Contributors

Kiara Pipino is an Associate Professor of Theatre at SUNY Oneonta and a freelance director and translator. She has worked nationally and internationally, including Off Broadway, in Italy for the Italian National Theatre, in the Czech Republic for the Prague Shakespeare Company, in the Philippines for Ateneo de Manila University, and in Greece, for Theatre of Changes. Her research fields include the role of women and gender in theatre, classic Greek theatre, and Movement for Actors. She is a graduate of the Universita’ degli Studi di Genova (Italy) and of the University of Arkansas and she holds a certification in the Michael Chekhov Technique from GLMCC. She is the author of Women Writing and Directing in the USA: A Stage of Our Own, published by Rutledge in 2020, she co-authored Conquering the Stage, for Kendall Hunt, in 2017 and she wrote Theatre and Pietas for the University of Trento Press also in 2017.

Andrew Kahl teaches acting, directing, and voice production as a faculty member of the Theatre department for SUNY Oneonta in Oneonta, NY. He works regionally as a professional actor and director, is a Certified Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework, and is a proud member of Actors Equity Association, the Screen Actors Guild, and the Voice and Speech Trainer’s Association. Regional acting credits include productions with Chenango River Theatre, Franklin Stage Company, Everyman Theatre, Roundhouse Theatre, Arena Stage, Rep Stage, The Shakespeare Theatre, and The Shakespeare Project. He has directed productions and readings for Chenango River Theatre, Franklin Stage Company, The Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare Project, Theatre L’Homme Dieu, and has numerous credits at the college level.

Ingrid De Sanctis teaches playwriting at James Madison University (JMU) in Harrisonburg, VA. She earned the 2020 Distinctive Teacher in the College of Visual and Performing Arts and Make your Next Move Award in 2019. As a playwright, she creates edgy, challenging plays on such topics as refugees in the Balkans (Torba), survivors of violent crime (A Body in Motion), and a young woman living with—not dying from- cancer (Sarah and the Dinosaur). In 2019 her play Stained Glass, was awarded Best New Play in Dayton, OH, and a semifinalist for the Eugene O’Neill Playwriting Festival and recently adapted into a one-woman show. Ingrid is the director of Madison New Works Lab at JMU and the New Play Development Workshop, an annual showcase of ten-minute plays.

John Bagby holds a Bachelor of Arts in, Theatre Design and Technology, from the University of Northern Iowa, and a Master of Fine Arts in, Scenic Design, from the University of Texas at Austin. John has worked in professional and educational theatre as a technical director, scenic designer, lighting designer, scenic artist, and a props artisan for the last 36 years. John has worked as a designer and artisan for the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Cooperstown Theatre, Theatre UNI, Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts, and Vincennes University. John is a member of ATHE and USITT. John is currently a Professor of Theatre Design, and Chair of the Theatre Department at SUNY Oneonta in Oneonta New York.

Bethany Marx is an Associate Professor of Theatre specializing in Costume Design at SUNY Oneonta in Upstate New York, where she teaches courses in costume design, technology, and history. Professional design credits include the Mac-Haydn Theatre, Capital Repertory Theatre, the DC Fringe Festival, the Virginia Shakespeare Festival, the Fairbanks Shakespeare Theatre, and the Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis. Bethany moved to New York after six years of teaching at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where she designed and constructed costumes for theatre and film. She holds a BFA from the University of Evansville in Evansville, IN, and an MFA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Michael J. Riha is a Professor of Theatre and has taught at the University of Arkansas where he served as the Head of Design from 1996 – 2013 and as Chair of the Department for the past 10 years. Michael’s Broadway and New York credits include: Assistant Designer to Christine Jones on On A Clear Day You Can See Forever and the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Rigoletto. He has worked as an Associate Designer to John Iacovelli at the Southcoast Rep, The Mark Taper Forum, Syracuse Stage, and the Princess Cruise Line. He’s also worked at the Muny in St. Louis, MO, TheatreSquared, Fayetteville, AR, and on the national tour of Fiddler on the Roof. He is the author of Starting Your Career as a Theatrical Designer: Insights and Advice from Leading Broadway Designers published by Allworth Press. Michael is a proud member of USA-829.

Barbara N. Kahl (she, her, hers) holds an MFA in Theatre Design from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and has designed professionally for over three decades. She is a member of the Theatre Arts Department at Hartwick College, where she oversees the Design and Theatre History programs. Her research focus is on environmentally sustainable design, incorporating repurposed and renewable materials, and natural dye practices. She presents her work annually at the Costume Society of America National Symposium and the Association for Theatre in Higher Education National Conference, and every two years at the Textile Society of America’s Biennial Symposium. Barbara also teaches Theatre Histories including those from Asia, South Africa, and Western Europe. She was a Hartwick College Wandersee Scholar-in-Residence for the 2021-22 academic year.

Dr. Krysta Dennis, producer of Creative Arts at Siena College, works as a theatre-maker, director, and playwright in the US and internationally. Krysta holds a dual PhD from the University of Kent in the UK and the Sorbonne in Paris and trained as a performer at L’Ecole Jacques Lecoq. She is the author of four plays: Votes for Women, The Burden of the Ballot, Dutch, and Swept Clean, and has published with Contemporary Theatre Review, Interdisciplinary Network, Routledge, and the Pirandello Society of America. Recent directing credits include: The Turn of the Screw (Creative License), A Streetcar Named Desire (Northeast Theatre Ensemble), An Ideal Husband (NETE), Marjorie Prime (Theatre Voices), Aleda (Musicians of Ma’alwyck), and Arcadia (Siena College).

Emily Jones is a Professor of Theatre at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri, where she teaches Acting, Directing, and Stage Movement. She holds an MFA in Directing from the University of Arkansas and a BFA in Theatre from Midwestern State University. She has directed more than fifty plays and musicals for companies and programs across the United States. Her favorites include Fun Home, Silent Sky, The Cripple of Inishmaan, Urinetown, A Man of No Importance, and Jack and Jill by Jane Martin. Emily is an R-200hr Registered Yoga Teacher and currently working to become an R-500hr Yoga Teacher with a focus on Yoga for Neurodivergent Populations. She is a proud working mom enjoying the challenges of parenting a seven-year-old spitfire who is ready to take on the world.

Missy Maramara holds a Master of Fine Arts in Drama from the University of Arkansas through the International Fulbright Scholarship Program. She is a tenured Assistant Professor in the Fine Arts and English Departments of the Ateneo de Manila University. Her teaching and theater practice centers on student development, mental health, and gender equality informed by over decades of professional experience in theater, television, and film industries as well as training in Intimacy Direction and Coordination from IDC and TIE (New York City), Moment Work from Tectonic Theater Project (New York City), Movement and Silent Play from L’École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq (Paris), and Improvisational Theatre from SPIT and Third World Improv in Manila.

Gillian Canavan is a graduating senior of SUNY Oneonta and is working towards earning both a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a Bachelor of Science degree in Theatre. Over the past four years, she has been heavily involved in the SUNY Oneonta Theatre Department and is proud to have the opportunity to voice a student’s perspective on one of the foundational courses of the Theatre major. After graduation, Gillian plans to build a career in theatre and hopes to continue her theatre education in a graduate program to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in Acting.