Rapahel Schwartzman '11
Raphael Schwartzman has spent his time since graduating from
Butler Theatre Department pursuing work in theatre in a variety of
forms. From June to September, Raphael spent the summer in
Italy working and training with former Butler Theatre Guest Artist
in Residence Bernardo Rey; together they conducted personal
training sessions in Psycho-Physical Action and created a one-hour
solo performance called "Woyzeck: Fragments in Solitude," which
Raphael performed in Amelia and Pistoia, as well as at the
Casa-Laboratorio di Cenci, a workshop retreat center where Raphael
participated in an Indian Dance-Theatre intensive with the
performance group Milon Mela. Upon his return to the United
States, Raphael moved to Chicago, where he has worked as
Master/Assistant Electrician, Technical Director, or Scenic
Carpenter for such theatre companies as Immediate Theatre, Cock and
Bull Theatre, Buzz22 Chicago, Next Theatre, and Paramount Theatre.
Raphael has also been auditioning for theatre and film, writing
poetry and theatre pieces, and has submitted a proposal to Redtape
Theatre's Fresh Eyes Project, a workshop rehearsal process devoted
to the development of ensemble-devised theatre. Raphael also
teaches for Mad Science, an after-school science program for
elementary-age students.
Christopher "Ziggy" Ziegler '11
"After graduating in 2011, Christopher joined the Acting Intern
Company at Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati for their 2011-2012
season, where he has been cast as an understudy in shows such as
Ghost-Writer,The Whipping Man, and Pulitzer Prize winning musical
Next to Normal, one of the very first productions of the show at a
theatre outside of New York. He is also set to appear at the 2012
Cincy Fringe Festival. He has recently worked with the Cincinnati
Academy and Society of Acting and the Society of American Fight
Directors. During his time at Butler he appeared in several
Mainstage, Senior, and Student Productions, and worked with theatre
companies such as The Phoenix Theatre, NoExit Productions, and
PaperStrangers Performance Group in their 2010 National Fringe
Festival Tour. His future plans include moving to Chicago to live
and work with recent Butler Theatre graduates and to move to London
for work in British film, television, and theatre. He is a member
of the Equity Membership Candidate Program."
Lindsay Fussell '10
Lindsay is a 2010 graduate from Butler University with a BA in
Theatre and French. In addition to her work with Butler Theatre,
she was able to undertake two internships during her time in
college. Both led to employment opportunities after graduating. At
Indiana Repertory Theatre, Lindsay served for two seasons as a
Production Assistant on 17 productions, earning several weeks as an
Equity Membership Candidate. During her first two years with Improv
Playhouse, Lindsay choreographed and stage managed several shows
including Into the Woods, Beauty and the Beast, and Grease. During
her third year, Lindsay was asked to direct and choreograph the
company's two musical productions. In the summer of 2012, Lindsay
moved to Chicago and will begin work at Steppenwolf Theatre Company
as a Stage Management Apprentice for the upcoming season.
Rachel E. Bennett '09
Rachel received her M.A. in Performance Studies at New York
University in May 2011. She is currently working on her PhD in
Theatre History at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
She regularly presents papers at theatre and interdisciplinary
conferences. She is currently working on developing her Master's
Thesis "Performing Violence: Speech and Image in the Red Army
Faction's Revolution" into a journal article.
Michael Burke '09
Michael Burke is a 2009 graduate of Butler University with a
Bachelor of Arts in Theatre. During his tenure at Butler, Michael
was an active student performing, directing, assisting and/or
designing for all of the mainstage and student-lead productions to
which received high acclaim and praise. Most notably were his
decorations as the Distinguished Third Year Theatre Student, the
recipient of the Alma Meyer-Fitzgerald Outstanding Theatre Major
Award, and the scholarly achievements through the Butler Summer
Institute and his studies of physical theatre at the Stella Adler
Studio of Acting. Michael has also studied under international
theatre artists Phillip Zarrill, Firenza Guidi, Joe Goode, and
Kristin Linklater. Since graduation, Michael co-founded
paperStrangers Performance Group and took his production of Medea
on a national tour where it earned the Outstanding Contribution to
the Theatre of Los Angeles in an Ensemble Production in 2010. He
served as the assistant to Michael Edwards, the Producing Artistic
Director of the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, and since
Michael's return to Indianapolis, he assistant directed Peter
Amster's Dracula at the Indianapolis Repertory Theatre and was
honored with the 2011 Robert D. Beckmann Emerging Artist Fellowship
from the Indianapolis Arts Council. Michael also serves as the
Director of Marketing for NoExit Performance Group.
Katie Horwitz '09
After graduating, Katie played Mary Todd Lincoln in Lincoln Upon
the Alter of Freedom with Lincoln Amphitheater and then
moved to Chicago where she was Friar Lawrence and The Prince in
Romeo and Juliet with Babes with Blades. Since then Katie has
shifted her focus to directing. She
has assistant directed with
Indiana Repertory Theatre for Crime and
Punishment, Stage Left Theatre for Mother Bear, Farragut
North, The Fisherman,and upcoming Warped,and Two Pence
Shakespeare Theater for As You Like It. She has
directed with American Demigods, 20% Theatre Company and Immediacy
Theatre in St. Louis, MO. Upcoming Katie will be adapting and
directing Much Ado About Nothing for Gorilla Tango Theatre
and Co-producing/Directing The Bacchae with Jason
Narvy.
Katherine Van Wyk '09
After graduating in 2009, Katherine moved to Washington, DC to
work at The Shakespeare Theatre Company as the development
intern. Following the internship, she worked for an event
consulting firm on events such as the Alvin Ailey Gala, The
Foundation for the National Archives Gala, The Harman Center for
the Arts Annual Gala, The Kennedy Center Honors, and numerous
smaller dinner parties, receptions, and openings. Katherine
now works at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in
Corporate and Foundation Relations. In her spare time, she
cooks and writes about it on her blog, districtlydelicious.com
Jocelyn Henjum '07
After graduating from Butler in 2007, Jocelyn moved to the
Washington, DC area to do a year-long Stage Management internship
at The Olney Theatre Center and stayed in the theatre-full area.
Jocelyn joined the Actor's Equity Association as a Stage
Manager in 2008 and has been working almost exclusively in the
field ever since. She has worked at some of the best venues
in the city and the country including the Kennedy Center, Fords
Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Imagination
Stage, Inc. and Studio Theatre. She has also
been privileged to have assisted in special events with
the National Endowment for the Arts, the Shakespeare Theatre
Company and for Fords Theatre's Grand Reopening.
With the versatile education that she got at Butler, she's
also been able to work with the Washington Ballet as well as
Maryland Opera Studio and Urban Arias. In 2011, Jocelyn helped
found and is currently the Production Manager of The Impossible
Theater Company, the only in the area focused on devised
work.
Sunny Widmann '06
Sunny Widmann works with cultural organizations from across the
U.S. and abroad in her role as Program Manager at National Arts
Strategies in Washington, DC. She is also an adjunct faculty member
at Drexel University, teaching in the Arts Management Graduate
Program. Prior to moving to Washington DC, Sunny served with
Peace Corps in Togo, West Africa as a Girls Education and
Empowerment volunteer. She also holds a graduate degree in Arts
Management from American University, with a focus in cross-cultural
communication. Her work has been published in the Journal
of Arts Management, Law and Society. Outside of work,
Sunny serves on the steering committee for Emerging Arts Leaders
DC, practices yoga and enjoys her neighborhood's lively arts and
culinary offerings.
Jason Ober '05
After graduating from Butler Jason moved to Chicago and has
worked for several theatre companies in the Chicagoland area
including: The State, The Side Project, Hubris Production, Red Tape
Theatre, Point of Contention, and Blank Line Collective. He did a
Click it or Ticket commercial that ran. Jason got married in
2010 and became a proud father on August 16, 2011. Jason
currently lives about an hour west of Chicago.
Kate Glasheen '04
Kate graduated from the Central School of Speech and Drama,
University of London with Master's Degree in Voice in December
2011. She is the Associate Editor of the Voice and Speech Review by
VASTA, and she has continued acting since graduating from Butler.
Ronald Gilliam '03
Originally born in the heart of the Appalachian mountains,
Ronald Gilliam graduated from Butler with dual degrees in Theatre
and Chinese Language & Culture in 2003.
Shortly after graduating, Ronald joined the Indianapolis
Broadway Across America office as head of their subscription sales
while continuing his previous arts administration work as an Events
Supervisor at Clowes Memorial Hall. During this time Ronald and
fellow Butler Theatre Alumni Nicole Gatzimos (2002) began
discussing how they could produce their own theatrical work. This
joint desire to create new art organically led to the development
of NoExit Performance, an experimental theatre company that
continues to produce work from Butler theatre graduates.
Eventually, Ronald's path would lead to New York City where he
completed his MA degree at New York University in Performance
Studies. Due to the successes of NoExit combined with his arts
administration background, Ronald was recruited by Dances Patrelle,
a professional chamber-sized ballet company, upon completion of his
degree at NYU. He acted as their Executive Director for almost
three years before returning to academia in 2007.
Currently, Ronald is a Doctoral Candidate (ABD) in Asian Theatre
at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa where he is conducting
research on contemporary Central Asian drama. During 2011-2012
Ronald is a visiting student at the Central Chinese University for
Nationalities (Minzu University) Department of Uyghur Language
& Literature. He plans to defend his dissertation, "Locating
Intangible Culture: Contemporary Manifestations of Uyghur Dramatic
Art in Chinese Central Asia," in 2013.
More information about Ronald can be found on his online
portfolio at ronaldgilliam.com
Katie Angel '02
Katie is the founder and CEO of Angel Burlesque -- Indianapolis
largest and most theatrically based burlesque company. She has been
a Stage Manager at Dance Kaleidoscope since
2002. She has been a stage manager for Gregory Hancock Dance
Center. She has stage management various other events including:
"The Nutcracker" in Little Rock, Arkansas; "Pops Goes Vegas!" in
Hartford, Connecticut; the Country Music Expo (95.5 WFMS; 3 years),
Central Indiana Business Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony (3 years),
NCAA Final Four Salute.
Kelly
Baas '02
Kelly has worked with students on autistic spectrum as well as
individuals with developmental disabilities. She has performed with
DisAbility Project, an all ability level theatre company in
St. Louis. Kelly received her M.A. in Counseling Psychology &
Expressive Arts Therapy in 2009 from CIIS in San Francisco. She is
a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) currently workings as
counselor/case manager & utilizing drama, art, writing, and a
variety of creative arts with clients with severe mental
illness
Jill Koenen '02
A Midwestern girl at heart, Jill Koenen grew up in St. Louis,
earned a degree in Arts Administration, Theatre and Public
Relations from Butler University in Indianapolis, and spent her
early professional years planning large-scale, high-profile
fundraising events for Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago. In
2005, Jill's sense of adventure led her to pursue an opportunity in
the charming city by the bay - San Francisco - where she was
recruited by Bon Appétit Management Company.
For the past seven years, Jill has served the company in
multiple positions event planning, catering, sales, and marketing
at the de Young and Legion of Honor Museums, AT&T Ballpark
(home of the SF Giants), and ACME Chophouse. In early 2010, she
opened two new restaurants (Public House & Mijita) as Director
of Marketing & Communications for Bon Appétit & James Beard
award winning Chef Traci Des Jardins at AT&T Park. After
working at the account level for over 5 years, she was promoted to
Regional Marketing Director for Northern California. Through
company-wide and regional initiatives, she leads the marketing
effort which aims to increase participation, generate revenue,
spread awareness of Bon Appétit's sustainability commitments and
bring the fun back to food!
After 5pm, she enjoys Yoga/Pilates, cooking, golf, supporting
the arts, and shopping for shoes. She currently serves as the chair
of the Young Professional Advisory Council for the San Francisco
Bay Area chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Mandy (Keller) Scarborough '02
Mandy received her MBA from Weber State University in 2008. She
has worked for Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnatti, Fitton Center for
Creative Arts, Cincinnati Opera, and Cincinnati Playhouse in the
Park where she was on staff when the theatre received the Tony for
the 2003-2004 season. She has performed and taught with French Kiss
Fitness and Goddess Arts Academy. Mandy currently performs with
Spokane Aeriel Performance Arts. She is married to another Butler
Alum, Dave Scarborough and has a 13 month old son. The Scarboroughs
currently reside in Spokane Washington.
Jenny Kokai '01
Jenny obtained an MA in theatre from Washington University in
St. Louis, and a PhD from UT-Austin. She taught at Texas State
University in San Marcos, TX for 2 years and created her own
theatre company in Austin, Texas that focused on new work
highlighting female characters. She is currently a tenure track
professor at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. She teaches
Theatre History, Theatre Education, Playwriting, Dramaturgy,
Screenwriting, and other classes. She has published multiple
articles in peer reviewed journals and has a grant to do research
for her book this summer in NYC. She continues to write new
plays and direct works and recently worked with students to create
a devised piece, "Open House" shown at the regional KCACTF
festival.
Brandy Rodgers '00
Brandy spent several years as Company Manager for the
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's Yuletide Celebration.
She spent several years as the Pops and Presentations Coordinator
for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Brandy is currently the
SPC Manager and Production/Tour Coordinator and the Production
Manager for Yuletide Celebration at the Indianapolis
Symphony Orchestra. She is also independently contracted by
orchestras throughout North America to stage manager their more
theatrical concerts