Graduate Theatre Alumni

Alumni Spotlight: Amanda Rose Villarreal, PhD

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 18:44:50 +0000

Alumni Spotlight: Amanda Rose Villarreal, PhD Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 12/01/2021 - 11:44

Amanda Rose Villarreal came to CU �鶹ӰԺ’s Theatre and Performance Studies PhD program with a decade of teaching and immersive performance experience. During her coursework in this program, she began to develop new approaches to her work both in the classroom and in performance, fueling her dissertation research.

While at CU �鶹ӰԺ, Amanda Rose directed immersive performances for the ACLU’s 100th anniversary tour and became a faculty member of Theatrical Intimacy Education, working on developing consent-based practices for immersive performance and for educational theatre.

Now, Amanda Rose is Assistant Professor of Theatre Education at California State University Fullerton, where she is developing a new degree program. The new BA in Theatre Education will prepare the theatre educators of the future to use consent-based practices in the classroom and to apply embodied and interactive techniques to support K-12 curriculum.

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Alumni Spotlight: Philip Williams

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 17:26:15 +0000

Alumni Spotlight: Philip Williams Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/29/2021 - 10:26

My play "Dark Twist" has been published by Next Stage Press. "The Sugar Ridge Rag" will be produced by the LAB Theater Project of Tampa, Florida, April 28-May 15, 2022. Since graduation I have written over fifty plays of various length ranging from one-minute to full-length, including "Can't Live Without You," which was produced off-off-Broadway in 2008. I have also been a contributor to the William Inge Theatre Festival since 1991 and written a number of papers on the works of William Inge for their scholars' conference. My doctoral thesis from CU, "A Comfortable House -- Lanford Wilson, Marshall W. Mason, and the Circle Rep Theatre" was published by McFarland and Company in 1993. I can be reached through my website.

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Whole Herd of Buffs!

Anonymous — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 17:06:11 +0000

Whole Herd of Buffs! Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 11/19/2021 - 10:06

The CU Department of Theatre & Dance had a super strong showing at the American Society for Theatre Research in San Diego from October 21-24th.
Several recent alumni attended, including Jashodhara Sen (currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Florida) and Amanda Rose Villarreal (Assistant Professor at California State University, Fullerton). Current graduate students presenting at the conference included Sarah Fahmy, Sam Collier, and Heather Kelley. One of the organizers of the conference, Michelle Liu Carriger (Assistant Professor at UCLA), is a graduate alum of the MA program. All of these CU Theatre & Performance Studies Graduate Program affiliates, including Assistant Professor Marcos Steuernagal and Professor Beth Osnes, were a part of various working groups spanning a wide array of research topics. Sarah, Sam, and Heather were all awarded conference grants funded by The Rev. & Mrs. Francis Wolle Fund to attend.

After nearly two years of online conference, it was wonderful to be in person with our larger community and sharing conversations and a giant red-tailed hawk puppet processions through downtown San Diego. All of the CU students and alumni also joined Beth for an art science workshop she led with PhD students from the Scripps Oceanography Institute that is part of the University of San Diego on taking an art science approach to issues related to the climate crisis. This workshop was held directly on the beach where the institute resides and included PhD students from both the performing arts and the sciences in an open and creative exploration of how to find our wholeness as researchers focused on narrow subjects but also concerned with the larger yearnings for civic action, survival, and equity.

Sam Collier commented: “I really enjoyed my trip to ASTR—it was so inspiring to meet grad students at other institutions and learn about their research. There's a lot of exciting work being done in this field, and I look forward to attending future conferences and seeing how these projects continue to develop!”

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Alumni News: Deric McNish

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 18:55:46 +0000

Alumni News: Deric McNish Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/21/2021 - 12:55

When Deric McNish came to CU �鶹ӰԺ’s PhD program in Theatre & Performance Studies he was given his first teaching position in an Acting for Non-Majors course. His experience in the classroom inspired his dissertation topic, training methods for student-actors with disabilities in college courses, after he discovered how few available resources there were on the subject.

After obtaining his doctorate, Deric began working as an Associate Professor at Michigan State University’s Department of Theatre in 2013. There he developed a course for Disability and Performance, wrote a chapter for New Directions and Teaching Theatre Art, and has used theatre in courses as a way of teaching English, increasing fluency in the language, and promoting self-confidence.

He currently runs the BFA acting program at Michigan State, is transitioning towards becoming the Graduate Program Director, and as of July of 2021, has acquired tenure. He now intends to use this new position to plan his next steps to carry his work forward into the worlds of English Language Learning and Disability in Performance.

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Alumni News: Jashodhara Sen

Anonymous — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 15:11:37 +0000

Alumni News: Jashodhara Sen Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/14/2021 - 09:11

Jashodhara Sen is thrilled to join the School of Theatre and Dance at the University of Florida as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre Studies/Performance Studies. Currently, she is teaching undergraduate theatre history and graduate seminar and theatre history/literature/criticism courses while serving on two committees, Indigenous Relations Working Group and BA Theatre Curriculum Working Group, developing a proposal to revise and advance their BA theatre degree. She is also a part of the department’s anti-racist pedagogy committee and working on an action plan along with her colleagues in the performance area. Jashodhara feels supported and encouraged by her colleagues, the program Director, and the Dean of the College of the Arts. They are back in person, following the Covid-19 mask policy, and their students are inspired and bringing so much energy into the space.

Alongside her academic pursuits, Jashodhara is also working on a new project, a new play by Mashuq Deen for the University of New Hampshire, which will premier in early 2022. She also has a review and an article forthcoming for the Asian Theatre Journal and the Journal of Performance, Religion, and Spirituality.

She is grateful to her friends, mentors, and colleagues at the Department of Theatre & Dance at CU �鶹ӰԺ for their support, which prepared her for a rewarding and exciting career in academia.

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Turning Education Abroad Lessons into Real Global Impact

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Jun 2020 15:28:08 +0000

Turning Education Abroad Lessons into Real Global Impact Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 06/18/2020 - 09:28

Turning Education Abroad Lessons into Real Global Impact

By Rachel Kois (Global Buff, Entrepreneurship & Empowerment Global Seminar (EESA), Summer 2015)

While studying at CU �鶹ӰԺ, I knew I wanted to find a way to go abroad as part of my college experience. Though as a double major in Theatre Performance and Business Management, I was always really busy with class and thought a semester abroad wouldn’t fit into my four year plan. Luckily, I found the Entrepreneurship & Empowerment Global Seminar (EESA) that allowed me to go to South Africa for six weeks the summer of 2015 between my junior and senior years. Before participating in the program, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do. I only knew two things: I felt I could use business as a force for good, and I wanted a job after college that would allow me to travel far and often. I dreamt of finding or creating my own career to support these ideals. Being both impactful and international, EESA embodied both, and inspired me to start my own company, Simple Switch, and is still driving my work today.

I could talk about this program for hours, but what really stands out is the hands-on experience with local entrepreneurs, cultural education and some unforgettable experiences with my peers. The EESA curriculum is definitely a lot of work, but every minute of the program is worthwhile. The morning classes and the skills we learned there directly impacted the quality of the consulting we could deliver to our clients later in the day. Even now, 5 years later, I often tell people that I feel like I learned more about business in my six weeks in South Africa than the rest of my time at CU combined. Having such motivated entrepreneurs to work with and caring about their success meant higher stakes, because our work was contributing to their livelihoods! Adding professors and teammates who genuinely wanted to see these projects succeed meant I was learning in a more engaged way than I ever had before. It felt very similar to the way I learn new skills in my start up now; fast-paced and important. Beyond the course itself, learning about Nelson Mandela’s leadership style and the history or apartheid changed my own leadership and advocacy forever.

My time abroad influenced my decision to start my current company, Simple Switch and I still talk about my time in South Africa whenever I pitch Simple Switch. When I came home, I wanted to continue making an impact through business, but I wasn’t sure how. I decided I wanted to start using my everyday purchases to support people and the planet, but found that it was really difficult. I would spend hours researching which products to buy, and get confused and frustrated. Since I had been studying Entrepreneurship, my reaction was to solve this problem by starting a company, and that is how the idea for Simple Switch was born. Simple Switch is an online marketplace for what we call ‘positive impact purchasing’. Similar to Amazon, clients can shop online for things they want and need and have their products shipped to their door. The difference is, every product has an additional positive impact all over the world. For instance, we sell toilet paper that helps build toilets in developing communities, jewelry that helps employ women coming out of sexual exploitation, camping gear that contributes to conserving the environment, and more. We have more than 3,000 products on the site now, and that number is growing all the time. My goal is to grow the business to give every consumer the option to spend their money in a way that aligns with their values, while also getting what they want.

Starting the business was tough, especially due to the lack of structure. It’s really true that entrepreneurs wear a lot of hats, and I have especially enjoyed learning about how to be proficient in so many different skills through creating my own start-up, but being without a supervisor, planner, or manager makes knowing what to do day to day a job in itself. Despite the difficulties, it’s so rewarding to be able to take quick and decisive action to make a real global impact. Our company works with impactful suppliers from around the world, and being the owner means I can pivot the company to support them even better without a bunch of push back or paperwork. It's also been extremely rewarding to speak to young women about starting their own companies, hear their ideas, and empower them to make bold choices and get something started. I know my experience with my clients on the Entrepreneurship & Empowerment Global Seminar in South Africa gives me a better perspective on how to serve people around the world with this company, and the business knowledge I learned there allows me to be a much more effective entrepreneur.

Rachel Kois and some of her positive impact products
Featured image by Aubrey Fite/@fitetothefinish

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Emily K. Harrison

Anonymous — Fri, 10 Apr 2020 17:20:03 +0000

Emily K. Harrison Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/10/2020 - 11:20

Emily K. Harrison founded �鶹ӰԺ-based square product theatre in 2006. Emily was featured as part of Westword’s original “100 Colorado Creatives” series and was recognized by The Denver Post as a 2011 Pathmaker, one of only seven individuals working in an arts field to receive the honor. In 2016 she was awarded a shared True West Award and in 2018 was featured in American Theatre Magazine for her work with square product theatre.

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Kevin Crowe

Anonymous — Fri, 10 Apr 2020 17:12:51 +0000

Kevin Crowe Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/10/2020 - 11:12

graduated with a PhD in 2017; His full-length play, Unspoken, was the 2016 winner of CU �鶹ӰԺ’s New Play Festival and in 2015, received the GPTI Teaching Excellence Award.

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