Our Faculty and Staff
| John Green, PhD. |
Professor, Department Chair (profile)
Stage Directing, Acting, Performance Theory |
| Owen Schaub, PhD. |
Professor (profile)
Theatre History and Play Analysis |
| Diane Timmerman, MFA |
Professor (profile)
Acting, Shakespeare, and Voice (Linklater specialist) |
| Wendy Meaden, MFA |
Associate Professor,
Costume Design, Makeup, and Masks |
| Elaina Artemiev, MFA |
Assistant Professor,
Acting and Directing |
Rob Koharchik, MFA |
Assistant Professor,
Scenography and Lighting Design |
| Dianne Martin, BA |
Adjunct Faculty,
Playwriting and Screenwriting |
| Melli Hoppe, BA |
Adjunct Faculty,
Movement and Site-Specific Performance |
| Glen Thoreson, BFA |
Technical Director |
| Sarah Conyers-Conte, MFA |
Costume Shop Manager |
| Cathy Sipe |
Master Electrician |
| LuAnn Baker |
Department Administrator |
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John Green
Dr. John Green is chair and Professor in the
Department of Theatre. He was born and educated in London, England,
where he earned his Ph.D. in Theatre from the University of Plymouth.
Dr. Green specializes in teaching Stage Directing,
Critical Theory, and film. He is a passionate advocate of international
and interdisciplinary performance, and in 2002 created the Butler
International Theatre Exchange (BITE), an annual summer program
devoted to exploring international performance practice in collaboration
with leading theatre practitioners from around the world.
As a stage director, he has many productions to
his credit, which have been staged at the Edinburgh International
Festival and at theatre festivals in England, Wales, France, Germany,
Slovenia, Ireland and the United States. He is a guest director/visiting
scholar at Flinders University, New South Wales, Australia, and
locally has directed for Indianapolis Opera, and several seasons
of plays for the Indiana Repertory Theatre.
His directing credits for Butler Theatre include a substantial
focus on the shorter plays of Samuel Beckett. Commencing with
Beckettworks, one of the finalists of the 2000 Kennedy
Center American College Theatre Festival, for which he received
an Outstanding Director award; and continuing through Shades
of Sam to his 2007 production of A Piece of Monologue,
part of the Lamentations Project which Dr. Green devised
and co-directed. Other productions include: a stage adaptation
of Kafka’s Metamorphosis, Hamlet, Women
of Troy, The Tamer Tamed, Hamletmachine,
A Mouthful of Birds, Tongues, and The Photographer,
a multi media piece by the composer Philip Glass, produced in
collaboration with the School of Music and the departments of
Dance and Media Arts in the Jordan College of Fine Arts.
Dr. Green’s research interests center on
ritual and theatre and his essay Going Back to Dionysus
is published in (Dis) Placing Classical Greek Theatre.
He is currently editing a book on the Italian director Alessandro
Fersen.
In the current academic year, Dr. Green will direct
Phedre by Jean Racine and Phaedra’s Love
by Sarah Kane (under the collective title "PHAEDRAPLAYS")
for Butler Theatre; Crime and Punishment for the Indiana
Repertory Theatre; and a program of Beckett pieces to be staged
in St. Petersburg, Russia. In addition he will take a group of
students to London to train in Mask and Physical theatre with
the London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA); travel
to China to set up collaborative partnerships with theatre schools
in Beijing; and launch International Theatre Indianapolis with
his colleague Diane Timmerman.
Under his leadership, the Department of Theatre
has been accredited by the National Association of Schools of
Theatre, and received the 2002 NUVO Newsweekly Cultural Vision
Award.
Contact Dr. Green
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Owen Schaub
After teaching at other colleges and universities
for ten years, Dr. Schaub joined the Butler faculty in 1980 as
Associate Professor and Department Chairman. Originally the department's
scenic/lighting designer and technical director, he has been directing
mainstage productions since 1987. Representative productions include
Ghosts, Miss Julie, Hedda Gabler, Uncle Vanya, Woyzeck,
Reverse Psychology and Vinegar Tom. His teaching
experience at Butler covers a wide range of theatre courses including
theatre history, introduction to theatre, design, stagecraft,
lighting, play analysis and theatre management, as well as the
University's Change and Tradition course. He has also developed
and taught four honors seminars and the department's service learning
course. Dr. Schaub earned his Ph.D. at Kent State University in
Ohio while his MA and BA degrees are from Indiana University and
Hofstra University, respectively.
Contact Dr. Schaub
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Diane Timmerman
Diane Timmerman, Professor of theatre, received
her M.F.A. in Acting from Indiana University and her B.A. in Theatre
and German from Southern Illinois University. She studied for
one year at the University of Hamburg on a German Academic Exchange
Service Fellowship (DAAD) and for one year at the University of
Vienna.
Ms. Timmerman is a Designated Linklater Voice Teacher,
one of about 100 worldwide. The Linklater voice technique is based
on Kristin Linklater’s book Freeing the Natural Voice.
(More information can be found at www.kristinlinklater.com.) The
recipient of a Jordan College of Fine Arts teaching award, Ms.
Timmerman teaches a wide range of voice and acting courses here
at Butler. Diane also teaches and coaches professional actors
at the Indiana Repertory Theatre, the Phoenix Theatre and others.
Private clients include business professionals, television personalities,
and teachers. Diane’s Linklater work has taken her around
the world, most recently to the Moscow Art Theatre School and
St. Petersburg to strengthen Butler Theatre ties with Russian
colleagues. Diane visited the Italian island of Stromboli in order
to write an article for American Theatre magazine about
Metamorphosis, an international theatre production featuring
Kristin Linklater. At the Linklater Center of Germany, Diane co-taught
an acting workshop with Kristin Linklater for European voice teachers.
Upcoming travel plans include China and Africa.
Diane’s books include 90-Minute Shakespeare:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream and 90-Minute Shakespeare:
Romeo & Juliet, both of which were published by Smith
and Kraus in 2001 and are performed at theatres nationwide. Spare
Scenes: 60 Skeletal Scenes for Acting and Directing, published
by Heinemann, 2004, is a book of original “contentless”
scenes written by Diane for use in the acting and directing classroom.
These scenes and their accompanying exercises are utilized by
professional studios, colleges, and high schools across the country.
Diane’s essay detailing the Linklater teacher training process
can be found in the Spring 2005 issue of the journal College
Teaching.
Ms. Timmerman is an active professional actor whose
credits include: Merchant of Venice (Heartland Actors’
Repertory Theatre, Indianapolis, 2008), Bug (Phoenix
Theatre, Indianapolis, 2005), Spinning Into Butter (Human
Race Theatre Company, Ohio), Beautiful Thing (Phoenix
and Human Race), Angel Street (Indiana Repertory Theatre),
Florida and Points of Deviation (Phoenix) and numerous
roles on Chicago stages including Doctor Faustus and
American Clock (Court Theatre), The Devil’s
Disciple (Pegasus Players) and a seven month run in An
Affair of State (The Set.) She has appeared in many commercials
and films, including The Package with Gene Hackman. Her
professional affiliations include the Actors’ Equity Association,
SAG (Screen Actors Guild), AFTRA (American Federation for Television
and Radio Artists), and VASTA (Voice and Speech Trainers Association.)
As a director, Ms. Timmerman has focused on Shakespeare,
brand new plays, and voicescapes. She has directed six Shakespeare
productions at Butler, most recently a rollicking 80’s version
of The Taming of the Shrew. Recent new plays include
David Rambo’s The Ice-Breaker at the Phoenix and
Dan Barden’s Luke’s Father and the Sled at
Butler. For the Bay View Music Festival in Michigan, Diane directed
Carousel in 2007. Voice-centered productions include:
Assenting Angels (with Cynthia Pratt for the 2005 Spirit
& Place Festival), Voicescape: Pandora’s Box
(a 30-minute voice piece in the dark), The Book of Lamentations
(with Melli Hoppe as part of Butler Theatre’s 2007 Lamentations
Project), and POWERED BY POETRY!: Whirl of the Divine for
the 2008 Spirit & Place Festival.
Ms. Timmerman enjoys being active in the Indianapolis
community. She sits on the boards of the Phoenix Theatre and JourneysFire
International and recently co-led a summer workshop for teachers
with the Indianapolis Opera. She has received numerous grants
to underwrite a variety of teaching, writing, and performance
projects, including the Creative Renewal Fellowship from the Arts
Council of Indianapolis and the Indiana Arts Council individual
artist grant.
Contact Ms
Timmerman
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Wendy Meaden
Professor Meaden earned her M.F.A. in Costume Design
and Construction at Indiana University, Bloomington, and a B.A.
in Theatre from Bates College, and studied Shakespeare in Performance
in England. She joined the Butler Faculty following ten seasons
with Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT), where she was draper. In
addition to her patterning work with IRT, she has constructed
costumes for the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Louisville Ballet,
the Huntington Theater, and the film The Best Of the Best.
She has also worked as costume shop manager for The Theatre at
Monmouth, ME, the Nickerson Theatre, and Bates College. Ms. Meaden’s
design career includes works for Brown County Playhouse, Kent
State U-Stark, Black Hills Playhouse, Windfall Dancers, IRT, and
most recently, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. At
Butler she designed Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are
Dead, and The Dreaming of the Bones.She is a member
of USITT and Phi Beta Kappa. She teaches costume history, design,
pattern making, construction, crafts, makeup and special topics.
Contact
Ms. Meaden
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Elaina Artemiev
Elaina Artemiev is an assistant professor of acting
and directing. She was born and educated in Russia. Ms. Artemiev
received her MFA in Directing from the Government Institute of
Theatrical Arts in Moscow, Russia, where she has recently completed
her PhD.
From 1997 to the present, she has been a faculty
member at the Moscow Art Theatre, where she teaches acting and
directs productions. Ms. Artemiev has studied with and taught
alongside some of the finest theatrical artists in Russia and
has the distinction of being the only female director at the Moscow
Art Theatre.
Her expertise is in the acting methodologies of
Stanislavsky and Michael Chekhov.
Contact Ms.
Artemiev
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Rob Koharchik
Rob Koharchik is an assistant professor in the
Butler University Theatre Department where he teaches set and
lighting design. His most recent work includes Beckett's Endgame.
He has also designed for many of the Theatre companies
in the Indianapolis area including: Indiana Repertory Theatre,
Indianapolis Civic Theatre, The Lilly Theatre at the Indianapolis
Children’s Museum and the Phoenix Theatre. Other regional
companies include: The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (St. Louis,
MO), The Cleveland Playhouse (Cleveland, OH), The Weston Playhouse
of Vermont (Weston, VT), Geva Theatre Center (Rochester, NY),
the Contemporary American Theatre of Columbus Ohio (Columbus,
OH), and the American Players Theatre (Spring Green, WI). Rob
is also a founding member of ShadowApe Theatre Company.
Contact
Mr. Koharchik
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Melli Hoppe
Melli Hoppe is the Artistic Director of Susurrus,
an Indianapolis based experimental performance group. Melli has
lead Susurrus in numerous productions, including: Sacred Spaces,
which was selected as the top dance performance of 1997 by the
Indianapolis Star, and most recently, Toward the Unknown Region,
presented in collaboration with Encore Arts in April 2008. She
has co-directed several Susurrus and Theater of Inclusion collaborations
for the annual Spirit and Places festival, which received the
NUVO Cultural Vision award in 2002.
Melli is currently teaching site-specific theatre
and stage movement at Butler University where she co-directed
Shades of Sam (five short plays by Samuel Beckett), Yeat’s
The Dreaming of the Bones, which toured Ireland in 2003,
and Caryl Churchill’s A Mouthful of Birds. She
also has directed several original site-specific performances
for Butler Theatre including: Memory House, In the
Garden, Unreal City, dirty_little_Heart,
In the Penal Colony, and iFred. Melli was the
choreographer for Butler Theatre’s productions of Tamer
Tamed, Two Noble Kinsmen, Skriker, The
Photographer, and Lamentations and was the choreographer
Butler University Lyric Theatre’s productions of The
Quilters, Dido and Aeneas, Trouble in Tahiti
and Company, She also was the choreographer for Indiana
University Theatre’s production of Euripides’ Bacchai,
and Indiana Repertory Theatre’s production of A Midsummer
Night’s Dream.
Melli has taught dance at various institutions
in Indianapolis including; Butler University, IUPUI, Broad Ripple
High School, Shortridge Middle School and the Academy of Indianapolis
Ballet Theatre. Melli is on the Program Committee for Young Audiences
of Indiana and has been involved with Young Audiences as an artist
and as the Director of Artist Services.
Melli was awarded a Creative Renewal Fellowship
from the Arts Council of Indianapolis to study site-specific theatre
with Firenza Guidi in Italy in July 2004. She also was selected
as regional artist for the Lewis and Clark ArtsCorps, a cultural
development initiative supported by the National Endowment for
the Arts in 2003.
Melli is currently pursuing her MFA in Interdisciplinary
Arts at Goddard College in Vermont.
Contact Ms. Hoppe
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Dianne Martin
Dianne Martin teaches playwriting, screenwriting
and has been a member of the Department of Theatre adjunct faculty
since 2000.
In the fall of 2005, Dianne produced, in collaboration
with best-selling author Elizabeth Berg, two alternate staged
readings of Berg’s play The Pull of the Moon. Dianne
is also the author of the nonfiction book The Book of Intentions
(Beyond Words Publishing, 2002) and has written a privately commissioned
memoir.
Currently, Dianne is writing a book with a local
group of men who’ve each suffered the loss of a son or daughter.
The project is a sharing of their individual stories, and the
story of how the “dads group” formed over weekly breakfast
meetings—and the role it has played in their grieving and
healing. Dianne is also, in separate projects, writing a screenplay
and developing a documentary with filmmaker Terry Benedict.
Dianne sits on the board of the Indiana Media Industry
Network (IMIN), serves as an ongoing resource for the Heartland
Film Festival’s education programs, and is involved in the
development of a film studies minor at Butler.
Dianne earned her B.A. in Theater Arts from UCLA,
with an emphasis in writing and producing. Her professional theater
experience includes administrative positions at La Jolla Playhouse,
San Jose Repertory Theatre and Shakespeare Santa Cruz. A native
of California, she has lived in Indianapolis since 1994.
Contact
Ms. Martin
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Glen Thoreson
Mr. Thoreson holds a BFA in Design and Technical
Theatre from the University of Minnesota, Duluth and has done
graduate work in lighting design at Indiana University, Bloomington.
Mr. Thoreson's most recent design for Butler Theatre was set design
for The Misanthope. Previous to coming to Butler, Mr.
Thoreson was the technical director and designer at Kent State
University in Canton, Ohio. In three and a half years at KSU -SC
he designed and built 15 theatrical productions, four dance productions,
over 50 music concerts of various types, and built for the Canton
Players Guild. In the same time period Mr. Thoreson served as
technical director/instructor for Culver Military Academy's Summer
Camps program, completing two productions each summer.
Specializing in the design and construction of
scenery and lighting, he teaches Introductory Stage Scenery, Scenic
Painting and Theatre Graphics.
Mr. Thoreson's professional credits include Dartmouth
Summer Repertory Theatre, Marshall Performing Arts Center, Brown
County Playhouse, Indianapolis Opera, Minnesota Repertory Theatre
and The Duluth Ballet. He is associated with the United States
Institute for Theatre Technology.
Contact Mr. Thoreson
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Sarah Conyers-Conte
Sarah Conyers-Conte holds an MFA in costume design
from Indiana University Bloomington (2000), and a BS each in Technical
Theatre/Secondary Education.
Before coming to Butler, she worked as the Wardrobe
Supervisor for Actors Theatre of Louisville and its Humana
Festival of New American Plays. Prior to that, she worked
as the Upperstage Wardrobe Supervisor at Indiana Repertory Theatre.
Sarah has been involved in the theatre in various capacities since
1990, including acting, costuming, and children's theatre. While
still in high school, she created and implemented a summer theatre
program for children ages 6-16, in which the students were involved
in writing, acting, and directing new pieces of theatre. She also
creates custom-made sci-fi convention wear through her website.
Other professional credits include: the Marius national tour of
Les Miserables, Indiana Repertory Theatre's Summer Conservatory
for Youth, Glimmerglass Opera, Maine State Music Theatre, Brown
County Playhouse, Indiana University Opera, Bloomington Playwrights
Project, and Shawnee Summer Theatre.
Contact Ms. Conte
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Cathy Sipe
Cathy Sipe attended University of Akron, where
she began touring as an electrician with Ohio Ballet. She spent
several years alternating ballet tours with local freelancing,
most notably with Great Lakes Theatre Festival and Vincent Lighting.
In search of stability, she became the main stage light board
operator at Players Theatre Columbus, OH, with summers spent as
Master Electrician at American Dance Festival in Durham, NC. Encouraged
by life in the South, she moved to Atlanta, GA, and freelanced
in all areas of live performance, including conventions, concerts,
theatre, dance, and a ridiculous number of corporate parties.
After moving back north for family reasons, Cathy joined the administrative
staff of IATSE Local 30. She continues her freelance work with
Dance Kaleidoscope and Jordan Academy of Dance.
Contact Ms. Sipe
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LuAnn Baker
LuAnn Baker is the office administrator and the
primary contact for students, parents and prospective students.
LuAnn has three children for whom she has done thousands of hours
of volunteer work for schools and various organizations, giving
her excellent preparation for multi-tasking all the operations
of the busy Theatre office. In 2005, LuAnn was the recipient of
the "Top Dawg Award," given to an outstanding Butler
staff member each year based upon extensive peer and student recommendations.
In 2008, she became an Honored Member of the Premiere International
Who’s Who to be published for 2009-10. And she has
recently completed another item on the life to-do list: sky diving.
Contact Ms. Baker
