Theatre Grad Dives into Directing

Alumna Lindsey Augusta Mercer is quickly making a name for herself in the world of theatre after graduating in 2013 with a BA in theatre, music, and history, cum laude.

Photo credit: Mikki Schaffner Photography

For the past two years, Mercer has been living in the Greater Cincinnati area where her directorial life began to bloom, beginning with gigs at New Edgecliff Theatre and Diogenes Theatre Company. Mercer continued her streak of success at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, where she started as assistant to the artistic director in 2014. She staged CSC's touring production of A Midsummer Night's Dream for their Shakespeare in the Park program.

Photo credit: Queen City Queer
Theatre Collective website

In November of 2014, Mercer co-founded the Queen City Queer Theatre Collective with Linnea Jean Bond. Their mission, as described on the QCQTC website, is "to celebrate and share queer experiences while challenging theatre convention. We embrace “queer” as a verb, and a liberating way to work free of creative prejudice." Mercer regularly works as producing artistic director here, working on staged readings.

Her most recent endeavor is at the Falcon Theatre, where she will be directing two one acts known as "The Mystery Plays". The shows open November 6th. In an interview with Cincy Magazine, Mercer says, "It’s a great atmosphere for creating plays," with directors supporting her unique directorial choices.

She will also be playing the role of Amiens in CSC's production of "As You Like It", which runs November 20-December 12.

Alumnus Leads Creative Courses From Hamlet to Homelessness

Fee helped students stage a production of Hamlet in the show's
original location, Helsingør.  Above, Fee is holding the skull
celebrities like Jude Law and Kenneth Brannagh used when
performing there.

English alumnus Christopher Fee '89 has forged a reputation for leading creative, immersive experiences as a college professor and Chair of English at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania.

Fee spent the spring semester living and teaching in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he and his students took a deep dive into Shakespeare's Hamlet: Prince of Denmark. This course gave students the opportunity to perform the show in its original setting of Kronborg Castle in Helsingør. Fee developed the experiential course with the help of BW professors Adam Heffernan, Jack Winget, and Susan Oldrieve. He also taught a second course in Copenhagen called Vikings in Britain 793-1066. Students in that  class were given the chance to ride on a replica long ship.

Back in the states, Fee has been featured in the Washington Post and other national media for creating a popular course at Gettysburg titled, Tryin’ to Find a Way Back Home: An Introduction to the Literature and Legacy of Homelessness in America. The service-learning course includes "rigorous academic content, a substantial weekly service commitment in the local community, overnight duty in a local cold-weather emergency shelter, and a five-day trip to Washington, DC to work in urban shelters and soup kitchens." The course has another BW connection; it was established in partnership with BW alumna Gretchen Carlson Natter '96, who serves as Executive Director of the Center for Public Service at Gettysburg College. 

BW Talent Brings 'Secret Garden' and 'Fantasticks' to Life

Baldwin Wallace University students, alumni and faculty are the driving force behind two productions staged first at summer theater festivals out west, with both "The Secret Garden" and "The Fantasticks" moving next to Cleveland.

A scene from The Secret Garden. Left to right: Giovanna A. Layne, Colton Ryan '15, Warren Bodily, Sara Masterson '16, and Jillian Kates '11. Photo Courtesy: DKM Photography.

Among the BW faculty involvement, Victoria Bussert directed both productions, while Gregory Daniels, Jeff Herrmann and Charlotte Yetman appeared on the design team as choreographer, scenic/lighting designer, and costume designer.

Clare Howes Eisentrout '13, Meredith Lark,
and Pedar Benson Bate in The Fantasticks.
Photo courtesy: Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival

Dana Oland rings praise for "The Secret Garden" in a theatrical review for Idaho Statesman, highlighting three BW students in the Idaho Shakespeare Festival production in particular: Jillian Kates '11, who plays Lily, holds a "lovely and powerful soprano;" Sara Masterson '16 "nearly stops the show" as the maid Martha; Colton Ryan '17, who plays Martha's brother Dickon, takes the audience on an "energetic ride" when he sings "Wick."

In another Idaho Statesman review of "The Fantasticks," which was produced first at the Lake Tahoe Theatre Festival, Oland credits Clare Howes Eisentrout '13 in the role of "Luisa" as having a "clear bell-like soprano." James Penca '13 also appears in the musical as "Mortimer," while alumnus Matthew Webb '08 is musical director and recent graduate Nick Wilders '15 is the assistant music director. Other BW students involved are Gabriel Brown '16 and Mary Mondlock '16.

Both musicals are now coming to Great Lakes Theater in Cleveland, where the "The Secret Garden" will run September 29-October 31 and "The Fantasticks" will run May 13-29, 2016.

BW Profs Present Innovative Teaching Techniques in Higher Ed

Baldwin Wallace Faculty Members Andy Dohanos, Susan Finelli, Paul Penko and Jack Winget were front and center, promoting inspired teaching at the 2015 Teaching & Learning in Higher Education Conference, a two day conference focused on forward-thinking research, practices and perspectives in higher education. The four BW professors presented work in their given fields to benefit other college educators attending the conference at Franklin University in Columbus.

Dohanos, a BW grad who now teaches in the department of communication arts and sciences, and Winget, a longtime theatre professor, joined together for a session titled "From Improv to Praxis: Cross-Disciplinary Teaching and Learning." The pair drew on their experience co-teaching an innovative class at BW that teaches conflict resolution through both theatre and communication techniques.

Meanwhile, Finelli, who teaches both undergraduate and graduate technology courses in the School of Education, promoted tech integration in the classroom in her presentation, "The Tech Toolbox: Building for Student Success!" Physics department colleague, Penko, discussed "the need for students to exercise the entirety of an engineering project" using rocketry as the model elective in her presentation "An Elective in Rocketry."

Life Changing International Travel Marks May Term

Close to 60 students and five faculty members packed their bags and spent May term abroad on three very exciting and very different international experiences in China, London and Costa Rica.

Twenty-one students and two faculty members, Professor John Fuehrer and Dr. Liya Wang, traveled to China for a three week business and sociology-based exploration for students who took the Modern China course during the Spring 2015 semester.  Students focused on what it's like to do business in China's major cities and how understanding cultures can help when doing business globally. Students also visited cultural sites including the Great Wall, Forbidden City and different temples and monasteries. Other highlights of the trip included experiencing a new culture and trying different kinds of food.

The theatre Seminar in London was a nine day theatre tour that exposed students to a variety of theatrical performances as well as the history of the London theatre and the city in general. Twenty-three students traveled with two faculty members, Professors Jeff Herrman and Bob Taylor. The students attended eight shows in a variety of London locations, including The Globe Theatre, where Shakespeare's plays were performed in the 1600's. They also toured the city and visited different museums.  For many, visiting Stratford, where Shakespeare was born and laid to rest was a unique and favorite part of the trip.

BMC Photography

For 12 days, 14 students and biology professor Dr. Chris Stanton, explored the biology and sustainability of Costa Rica and the country-wide sustainability progress that has been made in 2015. The group traveled the country by bus and did a variety of activities such as hiking, boating and community service projects all while interacting with the locals, learning about the culture and seeing the various habitats and wildlife. One day was spent zip lining through the Tropical Dry Forest.

For more stunning photos from the trip, you can visit this Costa Rica Facebook gallery posted by recent BW studio art grad and owner of BMC Photography, Brittney Callahan '15.

Studying abroad at Baldwin Wallace allows students to enhance their personal growth, educational experience and career development. BW is part of the national "Generation Study Abroad" initiative and working toward doubling the percentage of students who gain this life-changing experience by 2019.

Dark of the Moon Enchants Audiences

The BW Theatre and Dance Department has done it again. Directed by Scott Plate, Dark of the Moon, a story of love and the supernatural and set in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee both bewitched and haunted audiences.

Dark of the Moon is a chilling tale told with swing and spirit about John, a strange "witch boy," and a beautiful young woman named Barbra Allen. The folksy romance is brought to life as John is granted human form in order to woo and marry Barbra. Things take a turn for the worse when Barbra is lead to betray John, breaking the spell of their love and causing him to return to the world of the mountain witches forever.

The show ran from April 9-19 in the William Allman Theatre. Upcoming theatre events for the rest of the spring semester include the 10-Minute Play Festival on April 29 & 30, Dance Works in Progress on May 1 and Henry IV Part Two on May 29 & 30. All of these events are free and open to the public.

From BW to the CW: Alumna Cast as Super Hero

From Bagley Road to Broadway, now Broadway to Hollywood, BW Music Theatre grad, Ciara Renée '13, is already cemented in the spotlight and it all started when she was a student in the Conservatory of Music.

After starring in The Hunchback of Notre Dame as Esmeralda, Renée has picked up a new creative project as "Hawkgirl" in the upcoming CW Flash-Arrow spin-off series. "Hawkgirl", as reported by Entertainment Weekly, "is known for being one of DC Comics’ first female superheroes." Part of the character involves wings that extend from her back when angry.

After her Broadway debut in Big Fish in 2013, Renée also starred in the Broadway revival of Pippin as the Leading Player.

Although not much has been revealed about the CW series, be sure to watch this BW grad spread her wings as "Hawkgirl" and fight villains in the Flash-Arrow spin-off soon.

BW Alumna Stars in Broadway's "An American in Paris"

Jill Paice and her co-star Leanne Cope

Jill Paice '02 is starring in the Broadway musical An American in Paris, with previews beginning tonight, Friday, March 13, leading up to a Sunday, April 12 opening night at the Palace Theatre in New York City. A graduate of BW's acclaimed music theatre program, Paice has an impressive 13-year resume of experiences on stage from Broadway to The West End of London.

In a preview story, Broadway World calls the An American In Paris "the romantic story of a young American soldier, a beautiful French girl and an indomitable European city, each yearning for a new beginning in the aftermath of war."

Paice is originating the role of Milo Davenport in An American in Paris, which is inspired by the Academy-Award winning film of the same name. In the video below, Paice talks about the experience of performing the show in Paris.

Students and Faculty Win Kennedy Theatre Festival Honors

BW Theatre students attending the KCACTF in Cleveland’s PlayhouseSquare

BW students took home several honors at the recent Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region 2. More than 1,200 theatre students, faculty and professionals from nine states attended the festival, swarming venues at PlayhouseSquare in Cleveland, the country’s largest performing arts center outside of New York.

Joey Corradi ’16, a theatre-acting major, was nominated to participate in the Irene Ryan Acting Competition for his performance in ROMEO & JULIET. Out of 236 nominated actors, he made it to the final round of 16 and was honored with the Festival’s Classical Acting Award. His scene partner was Kelsey Baehrens '17, and BW Theatre & Dance Department chair, Adam Heffernan, was his acting coach.

Dayne Sundman ’15 a theatre-stage management major, and Brandon Romano ’15, an English major/theatre minor, were named as first alternates for the Institute in Theatre Journalism and Advocacy Award. Dayne and Brandon attended all the invited productions during the festival and wrote reviews under the guidance of The Plain Dealer's Andrea Simakis and region faculty.

Additional honors that were announced prior to the opening of the festival include a Certificate of Merit for Excellence in Directing to Adam Heffernan for BW's production of ROMEO & JULIET and a Certificate of Merit for Excellence in Costumes to the ROMEO & JULIET costume team of Charlotte Yetman (Faculty/Costume Designer), Melanie Boeman (Costume Shop Manager) and theatre major Molly Huey ’16 (Assistant to the Designer).

Adam Heffernan, Joey Corradi '16 and Kelsey Baehrens '17 in the Ohio Theatre at Playhouse Square

BW Talent Tops 2014 Cleveland Critics Circle Awards

Eight BW students, alumni and faculty are among the winners in this year's Cleveland Critics Circle Awards and the critics singled out BW's Music Theatre Department for special recognition. The “Best of” and “Superior Achievement” awards "recognize outstanding Cleveland area productions, performers, directors and designers who contributed to the professional theater scene during the 2014 season."

The Great Lakes Theater production of LES MISÉRABLES garnered Best Musical, Best Director for BW Music Theatre director Victoria Bussert, and Superior Achievement in Acting for BW alumna Claire Howes Eisentrout '13, and current students Kyle Jean Baptiste '15 and Keri Rene Fuller '15.

Also in the Musical category, the BW and Beck Center for the Arts collaboration on CARRIE: THE MUSICAL produced Best Actress recognition for Caitlin Houlahan '14 and a Best Choreographer nod for Gregory Daniels, head of BW's dance program, plus a Superior Achievement in music direction for Nancy Maier.

BW Music Theatre Chair, Scott Plate also picked up awards as Best Actor in a Non-Musical for SEMINAR and Superior Achievement in Directing for ‘NIGHT MOTHER," both at Beck Center.

The critics also chose to present "Special Recognition" to the Baldwin Wallace University Music Theatre Program "for producing an outstanding number of Broadway theater cast members."

Caitlin Houlahan '14 (center kneeling as Carrie) won the 2014 Clevelnd Critics Circle Award for Best Actress, Musical

BW Professor Helps Create "Spooktacular" Performance

Heidi Glynias, left, with costumer Drue Murman -Photo cleveland.com

A dance ensemble will show off  "thrilling" choreography by Baldwin Wallace University dance professor Heidi Glynias preceding the Cleveland Orchestra's "Halloween Spooktacular: The Haunted Orchestra" this Sunday, October 26.

Dancers from Heidi's studio, The Dance Centre in Rocky River,  will be delivering the scares and the moves in a performance, titled "A Time to Thrill," based on Michael Jackson's quintessential "Thriller" music video.

Students in Heidi's hip hop class back at BW have been getting a sneak peak at the fun this week, learning pieces of the choreography from the upcoming Severance Hall show just in time for Halloween.

Video courtesy cleveland.com

"A Time to Thrill" will be featured as a part of the pre-concert family activities, beginning at 2 p.m., along with a spooky costume contest, hands-on instrument demonstrations, and more.

The Cleveland Orchestra Halloween Spooktacular: The Haunted Orchestra concert begins at 3 p.m. with tickets available online.

Music Theatre Students Rehearse with Tony Award Winner

Genna-Paige Kanago '15

BW music theatre students Julia Rose Hines '16 and Genna-Paige Kanago '15, who are double cast as "Cassie" in BW's production of A CHORUS LINE, received some some very elite coaching from the woman who earned a Tony Award for the role in 1976. Donna McKechnie, who starred as "Cassie" in Broadway's unprecedented box office and critical hit, was invited by BW's music theatre director Victoria Bussert to coach BW's cast, with special attention to the Cassie's.

Julia Rose Hines '16

Hines and Kanago were incredibly excited to have McKechnie's guidance for a weekend of rehearsals. McKechnie worked with them on the number, "The Music and the Mirror," the song that secured the Broadway veteran her Tony. The students say McKechnie can still "dance her butt off!"

Hines, who hails from North Kingsville, Ohio, has performed in several BW productions including Carrie and Carousel. Kanago, an Orlando, Fla. native, has starred in A Christmas Carol, Carrie and Follies. The students said working with a Broadway legend was "like a dream."

A Chorus Line runs from November 13-23 in the John Patrick Theater at Kleist Center for Art and Drama. Tickets are on sale at the Kleist box office and online.

Donna McKechnie rehearsing with Kanago '15 and Hines '16 for their roles as Cassie

BW English Professor's Play Has Big Apple Opening

Baldwin Wallace English professor Dr. Les Hunter is making his mark on the theater world with the opening of his play, "I Like To Be Here: Jackson Heights Revisited, or This Is a Mango," in The Big Apple.

The play, the final installment in a trilogy focused on a multicultural neighborhood in Queens, New York, runs through September 27 at the New Ohio Theatre in New York City. “I Like To Be Here” also marks Hunter’s third writing collaboration as a part of the writing team Theater 167.











As one of seven writers of the play and one of 18 for the trilogy, Hunter sees the collaborative process as an opportunity to grow as a writer and teacher.

"It's not always easy, and the results are sometimes surprising." he says. "It's been good for me for teaching though, because sometimes when collaborating, like teaching, you have to let up on the reins and let the group go where it needs to go."

At BW, Hunter currently teaches a course in playwriting in addition to several others in the English department, and in the spring, he will also be teaching a screenwriting course.

Two of Hunter's other plays, "First Base Coach" (written with Elana Averback) and "Playdate," will also be read at the Dobama Theater in Cleveland September 22, with free admission.

BW Talent Behind "Revolutionary" Staging of "Les Miz"

Photo by DKM Photography

With mega-talent from BW involved, it's no surprise that the upcoming Great Lakes Theater production of LES MISERABLES is garnering advance buzz. In an article for The Plain Dealer's Fall Arts Guide - Theater Preview, BW Music Theatre director Victoria Bussert, who is directing "Les Miz," and BW theatre professor Jeffrey Herrmann, the show's scenic designer, explain how they solved the challenges of scaling the epic production for the Idaho Shakespeare Festival this summer and the move to PlayhouseSquare's Hanna Theatre this fall.

Bussert tells the paper that "the difference between seeing it in a 2,000-seat venue vs. a 600-seat venue is that you're going to intimately know these characters." PD theater critic Andrea Simakis writes that patrons who caught this fresh take on "Les Miz" in Idaho this summer "marveled that it was as if they were seeing the show for the first time."

"Les Misérables" opens at the Hanna Theatre on Saturday, Oct. 4. Get your tickets now because Simakis reports that advance single-ticket sales for the show have already shattered the previous record set by Bussert's version of "Sweeney Todd" staged last fall.

By the way, the BW connections don't end with Bussert and Herrmann. BW dance professor Gregory Daniels is choreographer for the production and the cast includes BW alumni Laura Welsh Berg '05, Jodi Dominick '01, Clare Eisentrout '13, and Alex Syiek '13, and current BW music theatre majors Kyle Jean Baptiste '15, Brandyn Day '15, Keri René Fuller '15,  Mickey Ryan '15 and Sam Wolfe '15.

Senior Rocks Elite Internship Opportunity

Nicholas Wilders '15, who designed an interdepartmental major in "theatre and concert production" by combining coursework in the Conservatory of Music, theatre and business,  rocked a Cleveland Foundation-supported summer internship at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

Nick, one of 16 interns chosen from more than 300 applicants, worked with the Strategy & Planning department collecting surveys and crunching the data. "Essentially, I explored trends in visitors and visitations so that we could correlate the needs and displayed behaviors of the visitors with potential future opportunities for the museum," he explains.

His top takeaway from the summer? "I learned that it's very dangerous to assume things about your customers. Our data showed some interesting trends in Rock Hall visitors that weren't necessarily common sense." The Mechanicsburg, Penn. native's ultimate career goal is to work as a producer/director in theatre, with an emphasis on social justice.

At BW, Nick is also pursuing minors in management, arts management and psychology while plugging into a host of campus activities including the PRISM concert, BW Beatles, BW Music Theatre Showcase, Arts Management Association, Psychology Honors Society, BW Opera, College Democrats and, this week, Weekend of Welcome orientation leader!

BW Student Performs In Innovative Cleveland Orchestra Opera

The "grasshopper" on stage in a recent groundbreaking production at Severance Hall was also a Yellow Jacket!

The Cleveland Orchestra's innovative production of Leoą Janáček’s opera, The Cunning Little Vixen, featured BW sophomore Miranda Scholl '16 who says, "It was a surreal experience to be performing on stage with Martina Jankova, and backstage sitting with Jennifer Johnson Cano!"

Mixing projected animation and live action, Vixen earned positive reviews from a variety of newspapers including The New York Times and Cleveland Plain Dealer, which dubbed it "a veritable feast, a dynamic and groundbreaking spectacle."

Scholl, a psychology and theatre double major who auditioned and won the featured roles of Grasshopper/Frantík, is pictured at right in the production photo below. The young soprano says she feels incredibly blessed to have had the opportunity.

"I distinctly remember being in the audience for the Cleveland Orchestra's performance of The Seasons by F. Joseph Hayden, watching the soloists and promising to myself, 'I will someday solo for the Cleveland Orchestra.' Never in a million years did I think it would be this soon!"

BW Dance Professor Premieres Choreography at DanceWorks '14

Verb Ballets - Photo Credit: Mark Horning

Sara Whale, professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at BW, will debut an original work of choreography at DanceWorks, a four-week festival of new and contemporary dances opening April 10 at the Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT).

Whale's work, which will be performed by Verb Ballets, has a world premiere during the fourth week of the event. Cleveland Plain Dealer critic Zachary Lewis described the piece as "steeped in the imagery of painter Gustav Klimt" the renowned painter of the "Golden Period" of Austrian art.

According to the CPT website, the new contemporary dance explores "symbolic meanings of the dual role of women as inspiration in the struggle for modern identity."

Cool Cleveland Applauds BW Beatles Rockin' Performance

The BW Beatles "rocked the White Album," the last in their four-album annual cycle, at their Friday preview in Fynette Kulas Hall and their Saturday concert in John Patrick Kleist Theatre. Both venues were packed to standing room only and Saturday tickets sold out in less than 40 minutes. Cool Cleveland recounts "there were over 40 people waiting in the lobby for a spare seat. The atmosphere was electric."

Entirely student directed and led by seniors Patrick Hyzy and Jesse Hodgson, 57 multi-talented students and faculty delivered a sensational "note-for-note recreation of The Beatles' 1968 masterpiece."

 Videos captured by Cool Cleveland span the entire album from "Back in the U.S.S.R." to "Goodnight." Cool Cleveland also complimented dancers/choreographers Rachel Reszler and Cleo DeOrio on "a moody, sensuous movement piece during Revolution 9 on Saturday’s proscenium performance."

Next year, the band will restart the album cycle performing Abbey Road, including a special fifth anniversary performance in the Chamber Hall where their first Abbey Road concert took place.

Conservatory Professor Contributes to Popular Music and Film Book

The work of Gene Willet, professor of music theory, is featured in the new book, Popular Music and the New Auteur:Visionary Filmmakers After MTV. The book, published by Oxford University Press, offers arguments about contemporary directors and films, and discusses how music videos and soundtracks have inspired cinema.

Dr. Willet, an audiovisual researcher, penned the third chapter, titled, "A Musical Tour of the Bizzare: Popular Music as Fantasy in David Lynch." The piece analyzes visionary director, David Lynch's use of narrative imagery. The book, available on Amazon and other international booksellers, is now required reading for students studying film music and sound.

CARRIE Writer to Attend BW-Beck Performance

As CARRIE: The Musical heads into the final weekend of its highly praised run at Beck Center for the Arts, the man who adapted Stephen King's novel for both stage and screen, Lawrence D. Cohen, has decided to fly in to see what all the fuss is about.

Based on the glowing reviews, it looks like BW talent -- starting with Music Theatre Director Victoria Bussert and including a stellar student and alumni cast-- finally got this show right... the right scale, the right teen angst, the right horror, the right heart (to paraphrase The Plain Dealer critic Andrea Simakis).

Cohen is slated to attend the Friday, March 7 production of CARRIE, which runs through Sunday in Lakewood. Could the BW/Beck collaboration fuel new life for CARRIE in another venue? Stay tuned!

Ben Meadors Photography