Biography
I grew up moving around the south and landed in Benton, Ark. for high school. Early
experiences with drama led to an interest in stage design in college, and a desire
for specialization to teach and design at a small liberal arts college. After my graduate
studies a position opened up at Ouachita to teach and design in the Department of
Theatre Arts and in the Jones Performing Arts Center, that had just been completed.
I started in 1992 and have been teaching, designing and technically directing at Ouachita
ever since. I've also done work with Arkansas Governer's School, Hendrix College Theatre,
Henderson State University-Theatre and Dance, Southeast Arkansas Concert Association
and The Royal Theatre Playhouse. I enjoy building and sailing boats as well as all
sorts of repair and restoration work. I'm married to a professional storyteller/music
librarian and have two sons, one who works in history/anthropology and the other in
math/computer science.
Q&A
Why did you come to Ouachita?
I came to Ouachita to help a fledgling theatre department grow and get a newly opened
performing arts center on it's feet and running smoothly.
Why did you decide to become a professor?
I knew I wanted to teach at the university level when I saw the work of my professors
during my undergraduate career. I loved designing and solving problems in theatrical
production but never wanted to do it at some large professional scale. I wanted to
work in an environment that was collaborative and experimental, and getting to work
with students at the undergraduate level seems like just what I could succeed at and
enjoy.
Why is your subject an important one in our world?
Theatre and art are crucial parts of who we are as humans, connecting closely with
our religious sense of how we relate to our fellow humans with compassion and empathy.
Telling significant stories, whether light and comic, or more thoughtful and serious,
helps us understand how others see and interact with our world. Theatrical stories
are fictions but they tell important truths and ask crucial questions. Sometimes they
help us laugh at ourselves and not feel alone. Christ chose to use parables in his
attempt to help us understand important truths that might not reach us deeply by just
using lists of commandments or directives. Theatre and art help us understand who
we are and how we fit into an ever changing world.
What do you want future students to know about your degree program?
Studying Theatre Arts at Ouachita allows students to be hands-on in all of the area
of theatre production and performance. Theatre is a wide ranging field and studying
in a liberal arts college setting can help you more clearly define what your strengths
are and where you might want to fit into the expressive world of creating theatre
art.
What do you like to do in your free time?
In my free time, I enjoy painting and drawing, creating comics, building and sailing
boats and doing all sorts of construction and repair work.
What has been a meaningful Bible verse or passage for you?
Acts 2, 44-47: "All the believers were together and had everything in common. They
sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued
to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together
with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people."
I think these verses present a solid view of the early church and how we should see
our selves as servants of others and following Christ's example of focusing on helping
others rather than focusing on dogmatic distractions.
Publications
I have done techincal and design work for around 130 shows in Verser Theatre and on
JPAC stage during my years at Ouachita. I've also designed shows that toured for American
College Theatre Festival, some garnering awards for excellence.
