School of
COMMUNICATION, MEDIA & THEATRE ARTS 2015-16 Year in Review
This year we took a big step up. We’ve graduated from being the Department of Communication, Media and Theartre Arts (CMTA) to become the School of CMTA. So, the theme of this annual “Year in Review” is stepping up, including all the ways in which faculty, students, staff and supporters have stepped up to the challenge of promoting human understanding through dialogue, media, and performance. Our students step up to the lectern, to the microphone, and on the stage to express their passions and strive to be their best possible selves. In these pages, you’ll also see how our faculty members step up to the plate every semester—always bringing their A-game to teaching, research, and service. This is possible because our friends and alumni never fail to step up to the occasion when the need is apparent. Your investment in our humane and creative endeavors is appreciated in full measure. We all know that education is the ladder of opportunity. It’s usually an arduous journey—but well worth the view from the top. Sincerely,
*Donald N. Ritzenhein, Ph.D. Interim School Director, CMTA
*Kathleen H. Stacey, Ph.D. 2015-16 School Director, CMTA Interim Dean, Arts and Sciences
* Kathleen Stacey is stepping in as interim dean for the College of Arts and Sciences. In her absence from our school, Don Ritzenhein is stepping up to serve as CMTA‘s interim director.
Table of C ontents
2015 September 4-5 October 6-7 November 8-9 December 10-11 2016 January 12-13 February 14-15 March 16-17 April 18-19 May 20-21 June 22-23 July 24-25 August 26-27 2015-16 Donors 28-29 2016-17 Theatre Season 30 Donate to CMTA 31
EMUCMTA
COMMUNICATION, MEDIA & THEATRE ARTS
BY THE NUMBERS 2015-16 635
9,071
Classes taught
75
National Forensics Champs from EMU since 1972
Patrons at events held in Quirk
Events and performances held in Quirk
4,855
In audience for Theatre for the Young tour shows
71
5,100
Hours of ETV and Eagle Radio programming
292
Stair steps in Quirk
41,419
Student credit hours produced
27
Majors, minors and graduate programs offered
2,886
Majors, minors and graduate students
266
Gifts to CMTA this year
$97,941
Contributed by donors to CMTA this year
Fall Semester Kicked-Off Activities New student orientation ushered in the Fall 2015 semester. Professors Dennis Patrick (left) and Phil Simmons introduced EMU’s mascot Swoop to incoming Eagles as they learned of opportunities for performance and co-curricular activities in the School of Communication, Media, and Theatre Arts. The Theatre program hosted the annual Welcome Back Picnic at the Quirk Building. The gathering provided food, games, lots of talk about “How I Spent My Summer Vacation,” and the opportunity to re-connect or meet new friends. The Boy Who Loved Monsters and the Girl Who Loved Peas returned for a reprise run in the Sponberg Theatre. Professor Patricia Zimmer directed the comical family fable for young audiences.
Great Start EMU Forensics traveled to their first tournaments: the MISL Workshop Tournament, the University of Indiana Tournament, and the Fall Mid-America Forensics League Tournament. First year forensicators Kaitlyn Taylor and Matthew Webb competed in their first tournament, the MISL Workshop. In dramatic interpretation, Taylor was named tournament champion and Webb placed second.
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SEPTEMBER 2015 Student Awards Students were the beneficiaries of recently established CMTA-related scholarship endowments. We were proud to award:
• Worth H. Kramer Memorial Endowed Scholarship Dana Eason and Heather Irvine, recipients
• Julia Catherine Niswender Endowed Scholarship for Twins Kaelyn Rice, recipient
• Gail W. Compton Endowed Scholarship Jamal Ali, recipient
• Mark S. Gallup Memorial Endowed Scholarship Emily Hanrahan, recipient
• John Briggs Endowed Scholarship in Entertainment Design & Technology Jacqulin Stauder, recipient
ESPN3 Debut with EMU
Swoop‘s Food Pantry opened and began to provide emergency food support to students. The project, spearheaded by students and faculty from the School of Social Work, provides food to students who need some help to keep groceries on their shelves. In its first three weeks the Food Pantry had provided 803 pounds of food to 71 EMU students in need of food assistance. Our CMTA students, faculty, and staff stepped up throughout the academic year to help stock Swoop’s Food Pantry.
Electronic Media and Film (EMFS) students partnered with EMU Athletics to produce nationally aired sports programming for ESPN3. Students receive valuable hands-on experience using the remote production truck that ESPN provides in exchange for the rights to carry 35 EMU sporting events. EMU students are pictured with Ryan Wooley (third from left, back row), who won an Outstanding Young Alumni Award in 2014. Wooley works for WWJ and WDFN sports radio and welcomes the opportunity to return and work with current EMFS students.
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Performance Hour! Each month a student-run talent showcase presetns a theme for CMTA students, faculty, and staff to explore through poetry, prose, dramas, song, and performance art. “Masks” was the motif for the first Performance Hour of the academic year.
Politics Steps Into the Television Age The Cambridge Companion to John F. Kennedy was published by Cambridge University Press. Professor Mary Ann Watson contributed the chapter entitled “The Kennedy-Nixon Debates: The Launch of Television’s Transformation of U.S. Politics and Popular Culture.”
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Seymour and Audrey Take to the Stage with Audrey II Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Professor Phil Simmons with musical direction by R. MacKenzie Lewis, scared the bejeepers out of full houses in the Quirk Theatre, including 350 high school students attending the largest ever Drama Day event at EMU. Photo features Kasey Donnelly and Nick Whittaker.
The Pursuit of Perfection Pat Barry, CMTA part-time lecturer and president of the EMU Alumni Association, was a Star Lecture Speaker for EMU’s Honor’s College. He discussed “The Pursuit of Perfection” and alternative ways to define success.
OCTOBER 2015 Suspense and Spirits This spirited gala raised $10,000. It was a great kick-off for the continuing campaign to raise funds for the digital equipment needs of the programs in Electronic Media and Film Studies and Entertainment Design & Technology. We received tremendous support from TLS Productions to transform the EMU Student Center ballroom for the evening. Selected through monetary donations, our own Dennis Beagen and then Interim EMU President Kim Schatzel (pictured below along with their back up singers, Jill Hunsberger, Don Loppnow and Dan Raglin), were selected as singers for the evening.
Coming Home AMP! was proud to present AMP Jam! It was a free mini music festival showcasing the talents of student and alumni musicians. Attendees had the opportunity to enjoy musical performances on stage as well as tie-dye and decorate T-shirts for a low cost at the DIY table. AMP! also helped celebrate Homecoming by offering magnificent face-painting before the game against the Akron Zips. AMP! artists set up in the Alumni Ten in front of the stadium to paint fans‘ faces with their favorite EMU emblems.
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High Fives All Around! Big Congratulations to Isaac Reimer and Patrick Seick for winning the Top Student Paper at NCA! The title of their research was the Intersection of Dis/ability: Co-Constructed Autoethnography of Friendship. Communication faculty members—Jessica Elton, Doris Fields, Jenny Kindred, Nick Romerhausen, Kathy Stacey, Michael Tew —also presented research at the conference as well as full-time lecturer Amy Johnson, part-time lecturer Crystal Campbell, and students Jamie Ward, Tim Ward and Al White.
Modern Mythology
Guest Speaker Mary Ann Watson, Professor of Electronic Media and Film Studies, spoke at The 60s: Turmoil and Transformation Symposium held at Bismarck State College. Her presentation was titled “Television Changes the Picture: How Television Observed and Shaped a Tumultuous Decade.”
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Head Full of Snakes: Exploring Medusa was adapted and directed by Amy Johnson. It was an interpretive performance spectacle mostly comprised of original works that included a Sinatra-style song, Greekstyle chorus, an intense and poignant monologue, interpretive dance, and good old-fashioned shtick. Pictured Sami White as Medusa.
Musical Bridge Professor Pirooz Aghssa presented a paper on the common ground between Grand Opera and Heavy Metal to the University of Southern Denmark seminar on “Topics in the Aesthetics of Music and Sound” in which he examined both forms as a means to communicate the most authentic human impulses.
NOVEMBER 2015 Did You See a Duck? SaturQuack fit the bill for amusing little ones through performances, storytelling, puppetry, arts & crafts, and more. Coordinated by EMU Theatre and the Applied Drama and Theatre for the Young program, the fall program included a special performance by Spinning Dot Theatre of The Cat Who Ran. Jenny Koppera, part-time lecturer for ADTY, is the founder and director of Spinning Dot.
Master-Level Research Presented EMU‘s Graduate Research Conference brought together students and their faculty mentors to present fascinating explorations: Decky Alexander worked with Monica Kozakiewicz, MFA student in ADTY, on “Born This Way: An Autoethnographic performance on mental illness and wellness” and Britney Winn, MA student in ADTY, on “Driving from the Backseat, An Autoethnographic performance.” Don Ritzenhein guided Sydney Wallace, MA in Communication, on “ Family Communication Patterns Critique,” and Jenny Kindred mentored Benjamin Bower, MA in Communication, on “Discovering the Virtual Fingerprint: Analyzing Immersion and Player Personality in Video Games.”
Applied Drama Theatre for the Young Fall Tour The ADTY Fall Tour of Junior High kicked off their first performance at Allen Park Middle School and on the following Fridays visited four more school districts including Van Buren, Garden City, Gilbralter and Chelsea. More than 2,000 students saw the show during its run.
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An Extra Step The Costume Shop cleaned house (and didn‘t make a dent in their collection) by donating shoes to help Randolph Elementary School in Livonia win a Kiwanis Club Shoe Drive Contest. Randolph School collected over 2,850 pairs of shoes out of the 12,075 pairs collected district wide. The final collection prevented 6.1 tons of material from going to local landfills.
For All You Do A holiday season celebration for our outstanding student staff let them know how much they’re appreciated. They keep the ball rolling, the phones answered, and attend to the workaday details of a busy office.
Protecting the Detroit Institute of Arts‘ Collection Don Ritzenhein, Detroit Institute of Arts‘ board member and communication professor, explained the “Grand Bargain.” The DIA joined with other foundations, the State of Michigan, and loyal donors to preserve the museum‘s art collection from sale during Detroit‘s bankruptcy, and helped reduce the negative impact on Detroit pensioners. This lecture was coordinated by AMP!, the arts management student organization. Ritzenhein was also the recipient of the Outstanding Nonprofit Leadership Alliance Faculty Award for his work inspiring students to understand and experience the contributions of nonprofit organizations.
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Holiday Support for Others CMTA faculty and staff adopted two families. Professor Doris Fields and the Graduate Assistants coordinated CMTA‘s effort to provide food and gifts to two families who needed our help to celebrate this holiday season!
DECEMBER 2015 Hopgood’s New Book Published Dance Production takes the reader through the process of pre-production planning, design disciplines, stage management, and more. Bridging the gap between theatrical and dance design, the book includes a quick reference guide for theatrical and dance terminology, useful in giving dancers and designers a common working vocabulary that will ensure productive communication across the different fields.
Playwright in the House Anne of Green Gables opened and Sylvia Ashby, who adapted the book for stage, came to see the show--and loved it! The children’s classic about a lively orphan girl with big ideas was directed by Professor Christine Tanner. Grace Supplee, who played the lead role, is pictured (center) above.
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Real Stories—Real Impact
Boost Self Esteem? Yes We Can!
The Six Figures Playback Theatre Company uses improvisation to convey real-life stories of audience members. Faculty advisor Dr. Anita Rich and the student members have a long-standing relationship with the Woodland Center Corrective Facility in Whitmore Lake for bi-weekly sessions.
A class project in the Nonverbal Communication course of senior lecturer Ethel Kluesner went viral. Freshmen Halle Anderson (left) and Cali Curlee launched “Operation You Can Do It” by asking friends to send inspirational quotations, which started trending on Instagram. Soon photos of smiling faces next to words of wisdom started to flood in— resulting in more positive attitudes for both senders and receivers.
“In These Shoes” On the Stage of Quirk! Quirk Theatre was the setting for the School of Music & Dance annual dance concert, Dialogues with Gravity. Professor Phil Simmons, who holds a joint appointment in CMTA and Music & Dance coordinated the concert. Jeromy Hopgood and John Charles led and taught dance students backstage skills and safety protocol while Melanie Schuessler Bond with Madelaine Huggins supervised costuming. Simmons choreographed and student Ginny Reichs designed the costumes for “In These Shoes” (photo left) from Kinky Boots.
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JANUARY 2016
On the Tube
Stepping Up in Fashion Design REUP! was an event hosted by the EMU student, arts & entertainment management organization, AMP!. The mission of the event was to stretch the definition of high-end fashion through modern, environmentally responsible designs.
The ETV crew for the 2015-16 academic year made its mark again by telecasting to the EMU campus. As a public service, ETV keeps the University community in touch with itself through campus channel 18. Stewarded by the Electronic Media and Films Studies program, ETV programming is produced, written, and directed by students to give them hands-on career experience.
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Students Take the Lead Lab Bill B featured two shows, Mpls., St. Paul and Bang Bang You‘re Dead (pictured below Sam Dial and Nikko Romero). These shows quickly sell out and the lab series remains a favorite adventure for our students. The four lab show bills that are directed throughout the year are completely student produced and designed to provide students an opportunity to immerse themselves in the production experience.
Sunrise, Sunset Theatre Arts Professor Pirooz Aghssa and Marty Schictman, director of the EMU Jewish Studies Center, took 17 students enrolled in “Jewish Identity and the American Theatre” to NYC for five days. The trip, which traced the journey of Jewish immigrants in the 20th Century, culminated in seeing a Broadway performance of Fiddler on the Roof.
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FEBRUARY 2016
Winter Tour Love Like Salt was the Applied Drama Theatre for the Young winter tour show directed by Professor Patricia Zimmer. It was performed for more than 2,500 students at six elementary schools throughout southeast Michigan and closed with a public performance in Sponberg following the spring SaturQuack event.
Be My Valentine? In yet another monthly showcase opportunity, the Performance Hour theme, “Love is in the Air,” appealed to the romantic instincts and the hearts of our students.
Piano Lesson Audiences were taken back to the 1930s Pittsburgh with EMU’s production The Piano Lesson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play August Wilson, directed by Professor Lee Stille. The story of Boy Willie who comes up from Mississippi with a truck full of watermelons and a head full of plans revolves around the fate of and ornately carved family piano. The actors shared the spotlight with the instrument itself. Leads Jeffery Devault and Madison Coates are pictured above.
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Planting Hope MFA student Elizabeth Shaffer directed the inspiring musical allegory Lily Plants a Garden for young audiences. Despite the grimness of the Great Endless Unforgotten War, the lead character played by Kiana Gandol (center below) finds a way to bring beauty and hope to the world around her. Adam Kennedy and Savannah Damoth also pictured.
Injustice Cannot Stand Dr. Doris Fields was selected to present “A Life Well-Lived: Improving Race Relations on Campus, within the Community, and in the Workplace.� Her talk was part of the Eastern Michigan University's Honors College's 2015-16 Star Lecture Series. It was an opportunity for her to continue to change the world one person at a time.
Spring in Washington D.C. Students from the Arts & Entertainment Management and Arts Administration programs traveled to Washington D.C. for an Arts Advocacy Day. Students met with legislators from all over the country and learned how to best advocate for arts programs and arts education.
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MARCH 2016
Award Winning Terry Heck Seibert (top) was the recipient of the 2016 Ronald W. Collins Distinguished Faculty Award in Creative Activity. Her students are the beneficiaries of Terry’s roles in professional theatre, her continued study of Shakespearean performance and audition technique, and her recently completed Chekhov Teacher Certification.
Drama in Brief EMU’s student written and directed One-Act Festival took place in the Lab Theatre. Since the early 1990s the student-driven festival has become a much-anticipated annual tradition. Trigger Warning (Alex Duncan, center above, with Remy Darnell and Gabriel Rittenhouse) was included in this year’s collection of short plays with different topics touching on sexuality, race, acceptance and love.
Darlene Leifson (center) was the recipient of the Part-Time Lecturers Outstanding Teaching Award. She is also the corecipient of an NEH Enduring Questions Grant with Philosophy Professor John Koolage to develop and teach a course called “Discovery” that will introduce students to influential thinkers over the centuries. Heather Irvine (bottom) was the recipient of the Gold Medallion Award for Outstanding Leadership by a Student. She is a fully engaged and inspiring undergraduate student. She served as president of the ETV Club and the producer of Eastern Weekly.
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The Power of Voice
Symposium 36
On April 22, CMTA students and faculty addressed the Board of Regents on the success of academic teams such as the Forensics program. EMU Forensics at Nationals, placed 5th in the nation out of 85 schools. Sami White (front row left surrounded by many of this year‘s team coaches) was named national champion in after-dinner speaking.
Twenty-eight undergraduate CMTA research and creative presentations included work from each program in the school. Pictured here is Julia Czekaj with her Design Expo exhibit that detailed the costuming process for Lily Plants a Garden under the mentorship of Melanie Schuessler Bond.
Paying It Forward Sally Young a production manager of the prime-time series Modern Family returned to EMU for student-centered session and Q&A about breaking into the television industry. Sally McCracken and Bette Warren also hosted a reception in her honor at their home to introduce Sally to more people in the Ypsilanti community and EMU.
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APRIL 2016 Swingin’ Time
Stepping Out Into the World
The rollicking musical comedy One Man, Two Guvnors—directed by John Seibert with musical direction by Howard Cass and choreography by Jennifer Graham—brought audiences to their feet in the Quirk Theatre. Based on the Italian play Servant of Two Masters, this version is set in Brighton, England in the early 1960s. One hapless man has two employers—a gangster and an upper-class criminal. His hilarious attempts to keep both of them in the dark about the other propel the plot of mistaken identity. Gasp-inducing pratfalls and a touch of Beatlemania added to the fun. Kasey Donnelly (left) and Dakotah Myers are pictured.
The School‘s annual graduation reception hosted about 125 people, CMTA graduates and their family and friends, on Sunday, April 24 in Quirk.
Conferencing Professor Jeannette Kindred and lecturer Carrie Madison presented an interactive short course, “Personal and Professional Networking” at the 2016 Central States Communication Association Convention. Also, Professor Sadaf Ali offered her thoughts on the theme of the zombie narrative at a panel called the “Fear of the Walking Dead” at the CSCA meeting in Grand Rapids. Graduate Assistants Vanessa Davis and Sydney and Wallace presented papers at the Michigan Undergraduate and Graduate Communication Conference held at Central Michigan. Congratulations to Sydney for taking the top paper award for her family communication patterns critique.
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Numero Uno The Interpretation/Performance Studies program won first place in the “World Premiere” category in the national tournament of the American Readers Theatre Association (ARTa). The original production Snake Eyes explored issues of perception—how we view ourselves and how others view us. Performers Monica Kozakiewicz, Sami White, and Samantha Morr (left to right pictured below) were directed by Lecturer Amy Johnson.
International Exploration Dr. Sadaf Ali took a group of students to London, England to study journalism and social media. Their activities included a tour of the BBC, Parliament, Westminster Abbey and Stonehenge. Ali also had the opportunity to discuss the trip on WEMU radio.
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MAY 2016 An Honored Career Professor Judy Sturgis Hill received emeritus status from the Board of Regents. During her 45-year journey at EMU as a student, educator and administrator, Judy modeled the importance of celebrating and championing people‘s differences.
A Long Run CMTA mourned the loss of a great professor and friend. P. George Bird died on May 6, 2016. “Mr. Bird,” as he was called by his students and colleagues, was hired by EMU in 1955 and continued his service for 52 years. He directed scores of plays and designed the sets and lights for hundreds of productions—all the while challenging and inspiring many thousands of students. He shared with young people his love of theatre and his commitment to excellence. George Bird possessed a dry and impish sense of humor. His witticisms, stories, and sardonic observations had become legendary long before his retirement in 2006. His legacy to the University also includes having a profound influence over the design of both the Quirk and Sponberg Theatres He was a man of many passions in addition to theatre. Mr. Bird loved magic, percussion instruments, classical music, sports (particularly the Wisconsin Badgers and the Detroit Tigers), the circus, antiques, and gardening. A founding member of the Huron Valley Rose Society, at one point George had more than 400 rose bushes in his garden. We are grateful to his family for sharing him so generously for decades.
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Equality Research Center New and significant research was supported the Center‘s Equality Knowledge Project. Awards were presented for exploration on a range of subjects, including: • refusal of service to same-sex couples • health consequences of same-sex partner violence, • quality of care for Michigan LGBT seniors, • impact of LGBT civil rights progress on the incidence of anti-LGBT violence, • experiences of LGBTQ homeless youth in the American South, and • impacts of military culture on LGBT service personnel. The Equality Research Center, under the direction of Dr. Michael Tew, also released its first informative “video short” on the issue of anti-Transgender violence, represented EMU as an exhibitor at the 2016 Creating Change Conference (pictured left), and formed a partnership with “LGBT Detroit” to develop curriculum for the LGBT Detroit biannual Leadership Academy. The year was capped with a successful annual donor event at Bona Sera Café in Ypsilanti, which honored local artist and activist Natasha T. Miller with the Timothy J. Dyer Community Leadership Award.
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An Extraordinary Life
Be It Resolved
Pirooz Aghssa performed a solo cabaret show, Singing With an Accent, in NYC. It explored his experiences growing up in Iran before the Islamic revolution and how his immersion into various languages opened up the world to a young man.
EMU Forensics was recognized by resolution at a meeting of the EMU Board of Regents. Duo partners Sami White and Jake Dailey are pictured here. They are two of the 21 team members who qualified 80 speeches/performances for nationals this year.
JUNE 2016
The Last Thirty Years
The Last Five Years The Last Five Years explores a half-decade relationship between a novelist and a struggling actress in reverse chronological order. The book, music and lyrics of the Off-Broadway play are by Jason Robert Brown. Pam Cardell directed EMU’s production with musical direction by R. MacKenzie Lewis. Photo above features Kayla Younkin, Kristin McSweeney, Brendan Kelly and Matt Wallace.
CMTA celebrated the 30th Birthday of the Sponberg Theatre with an evening of entertainment, fun, memories and a bit of fundraising for the Entertainment Design & Technology program. The “Ryan and Phil Show,” which followed a performance of Last Five Years and a guest reception, featured the great talents of Phil Simmons and R MacKenzie Lewis. Phil and Ryan (pictured center above) are introducing contestants Decky Alexander and Jen Graham to the evening‘s version of the Family Feud game.
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Forensics Outreach Lead by CMTA Lecturer Amy Johnson, EMU coaches and team members headed north to Flint and south to Middletown, Ohio to conduct day camps, share skills with high school students and recruit for the future of EMU Forensics. Phyllis Minor, teacher and advisor/coach for the Powers Catholic High School Forensics Team, and local host of the Flint day camp says, “ It is a high-quality camp. Every year I appreciate it more. The highly skilled coaches and their ability to connect and elevate the campers skill levels in four days is an amazing spectacle to watch.” The Flint campers and coaches are pictured below left and Middletown students are below right.
Fulbright Scholar Meets the Challenge
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Professor Wallace Bridges returned home after more than five months in Ghana on a Fulbright Fellowship. He called it “my experience of a lifetime.” During his time there Wallace taught two theatre courses: “Theatre Making Concepts,” a graduate course, and “Directing II” on the undergraduate level. He also directed A Raisin in the Sun with Ghanaian university and community actors, designers, crew and faculty. The production ran for two weekends on the University of Ghana-Legon campus. Professor Bridges served too as a consultant to the stage manager of the National Theatre of Ghana production of the play. During the 2016-2017 EMU Theatre season he will direct A Raisin in the Sun on the stage of Quirk. His research project will culminate with a documentary that will compare the Ghanaian and America directing experiences.
JULY 2016 A Drum Roll Please A special congratulations to faculty members John Seibert, Melanie Schuessler Bond, R. MacKenzie Lewis and Joseph Zettelmaier, and alum Luna Alexander on their nominations for Wilde Awards. These nominations were announced at EncoreMichigan.com, Michigan‘s media company that specializes in coverage of live professional theatre. The annual Wilde Awards are a statewide recognition for theater excellence with the winners announced at the end of August. Melanie Schuessler Bond‘s nominated work in costume design for The Rivals is pictured to the left. The production was part of the summer 2015 Michigan Shakespeare Festival.
Flying Into Local Communities Louie the Lightning Bug and the electrical safety program for young children is on the road again for its 11th summer. Funded by the DTE Energy Foundation, this year’s grant provided additional monies to purchase a new costume … inflatable! During summer 2016 Louie landed in 53 communities/sites throughout the southeast region of Michigan and spread electrical and gas safety messages through 127 shows. Student interns Sarah Hickman and Justin Hopper managed a student staff of eight to make these shows possible.
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Academic Service-Learning Projects The opportunity to learn through engagement in service is an integral part of Communication capstone courses. Each semester students are challenged to create and orchestrate projects with community impact. This past year students completed projects with Safe House in Ann Arbor, EMU‘s Women‘s Resource Center, the Wyandotte Animal Shelter, and the Gilbert Residence Home in Ypsilanti. Students also coordinated Veterans Day programs in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, a “dress for success” educational program for EMU and Ypsilanti students, and an environmental awareness program for 7th graders in the Ypsilanti School District.
All in the Picture Electronic Media and Film Studies major Zach Damon hosted the first season of Ann Arbor Inclusive on the Community Television Network (CTN). The bi-weekly show, presented on behalf of the Ann Arbor Commission on Disability Issues, explore topics of pushing boundaries and gaining independence. Interviews included discussions of adaptive sports, leader dogs for the blind, the Wild Swan Theater’s “Dramatically Able” program that makes drama accessible participants with disabilities, and the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living.
Internship: A Student's Ladder to Success EMFS faculty and staff worked with Patrick Campion, WEMU program director, to create a special student opportunity. Campion reports, “WEMU is proud to partner with CMTA students and staff on a new internship program set to being with the Fall 2017 semester. Students will have an opportunity to choose from one of four focus areas and gain significant experience through handson learning opportunities.” WEMU-FM, 89.1, is a professionally staffed, award-winning NPR affiliate operated by Eastern Michigan University serving communities throughout Washtenaw County and Southeast Michigan.
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AUGUST 2016 Continuing Toward Accreditation EMU Theatre continues its application for National Association of Schools in Theater (NAST) Accreditation. A site visit is expected in the next academic year.
Coming on Over to CMTA EMU‘s Journalism program is coming under the umbrella of CMTA with classes starting as part of our school for Fall 2016. We are pleased to welcome Professors Carol Schlagheck (below left) and You Li (below right) to our school along with full-time Lecturer Arnold Mackowiak. This realignment is an exciting move for our school and expands the opportunities of students in the Electronic Media and Film Studies program including a major, Media Studies and Journalism.
Pettiway Arrives as New Faculty CMTA selected Keon Pettiway (above), a scholar of race and visual culture, to join our faculty as an Assistant Professor of Communication in the coming academic year. Dr. Pettiway earned his Ph.D. at North Carolina State University and has a special research interest on African postcolonial identity formation. He has been honored by NCSU for his commitment to diversity and inclusion.
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Pirooz Aghssa Jessica Alexander Sadaf R. Ali Brenda T. and Kevin Alten Todd L. Ambs Ann Arbor Chiropractic Sharon C. and Eric K. Apollo Barry Avedon B-24 Espresso Bar Eats and Entertainment Randal E. and Elizabeth A. Baier David L. Balas Paul L . Bancel Marlene J. and John M. Barr Sr. Patrick J. Jr. and Cheryl L. Barry Dennis M. and Charline Beagen Carole A. Bennett and Anthony J. Wahlman Donald H. and Gene A. Bennion Rosalyn E. and Robert A. Benson Michelle S. Betman Wilbur C. Bigelow P. George and Laura Bird J. J. Bishop and Nola M. Bishop Fred Blum and Loretta N. Blum Kaarina N. Bodnar David J. and Mary Lynn Bolger
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Mary and Patrick Bonk Susan B. and William H. Booth Wallace A. and Jeanette R. Bridges Thomas and Margie Brooks Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar Richard J. Byrd Pamela K. Cardell Cato and Cary C. Cato Charles A. Carver John P. Charles Mary S. Compton George N. and Ellene T. Contis John G. Cooper and Amelia M. Michniak Arlene J. Corriveau Emily C. Day Donna F. DeButts Leighanne R. and Michael M. Denja Detroit Institute of Arts Vicki and Estilito Diaz Margo L. Dichtelmiller and Nancy S. Katz Karen E. Dolle Dale A. Domke and Michael A. Tew Theresa Donnelly DTE Energy Foundation Dunes Acquisition Inc John & Genevieve Dyer Educational Foundation Barbara M. and William Ebeling
Thank You!
John K. and Greta Elliott Jessica R. Elton Janice Erlingis Jason E. Fahlstrom Thomas E. Fahlstrom William E. Fennel Doris Fields Fitness Chick LLC Jon and Nancy Fitzgerald Neil M. Flax Russell R. Fleming Follett Higher Education Group Chris J. and Terrance J. Foreman John C. and Marjorie A. Fountain Janice E. Franklin Karen M. Gabrys David J. and Diane A. Geherin Regina George and Larry Fitzpatrick Darcy A. Gifford Michael A. and Mary A. Gladchun Nancy Good Jacqueline K. Goodman Marla J. Gousseff Matthew J. Gravel Leigh Greden Bert I. and Phyllis J. Greene Ann M. and Owen P. Hammerberg
Geoffrey D. Hammill and Kerry Graves Audrey R. and Michael J. Hanzlian Rachel Brett Harley Jeanette M. Hassan and Donald W. Pearson Roberta T. Hause Lucy K. Hayden Lorna Haywood Theresa Heck-Seibert and John P. Seibert The Henry Ford Gail L. and Alan G. Hering Ryan M. and Michelle Hershberger Dale E. and Gloria M. Heydlauff Dorothy O. Hindelang Todd M. Hissong Jacob G. Hodgson Hartmut F. Hoft Christopher A. Hutchinson Christopher R. Jacobs Diane A. and Charles W. Jacobs Jungle Java James Johnson Norene E. Kanagy Amanda I. Karel and Amanda M. Runyon Donna M. Keegan Brendan B. and Tressa M. Kelly Jeannette W. Kindred Wendy and David W. Kivi
We extend our warmest appreciation to those who supported numerous Communication, Media & Theatre Arts initiatives and increased opportunities for our students to excel. Your contributions made a significant impact.
Recognizing Our 2015-16 Donors Jenny A. and Prabhat Koppera Timothy W. Kowaleski Mary M. Krieger Denise Kulas Lucas O. Langdon Darlene E. Leifson Joe and Emily D. Levickas Lucy A. Liggett Peggy Liggit Little Caesars Gloria and Norman Logan Linda and Roger K. Long Donald M. and Nancie N. Loppnow James T. Low Denise M. Lynch Carrie C. Madison Lynn K. and Herbert L. Malinoff Phyllis Martino Daniel M. Mathis Warren N. and Suzanne K. Matthews Martha E. and Kenneth D. McClatchey Sally R. McCracken Winifred A. McKee and Samuel A. McCord Timothy M. and Leslie S. McMacken Christine M. Mehuron Ruby L. Meis and Stephen W. Brewer Jr. Christopher Meloche Julie M. Michel
Michigan Shakespeare Festival Inc Miles of Golf Glenna F. and William T. Miller Ryan B. Molloy Maggie M. Morawski Judith P. Morey John W. Morgan Steven J. and Lori J. Mosier Betty L. and Peter C. Mosshart Thomas J. Murray Heather Neff Lori B. Nelson Sandra Nelson Paul Nucci Deron M. Overpeck John G. and Persephone Pappas Tina M. Paraventi Dennis G. Patrick James G. III and Marni Patterson Performance Network Theatre Martha and Roland Petelka Claudia Petrescu Ralph R. and Barbara L. Powell Linda Pritchard and Mary E. Osborne Christine E. Purchis and Tobin A. Hissong Raymond A. Quiel and Laurie L. Walker John Rice Sophia and Nooraldeen M. Ridha
Donald N. Ritzenhein and Katherine Grenda SA Studio Kim E. Schatzel and Trevor A. Iles Julie A. Seagraves Karen L. Shaper R. Andrea Shipp-Caldwell Diane M. Showich Maria Showich-Gallup Sidetrack Bar & Grill Philip E. Simmons Susan K. and Geoffrey A. D. Smereck Kimberly Snider Kathleen H. Stacey and Robert E. Sneddon Patricia J. Stacey Suzanne L. Staley Keith and Marilyn K. Stanger Ummu Gulsum Steen Brian Steimel Kerri L. Stephenson and Charles D. Stephenson Jr. Kenneth W. Stevens and Wuanita M. Delaney Lee A. Stille James L. and Mary Streeter Patrick J. and Juanita L. Suchy Rocky M. Sulfridge Michelle R. Susko
Christine S. Tanner Joseph W. Tarantowski Robyn L. Tennison Michael A. Tew and Dale A. Domke Richard W. Thiede Tipping Point Theatre TLS Productions Inc Ilona L. Tobin Tower Inn Gloria J. VanAlstine Teri L. Varner Thomas K. and Anne M. Venner Joseph C. Walters Laura A. Ward Mary Ann and Dennis Watson Molly D. and Michael J. Weir Shirley and Larry Wentz Cheryl G. White Wiard‘s Orchard Inc Kenneth J. Widmayer Samantha M. Wilcox Warren S. and Judith S. Williams Williamston Theatre Diane L. Winder and David B. Orlin The Yoga Room Zap Zone Lazer Tag Terry F. and Marilyn Zerlak Daneen L. Zureich
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EMU THEATRE 2016-2017 Season www.emich.edu/emutheatre
Mainstage & Second Stage Productions The Last Five Years By Jason Robert Brown Directed by Pam Cardell Music Direction by R. MacKenzie Lewis SPONBERG THEATRE — September 9, 10 at 7pm and September 11 at 2pm Macbeth By William Shakespeare Directed by Lee Stille QUIRK THEATRE — October at 21, 22, 27, 28, 29 at 7pm and October 23 & October 30 at 2pm Vital Signs By Jane Martin Directed by Pam Cardell SPONBERG THEATRE — November 18, 19 at 7pm and November 20 at 2pm Christmas Carol’d By Joseph Zettelmaier Directed by Terry Heck Seibert QUIRK THEATRE — December 2, 3, 8, 9, 10 at 7pm and December 4 & 11 at 2pm
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A Raisin in the Sun By Lorraine Hansberry Directed by Wallace Bridges QUIRK THEATRE — February 8, 9, 10, 11 at 7pm and February 11 & 12 at 2pm, The Butterfly Play by Bijan Mofid Translated from Persian by Pirooz Aghssa Directed by Patricia Zimmer SPONBERG THEATRE — March 3, 4 at 7pm and March 5 at 2pm Spring Awakening Book and lyrics by Steven Sater Music by Duncan Sheik Based on the play by Frank Wedekind Directed by Pirooz Aghssa Music Direction by R. MacKenzie Lewis QUIRK THEATRE — March 31, April 1, 6, 7, 8 at 7pm and April 2 & 9 at 2pm Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse Based on the book by Kevin Henkes Adapted for the stage by Kevin Kling Directed by Christine Tanner Music Direction by R. MacKenzie Lewis SPONBERG THEATRE — June 2 & 9 at 7pm, June 3, 4, 10 & 11 at 2pm
Supporting Students: Give to CMTA After reading through our 2015-16 Year in Review, we ask you to consider a gift to support our programs and EMU/CMTA students.
Payment Method:
I would like to set up a multi-year pledge as follows:
Donor information (as you would like this gift acknowledged):
Total pledge amount: $
Name: _______________________________________________________________________
Over years
Address: _____________________________________________________________________ City/ST/Zip: __________________________________________________________________
I would like to make the gift via check. (Payable to Eastern Michigan University Foundation)
This gift is eligible for a match from my employer. (Please include the Matching Gift Form)
Phone: _____________________________ Email: ___________________________________
Credit Card Type: Visa ______
$ ________Communication, Media & Theatre Arts (CMTA) 00576
Gifts can be made online: www.emich.edu/foundation/give
I would like to pay by credit card.
Gift amount:
Mailing address: EMU Foundation PO Box 972057 Ypsilanti, MI 48197
at $ per year
MasterCard _______
Discover ________ American Express _______
Number____________-____________-____________-_____________ Expiration Date: _________/__________ Name as it appears on the card: ______________________________________ Signature: _________________________________________________
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EMUCMTA
COMMUNICATION, MEDIA & THEATRE ARTS
124 Quirk Ypsilanti, MI 48197 734.487.3131
www.emich.edu/cmta