage as Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret, also as Claire in The Visit, Eliza Gant in Look Homeward, Angel, Fonzia in Teh Gin Game, and Ouizer in Steel Magnolias. She has worked extensively as a dialect and speech/text coach for many Orlando theatre companies: Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, Mad Cow Theatre Company, Orlando Repertory Theatre, and Orlando Theatre Project. Her work prior to UCF garnered her awards in the New York area both for acting and directing. She has directed more than thirty productions at academic and professional venues. Directing credits include Anna In The Tropics, Parade, Picasso At The Lapin Agile, The Boy Friend, The Merry Wives Of Windsor, Misalliance , Arcadia, The Country Wife, Betrayal, Hecuba, Falsettos, Translations and many others.

Be Boyd
Associate Professor
Undergraduate Coordinator of Acting
407-823-0872
bbboyd@mail.ucf.edu

Be Boyd is an Associate Professor at UCF. Recent shows she has directed here include Lysistrata and The Laramie Project. Before coming here, she was an Associate Professor at Texas Christian University where she led the Acting Program, an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and an Assistant Professor at the University of Vermont. Favorite directing successes include: La Llorona (2002) (chosen by the American College Theatre Festival as one of the best six productions in the nation from 600 participating academic programs), The Illusion ("Best Director" & Best Show" - Fort Worth Star Telegram, 2000), Antigone, Extremities, Jesus Christ Superstar ("Best Choreography"~ Fort Worth Star Telegram, 2000), Candida (playwright Athol Fugard wrote that this production was "outstanding"), My Fair Lady, Nunsense, A Raisin In the Sun, Dead President's Club, Top Girls, Vinegar Tom, The Foreigner, The Glass Menagerie, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, South Pacific, and the opera, Bardos. Favorite roles include: Fires In the Mirror ("Best Actress Award"~ Allied Theatre Group, 2000 and "Best Actress Award"~ Raymond Taylor Theatre, 1997). Her most recent recreation of Fires was at Columbus State University (February, 2003). She has also played the following roles: Calpurnia - Julius Caesar at Orlando Shakespeare Festival, Goneril - King Lear with Earle Hyman of The Cosby Show at the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, Elizabeth - Richard III at Shakespeare and Company, Mistress Quickly - Henry IV, Part II, Henry V, Sylvia - Two Gentlemen of Verona, Ariel - The Tempest, Audrey - As You Like It at Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, Tranio - The Taming of the Shrew at Fort Worth Shakespeare Festival , Sister Hubert - Nunsense at the Barter Theatre and Toinette - The Imaginary Invalid at Vermont Repertory Theatre. She received her vocal training from Kristin Linklater and has a number of vocal and dialect credits including: King Lear, The Woman in Black, Love's Labours Lost, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Candida, Dancing at Lughnasa, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Heathen Valley, Macbeth, Vinegar Tom, Agnes of God, Antigone, Tartuffe and Pentecost. Choreography credits include: Nunsense I and II, Sweet Charity, Cabaret, Street Scenes, Jesus Christ Superstar, My Fair Lady and South Pacific. She is member of the Dramatist's Guild. Her work includes: The Dream Keeper (Premiered at the Virginia Stage Company, 2000), Mother of Civil Rights (Juneteenth Festival in Kentucky), In Focus: A Recollection of Black Thought, Fortified Harmonies, And the Blind May Lead, A Fight For Justice: The Greensboro Sit-in. She has received the Dean's Merit Award and Chair Award (University of North Carolina - Greensboro) for Excellence in Teaching and Creative Activities, an Excellence in Teaching Award (University of Vermont) and recognition as a Ronald T. McNair Mentor (Texas Christian University).

Mark Brotherton
Associate Professor
407-823-2862
mbrother@mail.ucf.edu

Mark Brotherton is a tenured Associate Professor in Performance. Before arriving at UCF, Mark was an assistant professor at The University of Oklahoma, where he directed and performed in numerous productions and also coordinated the SummerWind Arts Festival for the University, which produced more than 100 different art/performance events over a ten-day period. Outside of the academic world, Mark has worked as actor in New York City and throughout the country. Since his arrival at UCF, Mark has directed Children of a Lesser God, Table Manners, Round and Round the Garden, The Cardigans, The Butterfingers Angel, Equus, Anything Goes, Orphans, Crazy for You, I Love My Wife, Ain't Misbehavin', Look Homeward Angel, Laundry and Bourbon, Lone Star, The Balcony Scene, The Gin Game, Steel Magnolias, The Visit, Noises Off, Cabaret, and Leading Ladies at UCF, and A Christmas Carol, You Can't Take It With You and It's a Wonderful Life at The Orlando Repertory Theatre. As an actor, he appeared in Laughter on the 23rd Floor, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Run for Your Wife, Big River, Equus, Sabrina Fair, Amadeus, Tintypes, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Nerd, The Lady's Not for Burning, The Merry Wives of Windsor and Misalliance at UCF, The Diary of Anne Frank and Thomas Edison Invents (also co-author) at The Orlando Repertory Theatre and Othello at the Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival. Mark received his B.F.A. from S.U.N.Y. at Purchase and his M.F.A. from Penn State.

Lani Harris
Professor
2005-06 Provost's Fellow
407-823-2513
lharris@mail.ucf.edu

A Fulbright Scholar, and Coordinator of Acting Studies at International Performing Arts Institute in Austria, her international work includes theatre research in Mexico, teaching acting at MusicTheater Bavaria, performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in her original play Air Born. In 2004, she presented "Acting Chekhov" at the FIRT Conference, in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 2006, she directed Something's Missing, a new play by Ken Gray, in Los Angeles and again at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Professor Harris is the Vice Conference Planner for ATHE's New Play Development division. In 2005 she won the UCF Women's Research Award in Arts and Humanities, was appointed a Provost's Fellow for 2005-06, received the UCF TIP award for teaching innovations in 2003, and served as a Faculty Fellow in the Office of International Studies for 7 years. She has served on the UCF Faculty Senate and on committees for the UCF Office of Diversity Initiatives.

Professor Harris' MFA is from the University of Southern California, under John Houseman, and she studied acting with Stella Adler and Nina Foch. She has acted and directed professionally in California, Florida, Alabama, Germany and Scotland. She spent nine years as Artistic Director for a northern California theatre company, RCT, founding a Summer Shakespeare program. She has served as past Chair of the Southeastern Theatre Conference College and University Division, a director for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival of New Plays (region VIII), Respondent for the KC/ACTF Irene Ryan Acting Finals (1995 -2003), and as a Festival Respondent for Region VIII. She has also served as a Respondent for KC/ACTF in region IV.

At UCF Conservatory Theatre, she has served as the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Theatre, Theatre Internship Coordinator, and teaches in the BFA and MFA programs. She has directed extensively at UCF Conservatory Theatre, The Orlando Repertory Theatre and The Royal Palm Playhouse. She has performed for Disneyworld in Orlando and taught at the Disney Institute. She previously taught Directing and Acting in the graduate program at The University of Alabama, and at several California Universities and Community Colleges.

Jim Helsinger
Assistant in Theatre
Artistic Director of The Orlando Shakespeare Theatre
407-447-1700 ext 201
jimh@orlandoshakes.org

Jim Helsinger serves as Artistic Director of the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, in Partnership with UCF and as a faculty member of UCF Conservatory Theatre. He has directed the UCF productions of The Servant of Two Masters, Noises Off, Lend Me A Tenor, The Importance of Being Earnest, You Can't Take It With You, Ah, Wilderness!, and Blithe Spirit. ÊFor the Shakespeare Theater, he has directed The Merry Wives of Windsor, Crime and Punishment, Every Christmas Story Ever Told, Antony and Cleopatra, Tartuffe, The Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Richard III, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Taming of the Shrew, The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged), The Curate Shakespeare: As You Like It, and Hamlet. Other directing credits include Actors Theatre of Louisville (A Tuna Christmas and The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr, Abridged), Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival (The Mystery of Irma Vep, Sleuth, The Imaginary Invalid, Charley's Aunt and The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr, Abridged), Cape May Stage (The Big Bang, Stones in His Pockets, King Mackerel, The Blues are Running and The Fourposter), and Florida Studio Theatre (Good Evening). ÊAs an actor at OST, he has performed the title roles in Cyrano de Bergerac, Hamlet, Henry V, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, and Dracula: The Journal of Jonathan Harker. He has also performed regionally at such theatres as the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespearean Festival, ÊPennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Riverside Shakespeare Festival, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Northshore Music Theatre, Nebraska Repertory Theatre, Chiswick Park Theatre and Cape May Stage. His Off-Broadway credits include The Death and Life of Sherlock Holmes, The Taming of the Shrew and The Contrast. TV and film includes From the Earth to the Moon, Mortal Kombat, Noah Knows Best and Sheena: Queen of the Jungle. ÊAs a playwright, his work includes Robinson Crusoe, Dracula: The Journal of Jonathan Harker; Frankenstein, The Modern Prometheus; ÊThe Trial of Joan the Maid and A Family Christmas Carol. ÊHe is also a member of the Shakespeare Theatre Association of America (STAA), the National Theatre Conference (NTC), Actor's Equity Association (AEA), the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG), Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists (AFTRA). He holds a BA from Miami University (Ohio), and an MFA from the Alabama Shakespeare Festival / University of Alabama - Professional Actor Training Program.

David Lee
Assistant Professor
407-823-3020

David Karl Lee-Assistant Professor of Theatre at UCF and the Associate Director of New Play Development and PLAYFEST at Orlando Shakespeare Theater where he is also a Resident Artist. David directed The Glass Menagerie as part of OST's 20^th Anniversary Season and Our Town for The Garden Theater. He also directed the Florida Premiere of Paul Rudnick's play The New Century in January 2009 at The Footlight Theater. In the summer of 2008 he directed Gem! The Truly Outrageous Parody at the NY International Fringe Festival, which won awards for Best Ensemble and Best Costumes and Urinetown for UCF, where he has previously directed Don Juan Comes Back From the War. His production of Margot Veil, An Entertainment at UCF received a National Commendation from The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for Production Conception and Execution. He is a graduate of The University of Miami and The Yale School of Drama.

Dr. Don Seay
Professor
407-823-2397
dseay@mail.ucf.edu

Dr. Donald W. Seay, former Chair/Artistic Director of UCF Conservatory Theatre, is a tenured, full professor, with primary teaching responsibilities in performance and theatre management. In addition to the doctorate in Arts Administration/Theatre from Texas Tech University, Dr. Seay holds the MFA degree in Scenic Design from the University of Minnesota, and the MS and BS degrees in Acting and Directing from the University of Southern Mississippi. His minors are in art and dramatic literature. Dr. Seay received additional training in acting at the Alley Theatre Academy, stage fencing at the McCarter Theatre, and dance at the New York School of Ballet. Having worked as an actor, director, designer, teacher, acting coach, administrator, and consultant, Dr. Seay's theatrical training and experience is extremely broad. Throughout his career, Dr. Seay has been actively associated with over 250 productions.

Prior to his position with UCF, he served as Chair/Artistic Director of the Department of Theatre and Dance at Otterbein College and at St. Edward's University, departments both noted for their professional theatre training programs. In 1987, he was awarded McMillen and Tozer Grants for study and research in England, France, East and West Germany, Finland, Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. His research focused on the effects of new materials and techniques of European Scenic Design upon the Director. In 1991, he visited Czechoslovakia and the former Soviet Union as a national delegate representing theatre education and training.

During his tenure as Chair/Artistic Director of UCF Conservatory Theatre. Dr. Seay served on the Board of Directors and the Artistic Board for the Orlando/UCF Shakespeare Festival, the Board of Directors for UCF Civic Theatre, the Board of Directors for Boone Academy, the Board of Directors and Officers of the English Language Society of Orenburg, the Planning and Development Committee for the Florida Center for Arts and Education, and the Planning and Development Committee for the Lively Arts Center in Daytona, a partnership between UCF, the Lively Arts Center and Seaside Music Theatre. He continues to serve as a state appointee to the Statewide Course Numbering System Committee on Theatre Arts. In 2002, United Arts of Central Florida recognized his contributions to theatre education and training by naming him Arts Educator of the Year. In 2008, the Florida Theatre Conference recognized his contributions to theatre education and training by presenting him with a distinguished career award.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Dr. Seay continues to play an active role in theatre education and training. He remains active in the American College Theatre Festival, the Southeast Theatre Association, Florida Thespians, and the Florida Theatre Association. In the summer of 2000, he served as a member of the performance faculty for Music Theatre Bavaria in Oberaudorf, Germany and was invited to return for the Summer of 2007. In the summer of 2008, he was invited to serve as a Master Clinician for The International Performing Arts Institute in Kiefersfelden, Germany where he conducted master classes in performance for students in musical theatre.

A member of Actors' Equity Association, Don's professional credits include work with the McCarter Theatre, the Alley Theatre, the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, the Guthrie Theatre, the Erie Playhouse, the Mary Moody Northen Theatre, the Orlando/UCF Shakespeare Festival and the Orlando Repertory Theatre. Some of his acting credits in Orlando include Dysart in Equis, Linus Larrabee, Sr. in Sabrina Fair, W. O Gant in Look Homeward Angel, Weller Martin in The Gin Game, Earnest in Bedroom Farce, Anton Schill in The Visit, Lepidus in the Orlando Shakespeare TheatreÕs production of Anthony and Cleopatra and Nicola in Arms and the Man, and Martin Vanderhoff in the Orlando Repertory TheatreÕs production of You CanÕt Take It With You. Some of his directing credits at UCF Conservatory Theatre include successful productions of Rumors, The Good Doctor, The Foreigner, Good, Camelot, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Taffetas, Amadeus, Glengarry Glen Ross, Death of a Salesman, The 5th of July and Dancing at Lughnasa. In the Spring of 2008, he will direct the UCF mainstage production of The Lark.

Earl Weaver
Assistant Professor
Coordinator of Musical Theatre
Assistant to the Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies
407-823-2862
eweaver@mail.ucf.edu
Website: http://home.earthlink.net/~earlweaver

Earl D. Weaver, an active member of Actors Equity Association, is Coordinator of Musical Theatre and an Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida. He holds an MFA degree in Drama/Musical Theatre from the University of California, Irvine and a BA degree in Theatre/Dance from the University of Redlands. His UCF directing/choreography work includes JakeÕs Women, The Most Happy Fella, Falsettos, Working, Leader of the Pack, Once on This Island, Guys and Dolls, Assassins, Triangle Logic and phat girls. Earl's regional theatre directing/choreography work includes The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Peter Pan, and White Christmas (Seaside Musical Theater); When Pigs Fly, And the World Goes 'Round, Boy Meets Boy, Tapestry and Closer Than Ever (New Conservatory Theatre); Lucky Stiff, Last Night of Ballyhoo and Dames at Sea (California Conservatory Theatre); Fiddler on the Roof (West Virginia Public Theatre); Baby and Forever Plaid (The Theatre Factory); and The Music Man (Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts). He has received Certificates of Merit for Directing from the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival for productions of The Most Happy Fella, Falsettos, Sunday in the Park with George and Tintypes. Earl also has received Best Director and Choreographer Awards from the Inland Empire Theatre Association for productions of Godspell, Grease, Pippin and The Wizard of Oz. As an actor, he has been seen Off-Broadway in Stay With Me and In A Darkened Theatre, and he has performed regionally with TheatreWorks (Sunday in the Park with George), Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (The Most Happy Fella), West Virginia Public Theatre (Annie Get Your Gun, A Chorus Line and Crazy For You), Playhouse West (New Wrinkles), 42nd Street Moon (On A Clear Day You Can See Forever), Alhambra Dinner Theatre (Sound of Music), and The Theatre Factory (Romance, Romance).

James Brown
Instructor
407-823-2862
jbrown@mail.ucf.edu

Jim Brown serves UCF Conservatory Theatre as an Instructor and Musical Theatre Specialist. He received his BFA in Musical Theatre Performance from the School of Performing and Visual Arts at United States International University (USIU) in San Diego, California and later received his MFA in Musical Theatre Performance from San Diego State University. Jim has performed for over 25 years, with favorite roles including Charley in Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along, Finch in How to Succeed. . . , and Jinx in Forever Plaid. Jim has served UCF Conservatory Theatre as Director for Is There Life After High School?, Fame~ The Musical, and Guys and Dolls. Musical Direction has included Songs for a New World, the inaugural production of the UCF graduate program in musical theatre in Daytona Beach, Just So and A Year with Frog and Toad at the Orlando Repertory Theatre, and The Boy Friend, Falsettos, The Wizard of Oz, A Chorus Line, Once on This Island, Nunsense, Damn Yankees, and I Love My Wife at UCF Conservatory Theatre in Orlando. Direction for charitable outreach includes The Make a Wish Foundation and the United Cerebral Palsy Child Development Center. Jim has also served as an Instructor for the Orlando Repertory Theatre Youth Academy and has lectured extensively for the San Pedro Center Elder Hostel.

Steven Chicurel
Associate Professor
407-823-0874
schicure@mail.ucf.edu

Although trained as a concert pianist, "Doctor Steve" has chosen to make his career in musical theatre. Doctoral research in the music of George Gershwin enabled him, in a scholarly setting, to bridge the gap between the disciplines of music and theatre. His career as a pianist and accompanist in a concert setting has lead to performances in numerous locations around the United States and in Europe. Recently, he accompanied Klea Blackhurst in her award-winning one-woman revue, "Everything the Traffic Will Allow: "The Songs and Sass of Ethel Merman."

Musical theatre has been his chief passion, and to that end, Dr. Steve has been a part of nearly 100 theatrical productions as musical director, conductor, pianist, and vocal arranger. "He has worked for companies that have taken him to perform in 12 countries on 4 continents. "In the U.S.A. he has worked for regional theatres that include Flat Rock Playhouse, Bucks County Playhouse, and Hampton Playhouse. "He has been a part of a number of successful world- and regional-premiere productions, among them "Pageant" (Michael Rice et al), "A Belonging Place" (C. Robert Jones), and "Gilligan's Island: The Musical (Sherwood & Lloyd Schwartz and Laurence Juber). "Certificates of esteem and distinguished service from national and international organizations and governments attest to his contributions to musical theatre.

Dr. Chicurel is proud to be a vanguard licensee and Certified Course Instructor of Estill Voice Training Systems, and brings the Estill Model not only to the UCF musical theatre curriculum, but to professional voice users world wide. He continues to lead energetic workshops in the U.K., Australia, The Caribbean and Europe. "He presented a landmark paper, "Three-Tier Voice Training for Musical Theatre: A Non-Traditional Approach," at the First World Voice Congress in Oporto, Portugal, and was also the first transatlantic faculty to teach at the Oxenfoord International Summer Music School in St. Andrews, Scotland. In 2005 and again in 2007, he was a keynote speaker for the Association of Teachers of Singing (AOTOS) while on a lecture tour of Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide, Australia. He co-presented the paper "A Design for Collaborative Voice Assessment, Rehabilitation, and Training" at the 6th Pan-European Voice Conference, The Royal Academy of Music, in London, England.

Dr. Chicurel is the co-author of Geography of the Voice: "Anatomy of an Adam's Apple as well as Score: Music Theory for Musical Theatre (Scarecrow Press). "He has Bachelors, Masters, and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in piano performance from Mars Hill College, The Peabody Conservatory of Music/Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Kentucky respectively.

Nicholas Wuehrmann
Assistant Professor
407-823-3072
nwuehrma@mail.ucf.edu

Nicholas Wuehrmann is an Assistant Professor of Theatre, teaches Musical Theatre Voice and Acting in Orlando, and taught in the former Seaside Music Theatre partnership. Nicholas also taught at James Madison University in Virginia, where he served as Director of Opera and Music Theatre. Nicholas spent many years in New York City performing with numerous Off and Off-Off Broadway companies. In 2007, he directed a European tour of Die Zauberflote with the Czech Chamber Opera. He traveled to Poland in 2008 and directed another European tour, Hansel und Gretel. He is a regular director and performer with Ohio Light Opera and has appeared in well over 50 productions and directed their Merry Widow and Countess Maritza. He can be heard on OLO recordings as Falsacappa in Offenbach's The Brigands and as Dr. Tannhauser in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Grand Duke, both released on the Albany Record label. Nicholas was also a regular with Seaside Music Theater being seen as General Waverly in White Christmas, The Bishop in Les MisŽrables In Concert, The Chairman in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Fredrik in A Little Night Music and the Diction Coach in Singin' in the Rain. Other SMT roles include Gus/Growltiger in Cats, Herbie in Gypsy, Oscar in Sweet Charity, Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Piquillo in La Perichole, Merlyn and Pellinore in Camelot, Jaques in As You Like It, and Cogsworth in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Nicholas has performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Mill Mountain Theatre, Opera Carolina, Sarasota Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Texas Opera Theatre, Virginia Opera, Carousel Dinner Theatre, INTAR, LaMama, E.T.C., Nevada Opera and Baton Rouge Symphony. In the Orlando area, he was seen this year in Orlando Ballet's production of Pirates: The Ballet and the title role in a reading of Daniel(le) with the Orlando GLBT Theatre Festival. He holds a BA in Communication Arts/Theatre from JMU and an MM in vocal performance from Kent State University. At UCF/SMT, Nicholas has directed Baby (Maltby and Shire), The World Goes 'Round (Kander and Ebb), You're Gonna Love Tomorrow (Sondheim), Romance, Romance (Harman and Herrmann), Starting Here, Starting Now (Maltby & Shire) and Smokey Joe's Cafe for UCF/Orlando.

Dan Jones
Costume Shop Manager
407-823-0593
danjones@mail.ucf.edu

Daniel M. Jones is pleased return as Costume Shop Manager for the UCF Conservatory Theatre. Orlando audiences have seen his designs onstage in The Marriage of Figaro, Shapeshifter, Celebration of Central Florida Dance and at Capone's Dinner and Show. Other design credits include Iolanthe, The New Moon and The Queen's Lace Handkerchief at the Ohio Light Opera, Deathtrap at Nebraska Repertory Theatre, Macbeth for the Nebraska Theatre Caravan, Cosi Fan Tutti for the UNL Opera Program and The Imaginary Invalid for the University of Nebraska at Kearney, for which he received a commendation for achievement in design from the Region V Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. In addition to designing, Mr. Jones has been Costume Shop Manager for the Ohio Light Opera and UNK. He also has extensive experience as a performer and director including a production of Caryl Churchill's Cloud 9 for which he earned a special commendation for directing from KCACTF. He holds an MFA in Costume Design from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a BA in theatre arts from Doane College.

Kyla Kazuschyk
Costume Workroom Supervisor
407-823-0593
kkazusch@mail.ucf.edu

Kyla holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre from the University of Central Florida and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Costume Technology from Ohio University. She has worked at the Santa Fe Opera, the Washington National Opera, the Florida Grand Opera, and, for the past three summers, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival.

Charles "Chip" Perry
Assistant Professor
407-823-5997
chperry@mail.ucf.edu

Charles (Chip) F. Perry is pleased to join the faculty of the University of Central Florida. His former work as a lighting and sound designer at the University of Florida include: Rhinoceros, The Cherry Orchard, Our Town, The Man of Mode; or, Sir Fopling Flutter, American Western, Waiting For Godot and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He was also recognized as the Lighting Design Alternate at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for his design of The Exonerated. Chip holds a Master of Fine Arts with an emphasis on Lighting Design from the University of Florida. Chip's professional theatre credits include: sound design for the world premiere of Wizzer Pizzer at 7 Stages Atlanta, lighting design for Fly By Theatre's The Painting and Duende Dance's Framed. Prior to returning to the theatre, Chip was based in Nashville working in the television and touring industry. His select client list includes: W.W.E., Bonnaroo Music Festival, CHIC, Alabama, Kenny Chesney, and Bacardi Global. Chip earned his Bachelor of Science in Theatre Design from the University of Evansville (Indiana). After graduation he interned at Indiana Repertory Theatre with a specialization in Sound Design. Chip has worked with such design artist as Brian MacDevitt, Mike Swinford, Jason Robinson, Velton Ray Bunch, and Tom Cluff.

Joseph Rusnock
Associate Professor
407-823-2862
jrusnock@mail.ucf.edu

Joseph Rusnock joined UCF as Resident Scenic and Lighting Designer/Technical Director in 1985. He was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor in 1989 and assumed the position of Assistant Chair/Artistic Director for the Department in 1996. Previously, he was an Assistant Professor of Theatre and Dance at Hamilton College 1979-1985, Takio College 1977-1979, and a Visiting Instructor of Theatre at Minneapolis College of Art and Design 1976-1977. He holds an MFA in Design and Theatre from the University of Minnesota where he was the recipient of a Bush Fellowship Award. He earned his BA in Theatre Arts from Pennsylvania State University. Joseph designed sets, lights and costumes for over 100 theatrical and dance productions before joining UCF. He has designed 26 ballet productions for the Mohawk Valley Performing Arts Company and has designed scenery and/or lighting for approximately 60 productions at UCF. In addition to his design credits, Joseph has been a properties master with the Guthrie Theatre, the Penn State Festival Theatre and the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis.

Zachary Stribling
Faculty Technical Director
407-823-0123
zstribli@mail.ucf.edu

Zachary Stribling, originally from Louisville Kentucky, received his B.F.A. from the University of Evansville and his M.F.A. from Florida State University. This is his sixth season with the University of Central Florida Conservatory Theatre. In addition to his work at UCF, he also served as first the Assistant TD and Technical Director for four seasons in the Adams and Randall L. Jones Theatres at the Tony Award winning Utah Shakespearean Festival. While there, he served as Technical Director for their production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, featured in the 2008 Prague Quadrennial Design Exhibition. He has been recognized by the Kennedy Center's American College Theatre Festival for Excellence in Technical Direction.

Huaixiang Tan
Associate Professor
407-823-0367
thuaixia@mail.ucf.edu

Tan Huaixiang is a tenured Associate Professor in Costume and Makeup Design at the University of Central Florida's Conservatory Theatre in Orlando. She holds an M.F.A. degree in costume design from the Utah State University and a B.F.A. degree from the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing, China. Tan received costume design awards including the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival National First Runner-up, Kennedy Center ACTF Meritorious Achievement Award, Regional Winner of the American College Theatre Association, and Regional Winner of the Rocky Mountain Theatre Association. Tan was recognized by Central Washington University, WA as well as UCF for her teaching excellence. Tan's professional credits include work with the Old Lyric Theatre in Utah; Three River Shakespeare Festival in Pittsburgh, PA; Historic Liberty Theatre in Washington, WA; Florida Repertory Theatre, FT Myers; Orlando Repertory Theatre, FL; and The Lambs players Theatre, San Diego, CA. Tan is a member of United Scenic Artists, local 829. Tan's first book, Character Costume Figure Drawing, was a USITT Golden Pen Award nominee, and her second book Costume Craftwork on a Budget was just published by Focal Press in August 2007.

Vandy Wood
Assistant Professor
407-823-2862
mwood@mail.ucf.edu

Martin Wootton
Assistant Professor
407-823-0709
mwootton@mail.ucf.edu

Martin Wootton, Sound Designer (MWSD), holds a BA in Oral Communications/Theater from The University of Central Oklahoma and an MFA in Production Design and Technology (Sound Design) from Ohio University. While at Ohio, Martin interned at Central St. Martins College of Art and Design in London. Martin's professional credits include Orlando Fringe Festival, Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma and Ohio Valley Summer Theatre, KSBI-TV/DT and KSNP-FM, as well as freelance consulting, special events, film and television.

Brian Vernon
Associate Professor
Coordinator of Dance
407-823-0875
bvernon@mail.ucf.edu

Before coming to UCF in 2002, Mr. Vernon taught at universities in Colorado and South Carolina. Mr. Vernon holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Education - Jazz/Theatre/Tap emphasis from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA and a Master of Fine Arts in Dance - Teaching/Administration emphasis from the University of California, Irvine where he also received the prestigious Chancellor's Fellowship Award. Mr. Vernon's professional theatrical credits as a singer, dancer, actor, choreographer, and director have entertained many from coast to coast throughout Europe and the U.S. Among his many performance credits includes the international tour of the Tony Award Winning musical Black and Blue with the original Broadway cast and company. He has also appeared in numerous television commercials, programs, and films including Talking Pictures for the BBC and the Jacques Martin Variety Show in Paris, France. Among his many choreographic/directorial credits is a recent Equity production of Ain't Misbehavin'. On the Concert Dance stage, Mr. Vernon has choreographed, produced, and performed in numerous Jazz, Tap, Modern, Ballet, and Musical Theatre Dance works throughout the world. Mr. Vernon is the recipient of numerous honors, awards, and recognitions and was recently honored with a Distinguished Alumni Award by The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Mr. Vernon travels regularly to South Africa to teach dance in several underprivileged townships.ÊHe has three original Concert Dance works in the permanent repertoire of a professional company there.

Sybil St. Claire
Lecturer
Internship Coordinator
407-896-2501 ext. 239
sstclair@mail.ucf.edu

Sybil St. Claire, served as the Founding Artistic Director of All Children's Theatre for 17 years, and as the Artistic Director of the Orlando Repertory Theatre, a professional theatre for young audiences. She has taught at the college/university level for over 15 years and was voted Teacher of the Year 1999-2000.

An internationally produced and published playwright who has been acting, directing, writing, and teaching in the theatre for over 20 years, Sybil is an award-winning, union director and an internationally produced and published playwright. Her plays have enjoyed over 100 productions in 33 different states, as well as in Canada, Europe and South America. Sybil's most recent work may be found in Audition Monologues for Student Actors: Volume II. Her work in the field has been honored by the Drew Randall Courage and Passion Foundation and by UCF's Outstanding Research and Creativity award. Sybil is an actor training consultant for Walt Disney World Entertainment and her film credits include work with the New York Film Academy, and Nickelodeon Studios. Currently, she is under contract to write the screenplay for Beneficial Flowers a feature-length motion picture based on her novel by the same name.

Sybil's experience runs the gamut from theatre for the deaf to utilizing theatre as a therapeutic modality with terminally ill pediatric patients, children in foster care, and rape survivors. Currently, her research is focused on the psychology of creativity and her workshops and presentations on this topic were presented in Hawaii and Greece in 2005 – 2206. She is a member of The International Center for Women Playwrights, The Society for Stage Directors and Choreographers, Women in Film, The Dramatist Guild, and The International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People. Her inter-disciplinary work has led her to create projects with Women's Studies, the Department of Psychology, and Digital Media. Though diverse, her work shares a common thread, that of empowering others to access, nurture, and develop the artist within.

Julia Listengarten
Associate Professor
Coordinator of Graduate Studies and Research
407-823-3858
jlisteng@mail.ucf.edu

Julia Listengarten is currently Associate Professor of Theatre and Director of Graduate Studies at UCF. After receiving her master's degree from the Russian Academy of Performing Arts in Moscow, she graduated from the University of Michigan with a PhD in Theatre Studies. Previously, she has taught at St. John's University and Purdue and worked professionally in NYC as a dramaturg and director.

Her translation of the Russian absurdist play Christmas at the Ivanovs' premiered Off-Broadway at Classic Stage Company and was included in the anthology Theater of the Avant-Garde, 1890-1950. Her book Russian Tragifarce: Its Cultural and Political Roots was published by Associated University Presses, and her most recent published articles include "Translating Politics and Performing Absurdity", "Jewish Comedy and the Art of Affirmation", and "A Window to the West: Russian Imperial Theatres." Among Julia's directing credits are What the Butler Saw, Nora, Picnic, The Dining Room, Bus Stop, Three Sisters and Good Woman of Setzuan. She is currently working on an anthology entitled Theater of the Avant-Garde: 1950-2000 to be published by the Yale University Press.

John Shafer
Associate Professor
Coordinator of BA Studies
407-823-0871
jwshafer@mail.ucf.edu

John Wayne Shafer is a Fulbright Scholar (Bolivia), an Iben Lecturer, and he is a past Director of Theatre for Tarrant County College. He is currently Area Coordinator of Theatre BA Studies at the University of Central Florida Conservatory Theatre. He is an active member of Actor's Equity Association, the Screen Actor's Guild, and the Dramatist's Guild. He has been featured in national commercials for Ford, Home Depot, Golden Corral, and PEP Boys. JohnÕs most recent stage work includes Julius Caesar at Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, and The Wizard of Oz at the Orlando Repertory Theatre where he played the Cowardly Lion. His other stage work includes Off-Broadway, Circle Theatre, Stage West, the Kentucky, Alabama, North Carolina, and Fort Worth Shakespeare Festivals. He has done industrials for IBM, EDS, and Fujitsu. JohnÕs most recent film is The Karaoke King and he has appeared in The Rookie opposite Dennis Quaid, Serving Sarah opposite Matthew , Mohammed Ali: King of the World directed by John Sacret Young, and Bandwagon which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and also won the Tokyo International Film Festival Bronze Award. JohnÕs film projects have been selected for awards and showings at a variety of international film festivals including the Heartland Film Festival, the Festival Internacional de Cine de Gijon, the Festroia International Film Festival, & the International Festival of Cinema in Toronto. Mr. Shafer's historical women's play, Hunting the Basilisk, has been selected by Louisville, Kentucky's NEA grant-winning Pleiades Theatre Company for presentation in 2006 and a 2007 Florida Atlantic University production was selected as an Alternate to the 2007 Kennedy Center American College Theatre FestivalÕs Region IV. John's children's play, Two Rainbows, was produced at Bradley University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro this spring. The Association of Theatre in Higher Education selected his new play, The Secret Sea, for a reading at their 2007 summer conference in New Orleans. His most recent publications are the cover story, Distance Theatre: How Digital Technology is Revolutionizing Drama for Southeastern Theatre Magazine, Un Vendedor de Libros que no Sabia Leer (The Bookseller Who Could Not Read) in Bolivia's La Letra Viva, and Arts Go the Distance which has been published in EDUCAUSE Quarterly. His work has been cited this year in Discovery Channel News, Back Stage, Live Design Magazine, and ABC Australia. John has recently been invited to speak in Beijing, China on distance/digital arts collaborations at the International Conference on Computers and Advanced Technology in Education and will go there in October. He has already presented panels and workshops in North America, South America, Eastern Europe, and Western Europe on this emerging area of research. John holds an MFA in Acting from Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts.

Holly McDonald
Theatre Generalist
407-823-2862

Holly serves UCF as a regional campus theatre faculty member. A theatre generalist, Holly was the first UCF theatre faculty member to develop, maintain and conduct fully online theatre courses. She successfully completed UCF's award-winning faculty development course that models how to teach online effectively.

Holly incorporates theatrical strategies with technology skills, pedagogy and logistics involved in teaching effective face to face and web based theatre courses. Her courses have been recognized as having integrated UCF's Best Practices Techniques.

Holly is a member of Alpha Psi Omega and the Southeastern Theatre Conference. She received her MFA from the University of Alabama and a BFA from West Virginia University.