Theatre
Faculty Bios & Courses
“One Course At A Time offers unprecedented access to guest artists.
In a semester plan, you can bring in a guest to meet with your class for
a few hours or perhaps a weekend master class. But imagine a master
class for several days, a week, or better yet, an entire block.”
Scott Olinger, Professor of Theatre
T
600 FIRST STREET SW | MOUNT VERNON, IOWA 52314 | CORNELLCOLLEGE.EDU
he Cornell College department
of theatre strives to examine
the human experience
through the study, practice,
and production of theatre. Our program
provides rigorous preprofessional
training within a dedicated liberal
arts context. Accordingly, we are able
to serve two constituencies—both the
theatre student, preparing in a focused
way for the profession and/or for
graduate education, and the traditional
liberal arts student, committed
to exploring the range of human
knowledge and activity.
The Cornell theatre program has
exceptional facilities, with two new
and well-equipped theatre spaces.
Each member of our faculty and staff
is a working professional as well as an
academic.
Please visit the department of theatre’s
mission, philosophy, and learning
outcomes at: cornellcollege.edu/theatre/
mission-outcomes.
BENEFITS OF ONE COURSE AT A TIME
Theatre coursework extends beyond the
classroom by applying subject material
from each course to the production
schedule throughout the year. By
participating in several productions,
students take what they learn in their
coursework and apply it to the stage.
We regularly bring in guest artists and
instructors for a block or more, teaching
courses and working on productions.
Some of the guests we’ve had on
campus include:
n
New York City’s award-winning
company, The Puppet Kitchen, who
taught classes, collaborated with the
department, and devised and directed a main stage production.
n Leda Hoffmann, director from
Milwaukee Rep.
n Jennifer Fawcett, co-founder of
Working Group Theatre in Iowa
City and the playwright of
“Birth Witches.”
n Tim Slover, playwright, screen writer, and novelist from the
University of Utah.
Amy Barr, dancer and choreogra pher from Philadelphia.
n
n Paul & Peggy Sannerud, profes sional scenic designers from
Minnesota.
Courtney Schmitz Watson, profes sional lighting designer from
Minneapolis.
n
n Dave Upton, professional lighting
designer from New York City.
Chris Clavelli, professional actor,
director, and playwright from NYC
and Florida Rep.
n
n The Sacred Heart Archive, profes sional company from Arizona.
OFF-CAMPUS STUDY
Cornell’s One Course At A Time curriculum allows courses to travel off-campus
for an entire block. Courses have been
held in New York City, where students
attended a wide variety of theatre
productions, ranging from Broadway to
small experimental shows, and in Chicago, where students stayed at the college’s
McLennan Center, attended 20 plays in
cont. >
Scott Olinger
Professor of Theatre
Teaches courses in scenic,
lighting, and projection
design. His work has been
seen at Burning Coal
Theatre, Riverside Theatre,
Pennsylvania Center Stage,
Penn State Altoona, Theatre
Cedar Rapids, Cedar Rapids
Opera Theatre, Juniata
College, and on DirecTV’s
Nick and Artie Show/The
Dan Patrick Show. He is
assistant to the vice president
of conferences for the United
States Institute for Theatre
Technology. M.F.A., design,
Penn State University; B.A.,
theatre, University of
Northern Iowa.
Jim VanValen
Associate Professor of
Theatre
Teaches courses in acting,
voice, movement, Stanislavski,
Meisner, and auditioning. A
member of Actors’ Equity
Association, he spent three
years as a resident actor with
the historic Barter Theatre
and performed throughout
the country in such regional
theatres as The Fulton Opera
House, Florida’s Riverside
Theatre, and The Bread Loaf
Acting Ensemble. He has
studied voice and text work
with Patsy Rodenburg, OBE,
and he received his Meisner
Certification from the True
Acting Institute. M.F.A., acting,
University of Iowa; M.A.,
theatre arts; B.A., English,
State University of New York
at Stony Brook.
Janeve West
Associate Professor of
Theatre
Teaches courses in theatre
history, devised theatre, and
directing. She spent three
years as a director/actor for the
Omaha Theatre Company, and
has directed a variety of world
premieres, devised pieces, and
fully scripted productions for
cornellcollege.edu
/academics
20 days, and met with theatre professionals from
around the city to discuss their careers.
CURRICULUM HIGHLIGHTS
AREAS OF FOCUS
Cornell theatre courses offer scholarly and
experiential training in a wide range of theatre
arts, including playwriting, acting, directing, stage
management, devised theatre, costume design,
scenery design, and lighting design. Our courses
are taught by experienced and active theatre
professionals.
INDIVIDUALIZED DEGREES
Students can choose to design their own programs
of study through the individualized Bachelor of
Arts degree or the Bachelor of Special Studies
degree in order to meet their particular academic
needs and pursuits. These courses of study are
usually taken when a student has an interest in
an intellectual issue or area that is best studied
through an integrative approach based in multiple
disciplines and/or departments.
FACILITIES
Kimmel Theatre boasts a 265-seat auditorium and
the most current technology in theatre production.
Key features include a full rigging system,
computerized automated lighting, color-mixing
scrollers, LCD projection, and a state-of-the-art
sound system with wireless body mics.
The theatre department is housed in Armstrong
Hall, which includes an intimate black-box
performance space—the Plumb-Fleming Studio
Theatre—along with a spacious scene shop and
costume shop, and modern classrooms.
INTERNSHIPS/FELLOWSHIPS
We strongly encourage students to pursue internships in performance, production, arts management, and other areas. Our students benefit from
relationships with Iowa City’s Riverside Theatre,
Iowa’s Old Creamery Theatre, Colorado’s Creede
Repertory Theatre, Virginia’s First Stage Theatre,
the ACM Chicago Program, and other programs.
Recent internships include:
n
n
n
n
n
Glimmerglass Festival, New York City.
Maples Repertory Theatre, Macon, Missouri.
New London Barn Playhouse, New Hampshire.
Touchstone Theatre, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, Cleveland,
Ohio.
n Puppet Kitchen, New York City.
n Burning Coal Theatre, Raleigh, North Carolina.
n St. Croix Festival Theatre, St. Croix Falls,
Wisconsin.
n Guthrie Theatre, Minneapolis.
n Old Creamery Theatre, Amana, Iowa.
n Theatre Cedar Rapids, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
n Creede Repertory Theatre, Creede, Colorado.
AFTER CORNELL
GRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED
M.F.A., design, University of Iowa, Iowa City
M.F.A., acting, Brown University/Trinity Rep
M.F.A., acting, Case Western Reserve University/
Cleveland Playhouse
M.F.A., acting, Florida State University/Asolo
Conservatory for Acting Training
M.F.A., costume design, University of
Cincinnati: CCM
M.F.A., stage management, University of California,
San Diego
ALUMNI CAREERS
Stage technician, VenuWorks, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
(Class of 2014)
Actor/director, Missoula Children’s Theatre, Montana
(Class of 2014)
Technical director, Westford Academy Theater Arts,
Boston (Class of 2014)
Audience services associate, Victory Gardens Theatre,
Chicago (Class of 2013)
Light-board programmer, Broadway/TV, New York
City (Class of 2012)
Teaching artist, puppeteer, and performer, Allentown,
Pennsylvania (Class of 2012)
Development associate, Creede Repertory Theatre,
Creede, Colorado (Class of 2012)
Freelance stage manager, Chicago (Class of 2011)
Touring actor, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,”
New York City (Class of 2011)
Technical support specialist, E.T.C., Middleton,
Wisconsin (Class of 2010)
Co-founder and director, That Toy Pony, New York
City (Class of 2010)
Actor, Theatre at Monmouth, Maine (Class of 2010)
Actor, The Lucky 6, Chicago (Class of 2010)
Sound engineer, Sound Concepts, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
(Class of 2009)
Assistant professor/production coordinator,
University of Maryland (Class of 2008)
The Llano Estacado Institute
for the Performing Arts, Theatre
Cedar Rapids, and at multiple
other venues. Janeve is an
associate member of the Stage
Directors and Choreographers
Society and a member of
the Association for Theatre
in Higher Education. M.F.A.,
theatre with a dual emphasis
in directing and acting, Texas
Tech University; B.A., theatre
and English education,
Southwestern College.
Jody Hovland
Distinguished Artist
in Residence
Teaches acting courses and
is a founder and co-artistic
director of Iowa City’s
Riverside Theatre. She has
appeared at the Kennedy
Center and the Smithsonian
Institution, and toured in
many plays. M.F.A., acting,
University of Iowa; M.A.,
English, University of
North Dakota.
Jenny Nutting
Kelchen
Costume Shop Supervisor
and Lecturer in Theatre
Teaches costume design,
stage make-up, and costume
construction. She has
performed costume work
for The University of Iowa,
Old Creamery Theatre, Coe
College, Grinnell College, and
Riverside Theatre. M.F.A.,
costume design, University
of Iowa; B.A., studio art,
University of Northern Iowa.
Don Schneider
Technical Director and and
Lecturer in Theatre
Teaches courses in stagecraft
and sound design. M.F.A.,
theatre technology, University
of Wisconsin-Madison; B.A.,
theatre arts, University of Iowa;
A.A., Kirkwood Community
College.
2014-2015