About

Welcome to my Production Design portfolio.  This site is a work in progress.   I am a versatile, award-winning professional with 20+ years of comprehensive experience in community engagement and educational empowerment. I have a long history of coordinating and overseeing special events, productions, and ceremonies. I possess a broad range of industry experience including developing exceptional relationships with the public, peers, and senior leadership. I have proven success at public relations, budget creation and administration, analysis and revision of policy, management of multiple priorities & balance workloads, drafting correspondence to communicate effectively with the media, colleagues, and administrators as well as public speaking.  I have over two decades of Production Design experience in educational and professional theatre.

With a demonstrated history of working in the online media industry as an owner and website administrator of River Valley Orchidworks with over fifteen years’ experience in UI design, HTML/PHP coding, successful SEO and social media management, I love this work and the challenges it presents.

During my deeply rewarding academic career as a faculty member I achieved great success: I was promoted to the highest level; I was awarded tenure; I won the outstanding faculty award for teaching; I served as the faculty senate moderator; I led the faculty as the faculty marshal for ten years, and my students and I elevated our program to new heights by receiving the most prestigious honors the university’s theatre program has seen in three decades of participation in the Kennedy Center, American College Theatre Festival.

When I’m not online, in rehearsal, or behind my drafting-board, you can usually find me in my orchid greenhouse where I cultivate and bloom around 2K different orchid and other tropical plants.

SELECT RECOGNITION/AWARDS

  • Promoted and Tenured through all ranks in my position at the University of the Ozarks. (Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Full Professor, and Post Tenure Review 2017.)
  • Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival Award of “Respondents’ Choice” for my production of Circle Mirror Transformation. I also won an award for Excellence in “Scenic Design”, October 2017.
  • Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival Award of “Director’s Choice” and “Respondents’ Choice” I also won awards for Excellence in “Scenic Design” and “Costume Design” for my production of True West, October 2016.
  • University of the Ozarks – Twenty-year service award, April 2016.
  • My production of Bug was selected to represent the region and the Region VI, Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. We were one of only five productions selected in our region and the only one from the state of Arkansas. This was the second time, under my direction, in three years for Ozarks to win this honor – 2015.
  • Helen McElree Faculty Enrichment Endowment Award/Grant to travel to New York City and attend seven Broadway and Off-Broadway productions.
  • Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival Award of “Director’s Choice” and “Respondent’s Choice”, 2015 along with Excellence in “Scenic Design”.
  • Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival Award of “Director’s Choice” and I also won awards for Excellence in “Directing”, Excellence in “Scenic Design”, along with several awards for hosting the state festival – 2014.
  • Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival Award for Hosting State Festival, 2013 and 2014.
  • My production of In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play) was selected to represent the region and the Region VI, Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. We were one of only six productions selected in our region and the only one from the state of Arkansas. This was the first time in twenty-two years for Ozarks to win this honor – 2013.
  • Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival Award of “Director’s Choice” and “Respondent’s Choice”, 2013.
  • Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival Award for Excellence in “Scenic Design” 2012, Deathtrap.
  • Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival Award for Excellence in “Scenic Design” and “Spirit of the Festival” Award, 2011.
  • University of the Ozarks – Fifteen-year service award, April 2011.
  • Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival Award for Excellence in “Scenic Design” and “Best Load-in & Load-Out” of the Festival, 2009, Soccer Moms.
  • American Orchid Society Award (HCC – Highly Commended Certificate) a paphiopedilum orchid and was given permission to name the cultivar: Paph. Henrietta Fujiwara ‘RVO OrchidTalk’ HCC/AOS 2008.
  • Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival Award for “Production Design (Scenic, Lighting, & Costumes)”, 2007, Fiction.
  • Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival Award for “Best Load-in / load-out”, 2007.
  • Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival Award for “Director’s Choice”, 2007.
  • University of the Ozarks – Ten-year service award, April 2006.
  • American Orchid Society Award (HCC – Highly Commended Certificate) a paphiopedilum orchid and was given permission to name the cross: RVO Blushing Dancer ‘Baybay’ HCC/AOS 2005.
  • Southwest Regional Orchid Growers Association – Best Commercial Exhibit, 2005.
  • Houston Orchid Society AOS Show-Best Commercial Exhibit, 2004.
  • Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival Award for Excellence in “Stage Magic”, “Costume Design”, and “Scenic Design” 2002, Blithe Spirit.
  • Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival Award for “Scenic Design”, 2000, Benefactors.
  • Bagwell Outstanding Faculty Award, University of the Ozarks, 1998 – 1999.
  • Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival Award for Excellence in “Set Dressing”, 1996.
  • Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival Award for Hosting State Festival,1996.
  • Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival Award for Excellence in “Technical Direction”, 1996.
  • Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival Award for “Regional Committee Choice”, 1996.
  • David Weiss Award for Design, American College Theatre Festival, 1996.
  • Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival Award for Excellence in “Scenic Design”, 1996 House of Blue Leaves.
  • Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) Award for Graduate Scenic Design, 1996
  • Graduate Assistantship, Department of Drama, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, 1993-1996.
  • Undergraduate Assistantship, Theatre at Southeastern, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Durant, Oklahoma, 1991-1993.
  • Undergraduate Assistantship and Book Loan Award, Drama Department, Panola College, Carthage, Texas, 1989 -1991.