Theatre Faculty
Associate Professor Paul B. Crook
Director of Recruiting for the
Department of Theatre
Paul teaches both undergraduate and graduate acting and directing courses and supervises all student directing projects, in addition to directing for the University Theatre. He also serves as the Director of Recruiting for the University Theatre. Paul has previously served as the Director of Theatre Arts for Andrew College in Cuthbert, GA; on the faculty of Shelton State Community College Theatre; as a Distance Educator for the University of Alabama Department of Theatre and Dance; was one of the founding directors of the Kentuck Players in Northport, AL and also served as the Artistic Coordinator for the SecondStage Theatre in Tuscaloosa, AL.
In addition to his work at Louisiana Tech, Paul has directed and acted in theatres around the nation. He has previously served as the Associate Artistic Director for the Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival, a summer rep theatre in Durant, OK and currently serves as the Artistic Director of The B & B Theatre, a company that he formed with his wife, Mary Fran, a theatre professor at Grambling State University. Two of the plays Paul has written:Brit Lit, OR All You Need to Know to Survive Senior English but Were Afraid to Ask and AMLIT! were commissioned for production by Stage Centre, an educational touring theatre company, and toured across the state of Alabama. Two of his ten-minute plays: “Front Porch Requiem” and “LAVALOOOOO!!!” were selected for performance at the nationally known Kentuck Festival of the Arts Ten Minute Play Festival.
Paul is a member of the Southeastern Theatre Conference, where he serves as Chair of the Keynote Emerging Artist of Promise (KEAP) Committee. He is past-president of the 10-Minute Play Ad-Hoc Committee, the Acting-Directing Committee, and the Publications Committee and serves on the Leighton Ballew Scholarship Committee. As part of his work for SETC, Paul writes occasionally for the “SETC News” and Southern Theatre magazine. He is also a respondent for the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival.
318-257-2062
Professor Mark D. Guinn
Production Manager for the
Department of Theatre
A Professor of Theatre at Louisiana Tech University, Mark serves on the faculty as a Professor of Movement and Production Manager for the Department of Theatre. He is a professional director, designer, and fight director. He has worked in theatres from Tokyo to Rome as lighting designer, director, and fight director. He has over twenty-eight years experience working in outdoor drama. Mark received his B.A. from Centre College of Kentucky and his M.F.A. from Memphis State University. He is a Fight Master with the Society of American Fight Directors and a Certified Teacher with the British Academy of Stage and Screen Combat.
He has served as Coordinator of the National Stage Combat Workshops in Las Vegas, the Stage Combat Workshop at Louisiana Tech University and was on the faculty of the First International Stage Combat Workshop, the 1994 Paddy Cream Workshop, the Summer Sling in New York, and the British National Stage Combat Workshop. Mark has collaborated on original productions with William Joyce, Mikel Rouse, and the Flaming Idiots.
Some of his recent directorial credits include: The Leafmen and the Brave Good Bugs, a play based on the book by William Joyce; Shane, the world stage premiere; Bluejacket the Epic Outdoor Drama and Qui Nguyen’s Living Dead in Denmark.
His scenic design credits include the stage premiere of Shane, and The Leaf Men and The Brave Good Bugs. His lighting design credits include The Flaming Idiots at the New Victory Theatre, A Christmas Carol at New American Theatre, A Knight at the Fights for University of Nevada Las Vegas, and telescan operator/designer for Madonna’s Blond Ambition Tour, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and the Gypsy Kings. Mark has done all this in search of Einstein’s quote, “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science”.
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Ms. Dianne Maroney-Grigsby
Choreographer
Dianne Maroney-Grigsby, LADA Choreographer, Artisti-in-Residence. A native of Norfolk, Virginia, Dianne left for New York in 1973. After joining the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble, she toured extensively with that company. Dianne also performed with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
In 1983, Dianne left her positions with Ailey as soloist, assistant artistic director of the Ailey Repertory Ensemble, and full-time faculty member at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center to become artistic director of Orchesis Dance Company at Grambling State University (GSU). Since moving to Louisiana, Dianne received her BA degree from GSU and her MA degree in theatre from Louisiana Tech University (LTU). She is currently on faculty as dance instructor for both GSU and LTU’S School of Performing Arts.
Dianne taught at Louisiana Dance Foundation’s Summer Dance Festivals from 1983-2007 and has set numerous award winning ballets on LDF’S resident dance company, Louisiana Dance Theatre (LDT) including I Won’t Let Go of My Faith, World Hunger, Red, Red II, Obsessions, Lacrimosus, Immortalis, Apotheosis, Many Different Roads, Long As I Got King Jesus, and I Believe I Can Fly.
LDT has performed Dianne’s choreography in Russia, Austria, and throughout the U.S. in Chicago, IL; Washington, D.C.; Orlando, FL; throughout Louisiana; and throughout Texas in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Galveston, Amarillo, and Abilene. LDT performed Dianne’s choreography at the Jazz Dance World Congress at the Kennedy Center in 1996 and in Chicago in 1994 earning the Silver LEO Award ($1,000) for her choreography, Red. LDT was also selected to perform Dianne’s choreography, Apotheosis, on the Gala performance of Regional Dance America’s first-ever National Festival at Jones Hall in Houston. LDT recently received Gala status at the 2006 RDA/SW Festival for their performance of Lacrimosis at the Dorothy Chandler Woodland’s Pavilion in Houston.
LDT and Grambling’s Orchesis Dance Company have collaborated in more than 25 workshops and performances since 1983. The 1995 Living Legend recipient and director of Orchesis has taken the 58 year-old company to a new level. As an ambassador for Louisiana, Orchesis has performed in Japan and throughout America from New York to California. Orchesis has been featured in Proctor and Gamble national TV commercials, live appearances with recording artist Vicky Wynans, and with the GSU Tiger Marching band in the hit movie, Drumline. Dianne recently choreographed and appeared in Denzel Washington’s new movie, “The Great Debator.”
Mr. Nathan Gwartney
Instructor of Theatre
Mr. Gwartney has over fifteen years of experience in Amateur, Educational, & Professional Arts Management. He is well versed in not-for-profit and commercial arts management policies, procedures and best practices. He is an established, highly successful producer and management professional having most recently worked for the internationally renowned Tulsa Ballet. Mr. Gwartney has served as an Arts Management consultant, specializing in arts marketing, public relations and box office operations for a numerous variety of arts groups throughout Oklahoma and the Mid-West Region. His expertise is in the use of technology in the arts. Specifically; technology as applied to sales, communication and audience services. In addition to his professional accomplishments, he is an award winning actor, designer, director and producer. Mr. Gwartney’s research and scholarly interests include the Federal Theatre Project, African American drama, Richard Schechner and the white trash aesthetic and its influence on popular culture. Mr. Gwartney holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theater from Northeastern State University and a Master of Arts in Theatre from Oklahoma State University.
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Professor Kenneth Robbins
Director School of the Performing Arts
Kenneth Robbins, author of twenty published plays, four novels, four collections of Christmas stories and numerous essays, stories and memoirs. He currently serves Louisiana Tech University as Director, School of the Performing Arts. At Louisiana Tech, he has directed productions of Peter Snoad’s Guided Tour, winner of the first Arthur W. Stone New Play Award, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, by William Shakespeare, Master Harold…and the Boys by Athol Fugard, Robert Bolt’s drama, A Man for All Seasons, and Fiddler on the Roof.
Among his honors and recognitions are service to KCACTF as National Playwriting Chair, a member of the National Selection Team, and Playwriting Chair for Region V. In addition he is a former Fulbright Scholar to Macedonia, a Malone Fellow to Saudi Arabia, a lecturer in Israel, the alumni of the Year, College of Education at Georgia Southern University, a juror for the Cairo International Festival of Experimental Theatre in Egypt, and an Artists Fellow in Japan. His novels have received the Toni Morrison Prize for Fiction and the Associated Writing Programs Novel Award. His dramas have been produced throughout the US, Canada, Great Britain, Denmark, and Japan while receiving the Festival of Southern Theatre New Play Award, a Corporation for Public Broadcasting Program Award, and the Charles Getchell New Play Award offered through the Southeastern Theatre Conference. His plays have been produced at the Dallas Theater Center, Nashville Academy Theatre, Second Stage (Chicago), the Barter Theatre, and others. He has participated in development projects at the Project Theatre, Dublin, the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, and New Dramatists in New York City. He is a recipient of the Kennedy Center Golden Medallion.
In addition to his novels, Robbins, with his wife, Dorothy Dodge Robbins, has edited three collections of literary works: Christmas Stories from Georgia (UP Mississippi, 2005), Christmas on the Great Plains (UP Iowa, 2004), and Christmas Stories from Louisiana (UP Mississippi, 2003). His fictional titles include The City of Churches (NewSouth Books, Montgomery, AL, 2004), Matchless (Dream Catcher Pub., forthcoming), In the Shelter of the Fold (Dream Catcher Pub., 2002), The Baptism of Howie Cobb (USD Press, 1995) and Buttermilk Bottoms (UP Iowa, 1987).
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Professor Cherrie A. Sciro
Coordinator of Theatre
Cherrie Sciro is the Coordinator of Theatre and Professor in the School of Performing Arts at Louisiana Tech. Her most treasured directing experience here at Tech was the 1999 production of Six Women with Brain Death…, which was awarded 21 awards throughout the region and state, including the Richard A. Weaver Best Production Award, a first for the University Theatre. She directed the 2006 fall production of W;t, a play close to her heart because of its promotion of cancer awareness.
Ms. Sciro is also known nationally for her Broadway credits which include Production Coordinator of the Tony Award-winning productions Cats, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, and Miss Saigon. As well as Broadway Stage Manager for Song and Dance, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, and Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly, an All-Star Tribute to Ethel Merman, featuring Lainie Kazan, Patti LuPone, Andrea Martin, Elaine Stritch and Bette Midler. Stepping out of the theatre, Ms. Sciro served as the Production Manager for the 1999 Hard Rock Rockfest in Atlanta, GA, and the Stage Manager for the 2001 New Year’s Eve in Times Square in New York City. She was also Road Manager for Patti LuPone and Dixie Carter.
Her International credits include the London, England productions of Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, Follies, and Sunset Boulevard. She also served as the Production Manager for the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain and Atlanta, GA.
Mr. Don Stevens
Technical Director
Mr. Stevens serves as the technical director and instructor for the University Theatre. He has written, directed, and produced three shows for Big Bad Productions. He received the Best Director award for the RCT 2002-2003 season for his “not just for children” trilogy. His directing debut at LA Tech was William Shakespeare’s, Much Ado About Nothing in the fall of 2007. A graduate of LA Tech’s Master’s program, Mr. Stevens was awarded the John C. Trisler Award in 2003 and the Vera Alice Paul Award in 2004. He has been involved in productions with University of Louisiana at Monroe, the University of the Ozarks, LA Tech University and Community Theatre as actor, director and technician. Mr. Stevens worked in several positions as a member of the production team that produced a documentary celebrating the sesquicentennial of The University of The Ozarks. As a master puppeteer he has conducted workshops and classes in puppetry in five states. Mr. Stevens teaches Theatre Appreciation, Intro to Theatre, Theatre Practicum and Stagecraft. As a Moniteur d’ Escrime, Mr. Stevens teaches competitive fencing.
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Sara Evangeline Murdock
2nd Year Graduate Assistant
Costume Studio Supervisor
Sara is the Costume Studio Manager, supervising work in the costume studio as well as being a part-time costume designer and full-time second year grad student. She previously worked as a Costume Crafts Artisan at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery, AL, creating costume pieces for Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, James and the Giant Peach, Doctor Faustus, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Wars of the Roses, Winnie the Pooh, and Peter Pan, among others. She has also worked for many years at The Whole Backstage Playhouse in Guntersville, Alabama, acting, stage managing and assistant-directing since 1998.
Sara received her B.A. in Drama, graduating Cum Laude, with Special Honors in Drama, in 2004. At her alma mater, Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama, she studied performance and directing, while working in the costume shop, as a sound and light board operator, stage manager, props master, and director at various times during her two year tenure. At JSU she performed in Jesus Christ Superstar (Delilah/Whore #3), Ladyhouse Blues (Offstage Soloist, “Work for the Night is Coming” and “Every Time I Feel the Spirit”), Hay Fever (Judith Bliss), West Side Story (Minnie), and As You Like It (Audrey). In 2004 she directed a black box production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and starred in Robert Schenkkan’s Handler, directed by Sandra Ellis Lafferty.
Sara is a member of the Alpha Psi Omega honorary dramatic fraternity, inducted into the Omicron Eta chapter in 2003.
James Anthony Chapman
2nd Year Graduate Assistant
Box Office Manager
James is a second year graduate student at Louisiana Tech University and is thrilled to have the capability to continue his education. He is a performance and directing emphasis but has held many positions in the realm of theatre. Most recently, James Anthony had the opportunity to work for a professional theatre company located in Ithaca, NY as an Arts Administrator Intern where he worked in promotions, marketing, development, and he held the title of House and Box Office Manager.
James Anthony graduated from Lander University, obtaining a degree in Mass Communication and Theatre with a minor in dance in May 2010. Most recently James Anthony was the director and designer of Safe Sex by Harvey Fierstein and he directed the Spinners Haunted Trail for a multi-million dollar resort in South Carolina.
During his undergraduate career James taught acting, modern dance and technique, and musical theatre dance to children ranging from the age 3-17 yrs old. He was also a choreographer and principle dancer for the Lander Dance Company in South Carolina from 2006-2009. His choreography credits for the stage include, Ikuta: A Japanese Noh Play, Picnic, and The Loveliest Afternoon of the Year. James was the President of Alpha Psi Omega Xi Iota Cast during his undergrad career and raised the membership from 6 to 25 with a year’s time before he graduated. He has performed in over 65 plays and musicals since the age of four and has won multiple awards with PDA, SCSTA, and SCTA. In 2010, James Anthony won the SCSTA Volunteer Award and Outstanding Leadership Award. In 2005, James Anthony was cast in Graveyard Love, an independent film that was shown throughout Southeastern Film Festivals.
Ryan Ferrebee
2dy Year Graduate Assistant
Theatre Office Manager
Ryan is an Ohio native and a second year performance/ directing emphasis. He is currently employed as director of The Strand Theatre’s summer musicals in Moundsville, West Virginia. Ryan also directed productions of The Santaland Diaries and Catch and Release for the Independent Theatre Collective of Wheeling, WV.
Previous credits at Louisiana Tech include Malcolm in Macbeth and Buckingham in Richard III. Other favorite credits include Marcellus in The Music Man, Katurian in The Pillowman, Dr. Parker in Bat Boy: The Musical, and Charlie in The Foreigner.
Ryan received his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from West Liberty University in West Virginia. In addition to performance, Ryan also served as Box Office Manager and House Manager for the 2009-2010 season, the theatre department’s secretary from 2007-2008, and as assistant lighting designer and head electrician respectively for productions on You Can’t Take it With You and Book of Days.
In the future Ryan plans to pursue an MFA in Arts Administration, serve on the management team of a theatre, and ultimately share his knowledge with others by teaching on the University level.
Holly Bricker
Second Year Graduate Assistant
Marketing and Promotions Manager
Holly, a second year graduate assistant from Shreveport, is no stranger to Louisiana Tech. She received her undergraduate degree in Graphic Design from Tech earlier this year and decided to continue and pursue her Master’s Degree in her passion- Theatre.
As an undergrad, Holly performed in Zorro and played Dogberry in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, both for the Stone Theatre. In addition to her work on stage, Holly serves as the Marketing and Promotions manager for Stone Theatre, employing her undergraduate degree to promote productions and design recruitment materials. She is a member of Tech Theatre Players, and hopes to be the Promotions Manager for a theatre company in the future.
Ben Porch
2nd Year Graduate Assistant
Assistant to the Production Coordinator
Ben Porch is second year graduate assistant under Professor Mark Guinn. He is an Advanced Actor/Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors and an Actor/Combatant with the British Academy of Stage and Screen Combat. He has performed in fight and stunt shows all over the Southeast, his favorite being Pirates Dinner Adventure in Orlando, FL. Ben received his B.A. from North Greenville University in Tigerville, South Carolina.
Some of his recent stage credits include: Toby (Horn in the West), Banquo (Macbeth)m Keller (All My Sons), Fire Dancer (Horn in the West), Benjamin Blue (Pirates Dinner Adventure), Edward IV (Richard III). He is a proud member of Rat Pack Productions, a stage combat/stunt team headquartered here in Ruston. After graduation, Ben plans to serve as a Combat Engineer in the U.S. Army.
Sidney Davis
1st Year Graduate Assistant
Assistant Box Office Manager
Sidney Davis is thrilled to be joining the Louisiana Tech Theatre Family! A Georgia native, Sidney received his Bachelor of Arts from Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, Georgia. There, Sidney served as a stalwart member of the acting company at GSW while also directing and musical directing main stage productions of Into the Woods, Skin Deep, and South Pacific. While at GSW he received two KCACTF Irene-Ryan Nominations and three Directing and Acting awards at the Georgia Theatre Conference. During his undergrad career Sidney also served as a principal company member of Americus Dance Experience and was a member of many award-winning choirs.
Some of Sidney’s most memorable roles include Jack Worthing in The Importance of Being Earnest, Jim in Gift of the Magi – The Musical, Luther Billis in South Pacific, and Sebastian in The Little Mermaid. Sidney has the long-term goals of serving as the Artistic Director of a professional theatre.
Alicia Madeline Goodman
1st Year Graduate Student
Assistant Office Manager
Miss Goodman is a first year graduate student who is a native of New York, but came to LA Tech from Florida.
Miss Goodman received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Flagler College in Saint Augustine, Florida. She graduated magna cum laude. While there she was a part of Alpha Chi, a leadership honor society, and Alpha Psi Omega, the theatre honor society. Other educational credits include the Suzuki Method, the Alexander Technique, the Laban Technique, and the Art of War Technique.
Professional performance credits include Café Noir (Madame Toureau), Wine and Murder (Hedy Chablis), and Party Line Telephone Call (Mrs. Gottleib).
Stage credits include Gypsy (Hollywood Blonde), A Wedding Story (Storyteller), Enchanted Sleeping Beauty (Queen Samantha), The Good Person of Sezuan (Mrs. Yang), Guys & Dolls (Big Julie), Up the Down Staircase (Bea Schacter), Agamemnon (Chorus Leader), and Cinderella (Evil Stepmother). She has been a part of numerous choral groups, dance troupes, and music ensembles throughout her life.
Miss Goodman has also directed three shows, Medea, Sure Thing, and The Three Musketeers and has directed one short film. She was the Assistant Technical Director of Flagler College for a year during her studies there. She is currently employed by Barbizon as an acting and modeling instructor.
In addition to performing, Miss Goodman also has experience in technical aspects of theatre. She was the Assistant technical director for Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. She has constructed sets for All’s Well that Ends Well and The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-on-the-moon Marigolds. She has been a part of electrics crew for Die Fledermaus, The Three Musketeers, and The Smell of Burnt Feathers. She has been a costumer for Fat Pig, Gypsy, and Cinderella.
Future plans include teaching English abroad and helping people get over fears of public speaking.
Matthew Ferguson
1st Year Graduate Assistant
Assistant to the Technical Director
Matthew Ferguson received his B.A. from Limestone College in Gaffney SC for Theatre. He is happy to be a part of the Graduate program here at Louisiana Tech University. Some of his favorite previous roles include Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing, David O. Selznick in Moonlight and Magnolias, Mortimer Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace, and Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, For which he received an Irene Ryan nomination. He is very excited to be working with such a talented group of people.
Henry Taylor Pittman
1st Year Graduate Assistant
Assistant to the Technical Director
Taylor comes to us fresh from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, AR. where he graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor's in Performing Arts. Taylor is a 1st year graduate student and assistant hoping to achieve a masters in theatre. Originally from Hot Springs, AR. he plans to one day have a career in film and on stage touring the world.
While his major is in Theatre as a whole, his focus is performance. Theatregoers can see him in our upcoming performance of Our Town. Taylor's previous acting experiences include roles in such classics as Tennessee Williams' Suddenly, Last Summer, William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, and You Can't Take It With You which he views as his best role to date. For a senior project at Henderson State last spring, Taylor performed excerpts from Eric Bogosian's Talk Radio about a late night radio talk show host. He served as both actor and director for the first time. Taylor looks forward to earning his place among the theatre staff at Louisiana Tech so he may able to one day call himself a master of theatre arts.
