Performing Arts Studies Faculty
Kacy E. Crabtree, PhD
Vice President, Academic Affairs
Chair of Division of Creative and Fine Arts
Executive Director for Lees-McRae Summer Theatre
CrabtreeC@lmc.edu
Janet Barton Speer, PhD
Virginia McKenzie Reeves Endowed Chair of Performing Arts
Artistic Director
for Lees-McRae College Summer Theatre
Website: www.faculty.lmc.edu/speerj
SpeerJ@lmc.edu
Dr. Janet Barton Speer has been teaching theatre, performing as an actress, choreographing, writing and directing plays for more than 40 years, which includes more than 600 productions. As the Virginia McKenzie Reeves Endowed Chair of Performing Arts and Distinguished Professor at Lees-McRae College, she not only teaches students and produces plays and musicals during the academic year, but also serves as artistic director for the Lees-McRae Summer Theatre, a professional company; this is in addition to years of work in a variety of professional theatres since 1964. Dr. Speer is the recipient of several prestigious honors, some of which are The Governor's Volunteer Award, Avery County Woman of the Year, the North Carolina Theatre Conference Service Award, and outstanding educator at Lees-McRae. In addition, she is a published co-author of two books, SHADOWS OVER MY BERLIN and SISTERS OF PROVIDENCE. Dr. Speer's husband is Dr. Allen Paul Speer, history professor and writer at Lees-McRae College, and her children are Donovan and Barton Carroll.
Tessa Carr, PhD
Program Coordinator for Performing Arts Studies
Assistant Professor for Performing Arts
Costume Designer, and Director
CarrT@lmc.edu
Dr. Tessa Carr earned her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in Performance Studies, her Master’s degree from Louisiana State University in Theatre History and Criticism, and her B.A. from Lees-McRae College in Theatre Arts and History. Dr. Carr is a proud alumna of Lees-McRae and feels that the broad-based liberal arts theatre training that she received at the college set her up for success at LSU and UT-Austin. Blending theory and practice in all classes, Dr. Carr focuses her teaching on an understanding of how theatre and performance operate in our culture as carriers and builders of meaning. She has worked as a professional performer, costume designer, and director over the years. She is a member of the editorial board of Southern Theatre Magazine and a guest reviewer for Text and Performance Quarterly. Her research interests include performance and health communication, and feminist performance strategies. Dr. Carr has presented her work at numerous national and regional conferences and publications.
Michael Hannah, PhD
Program Coordinator for BFA in Musical Theatre
Assistant Professor for Performing Arts
Costume Designer and Director
HannahM@lmc.edu
Dr. Michael Hannah is associate professor of performing arts at Lees-McRae College, where he teaches directing, costuming, dialects/accents, auditioning, theatre history and musical theatre and serves as the program coordinator for the BFA in Musical Theatre degree. He graduated from Texas Tech University with a Ph.D. in Fine Arts/Theatre and from Appalachian State University and Lees-McRae College with degrees in English, French and musical theatre. His directing credits include Almost, Maine, Urinetown, Dead Man Walking, Lucky Stiff, The Laramie Project, Seussical, Lend Me a Tenor, Pippin, A Shayna Maidel, Dancing at Lughnasa, Dames at Sea, The Dining Room, The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 and The Misanthrope. In addition to directing, Dr. Hannah designed and built costumes for many of those productions, as well as nearly 30 other plays or musicals. He is also a musical director, pianist and performer, who has music-directed, played piano for, or performed in approximately 75 productions. Dr. Hannah has also performed in and/or designed costumes for Lees-McRae Summer Theatre productions for nearly 20 years. He lives in Banner Elk and has taught at LMC since 1997.
Pam Joslin, BS
Administrative Assistant
Division of Creative and Fine Arts
Lees-McRae Summer Theatre
JoslinP@lmc.edu
Jim Taylor, MM
Assistant Professor for Performing Arts
Director of Music
Taylor@lmc.edu
James E. Taylor is an assistant professor in the Creative and Performing Arts Department and has served on the faculty of Lees-McRae College since 1984 teaching applied voice, directing the college choir, as well as serving as music director for main stage musicals. Originally from Lansing Michigan, he moved to North Carolina in 1980. Having begun his studies at Hope College in Holland, MI, Mr. Taylor completed his undergraduate degree in Theatre and his Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance at Appalachian State University. He has performed in numerous musicals with Lees-McRae Summer Theatre as well as concerts and programs in the area. He has a lifelong interest in vocal pedagogy and is a long standing member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and regularly participates in both local and regional events. His non-academic interests include Christian formation and Biblical studies and he has recently completed a 2-year program with the School for the Laity/Commissioned Lay Pastors training school through the Presbytery of Western North Carolina. He served as LMC’s interim Chaplain during the 2009-2010 academic year. He lives in Banner Elk with his wife, 3 dogs, and 6 cats.
Danielle Baisden Curtis, MFA
Assistant Professor for Performing Arts
Technical Director
Lighting/Set Designer
Website: www.go.lmc.edu/76
BaisdenD@lmc.edu
Paul Adamson, MM
Staff Accompanist and Instructor
Adamson@lmc.edu
Paul is a staff piano accompanist and music instructor in the performing arts department at Lees-McRae College. Since 1996 he has accompanied more than 50 musical theater productions during the school year and with LMST. Trained as a classical pianist, he has studied at Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore MD, Baldwin Wallace Conservatory in Cleveland, OH, and Memphis University in Memphis, TN. He holds a BM degree in composition and theory and a master’s degree in piano pedagogy. Paul is also a member of Phi Kappa Lambda, a music honor society. Over the years he has done extensive work as a concert recital accompanist. He has taught piano to students of all ages. He is also well-versed in other musical styles, such as jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll.
Drew Wallace
wallacea@lmc.edu
Assistant Technical Director
Drew Wallace is the Assistant Technical Director at Lees McRae. He has worked in educational and professional environments for the past 11 years. Drew is an LMC alumni and graduated with a BA in Musical Theater. He has come back to LMC after working in the professional world as a scenic fabricator for 3dx Scenic, a production company in Cincinnati, Ohio where he built numerous sets for cruise ships, amusements parks, and several current national theatrical touring productions such as Beauty and the Beast, and Peter Pan. He was also involved in building the sets that musicians Steve Miller and Alice Cooper have been touring with for the last few years. He is happy to be home at Lees McRae, back in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina with his wife Erin.
Stacey Burgess Trivett
Adjunct Dance Faculty
trivetts@lmc.edu
Stacey Burgess Trivett is adjunct dance faculty at Lees-McRae, where she received a B.A. in Dance and also studied Music and Education. She is an instructor at Northwestern Dance Studio in Boone and is choreographer for their award winning Northwestern Starz Competition Team. She has also taught at Watauga High School and workshops at for Avery Middle and Crossnore schools. She teaches at local workshops and state conventions in Tap, Clogging, Ballroom, and Musical Theatre. Stacey, also the Children's Minister and Music Director at her church, hopes to pass her love for the arts on to the next generation of artists.
Mindi Bishop
BishopMA@lmc.edu
Costume Shop Supervisor
Assistant Director, Creative and Performing Arts Camp
Mindi Bishop, B.S., originally from Miami, Florida, is an alumna of LMC and is currently one of the LMC adjunct dance teachers, as well as the Whitesell Costume Shop supervisor. Mindi is also the Assistant Director of the Creative and Performing Arts Camp (CAPA) here at Lees-McRae. Dancing for over 25 years, Mindi was a member of the Pizazz Dance Company and has performed with ABT principles in “The Nutcracker,” as well as with Rudolf Nureyev in “Giselle.” She also has studied with dance masters Dr. Henry LeTang, Scott Benson, Judy Ann Bassing and Savion Glover. She is a current member of the National Dance Association and North Carolina Dance Alliance and the current staff advisor for Nu Delta Alpha Dance Honor Society. Recently Mindi was the initial costume designer/consultant on “Never Stop Moving,” a new musical about dance master Luigi, soon to premiere in New York City. She has costume designed Almost, Maine and Beguiled Again at LMC. Mindi has also designed and built costumes for the National Museum of Dance’s “World of Dance” exhibit. For the past several years, Mindi has been an active member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), a not-for-profit educational living history group studying and recreating the Renaissance and Middle Ages. As a member, she has researched, designed and created projects in costuming, needlework, embroidery and beadwork in various cultures and time periods which have won SCA competitions and received awards. Mindi lives in Banner Elk with her 2-year-daughter, Aleah.
Dr. Kara Wooten
Guest Artist
Stage Combat
Kara Wooten's credits include academic pursuits, as well as professional theater, television and film work. She is a senior fight director with The Society of Canadian Fight Directors and a senior instructor of the Academy of Dramatic Combat. Kara is the author of "Acted Aggression," a manual of stage combat techniques for instructors and actors.
Teaching credits include Playmakers Repertory Theatre; Equity Showcase; Humber College; Ryerson University; Fanshawe College; University of Kentucky, USA; Lees-McRae College, USA and Texas Tech University, USA, Queens University She also is a full member ACTRA and Canadian Actors Equity(CAEA)
Glenn Snellgrose
Guest Artist
Dance
Glenn Snellgrose, a native of East Tennessee, developed his real love for the theater while playing the Scarecrow in his junior high production of The Wizard of Oz. He then continued to perform through out his high school years in musicals, community theater, and the Athens Area Youth Ensemble. Thanks to an anonymous monetary gift from an artist in residence brought in by the local arts council, he began to study ballet and jazz. Upon completion of high school, Glenn attended Lees-McRae College in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina.
While studying at Lees-McRae, Glenn became a clogger, fell in love with Bluegrass music, and developed a passion for modern dance and choreography. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Performing Arts Studies in May of 2007, Glenn began his travels across the United States. He has worked in Colorado, Florida, Arizona, Virginia, and most recently central California. His favorite roles include Bernardo (West Side Story), Rum Tum Tugger (CATS!), The Leech (Thoroughly Modern Millie), and performing with Dolly Parton.
Erin Wallace
Guest Artist
Stage Management
Erin Wallace is a Guest Artist for Stage Management at Lees McRae. She has been working as a professional stage manager for the past 10 years. Erin is a graduate of Ashland University, in northern Ohio, where she graduated with a BA in Theatre. Erin also attended Michigan State University for graduate school where she was the Production Stage Manager. She graduated with a MA in Theatre. Erin has stage managed in a variety of theatre settings, including Musical Theatre, Outdoor Drama, Theme Parks, Dance, Opera and Corporate Theatre. Most recently, she has worked for Iacono Productions in Cincinnati, Ohio as an Associate Producer. Erin lives in Banner Elk with her husband Drew.