THEATRE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Alabama
- Assistant Professor, Dance
- Founder of Elev
Aidan Nettles is an Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Alabama. Nettles earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Dance at the University of Alabama and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) with Distinction from the University of Roehampton in London, UK. During her tenure at UA, she presided over the Nu Delta Alpha National Dance Honor Society and Dance Ambassadors; served as UA Parent Ambassador; and danced with Alabama Repertory Dance Theater, Dance Alabama! and Dance Collection before graduating with honors as a Blount Scholar. Throughout her matriculation at Roehampton, she taught dance at the Roehampton Dance Society and Amplified Arts Academy; served as program representative for postgraduate dance studies; presented a paper at the Young Conference at Ghent University in Belgium; and later served as the Young Conference Chair. Nettles received the International Excellence and Roehampton Vice Chancellor's Award for scholarly achievement. She has trained under and performed choreographic works by Eleanor D'Antuono, Kirk Peterson, Moses Pendleton, Cornelius Carter, Lawrence M. Jackson, Rita Snyder, Tina Trinkler Mercer, Mira Popovich, and many more.
Nettles enjoys teaching ballet, contemporary and jazz to children and youth; and has choreographed and scored competitive programs and television performances. Aidan Nettles is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 5 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.
Nettles is the founder of Elevé, a new academy for young people to rise upwards in their exploration of the performing arts. She is supported in developing this program as one of three faculty members accepted to the College of Arts and Science's 2022-2023 Community Engagement Academy cohort.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Voice & Acting
Allison Hetzel, Professor of Voice and Acting, teaches acting, voice, and speech courses in the undergraduate and graduate theatre programs. Her recent solo performance project, which she wrote and performed, Step Mama Drama, has been a part of the 2019 United Solo Festival in New York City, Off-Broadway at Theatre Row, and was nominated for a Critic's Choice Award by All About Solo. Allison also performed Step Mama Drama at the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland at the Spaces on the Mile festival venue. Allison was invited to perform a selection of Step Mama Drama in Chicago, Illinois, as part of the Identity Cabaret in the early stages of creating the show in 2016 on the DePaul University Campus.
On-campus she played the role of Toni in Appropriate at UA in the fall of 2016. In London, she also performed multiple roles in "Cross-Cultural Archetype Explorations" at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (2014). She is certified as a Master Teacher of Archetypes for Actors, actingandsingingwitharchetypes.org/master-teachers/ (2015) and an Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework (2008). See www.fitzmauriceinstitute.org
Allison was one of the vocal coaches for the 2011 summer season at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival in Boulder, Colorado. Allison wrote and performed a one-woman show based on the life and work of Georgia O'Keeffe, titled Considering Georgia O'Keeffe, which she performed in August 2009 and 2010 Edinburgh Fringe Festival as well as the East to Edinburgh Festival of 2010 in New York City at the 59 East 59 th Street Theatres. A selection from this solo work will be performed by Allison at the upcoming 2022 Women in the History Showcase in Chattanooga, TN, as part of the Tennessee Arts Collective. www.tnarts.org/womeninhistory
Allison has also collaborated with colleague Sarah M. Barry in creating and performing a text-based theatre dance piece that premiered in Biel, Switzerland, at the 46th International Choreographers' Showcase. Allison is the Voice, Speech, and Text coach for UA theatre productions. Some past projects include Hell: Paradise Found, The Time of Your Life, Henry V, The Playboy of the Western World, and Blithe Spirit. Additionally, she also vocal coaches for the on-air voices of Alabama Public Radio. Allison received her MFA in Voice and Acting Pedagogy from Virginia Commonwealth University, where she studied voice and speech with Janet Rodgers. Before her graduate work, Allison performed at the following theatres in Chicago, IL: Organic Theatre, Ivanhoe, Factory, and The Theatre Building. She has studied Classical Greek theatre with the Athens Centre of Greece, where she performed in a touring production of The Trojan Women. She also performed in Darkly Beautiful at the 2002 International Theatre Festival of Sibiu, Romania, where she worked with the DAH Theatre Company of Yugoslavia. Allison has led voice and acting workshops in Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Scotland. She is a member of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA) and has served locally as a teacher and volunteer for Arts in Autism.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director
- Instructor of Dance at the University of Alabama
- Instructor, Dance
Bryant Henderson (MFA) is an instructor of dance at The University of Alabama and a Certified Physically Integrated Dance Teaching Artist, guest performer, and choreographer with The Dancing Wheels Company & School in Cleveland, OH. He is a nationally-recognized dance artist, educator, and performer who specializes in contemporary and vernacular dance forms, and enjoys investigating the intersectionality of these two worlds. Bryant teaches and studies various forms including jazz, hip-hop, contemporary dance, musical theatre, ballet, and aerial dance. Bryant's theoretical and choreographic research has been presented throughout the United States; recognized by the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) and American College Dance Association (ACDA); and published in the Journal of Dance Education. Bryant earned his BA in Dance and Public Relations from The University of Alabama and Masters of Fine Arts in Dance and Women's & Gender Studies from the University of Oregon where he was a Graduate Teaching Fellow.
As an educator, Bryant has held professorships and instructor positions at private and public institutions across the US. Recently, he completed a 2-year Visiting Assistant Professorship at Cleveland State University where he served as the Artistic Director of the CSU Dance Company. He previously served as Visiting Assistant Professor and Artistic Director of Dance at Willamette University in Salem, OR and as an Instructor of Dance at Lane Community College. Bryant is an active teaching artist and has been a guest artist/choreographer for several academic institutions including Wayne State University, Alma College, The University of Alabama, Shelton State Community College, and the University of Oregon. He is also a highly regarded and recruited dance adjudicator and regularly serves on panels for StageOne National Dance Competitions, Encore DCS, and Dance Troupe, Inc.
Bryant has served as the Assistant Director and Jazz Faculty for the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive at The University Alabama. He has also held faculty positions with The Eugene Ballet Company in Oregon, and with Boulder Jazz Dance Workshop where he coordinated their Commercial Dance Intensive. Bryant's choreography has been seen throughout the country, appeared at American College Dance Festivals, and in New York City. He has premiered numerous original concert dance works including commissions for The Dancing Wheels Company, The University of Alabama, and University of Oregon. He has also choreographed musicals including Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Hair, and Wild Party. Bryant has performed with SYREN Modern Dance, BEings Dance, DEMA Dance, J. Chen Project, and Broadway Dance Center in venues including NY's City Center, The Joyce SoHo, NYC Times Square and The Baryshnikov Performing Arts Center. Bryant has also toured the world as a dancer and aerialist for Celebrity Cruises and performed with the aerial-ballet company, AROVA Contemporary Ballet in Birmingham, AL. Learn more about Bryant at www.bryanthenderson.com or follow him on Instagram @alwayz_b_dancin.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Costume, Costume Designer, and Costume Technician
- Instructor, Costume Design and Production
Clara Jean Kelly (she, her, hers) is an Assistant Professor of Costume, Costume Designer, and Costume Technician based in Tuscaloosa, AL. She has her MFA in Costume Design from Florida State University and does freelance costume design all over the United States. Clara Jean has previously worked as the Costume Shop Manager and as a Costume Designer at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, and has performed duties as Costume Shop Manager, Adjunct Professor, and Residential Costume Designer at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, PA and at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomingotn, IL. Other notable positions include the Costume Shop Manager and Costume Designer at Theater at Monmouth in Monmouth, ME and the Residential Costume Designer and Shop Manager at The Hippodrome State Theater in Gainesville, FL.
Education
MFA, Dance, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Professor Carter has always had a passion for dance and it is reflected in his list of accolades. Carter was awarded the National Outstanding Doctoral and Research Universities Professor of the Year award by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in Washington, D.C. on November 13, 2001. Carter was also awarded the 2001-2002 Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award by the Alabama Alumni Association. He'll never forget how his passion garnered the first of many awards: a scholarship to the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University in St. Louis, MO after high school. Carter then joined the Cleo Robinson Parker Dance Ensemble and studied at The Ailey School on scholarship. He went on to explore the international dance scene. Carter's first major appointment was as the new artistic director for one of the first contemporary dance companies and schools in Reykjavik, Iceland. Carter has been a faculty member at the American Ballet Theatre, American Dance Festival (Moscow 1997 and Korea 2002), Bates Dance Festival and Harvard Summer Dance Festival (Dean of Students). He teaches and choreographs for the Alvin Ailey Summer Intensive Program (2001-present) in New York. In May 1999, he attended the American Choreographers Showcase where he presented and performed his choreography in France, Holland, Austria, Vienna, and Lithuania. Carter continues to set new works on student companies, professional companies and other University dance programs in the United States and abroad. Mr. Carter received his MFA in Dance from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He was a Guest Rehearsal Director for Dance Brazil 2005 Season in Bahia, Brazil. Most recently he served on the panel for the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, D.C.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor
- Member of the Department Leadership Team
- Chairman / Head of Arts Management
- Department Chair / Head of Arts Management / Associate Professor
Dominic is an Associate Professor of Theatre and heads the Arts Management program at The University of Alabama. In addition, he serves as Artistic Director and Business and Operations Manager for the Department of Theatre and Dance as well as SummerTide Theatre.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Theatre & Dance
- Professor of Theatre, Costume Design and Production
Donna Meester is a Professor of Theatre & Dance and Director of Costume Design and Production at The University of Alabama. Meester served as Design Chair for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival-Region IV and is a 2011 Recipient of the Kennedy Center Golden Medallion Award, the highest award given to educators. An active member in the United States Institute for Theatre Design/Technology, Donna recently served six years as the Costume Commissioner. Meester is currently serving her third term as Faculty Senate President at The University of Alabama.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor
- Assistant Professor of Dance at the University
Dr Fenella Kennedy is an Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Alabama. Their research - creative and theoretical - examines how different articulations of our dance practices can shape our values and who we are as a society. Before joining the faculty at UA Dr Kennedy danced with Aegis Live Arts and Nutshell Contemporary Dance Company in Europe, where they also restaged Martha Graham repertory on undergraduate students. In their spare time Dr Kennedy teaches and organizes events for the Blues and Fusion social partner dance communities.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor at the University of Alabama
- Director of Vocal Instruction
Dr. William A. Martin is an Associate Professor at the University of Alabama in the Department of Theatre and Dance where he serves as the Director of Vocal Instruction for the Musical Theatre Program. He is also active as a professional singer and actor. His varied performance credits include the role of Maurice on the National/North American tour of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, roles with numerous opera companies including Atlanta Opera and Baltimore Opera, as well as several summers with Lees-McRae Summer Theatre. Dr. Martin has also taught and performed internationally at the Escola de Musica da Universidade Federal da Bahia in Brazil. He is a member of the Musical Theatre Educators' Alliance, the Southeastern Theatre Conference, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the American Guild of Musical Artists, and Pi Kappa Lambda.
Job Titles:
- Associate Chair of Theatre / Head of Design and Technical Production
Jamorris Rivers is an instructor of choreography and dance history. He also teaches ballet, modern dance techniques, and Jazz at The University of Alabama. Rivers is the Resident Choreographer and Artistic Director of Arova Contemporary Ballet in Birmingham, Alabama. Rivers has performed professionally with regional ballet companies and internationally with Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Rivers has performed works by several choreographers including Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Robert Battle, Lindsey Nelko, Roger Van Fleteren, and Dwight Rhoden. Rivers' teaching credits include American Ballet Theater Summer Intensive Tuscaloosa, Samford University, Birmingham-Southern College, Alabama Dance Academy, Alabama School of Fine Arts, and The Dance Foundation. The Alabama State Council on the Arts presented Rivers with the Alabama Artist Fellowship Award for his recent work The Purple Ones, a one-act feature along with Twyla Tharp's In the Upper Room, performed by the Alabama Ballet. Most recently, Rivers served as Choreographer for Red Mountain Theatre Company productions of Fiddler on the Roof, Memphis, and My Fair Lady. Additionally, Rivers serves as a member on the Alabama Dance Council Board of Directors and is working to complete his MFA at Hollins University. Jamorris Rivers is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Acting & Stage Movement
Kelley Schoger (MFA, M.AmSAT) is Associate Professor of Movement and Acting at the University of Alabama where she teaches Alexander Technique, Movement for the Actor, and Acting in the graduate and undergraduate theatre programs. She is an actor, movement specialist, and nationally certified teacher of the Alexander Technique through the American Society for the Alexander Technique. Kelley seeks to help performers find greater availability, vulnerability, and expressive range through the lens of the Alexander Technique, and continues to explore the intersection between Alexander Technique, movement, and the acting process.
As a movement professional, she has created movement for Mother Courage and Her Children (Arena Stage, DC), along with other regional productions, and internationally with the British physical theatre company, Complicite. Kelley has created original works of physical theatre, including Her Destined Port, performed at New York City's La Mama Experimental Theatre Club in 2015, and Beauty, Identity, Release at the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival in 2019 (for which she was awarded a UA faculty research grant) and in Austria at the IUGTE Interdisciplinary Arts Conference. At University of Alabama she has movement directed or coached numerous productions including The Philadelphia Story, La Ronde, and The Importance of Being Earnest, as well as acted in and directed several productions, including The Servant of Two Masters.
She has offered numerous workshops at national conferences, and presented research in Alexander Technique and Acting at the Alexander Technique International Congress and Alexander Technique National Conferences. Kelley is currently working with Jessica Wolf at Yale School of Drama on an advanced teacher certification in the groundbreaking "Art of Breathing" technique, which combines the Alexander Technique and the respiratory re-education work of Carl Stough. She is also pursuing training in Intimacy Direction for the stage.
Kelley worked professionally in New York City for ten years as an actor and puppeteer with such organizations as MCC Theater, La MaMa E.T.C., Mabou Mines, Theatre for the New City, and The Culture Project.
Job Titles:
- Technical Supervisor for the Department of Theatre and Dance
- Technical Supervisor, Dance
Lyndell McDonald currently serves as Technical Supervisor for the Department of Theatre and Dance at The University of Alabama. He is a member of the IATSE local 78 stage union and has a preferred concentration in lighting design. In addition, he has served as lighting designer and technical director for Dance Alabama! and Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre for over a decade with oversight of six dance productions annually. He has previously served as the guest lighting designer for Contemporary Choreographers Collective (COCO) Dance Festival in Trinidad and Tobago and for American College Dance Association South-West Region Conference at Texas Tech University. He has also served as Lighting Designer for the Birmingham Dance Theatre, NS Studio in Birmingham and the Pointe Dance Arts also located in Birmingham. His theater design credits include: The Grapes of Wrath, The Piano Lesson and Romeo and Juliet just to name of a few. His union credits include production setup for Jay-Z's Holy Grail tour, Miranda Lambert's Platinum tour and Mama Mia!. He has also produced work for the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, American Ballet Theater and The University of Alabama's SummerTide Theatre productions. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from The University of Alabama. In addition to his academic and performing arts experience, Lyndell also owns an event lighting and production company, 2L7 LLC.. The company manages and designs lighting and decor for special events including: formal galas, fundraisers and weddings.
Job Titles:
- Head of Directing and Stage Management
- Head of Directing and Stage Management Assistant Professor
Matt is an Artistic and Academic Professional with over 20 years of experience. He is the previous owner and Artistic Director of The Bon Ton Theater, a for-profit regional space in Michigan, where he acted as the producer of over 50 theatrical performances and cabarets. Matt is a director, actor, and playwright of works in the Regional, University, and Conservatory arena. He received a Master of Fine Arts with a concentration in Directing from the University of Alabama, and is certified to teach the Michael Chekhov methodology through the Great Lakes Michael Chekhov Consortium at Kent State University. Matt has continued his development with the Chekhov technique as the founder of Open Motion Studio - a space developed for theatre artists and business professionals to present honest work through the Chekhov techniques, with a focus on the study of the psychophysical connection between music therapists and their clients. His directing and teaching experiences include the Michigan Shakespeare Festival, the University of Alabama, the University of South Alabama, Theatre 68 in NYC, among others. Matt's original play Noise was recently workshopped with the Bailiwick at Victory Gardens in Chicago
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Lighting, Sound, & Digital Design
Matt Reynolds (Snellville, GA) designs lighting, sound, and media around the world. In addition to The University of Alabama, New Mexico State, Michigan State (M.F.A. '12), and Indiana University (B.A. '08), his work has been enjoyed internationally at Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Scotland), Off-Broadway at 59E59 Theatre and Anita's Way, and regionally at Horizon Theatre (Atlanta), Red Mountain Theatre Company (Birmingham), Steel Magic Theatre (Birmingham), American Southwest Theatre Company (Las Cruces), Indiana Repertory Theatre (Indianapolis), Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis), Cardinal Theatre (Bloomington), and Brown County Playhouse (Nashville), among others. Some of his favorite designs include Aunt Raini (directed by Mark Medoff), Far From Finished (starring Jeffrey Tambor and Neil Patrick Harris), Seth's Big Fat Broadway Show (starring and directed by Seth Rudetsky), and Rent (directed by Scott Burkell). Matt has also had the pleasure of designing for fantastic choreographers like George Pinney, Jin Wen Yu, Shoko Tamai, Bella Lewitzky, Debra Knapp, Sherrie Barr, and Iris Rosa. Matt strives through theatrical design to amplify marginalized voices and tell compelling stories.
As an instructor, Matt encourages experimentation, self-reflection, and most importantly, play. He has taught theatrical practices for The University of Alabama, New Mexico State University, Michigan State University, Indiana University, Michigan Educational Theatre Association, Lansing Media Theatre Project, Southeastern Theatre Conference, United States Institute for Theatre Technology, and Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.
Matt's accolades include multiple publications by the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, Southern Theatre Magazine, and Kenyon Review; the Gretel Geist Design Award for his lighting design of The American Clock, Best Sound Design Pulsar Award Nomination for As You Like It, Best Lighting Design Pulsar Award Nomination for Legally Blonde, KCACTF Regional Selections for As You Like It (sound design) and Twelfth Night (sound and lighting design); as well as the Delta Zeta Faculty Appreciation Award and the Theatre Arts Faculty Appreciation Award at NMSU.
Matt is a long-standing member of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology; the International Organization of Scenographers, Theatre Architects, and Technicians; Phi Beta Kappa; and affiliate of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor
- Associate Professor of Dance at the University of Alabama
Qianping Guo is an Associate Professor of Dance at The University of Alabama, has been awarded certification as a teacher of "methods of teaching classic dance" from Bolshoi Ballet Academy of Moscow and Ballet Heritage/Vaganova Ballet Academy of St. Petersburg, Russia. He is a native of China where he began his ballet training at the age of eleven with Shenyang Music Conservatory, and in 2002 he graduated from the University of Arizona in Theatre Arts & Dance with his MFA. He has danced with two of the tops ballet companies in China and America, including Liaoning Ballet of China and Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle. Guo has performed many principal and solo roles of ballet including Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Gisslle, Le Corsaire, and George Balanchine's ballet Jewels Rubies, Stars and Stripes, and Midsummer Night's Dream. When he was a dancer, he participated in many national and international ballet competitions including China's 1st National Ballet Competition in 1985, in which he won the silver medal; the 2nd International Ballet Competition in New York in 1987; the 13th international Ballet Competition in Varna Bulgaria in 1988; and the 7th International Ballet Competition in France in 1988, in which he won the gold medal. He has been a valuable liaison in international studies and teachings , developing dance academic program exchanges. He has used his diverse background to his advantage, teaching in China, Japan and America and combining methods to develop students' artistic careers. The Chinese and American students he's mentored and coached (Jolie Rose Lombardo, Jiao Yang and Lumeng) have gone on to win gold and silver medals at international and national ballet competitions. The teachers he studied from at Vaganova Ballet Academy and Bolshoi Ballet Academy are Ludmilla Safronova, Irina Kolpakova, Elena Poryvkina, Eldar Aliev, Georgii Gusev and Vera Kulikova. He also is a certified teacher for American Ballet Theater's National Training Curriculum.
Rebecca Kling received her MFA in Acting from The University of Alabama in 2013. Some film credits include: The Comedian, Bull, The Blacklist, and Modern Love. Upcoming TV episodes: Fleishman is in Trouble and Power Book III: Raising Kanan. Rebecca is a trained Yoga teacher and is a member of Actor's Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor, Dance
- Director of the Collaborative Arts Research Initiative at the University of Alabama
Rebecca Salzer, Associate Professor of Dance and Director of the Collaborative Arts Research Initiative at The University of Alabama, is an intermedia dance artist and educator. Her work for the stage has been seen in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, where she directed Rebecca Salzer Dance Theater for a decade. Her award-winning films and videos have been programmed in national and international venues and on public affiliate television stations KQED, KPBS, and WTTW. Salzer is a Jacob K. Javits Fellow. She holds a B.A. in Humanities from Yale University and an M.F.A. in Dance Theatre from the University of California, San Diego. Ms. Salzer also serves as Project Director for the Dancing Digital Project, supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities(dancingdigital.org).
Job Titles:
- Artist and Teacher
- Instructor, Dance
Rhea is an artist and teacher, working primarily in dance and video. Their work has been presented in backyards, galleries, and theatre spaces across the United States, as well as in Colombia and New Zealand, with support from the Puffin Foundation, the Alabama State Council on the Arts, and the National Society of Arts and Letters. Rhea has taught at Birmingham-Southern College (Alabama), the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Danza Común (Bogotá, Colombia), and various other institutions, festivals, and art centers. Rhea holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a BA in Telecommunication and Film from the University of Alabama. Rhea‘s creative practice is influenced by their experience studying and creating with artists they admire, including Jennifer Monson, Niklas Vollmer, Jessie Young, and Sycamore Toffel. In making their work, Rhea uses ballet and contemporary dance forms, video, and their desire to fully integrate the imagination with the body. Some of their thoughts about the relationship between dance and video are published in a performative essay titled "The Carpet" in Undisciplining Dance (2018), edited by Carol Brown and Alys Longley.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor
- Director
- Professor of Dance
Rita Snyder is Associate Professor of Dance and Director of Undergraduate Studies for Dance. She has taught all levels of ballet and modern technique as well as pointe, ballet repertoire and partnering. Her teaching also includes dance history, ballroom dance and anatomy and kinesiology for dance.
In addition to teaching, Ms. Snyder has a committed interest in anatomy and kinesiology for dance. Her interest in this area has been the recent focus for her scholarly research. The result of this research is the book, Anatomy and Kinesiology for Dance: An Introduction, which was recently published (May 2019) by Kendall Hunt Publishing Company.
As part of Ms. Snyder's creative activity, she regularly choreographs and stages both ballet and modern works for the pre-professional student dance ensemble, Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre (ARDT). Her original choreography has been performed internationally in Spain, Italy and also across the United States. As part of her interest in researching and preserving historic dance works, Ms. Snyder has restaged ballet classics that include: Act II of Swan Lake, Act II of Giselle, Pas de Dix from Raymonda, the Grand Pas de Deux (with ensemble) from Paquita, and Vaganova's Diane and Acteon.
Prior to her appointment at The University of Alabama, Rita Snyder danced professionally with both ballet and modern dance companies including American Festival Ballet, Classical Ballet theatre, Berkshire/Albany Ballet, Tandy Beal and Co., and Clay Taliaferro and Dancers. Her professional performing also includes musical theatre in Baltimore, MD, Salt Lake City, UT and Albuquerque, NM. Ms. Snyder also has a background in classical music, having performed professionally as a violinist with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Albuquerque Opera Theatre and Albuquerque Chamber Orchestra.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Department Leadership Team
- Associate Chair of Dance
- Associate Chair of Dance / Director of MFA Dance Program / Professor of Dance
Job Titles:
- Head of Acting
- Head of Acting Programs / Professor of Acting
- Professor of Acting
Seth Panitch is Professor of Acting and heads the MFA and BFA Acting programs at The University of Alabama. A professional Director, Actor, Playwright and Filmmaker, Seth has worked internationally in Havana, Cuba with the Ministry of Culture (directing productions of The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Importance of Being Earnest, Beyond Therapy, and Alcestis Ascending); Off-Broadway at the 59E59 Theatre , American Place Theater, Westbeth Theater Center, Harold Clurman Theatre, Samuel Beckett Theatre, and Urban Stages Theatre; regionally at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival (three seasons), Utah Shakespearean Festival, Texas Shakespeare Festival and Idaho Repertory Theatre; and in Los Angeles at the Globe Playhouse, Odyssey Theatre, Ventura Court Theatre, Complex Theatre and the Hillside Repertory Company. His plays Hell: Paradise Found (published by Broadway Play Publishing Inc.), Alcestis Ascending and Dammit, Shakespeare! have received critical success in New York and Los Angeles productions, as well as productions in Havana, Cuba by the Cuban Ministry of Culture. Seth wrote, directed, and performed in the feature film Service to Man, which was awarded Best Picture at eight national and international film festivals, and is distributed by Freestyle Entertainment Pictures. His documentary A Night in the Theatre has been published by Insight Media, and his second documentary Company HavanaBama: Directing Across the Gulf was screened by the 15th Annual Sidewalk Film Festival. Seth has been awarded the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Faculty Achievement Award, the University of Alabama's Blackmon-Moody Outstanding Professor Award, the Burnum Distinguished Faculty Award, the Alabama National Alumni Association's Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award, and was named the 2010 Druid Arts Educator of the Year. He was also awarded a Leadership Board Faculty Fellowship from 2009-2012. At the University of Alabama, Seth has directed Hamlet, Tartuffe, Seven Guitars, Twelfth Night, Othello, Into the Woods, Henry V, Romeo and Juliet, The Heiress, Saint Joan, Animal Crackers, Fifth of July, The Government Inspector, Enemy of the People, and Moby Dick, and performed as a guest artist in Misalliance, Moon Over Buffalo, A Flea in Her Ear and Blithe Spirit. Seth received his MFA in Classical Acting at the University of Washington's Professional Actor's Training Program and is a member of both the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers and the Dramatists Guild of America.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Scenic Design
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre / Voice
Soprano Luvada A. Harrison is an assistant professor of Musical Theatre/Voice in the Department of Theatre and Dance. Prior to joining the ranks of academia, she spent almost 20 years as a working singer based in New York City. Harrison continues to enjoy a varied and distinguished academic and performing career. She made her Carnegie Hall debut as soloist with the Manhattan Philharmonic and her Lincoln Center debut in Alice Tully Hall with the New York Choral Society as the soprano soloist in Rossini's Stabat Mater. Harrison has performed with regional opera companies and symphony orchestras throughout the United States and Europe. As an Arts Educator, she worked for the Education Department of the New York City Opera Company, the Metropolitan Opera Guild and the "Meet the Artist" series at Lincoln Center.
In 2020, Dr. Harrison received an Artist Fellowship Grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts. The Leadership Board of the College of Arts and Sciences designated Dr. Harrison as a 2022-2025 Fellow in "recognition of her scholarly achievements, exemplary teaching and as one of the College's outstanding faculty members."
Job Titles:
- Head of Musical
- Head of Musical Theatre / Professor of Musical Theatre
Stacy Alley is Head of Musical Theatre and Professor of Musical Theatre/Dance at The University of Alabama (UA). She is also a professional director and choreographer whose most recent credit is the direction and choreography of the Danish premiere of of LaChiusa's The Wild Party at Fredericia Theatre. Her teaching and artistic credits also include work in Germany, Tanzania, Norway, Scotland, and Chile and in theatres throughout the U.S. Stacy has served as the Artistic Director of SummerTide Theatre since 2014 where she has directed/choreographed All Shook Up, Pump Boys and Dinettes, Ring of Fire, The Marvelous Wonderettes, Forever Plaid and Smoke on the Mountain. Recent UA credits include Legally Blonde, Spring Awakening, The Drowsy Chaperone, A Chorus Line, and August: Osage County. She has been performing professionally for over thirty-five years, including five years as a featured dancer in Radio City Music Hall's Christmas Spectacular. Stacy is the former President of the Musical Theatre Educators' Alliance, a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and co-founder of the Musical Theatre Committee for the Southeastern Theatre Conference. She holds an MFA in Acting from The University of Alabama, a BA in Theatre from the University of Southern California, and is a Certified Movement Analyst through The Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies in NYC. Stacy is the recipient of the Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award from The University of Alabama's National Alumni Association and the President's Faculty Research Award through The Office for Research & Economic Development.
Job Titles:
- Head of Costume Design and Production
- Head of Costume Design and Production / Instructor, Dance Costume Design and Production
Job Titles:
- Costume Production Specialist
Costume Production Specialist Todd Roberts came to the University of Alabama after 10 years as Supervisor/In-house Designer for Birmingham Children's Theatre. During these years, he is also Head of Costumes/Designer in New York at Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center; leading a staff of 8 designers to produce 42 shows in 9 weeks every summer. This time at Stagedoor also included 4 years designing/wardrobe supervision for Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and wardrobe assisting for the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Show.
With design credits that top 100 shows, previous wardrobe work found him on various national tours for Troika Entertainment, Richard Frankel Productions, and Fly Music U.K. where he was also hair and make- up supervisor for most productions. Todd's credits also include Headdress and Footwear Supervisor for Cirque Du Soleil ("Alegria", Beau Rivage Casino), Special Effects and Crafts Master, creating fantasy angels and armor for Fee Hendrick Productions ("The Miracle", Pigeon Forge), Master Puppeteer (Original School Edition of "Avenue Q", world premier "Yes Virginia the Musical", premier non-Equity production "Beauty and The Beast"), and automated costume design for Mardi Gras in both Alabama (Mystic Krewe of Apollo) and New Orleans, Louisiana (Mystic Krewe of Prometheus).
Todd is the 2014 BroadwayWorld.com regional theatre award winner for Best Costume Design ("Three Little Kittens" Birmingham Children's Theatre). Early years were spent in the film and television industry, wardrobe supervising for (selections) NBC, CBS, New Line Cinema, Trans World Entertainment, Cannon Films, and New Century/Vista Productions.
William Gantt received his Juris Doctor and BA degree in Advertising from The University of Alabama. While practicing law in Birmingham, the Demopolis native served on the Board of Directors for Birmingham Festival Theatre where he produced Doug Wright's I Am My Own Wife and Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage. He founded The Southern Literary Trail that recognizes noted writers and playwrights of the South including Tennessee Williams and Lillian Hellman whose family ties to Demopolis inspired The Little Foxes. William introduced a screening of William Wyler's film version of Foxes in the restored Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles as a companion event to the revival of Hellman's play at the Pasadena Playhouse. He is an inaugural member of the Selection Committee for the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame, headquartered at the Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library. He has participated in grant review panels for the Alabama State Council on the Arts and recently organized a statewide concert tour by New York pianist John Davis (John Davis plays Blind Tom) with the Council's support.