Copyright University of Minnesota Duluth, Department of Theatre Marshall Performing Arts Center 141
1215 Ordean Court Duluth, MN 55812-3008 726-8562 or 726-8778 th@d.umn.edu
Mark Harvey has been with the Department of Theatre at UMD for 24 years where is he has designed lighting for more than 60 drama, musical theatre, dance and opera productions. Most recently Mark has designed lighting for UMD Theatre's Crazy for You, Kiss Me Kate, and Hibbing Community College's Beauty and the Beast. Mark's research at the university involves the use of digital technology in the classroom, as well as lighting design presentation techniques, including fiber optic light labs and virtual light lab software. As head of the theatrical design program at UMD, Mark supervises lighting, sound and stage management students in the UMD BFA Design/Technical and Stage Management programs.
Mark also enjoys traveling; serving as a visiting professor or touring with productions to Italy, Hungary, Russia and the United Kingdom. B.A. Speech/Drama Anderson College, Illinois State University Scenic Design, M.F.A. Indiana University Lighting Design
Mark Harvey
Professor - Lighting
149 MPAC, 218-726-8776
Classes: Lighting Design for the Theatre, Sound Design for the Theatre, Stage Management, Design Portfolio Preparation and Presentation, Introduction to Theatre Arts
Organizations/Affiliations: United States Institute for Theatre Technology , Northern Boundary Section, USITT, League of Professional Theatre Training Programs,
Tom Isbell is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and spent his professional career acting in theatre, film and TV, working opposite Robert DeNiro, Ed Harris, Helen Hunt, Lynn Redgrave, Rosemary Harris, Hal Holbrook, Anne Bancroft, Sarah Jessica Parker, and others. He has taken two productions to the Kennedy Center as part of the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival: Dear Finder in 1999 (co-written with seven students), and The Movie Game in 2002 (written by UMD alum Adam Hummel). A professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth, he was recently named the Albert Tezla Scholar/Teacher of the Year, as well a Horace T. Morse Distinguished Teacher, the highest undergraduate teaching honor given within the four University of Minnesota campuses. His book, Lessons: The Craft of Acting, was released in April, 2006, published by Meriwether Press. His most recent play was Teddy Roosevelt and the Treasure of Ursa Major, directed by Gregg Henry and with songs written by political humorist Mark Russell. It opened at the Kennedy Centers Family Theatre in October, 2006, and will go on a four-month national tour in January 2008. Simon & Schuster will publish a book based on the play, also to be released in January 2008; First Lady Laura Bush has written a forward for the book. Mr. Isbell is currently working on a musical adaptation of Homers Odyssey with noted French composer Louis Dunoyer de Segonzac.
Tom Isbell
Professor - Acting
148 MPAC, 218-726-6313
Classes: Acting I, Acting II: American Realism, Acting III: Classical Styles, Acting VI: Acting for the Camera, Acting Scene Study, Stage Combat/Circus, Improvisation for the Theatre, Improvisational Theater for Business, Introduction to Film
Organizations/Affiliations:
SAG (Screen Actors Guild)
AEA (Actors Equity Association)
AFTRA (American Federation of Televisioon and Radio Artists)
DGA (Dramatists Guild of America)
LilaAnn Coates White is a graduate of the National Academy of Arts, a performing arts high school in Champaign, Illinois. Ms. White danced professionally with the Des Moines Ballet, Allergro Dance Theatre in Chatanooga, Tennesee, and the Minnesota Ballet (then the Duluth Ballet). Upon retiring from the stage, Ms. White pursued her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Physical Therapy from The College of St. Scholastica. She also assumed the role of Principal Teacher for the School of the Minnesota Ballet. In the fall of 1999, Ms. White joined the Department of Theatre at UMD as an adjunct assistant professor. She also spearheaded a creative movement dance class for children with physical challenges through the Minnesota Ballet.
Ms. White has choreographed for several UMD productions including; Collaborative Spirits in Motion, Bare Bones, Pulse Points,and was UMD's guest choreographer for the American College Dance Festival held at the University of Iowa. She has also choreographed for the Minnesota Ballets Womens Choreography Showcase and Seven Choreographers Plunge. Other credits include work for Ressl Dance and Dances on the Lakewalk. Her most recent works include an original piece, entitled Dowland Dances, which premiered in May of 2007 with the live accompaniment of lutenist Edward Martin and tenor William Bastian. Last summer, she had the pleasure of choreographing the operas, Carmen and Lucia di Lammermoor for the Sieur Du Luth Summer Arts Festival.
Lila Ann White
Assistant Professor (adjunct) - dance
141 MPAC, 218-726-8676
Classes: Ballet (I,II, III)
William Payne received his undergraduate degree in Theatre from Ashland University in Ohio and his MFA in Directing from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He is a cofounder and ensemble member of the American Theater Company of Chicago. His professional credits include work at ATC, the Goodman Theatre, the National Jewish Theater, Latino Chicago Theatre Company, Victory Gardens Theater, Body Politic Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Minnesota Repertory Theatre, and the Centro Hellenico Teatro in Mexico City. He has done extensive research and production work with masks, new play development, and video scenery production. He most recently directed the world premiere of Half Of Plenty by Lisa Dillman at the American Theater Company (May 2007). Mr. Payne has designed sound for the stage and directed documentaries, including the recently released 50/50: The American Divide , shot nationwide during the 2004 presidential election about why people vote.
Bill Payne
Associate Professor - Directing/Acting
144 MPAC, 218-726-8597
Classes: Introduction to Theatre Art, Acting Fundamentals, Acting 1, Audition Techniques, Acting IV: Character/Masks, New Play Development Workshop, Stage Direction
Organizations/Affiliations: NEA, Ensemble Member of the American Theater Company of Chicago, Illinois
Pat Dennis
Department Head
Professor - Costume Design/Makeup
148 MPAC, 218-726-8778
Classes:
Organizations/Affiliations: United States Institute for Theatre Technology , Northern Boundary Section, USITT
Mark Stanfield is a screenwriter whose produced work includes the 2000 feature film "Two of Us". He is a member of the Dramatists Guild. M.A., San Francisco State University, B.A., University of California, Berkeley
Mark Stansfield
Adjunct Instructor, Film Studies
218-726-6377
Classes: Screenwriting, Film History, Film & Society
Organizations/Affiliations: Member of the Dramatists Guild
Kate Ufema is a full professor and the Voice and Speech Specialist in the professional actor-training program in the University of Minnesota Duluth's Department of Theatre. She is an Equity actress and singer, professional director, musical director, voice, singing, and speech specialist, and voice consultant. She has been involved in over 200 productions in one capacity or another, and she trains and coaches voices in all the performance media including contracts with CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, National Public Radio and American Public Radio. She has acted, directed, and coached in theatres across the country, and has presented workshops and adjudicated theatre competitions and festivals from Colorado to the East Coast, and in Hungary, Romania, Turkey, Scotland, Finland, and South Africa. She has taught in and out of academia for over 35 years, and has published chapters, articles, and reviews on the topic of vocal extremes. She holds B.A., M.A., and M.F.A. degrees from Penn State University, and is a charter member and past President of VASTA (Voice and Speech Trainers Association).
Kate Ufema
Professor - Voice and Speech, Musical Theatre Specialist/Director
147 MPAC, 218-726-8779
Classes: Voice and Movement, Speech for the Actor, Dialects for the Stage, Acting: Musical Theatre, Musical Theatre Audition Techniques, Acting Fundamentals 1
Organizations/Affiliations:
Actors Equity Association
VASTA (Voice and Speech Trainers Assoc.) - Past President
Rebecca Katz Harwood, a native of Duluth, began dancing at the age of seven with the Duluth Ballet and since then her eclectic performing career has gone on to include modern, jazz, musical theatre, social and folk dance. Committed to pursuing the life of the mind as well as the life of the body, she completed her undergraduate education at Macalester College, graduating summa cum laude with a BA in Religious Studies and Anthropology. In 2005, received her MFA in Dance from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Outside the studio, Ms. Katz Harwoods other activities have included research assistant for Broadway choreographer John Carrafa, Administrator for the Society of Dance History Scholars, and Operations Manager for the James Sewell Ballet, among others. Her previous college teaching includes St. Olaf College, Marymount Manhattan College, and the CAP21 Conservatory, also in New York City. Ms. Katz Harwood is an active choreographer whose work has been seen at various venues in Minnesota and New York, most recently at Joes Pub as part of the 2006 DanceNow Festival. She joined the faculty of UMDs Theatre Department as an Assistant Professor in the fall of 2006.
Rebecca Katz-Harwood
Assistant Professor - Dance
141 MPAC, 218-726-8955
Classes: Dance Technique modern, jazz, and ballet, Introduction to the World of Dance, Dance History, Musical Theatre History, Dance Composition
Organizations/Affiliations: Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Associate Member, Society of Dance History Scholars, Member
John Heil
Staff - Technical Director/Scene Shop Supervisor
141 MPAC, 218-726-8774
Classes: Stagecraft
Terry Estep began working at UMD in 1993 and joined the Department of Theatre in 2003. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Northern Iowa. Prior to coming to UMD Terry worked as a PC Trainer for FlexWork and as a Marketing Support Rep for IBM. Terrys main responsibilities include budget, financial documents, course scheduling and student payroll
Maureen Gunderson
Staff - Principal Office & Administrative Specialist
141 MPAC, 218-726-8562
Laura Piotrowski
Staff - Costume Shop Supervisor
37B MPAC, 218-726-8772
Classes: Costume Construction 1&2
Jessica Eaton
Staff - Prin Oper/Stud Svs Spec
231 H/D199 - Box Office, 218-726-6086
Ann Aiko Bergeron is a Morse-Alumni Distinguished Professor of Theatre. She teaching courses in jazz and tap dance as well as movement for actors and acting courses. She has also held teaching/production positions at Kelvin Grove College of Advanced Education, in Brisbane, Australia, the University of South Dakota, Vermillion, and the University of Texas, Austin. Ann received her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of California, Irvine, and Master of Fine Arts in Directing from The University of Texas at Austin.
Ms. Bergeron is a two-time Fulbright-Hays Seminar awardee, representing American dance and theatre educators both in the Peoples Republic of China and later, in India. Her directing, choreographing, teaching, guest workshops, and performances, have taken her across the U.S.A. as well as to China, Australia, England, Finland, Hungary, India, Taiwan, Romania, Italy, and Turkey. In her career as a dance/theatre artist, Ann has choreographed over 30 concert dance works, and directed and/or choreographed over 55 plays and musicals, including CRAZY FOR YOU, CABARET, INTO THE WOODS, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, DAMN YANKEES, CHICAGO, OKLAHOMA! A CHORUS LINE, SWEET CHARITY, and GUYS AND DOLLS.
Ms. Bergeron is recognized by the American Tap Dance Institute as a Top Tap Teacher. Her current research/creative interests include tap composeography utilizing digital composition, and the integration of operant conditioning in the training of dance technique.
Ann Bergeron
Professor - Dance, Acting/Directing
148 MPAC, 218-726-8273
abergeron@d.umn.edu
Classes: Voice and Movement, Audition Techniques,
Senior Studio, Jazz II, Jazz III, Tap I, Tap II
Kelly Grussendorf
Assistant Professor - Acting
145 MPAC, 218-726-8273
Classes: Acting Fundamentals, Intro to Theatre
Curtis Phillips
Assistant Professor - Scenic Design
146 MPAC, 218-726-7444
Classes: Set Design 1@2, Scene Painting, Stage Rendering Techniques, Theatre Crafts Technologies, Theatrical Drafting, CADD
Organizations/Affiliations: USITT, Northern Boundary Section, USITT
Curtis Phillips received an MFA in Scenic Design from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Professional theatrical design credits include produced designs for Off-Off Broadway for The Mint Theatre Company and the American Globe as well as Off-Broadway for the Signature Theatre, Musical Theatre Works, and Manhattan Class Company in New York City. Curtis has also acted as a resident and guest designer for regional theaters across the country, including Theatre Cedar Rapids, Bristol Valley Theatre, Chautauqua Theatre Company and Cumberland County Playhouse where he designed the first licensed production of Disneys Beauty and the Beast. Curtis Has also taught Set Design and Scenic Painting at UW-Madison, Edgewood College and SUNY-Fredonia.
Kelly is a former UMD graduate with a BFA in Theatre. Upon leaving Minnesota, she pursued an MFA from Rutgers University and studied with William Esper in the Meisner Technique of Acting. For the first 10 years of her career, Kelly worked as an actress as a part of Actors Equity and played roles in theatres in NYC and other parts of the country. Her favorite experience was doing a National Tour and performing at the Promenade theatre in a Broadway Series for Children. After working as a singer, dancer and actress, Kelly also became involved in writing music and was eventually signed to a national recording contract with Curb Records as the artist "Charity". Her first album, "Tears Will End" was released internationally in September 2004. During her stay in the music business, Kelly also sang back ups for movies and other artist's recordings. She appears on the movie soundrack of "The Music Of My Heart" and the "Godman". She currently is working as a voice-over and jingle singer for local and national commercial spots. Kelly is very excited to be teaching, Acting Fundamentals, and Jazz Dance this year at UMD and truly thrilled to have the opportunity to direct "Hummingbirds" in the experimental theatre this fall.