Another milestone was reached this year when the Board of Regents approved the establishment of the Bachelor 
of Fine Arts in Theatre (BFA) on May 30, 2008. The new degree program will start in fall 2008, and will include three areas of emphasis: Classical Acting, Musical Theatre, and Design and Technology. The Theatre Arts & Dance Department will be working closely with the Utah Shakespearean Festival to ensure the new professional training program will help provide a number of significant opportunities for SUU students. (Photo: SUU students performing in How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, 2007)
Theatre & Dance wrapped up another busy season with their awards banquet on April 26th in the Hunter Conference Center Great Hall. Thirty-two faculty awards and numerous “Student Choice Awards” were distributed. The evening concluded with each graduating senior offering a 30-second farewell speech.
Some of the awards given this year included: Outstanding Actor and Actress in a Leading Role (Rhett Guter, Henry V, and Kaitlin Woolley, Philadelphia Story), Outstanding Actor and Actress in a Supporting Role (Payden Adams, Philadelphia Story, and Shani Worthen, How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying), and Outstanding Actor in a Cameo Role (Steven Grawrock, How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying).
The following awards were presented for Outstanding Work in Technical Theatre: Derek Raynor, Lighting, Kyle Cook, Scenery, Kaylin Mortenson, Costumes, Lauren Greenwald, Props, Jim Lord, Audio, Jenny Taylor, Hair and Make-up.
Awards for Outstanding Work in the Design were given to: Mark Smith, Scenery, Kaitlin Woolley, Costumes, Brian Tindall, Lighting, and Nick Chacon, Stage Management.
The evening included a moving speech given by Richard Bugg honoring the family of the late Robin Lynn Bishop. Each year, a scholarship is awarded to an outstanding Theatre Arts student in her honor.
Our students performed the work “Colony” created and choreographed by the George S. 
and Dolores Doré Eccles Visiting Scholar, Susan Hadley, at the American College Dance Festival held at the University of Utah in mid-March. Their performance of "Colony" was selected and performed in the Gala Concert during the final evening of the festival. SUU students performed in this concert with such schools as the University of Utah, BYU, University of Colorado at Boulder, and Arizona State University. Kay Andersen, Paul Ocampo, and Chien-Ying Wang helped organize our participation in the festival. Earl Battle and Michael Harvey created the costumes and lighting for “Colony.” (Photo: SUU dancers in Susan Hadley's "Colony", 2008)
Associate Professor Richard Bugg continues his hard work this summer as Artistic Director of the Neil Simon Festival, which will be held July 14 through August 9 in the Heritage Center in Cedar City. For more information visit the Neil Simon Festival website.
Dr. Christine Frezza will chair a panel entitled Engaging the Uncomfortable: the "others" among us at the Association of Theatre in Higher Education’s (ATHE) National Conference to be held in Denver, Colorado in early August.
Assistant Professor Michael Harvey will design scenery for all three shows at the Neil Simon festival this summer. Michael will also design scenery and projections for a new musical The White Star, a sequel to the musical Saturday's Warrior.
Assistant Professor T. Anthony Marotta heads off to Europe for the summer for several projects: an International Physical Theatre Symposium in Padua, Italy, a Mime Workshop in London, England, and a Leather Mask-making Workshop at the Sartori Museum near Venice, Italy. In addition, he will conduct a Commedia dell'arte workshop in Fontainebleau, France. His summer finishes with participation in the Association of Theatre Movement Educators and Association of Theatre in Higher Education conferences in Denver, Colorado.
This July Lise Mills, Adjunct Professor in Dance, 
will be setting a Burch Mann piece entitled “Unfenced Land” on dancers from the Legacy Dance Theater in Northern Utah. The Legacy Dance Theater will be touring this summer and one of their stops includes Cedar City in August at the Heritage Center. (Photo: SUU dancers in Burch Mann's "Daughters of Michael Dongarvan", 2008)
Assistant Professor Paul C. Ocampo's choreography, “Why Not?”, will be re-staged for the Singapore Dance Theatre’s 20th birthday—A Vision of Dance: 20/20 in Singapore, July 25-27, 2008. He will also teach master classes in ballet and contemporary dance while in Singapore.
Assistant Professor Chien-Ying Wang will conduct a dance workshop at National Taiwan University of Arts in July 2008 with her husband Paul Ocampo.
This summer 36 SUU students or recent alumni are working at the Utah Shakespearean Festival in a variety of capacities.
Natalie Bell, Theatre (08), was accepted into the prestigious Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP) at the University of Delaware. She was one of only five in the nation accepted.
Matthew Bennett, Theatre (01), will have one of his new plays performed this summer at the Utah Shakespearean Festival’s New American Playwrights Project. The play entitled Di Esperienza focuses on the struggles of famous artist and inventor, Leonardo da Vinci. Matt is the resident playwright of Plan–B Theatre Company in Salt Lake City, Utah. For more information about the play, visit the USF website.
Jesse Berger, Theatre (89), will be directing Two Gentlemen of Verona this summer for the Utah Shakespearean Festival. Jesse’s New York-based Red Bull Theater was recently honored by the support of the Tony Randall Theatrical Fund, winning a prestigious and generous $100,000 award to help fund the upcoming production of Thomas Middleton’s Women Beware Women. This award is a remarkable vote of confidence and incredible boost of support for the theatre.
Cammery Blevins, Theatre (06), is currently Wardrobe Assistant for Love, Cirque du Soleil's production at The Mirage in Las Vegas, NV. Cammery also recently designed costumes for The Hairy Ape at the College of Southern Nevada.
Nick Chacon, Theatre (08), was accepted to the highly competitive Stage Management Program at Rutgers University. The program only accepts two students per year.
Kevin Lindsay, Dance (04), received an Emerging Artist Grant from the New York State Council on the Arts. His choreography was presented as part of a STREB dance concert in New York City in May.
Kris Fitzgerald, Theatre (00), is working with Community Relations and One Media Management for Filmmaka, a company dedicated to helping filmmakers gain recognition through monthly competitions.
Gwen Jensen, Dance (08), was accepted to the highly competitive History/Criticism Graduate Program at the University of New Mexico.
Ai Kimata, Theatre (08), is back in Japan and has been hired as an Assistant Director for a producing company called Shonen Boys, which is doing a production of Center One Hotel Handam Diagisou. The play will be performed in Aichi, Japan in June. Ai reports she is already putting to use what she learned in her Production Management class at SUU.
Courtney Miller, Dance (06), Educational Licensure (08), was hired to establish a new dance program at Desert Hills High, a new school in St. George, Utah.
Josh Peterson, Theatre (07), is still enjoying life and work in New Orleans. He reports he is finishing a production of Tony and Tina’s Wedding. After this show closes, he will be in the New Orleans Opera production of West Side Story. He also reports that he was the only male cast in the show from New Orleans. All the other male cast members are from New York City.
Jeff Robinson, Theatre (07), toured Tucson, Arizona high schools in April with the Cast Theatre Company in Monster of Addiction. Jeff was also cast in a workshop production of Prelude to a Kiss by Live Theatre Company.
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