Webster's Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts faculty believe in practicing what they teach. All members of the faculty are active in the local and regional theatre community. Faculty work can be seen in many theatres including The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Imaginary Theatre Company, Arrowrock Lyceum Theatre, HotCity Theatre, Metro Theatre, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, the Muny, The Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis, and many more.
Gad Guterman
Chair of Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts; Associate Professor, Theatre Studies & Dramaturgy
BA, Theatre and Economics (double major), Cornell University, 1996; MA, Educational Theatre, New York University, 2000; PhD, Theatre, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, 2011; at Webster since 2011.
Gad joined the faculty of the Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University in 2011. He is the author of Performance, Identity, and Immigration Law: A Theatre of Undocumentedness (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014). The book considers how contemporary US theatre has presented so-called undocumented immigrants and, more broadly, how legal labels participate in processes of identity. Gad's essays, focused generally on connections between theatre and law, have appeared in Theatre Survey, Theatre Journal, the Journal of American Drama and Theatre, and in the collection American Multicultural Identity (Salem Press, 2014).
Most recently, he contributed an article and a translation to Theatre and Cartographies of Power: Repositioning the Latina/o Americas (Southern Illinois University Press, 2018). From 2004 to 2011, he served as the Education Director for the Vineyard Theatre in New York City, an Off-Broadway company dedicated to producing new plays and musicals. He is the author of a play for young actors published by Eldridge Plays, My Uncle Shakespeare, and has directed productions for Missoula Children's Theatre, Boston Children's Theatre, and the John Harms Performing Arts Center, among others. Recent credits include The Little Prince (director, Webster University, 2019), Greek Myths: Heroes and Monsters (director, Imaginary Theatre Company, 2019), the Romeo and Juliet Green Show (director, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, 2018), and the Briefs Theatre Festival (dramaturg, 2014–17).
Jef Awada
Associate Professor, Movement
BFA, Emerson College, 1993; Certificate, Professional Training Program, Delle' Arte School of Physical Theatre, 2002; MFA, Performance Pedagogy, University of Pittsburgh, 2006; Alexander Technique Teacher-in-Training, expected to be completed December, 2020. Lead Movement teacher at Webster since 2006.
Jef is an actor, director, movement coach, and teacher. His interest in diverse perspectives on movement training has led him to study traditional commedia dell'arte with Giovanni Fusetti, Suzuki technique with Yukihiro Goto, clown with Philippe Gaulier and Ronlin Foreman, and Russian scenic movement with Andrei Droznin.
Prior to earning his MFA in Performance Pedagogy, Jef worked as an actor in New York and around the country. Highlights include: New Works festivals at P.S. 122 and The American Livingroom Series at HERE in New York City; co-founder/performer/writer of Scary Little Town, an ensemble-based sketch comedy troupe; Mr. Tumnus in Oregon Children's Theatre Drammy award winning The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe; Scrooge for the Traveling Lantern Theatre Company; The Wigmaker in Rashomon for the Pitt Repertory Theatre.
His directing credits include, Will Mr. Merriweather Return from Memphis for the St Louis Tennessee Williams Festival, Mary Zimmerman's Arabian Nights and Romeo and Juliet for St. Louis Shakespeare Co., Fables for Metro Theatre Co., and Cloud 9, The Insect Play, A Reconsolidated Life, and Big Love at Webster University. His production of Big Love was invited to and performed at the Havana International Theatre Festival in October 2015.
As a movement director for the Great River Shakespeare Festival, Jef coached productions of The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, Othello, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. In the classroom, he has designed and taught courses as varied as Acting for Animators at the Ringling College of Art and Design, Traditional Commedia Movement Styles for Russian students at the Shchukin Institute of the Vahktangov Theatre in Moscow, and red nose clown in New Delhi.
Joanna Battles
Associate Professor, Voice
BFA, New York University, 1999; MFA, Brown/Trinity, 2005; Certificate, Fitzmaurice Voicework™, 2008; At Webster since 2013.
Joanna Battles is a professional actor and director, as well as a voice, speech and dialect coach for theatre and film. Prior to her position at Webster, Joanna served as the co-head of the undergraduate program of Theatre at Louisiana State University where she taught voice, speech & acting classes in the MFA and undergraduate acting programs; and was the professional vocal coach on staff at Swine Palace Productions. In addition to her work at LSU, Joanna was a faculty member and/or presented workshops at New York University, Playwright's Horizons Theatre School, Brooklyn College, Brown/Trinity Consortium, and Stonesoup Theatre Company. Joanna is an associate teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework™, and a trained practitioner of Chuck Jones Vocal Technique.
While at Swine Palace/LSU Mainstage, Joanna directed the new play, Elephant's Graveyard, by George Brant; collaborated with Adam Rapp on the regional premiere of The Metal Children; directed Carson Kreitzer's Self Defense, Or death of some salesmen; Laura Schellhardt's, Shapeshifter; and Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind. Favorite credits as a voice and dialect coach include: A&E Network's, Bonnie & Clyde: the miniseries; Lionsgate film's, The Haunting in Georgia; King Lear and Macbeth at Tulane Shakespeare Festival; Opus at Southern Rep; August: Osage County, A Doll's House, and A Free Man of Color, all at Swine Palace. As a stage actor, favorite credits include: On the Verge (Public Stage); The Long Christmas Ride Home (Trinity Repertory Company); Sylvia (American Heartland Theatre); Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V (Trinity Repertory Company); Departure (Irish Arts Center); Twelfth Night (Perishable Theatre); Two Gentleman of Verona (Trinity Summer Shakespeare) and Shapeshifter, Courting Vampires (McCormick Theatre at Brown University). Joanna is a proud member of Actor's Equity Association.
Dennis Milam Bensie
Wig and Makeup Artisan
Dennis Milam Bensie returns to the Midwest after living and wigging from Seattle for 30 years. He completed an apprenticeship in wig making at Los Angeles Opera in 1995 and his work has been seen at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Actors Theatre of Louisville, the Old Globe in San Diego, and over 25 other regional theatres across the country. He was the resident Wig Master at Intiman Theatre in Seattle for 20 seasons. Bensie’s recent film and TV credits (while wearing a mask due to COVID) include HBO’s The Three Debras, Hulu’s The Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Special, and the feature film Potato: Dreams of America which is currently making its way through the film festival circuit.
Dennis Milam Bensie (@dennis_milam_bensie_wigs) • Instagram photos and videos
Rayme Cornell
Associate Professor, Acting
BA, University of Nevada; MFA, University of Missouri Kansas City, 1993. At Webster since 2018.
Rayme has been a professional actor for over 22 years. Rayme is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Actors Equity Association.
Rayme began her teaching career as an Assistant Professor in the Stage & Screen Acting program at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, where she taught Acting, Shakespeare, Modern Styles, Audition Techniques, and Voice Overs, in the MFA and undergraduate acting program. She was the host of the national award-winning PBS show Real Moms, Real Stories, Real Savvy. She has worked in film, television, Off Broadway and with some of the nations most prestigious regional theatres. Her favorite roles include; Cassandra in Trojan Women at The Old Globe, directed by Seret Scott; The Greek Chorus, in the World Premier of Trevor Nunn and John Barton’s seven-hour play, The Greeks, at The Alley Theatre directed by Gregory Boyd; Louise Marie Therese, in the premier of Lynn Nottage’s new play Las Meninas at Crossroads, directed by Daniela Veron; Elmire in Tartuffe directed by Garland Wright and Olivia in Twelfth Night directed by Penny Metropulos with The New York Acting Company; Olivia in Twelfth Night directed by Marco Barricelli at Shakespeare Santa Cruz; Aunt Cora in the World Premier of the John Henry Redwood play ‘No Niggers, No Jews, No Dogs’ at The Philadelphia Theatre Company and New York’s Primary Stages directed by Israel Hicks; Titania in Midsummer directed by Michael Weller and Queen Margaret in Richard III directed by Jan Powell at the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. Odessa in Water by the Spoonful directed by Christopher Edwards, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth directed by Darren Weller, Diane in Little Dog Laughed, Arkadina in The Seagull and Mrs. Muller in Doubt at the Nevada Conservatory Theatre.
Other regional theatre credits; Arizona Theatre Company, Vinyard Playhouse, The O’Neill, Missouri Repertory Theatre and The Unicorn Theatre. Rayme is a private coach for professionals. Her speech and acting clients range from network news anchors and celebrity chefs to UFC champions. Rayme is also known for her extensive voice-over work. Rayme is a master teacher at the Don LaFontaine Voice Over Lab at the Screen Actors Guild Foundation in Los Angeles and New York. Rayme has represented such products as L’Oreal, Ford, Dunkin Donuts, Uber, Cingular Wireless, Station Casinos, Singulair, Lifetime, WE, Oxygen Network, USA Network, MTV, VH1, BET, ESPN, History Channel, Discovery Channel, Republican and Democratic Candidates and many more. Her greatest role to date is that of being Brick’s Mom.
Dunsi Dai
Professor, Scene Design
BA, Central Academy of Drama (China), 1982; MA, Stanford University, 1989; MFA, University of Illinois, 1992; At Webster since 1996.
Dunsi was born and grew up in China. He received his BA in Stage Design from the Central
Academy of Drama, which is the best theatre training program in that country. He designed
professionally nationalwide there, and taught scene design at the Central Academy
of Drama for four years before he came to the States in 1986 for further education.
In the States, Dunsi received an MA in Theatre History/Stage Design from Stanford
University in 1989, and a MFA in Scene Design from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
in 1992.
As a professional scene designer (USA Local 829), Dunsi has designed both Off-Broadway
as well as at regional theatres across the country. The scope of his design works
include: straight drama, musical, opera, experimental production, children theatre,
event/corporative theatre. His favorite designs including Rita's Resource (Pan Asian Rap, NYC), Once Upon a Mattress (Brook Hollow Players, N.Y.), Carmen (Trenton State Theatre, N.J.), Desert Song (Hampton Playhouse, N.H.), West Side Story (Struthers Library Theatre, Pa.), Marat/Sade (Stanford Rep, Calif.), Big River (The Human Race Theatre, Ohio), Blues for an Alabama Sky (True Color Theatre, Atlanta, Ga.), Wit (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis), Waiting for Godot (St. Louis Black Rep.), Fiddler on the Roof (Stages of St. Louis), Off the Map (TNT), Sight Unseen (The New Jewish Theatre), Two Headed (Black Cat Theatre), Remnant (Mustard Seed Theatre), 1776 (Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre). His scene design for Remnant (Mustard Seed Theatre, 2007) received Kevin Kline Award of Outstanding Scene Design
(2008). His scene design of Two Headed (Black Cat Theatre, 2008) was nominated for Kevin Kline Award of Outstanding Scene
Design (2009). He was named as the Best Scene Designer to Go on St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s 2015 GO List.
As a teacher, Dunsi taught scene design at State University of New York at Stony Brook (1992–1996) and the Central Academy of Drama in China (1982–1986). He has been a professor of scene design at the Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts in Webster University since 1996.
Doug Finlayson
Professor, Directing
Head, Directing program; BA, Baldwin Wallace College, 1979; MFA, Purdue University, 1982. At Webster since 1998.
Doug has been the Head of Directing at Webster University since 1998. His recent work includes Company at Insight Theatre Company, Eleemosynary at Mustardseed Theatre Company, and Time Stands Still at New Jewish Theatre. Other work at NJT includes The Sunshine Boys, The Whipping Man, Lost in Yonkers, and Way to Heaven. He was nominated for the 2011 Kevin Kline Award for Best Director of a Play for his production of Equus at HotCity. He won the 2008 Kevin Kline Award for Best Director of a Play for Kindertransport which he directed at the New Jewish Theatre. Other recent work includes Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at Nebraska Repertory Theatre, Maple and Vine at HotCity Theatre, A Gnome for Christmas at Imaginary Theatre Company, and Romeo and Juliet at Illinois Shakespeare Festival.
Other directing projects include True West at HotCity Theatre Company, Dogg's Hamlet, Cahoot's Macbeth (with Jef Awada) at St. Louis Shakepeare, Leaving Iowa and How the Other Half Loves at Northern Fort Theatre in Aberdeen, S.D., Aca Y Alla and Tales of the Lost Formicans, with Jane Lynch, at the Evidence Room in Los Angeles, Jeeves Intervenes, Act a Lady and Resident Alien at Nebraska Repertory, The Philadelphia Story and Inspecting Carol at the Black Hills Playhouse, Art at the Ozark Actor's Theatre, The Bremen Town Musicians for The Imaginary Theatre Company, Death of a Salesman at Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre and Pericles, Hamlet and The Merry Wives of Windsor at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival.
Doug has directed around the country for Court Theatre, Chico Calif., Evidence Room, Los Angles, Calif., Wheeler Opera House, Aspen, Colo., Belfry Theatre, Lake Geneva, Wis., New American Theatre, Rockford Ill., and Madison Rep, Madison Wis. Doug started his career in Chicago where his credits include The Ice-Fishing Play and Between East and West for the Next Theatre Company, Pastel Refugees and The Butter and Egg Man at Northlight Theatre, Body of Water at Chicago Dramatists, Female Transport at The Immediate Theatre Company, and Execution of Justice and Nebraska at Bailiwick Repertory.
From 1983–88, he served as Associate Artistic Director to Robert Falls and Richard E.T. White at Wisdom Bridge Theatre in Chicago, where he directed Painting Churches, The Immigrant, 'Night Mother, Hunting Cockroaches and Circe & Bravo.
Doug received the 2018 William T. Kemper Award for Excellence in Teaching at Webster University.
Renee Garcia
Assistant Professor, Costume Design
Renee has designed the costumes for more than thirty theatre, dance, and film productions. She has designed costumes for Charleston Stage Company, Lake Dillon Theatre Company, the Riverside Theater Shakespeare Festival, Unicorn Theater, the Coterie Theater, Brick Monkey Theater Ensemble, portOPERA, and for the independent movie, Burning Man. Her costume designs for As You Like It were displayed in the USITT-USA National Exhibit in the 2015 Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space. The PQ is the world's largest performance design exhibit in the world, often compared to the Olympics or World's Fair for designers. Her designs for As You Like It were on display in 2022 in the Vestuario a Escena MX, AC’s international exhibit, Exposición Vestuario para la Escena 2022, at the National Center for the Arts in Mexico City. Her awards include the USITT Fellows Early Career Member Mentoring Assistance Award, and both the USITT Ezekiel Board Choice Winner and the USITT Ezekiel Award of Outstanding Achievement for her costume designs in As You Like It. Renee comes to Webster after serving as Assistant Professor of Costume Design at Oklahoma State University, and previously as Visiting Assistant Professor of Costume Design at Ohio University and as Lecturer in Costume Design at the University of Southern Maine. She holds a BA from Florida State University and an MFA from the University of Missouri–Kansas City.
Gary Glasgow
Professor, Acting
BA, Vanderbilt University, 1978; BFA, Webster University, 1982; MFA, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. At Webster since 1993.
Gary Glasgow has been a faculty member in the Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University since 1993, where, in addition to Second Year Movement, he teaches the Second Year acting sequence.
As an actor, he has worked extensively in St. Louis and throughout the country. St. Louis venues include The Municipal Opera of St. Louis (more than 39 productions), the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis (14 seasons), The Repertory Theater of St. Louis, Mustard Seed Theatre, Historyonics Theatre, Theatre Project Company, The New Jewish Theatre, and the Variety Children's Theatre. Favorite local productions include The Little Mermaid, Annie, Titanic, Singin' in the Rain, Into the Woods, Seussical and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at The Muny; Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III, The Tempest, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, and The Winter's Tale at the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis; Galileo, Born Yesterday, and The Threepenny Opera at The Repertory Theater of St. Louis.
Most recently he was in the acclaimed Mustard Seed Theatre production of Dancing at Lughnasa as Father Jack. Regional credits include work at the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City (Crazy for You, Guys and Dolls, Singin' in the Rain), Wisconsin Shakespeare Company (As You Like It, Measure for Measure, Hamlet); and the Colorado Shakespeare Company (The Taming of the Shrew, Julius Caesar, All's Well That Ends Well). In Chicago, he has worked with The Apple Tree Theater (Cyrano de Bergerac, Seesaw), Chicago Shakespeare Repertory (King Lear), Lifeline Theatre (A Servant of Two Masters, Purloined Poe, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Joseph Jefferson Citation)) and Pegasus Players (The Devil's Disciple).
He has developed several new plays for the St. Louis One-Act Play Festival. He is a recipient of the William T. Kemper Excellence in Teaching Award and a graduate of Webster University's Global Leadership Academy (2016). Gary is a member of Actor's Equity, a resident artist with Mustard Seed Theatre, and completed his certification in Pilates in April 2006.
Bruce Longworth
Professor, Acting
Head, Acting Program; BA, College of Wooster, 1978; MFA, Indiana University, 1981. At Webster since 1985
Local and regional directing credits include Our Town for Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Hamlet, Othello, Henry V, and The Winter's Talefor Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, The Gamester, The Taming of the Shrewand Bah Humbug!for The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis; Souvenir, Arsenic and Old Lace, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Immigrant, The Miracle Workerand One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nestfor the Lyceum Theatre; An Almost Holy Picturefor Mustardseed Theatre; The Pricefor New Jewish Theatre; A Midsummer Night's Dreamfor Illinois Shakespeare Festival and Missouri Thespians; Macbeth, The Country Wife, The Government Inspector, Anton in Show Business, The Lucky Chance, Two and Twenty, The School for Scandal, Much Ado About Nothing, The Winter's Tale, As You Like It, 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, Charley's Aunt, Lend Me a Tenor, 13 Rue de L'Amour, Picnic and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead for the Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University.
He worked on more than 140 productions as the Resident Voice & Dialect coach for the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis for 25 years and performed similar duties at Great Lakes Theatre Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, Stages St. Louis and the MUNY. As an actor he has appeared at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, The Orange Girls, The New Theatre, Insight Theatre, Theatre Project Company, the ANTA Company, Utah Shakespearean Festival and Off the Cuff Productions. He has worked for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis for six seasons as an actor, assistant director or fight choreographer. He has created collaborative productions with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the Pulitzer museum.
He is currently Resident Artist with Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, where he has also served as Interim Artistic Director and Associate Artistic Director. Bruce is a member of Actors' Equity and the Society of Directors and Choreographers. He is a recipient of the William T. Kemper Excellence in Teaching Award and the Governor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.
John Ryan
Assistant Technical Director & Shop Supervisor
BA, Augustana College, 1990. At Webster since 2000.
John Ryan is the Scene Shop Supervisor at Webster University. During the summer he is the Master Electrician at the Black Hills Playhouse in South Dakota. He has worked as an electrician at several theaters, including The San Jose Repertory Theatre, Opera San Jose, San Jose Stage Company, The Omaha Community Playhouse, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Cubberley Community Center in Palo Alto, and Circa 21 Dinner Theatre in Rock Island, Illinois. He was the Resident Lighting Designer at City Lights Theatre Company in San Jose from 1995 through 2000.
John has designed and built motion control systems for Image Technologies in St. Louis and for the Omaha Community Playhouse. In addition to production work, John is also a computer programmer. He created a rental system for Musson Theatrical and has developed a box office reservation program that is used at Webster University and elsewhere. John has a BA from Augustana College in Mathematics, Computer Science and Theater.
Lara Teeter
Professor, Musical Theatre
Head, Musical Theatre Program; BA, Oklahoma City University, 1978; Doctoral Equivalency, California State University, Fullerton, 1996. At Webster since 2007.
Lara Teeter has performed, directed and choreographed for major regional theatre and opera houses nationwide. Prior to coming to the Sargent Conservatory for Theatre Arts, Lara was an associate professor at the Shenandoah Conservatory, an associate professor in the Theatre and Dance Department at California State University at Fullerton, an assistant professor in the Music Theatre Certificate program in the School of Speech at Northwestern University, and the artistic director of Light Opera Works in Evanston, Illinois.
He was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in the 1982 revival of the Rodgers and Hart classic On Your Toes performing the role of Junior Dolan, originally portrayed by Ray Bolger in 1936. Other Broadway credits include The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, The Pirates of Penzance, Happy New Year, and Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. Other roles performed in prominent theatres include Jamie Lockhart in The Robber Bridegroom, Steven Kodaly in She Loves Me, Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, and the Dentist in Little Shop of Horrors. National Tours include the role of Don Lockwood in Singin' In The Rain, Will Parker in Oklahoma!, and the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz starring Mickey Rooney and Eartha Kitt. Lara has performed at Lincoln Center with the New York City Opera as Silas Slick in Naughty Marietta, and as Herman in The Most Happy Fella. He made his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut performing the role of Steve Sankey in Street Scene starring Catherine Malfitano.
Directing credits include My Fair Lady for Opera Pacific, The Pirates of Penzance for San Bernardino Civic Light Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, and Dayton Opera, Jacques Brel is Alive and Living In Paris for the Hollywood Cinigrill, and The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas for the Fullerton Civic Light Opera.
Recordings include the original Broadway cast recording of the 1982 revival of On Your Toes, the Gershwin Trust/Library of Congress first ever recording of Gershwin's "Lady Be Good," and the Grammy Award nominated recording of The Wizard of Oz starring Mickey Rooney and Eartha Kitt. In the summer of 2000, Lara made his Carnegie Hall debut performing the role of Henry Higgins in a tribute to the work of Lerner and Loewe.
Carole Tucker
Professor, Costume Construction
BS and BA, Fontbonne University, 1985; MFA, University of Missouri-Kansas City, 1988. At Webster since 1993.
Carole Tucker is the Costume Shop Manager for Webster University's Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts and teaches the costume technology classes. She is a graduate of Fontbonne University and the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
In pursuing a seemingly endless curiosity to experience how theatre is realized in non-academic venues, Carole's summers have been spent working in a wide variety of professional costume shops with an equally wide variety of jobs. Some of those companies include: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Santa Fe Opera, Central City Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Utah Festival Opera, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and Stages St. Louis.
Christina Watanabe
Assistant Professor, Lighting Design
MFA, New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, Dept. of Design for Stage & Film, 2013; BFA, University of Florida, College of Fine Arts, School of Theatre and Dance: Lighting, 2007; BSBA, University of Florida, Warrington College of Business: Marketing, 2007; Eastside High School, International Baccalaureate Program, 2002.
Christina is an award-winning designer and educator for theatre, dance, music, and events. Recent: Carla’s Quince (virtual, Drama League nomination), Where We Stand (WP Theatre), Guys and Dolls (Virginia Stage Company), As You Like It (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), pathetic (Minor Theatre), The Wild Party (Post Theatre Company), Peer Gynt (Barnard), Heartbreak House (Gingold Theatrical Group), A Christmas Carol (FL Rep), Into the Woods (Charlottesville Opera), The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Weir, Fireflies, and Private Lives (White Heron Theatre Company), Scissoring (INTAR), Dido of Idaho (Ensemble Studio Theatre),Small World: a fantasia (59E59), Neighbors: A Fair Trade Agreement (INTAR), Daniel’s Husband (Primary Stages/Cherry Lane), I Will Look Forward To This Later (New Ohio). TV: Colin Quinn: Red State Blue State (co-design, CNN). Lincoln Center Festival (2013, 2015-2017). Academia: NYU, UCO, UNH, Brown, Yale. USITT Gateway Mentor. Knights of Illumination winner. MFA: NYU. Member USA 829. www.StarryEyedLighting.com.Evangeline Rose Whitlock
Assistant Professor, Stage Management
Evangeline Rose Whitlock is a stage manager with experience on and off Broadway, in regional theatres across the country, on international and national tours, with ballet and contemporary dance companies, and with large-scale corporate and industrial events. Her particular interest as a stage manager centers on blending an ethics of care with professional theatre practice to facilitate the creation of original community-engaged work and theatre for social justice.
Evangeline's credits include: Broadway: Farinelli and the King. Off-Broadway: the way she spoke (Audible Theater @ Minetta Lane); Pass Over (LCT3/Lincoln Center); F***ing A and Venus (Signature Theatre); Grounded; Father Comes Home from the Wars Parts 1, 2 & 3; and Antony and Cleopatra (The Public Theater); Nice Fish (Co-Production A.R.T/St. Ann's Warehouse); Lost Girls (MCC); Twelfth Night, The Odyssey, The Winter's Tale, and The Tempest (Public Works at The Public Theater). Tours: Flashdance. Regional: The Tempest (Dallas Theater Center); Miss You Like Hell (La Jolla Playhouse); Father Comes Home... (A.R.T. & Center Theatre Group); The Scottsboro Boys (CTG/Old Globe/A.C.T.); Allegiance, A Room With a View, and Odyssey (Old Globe).
Prior to her appointment at Webster, Evangeline lived and worked in New York City and was the Visiting Assistant Arts Professor of Stage Management at New York University. She has also taught and mentored student stage managers at Adelphi University, Brooklyn College, and Baylor University.
John Wylie
Professor, Technical Direction
Head, Design/Tech; BA, Augustana College, 1983; MFA, University of Missouri-Kansas City, 1986. At Webster since 1989.
John Wylie is the head of the Production programs at Webster University where he teaches Technical Direction.
Locally, John has designed for The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, the Missouri Rep, Metro Theatre Company, the St. Louis Black Rep, Variety Children's Theatre, and Shakespeare Festival St. Louis.
Wylie website
Tali Allen
Dir. of Education, The Muny; Lecturer, Musical Accompaniment and Direction, Vocal Coaching
Michael Baxter
Artistic Associate, The Muny; Lecturer, Musical Theatre
At Webster since 2018
Tina Beck
Lecturer, Technical Production
BA, St. Louis University, Studio Art, 1997
At Webster since 2012
Lee Buckalew
Lecturer, Sound Design
At Webster since 1996
Lisa Campbell Albert
Lecturer, Musical Accompaniment
MM, Webster University
At Webster since 2016
Rob Denton
Lecturer, Lighting Design
Sabrina Doris
Lecturer, Costume Technology
At Webster since 2014
Garth Dunbar
Lecturer, Painting and Dyeing
At Webster since 2006
Hans Fredrickson
Lecturer, Technical Production
At Webster since 2011
Emily Frei
Props Artisan, Repertory Theatre St. Louis; Lecturer, Upholstery
At Webster since 2016
Becky Hanson
Lecturer, Millinery, Costume Shop Assistant
MFA, San Diego Statue University, 2008
At Webster since 2010
Julie Hanson Battaglia
Lecturer, Musical Theatre
Dr. Julie Jordan
Lecturer, Theatre History
MA, Brown University, 1992
PhD, City University of New York, 2001
At Webster since 2013
Scott Loebl
Scenic Artist, Repertory Theatre St. Louis, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, The Muny; Lecturer, Scene Painting
At Webster since 2002
Arthur L. Lueking
Director, Loretto-Hilton Center; Instructor, Stage Management and Technical Direction
MFA, Yale Drama School, 1966
At Webster since 1981
Ronald McGowan
Lecturer, Musical Accompaniment, Vocal Coaching, Musical Direction
Tim Moore
Lecturer, Scene Shop
At Webster since 2014
Michael James Reed
Lecturer, Musical Theatre and Auditions
Diploma of Associateship, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London
At Webster since 2019
Michele Siler
Lecturer, Visual History
MFA, University of Missouri-Kansas, 1991
At Webster since 2014
Andy Sloey
Lecturer, Improvisation
Second City Chicago Conservatory Program iO Chicago's Improv Program
At Webster since 2011
Dr. Sara Beth Taylor
Lecturer, Theatre History
MA, Indiana University
PhD, Indiana University
At Webster since 2018
Tracy Utzmeyers
Production Manager, The Muny; Lecturer, Production Management
At Webster since 2013
Nic Valdez
Lecturer, Musical Accompaniment, Vocal Coaching, Musical Direction
Sean Wilhite
Lecturer, Sound Technology
At Webster since 2017
Ralph Wilke
Lecturer, Furniture Construction
MFA, Washington University, 1975
At Webster since 2000
Jennifer Wintzer
Lecturer, Acting
James Wolk
Lecturer, Drafting
MFA, Southern Methodist University, 1982
At Webster since 2016
Dorothy Marshall Englis
Faculty Emerita, Costume Design
BA, Tufts University, 1974; MFA, Carnegie-Mellon University, 1977. At Webster since 1979.
Dottie Marshall Englis, designer, is former professor and chair of the Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University.
Dottie has been associated with Repertory Theatre St. Louis since 1979. A member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829, she has designed more than 30 shows for The Rep including Oslo, Alabama Story, The Humans, The Marvelous Wonderettes, Hamlet, A Christmas Carol, All the Way, Disgraced, The Winslow Boy, The Mousetrap, Red, In the Next Room, (or The Vibrator Play); Macbeth, The Fantasticks, A Christmas Story, Amadeus, Saint Joan, Kiss Me, Kate, All the Great Books (with the Reduced Shakespeare Company), The Taming of the Shrew, The Three Musketeers, The Life of Galileo, and Candide. In addition, she designed scenery and costumes for many of The Rep's Imaginary Theatre Company touring productions.
At Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, Dottie was the costume designer for two productions of Romeo & Juliet, A Winter's Tale, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Antony & Cleopatra, The Henry Project: Henry IV and V, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, and Julius Caesar. For Illinois Shakespeare Festival, she designed costumes for A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, Merchant of Venice, Henry VIII, Henry V, Titus Andronicus, and The Rivals.
Dottie also has designed The Secret Garden, My Fair Lady, Meet Me in St. Louis, Music Man, High Society, She Loves Me, Carousel, Camelot, Man of La Mancha, and A Little Night Music for STAGES St. Louis.
Dottie has received multiple St. Louis Critics Circle and Kevin Kline Awards for her designs and is also a recipient of the Learning Happens Everywhere Student Affairs Award, the William T. Kemper Excellence in Teaching Award, and the Governor's Award for Excellence in Teaching. Dottie was previously president of the Webster University Faculty Senate and also served as the director of Webster University's campus in London, UK.
Bill Lynch
Faculty Emeritus, Voice and Speech
BA, University of Maryland, 1984; MFA, Florida State University, 1992.
Bill Lynch joined the faculty of Webster University's Conservatory of Theatre Arts in 1992. Prior to coming to St. Louis Bill worked as a professional actor throughout the United States and Canada.
Since coming to Webster he has served as the vocal coach or director for over 40 productions and has taught workshops for The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, The Black Rep and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. A member of Actor's Equity since 1989, Bill has appeared in over thirty professional St. Louis productions, including Footloose, Sweet Charity, Damn Yankees, 110 in the Shade (Stages St. Louis), I am a Man, Train is Comin' (St. Louis Black Rep), Art (Ozark Actor's Theatre), Evita, Camelot, Annie (the Muny) and Falsettos (New Jewish Theatre: Best Actor in a Musical; St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Best Musical; Riverfront Times).
Bill served as vice president of the Board of Trustees of Stages St. Louis and a founding board member of the Kevin Kline Awards celebrating excellence in professional theatre in St. Louis. In 2004 Bill was selected by the American Council on Education to participate in the ACE Fellows Program. The Fellows Program is recognized as the premier higher education leadership program in the country and is dedicated to creating a diverse pool of leaders who are capable of achieving and maintaining excellence and equity in higher education.
Kat Singleton
Faculty Emerita, Acting
BFA, University of Texas-Austin, 1976; MFA, University of Oklahoma, 1983.
Kat Singleton came to the Conservatory in 1988 from New York and worked as a full professor at Webster University. She has worked professionally as an actor and director across the country. For the Conservatory, Kat has directed productions of The House of Blue Leaves, Harvey, Crimes of the Heart, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Gemini, The Women, and Summer and Smoke. Kat has also directed for the Black Hills Playhouse, the Lyceum Theatre in Arrow Rock and 11 productions for The Rep's Imaginary Theatre Company.
Kat has been a member of Actor's Equity Association since 1974 with numerous acting credits across the country. She also holds membership with the Screen Actor's Guild and AFTRA through which she did commercial work and many industrial films. Her favorite acting roles include Daisy from Driving Miss Daisy, Amanda from The Glass Menagerie, Mrs. Banks from Barefoot in the Park and Kate from Dancing at Lughnasa. Kat was one of the original company members of the Actor's Space Theatre Company in New York City.