Let’s Get to Know the Faculty: Ethan Krupp

We’re interested in getting to know the faculty of the Division of Theatre and Dance a little better, so we asked them a few questions. Here’s what we learned from Professor Ethan Krupp who teaches Lighting, Scenic, and Sound Design and Technology classes as well as some Theatre Appreciation sections.

What first got you interested in or involved in theatre?

Took a drama class in 8th grade.  I did some scenes from some Neil Simon plays, as well as a Thornton Wilder one act play, among other things.  Really enjoyed doing the scenes and wanted to continue.  That lead to more drama classes and plays in 9th grade with the same teacher.

What made you want to teach theatre?

By the time I was trying to figure out what the plan was after college, I had worked with a few teachers who had really nurtured my creativity and shown me how powerful theatre could be. There's a long history of teaching in my family, so that, combined with the impression these folks had made on me, made exploring teaching as a career a logical plan.

What has been your favorite or most exciting or most memorable theatre experience?

Professor Krupp's lighting design in Dance Concert 2016

One of my favorite experiences was one of my first professional design jobs.  I was hired to serve as the lighting designer for a new play called The Last Hanging in Pike County that looked at the final hanging during the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys.   It was produced at Theatre at Lime Kiln in Lexington, VA.   The main performance space theatre was an outdoor space built in and around a cluster old limestone kilns.  The scenic designer was my undergraduate design mentor and we worked really well together, creating some beautiful moments on stage.  My grandmother, Margaret Rector, who was a playwright and producer earlier in her life was able to come out and see my first professional show.  It was pretty special.  I hadn't really been aware of my grandmother's theatre work before getting more into theatre in college, but had been reading some her old plays and pumping her for stories when I would go back home on breaks.   The intersection of my beginning professional design career, a typical crazy, wonderful, busy summer stock experience, and my family history was quite magical.

What's one show you would love to work on?

I've always wanted to revisit Neil Simon's play The Prisoner of 2nd Avenue. I did a scene from it in 8th grade that is etched in my brain. Before coming to Bloomsburg, I had a chance to work on Plaza Suite, also by Simon, and design the lights (as well as the Act III rain effect) for another play I did a scene from in junior high school and I loved revisiting with an "old friend."

Where would you love to work on theatre?

Theatre at Lime Kiln will be a special place for me.  The space was just so amazing and unique.  Working in outdoor summer theatre in Virginia wasn't always the most pleasant in terms of weather and temperature.  Throw in the fact that you can only set light levels in an outdoor theatre during overnight tech slots and you've got an experience custom built for creating great memories! While I was in Houston, TX, I saw many shows at the Alley Theatre but never had a chance to work for them.  They are another company I would love to work with.

Professor Krupp

Who would you love to work with?

Thanks to my sabbatical during the Fall 2015 semester, I actually got to work with two dear friends and colleagues, Tom Anderson and Will Ingham...Tom was undergraduate mentor and Will was the scene shop manager (and one of my bosses) during graduate school.   I would love to work with Mark Dean, my graduate school mentor again, as well as some of the folks I spent time with in various summer stock companies over the years.  Barbara Masters was my high school drama teacher...I would give my left arm to work with her again.  

Some years ago I had the chance to hear Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhower speak about their lighting design work.  I would love to work with them and pick their brains. Robert Edmond Jones (although deceased) is another designer I would have given anything to work with again.   The two most bittersweet names, in terms of people I would love to work with, are both people who clearly put me on the path to where I am now who died far too early, Ron Masters and Mike Gorman.  In part, I think some of why I do what I do is to honor them and carry the small part of their legacy that lives inside of me forward. 

Ethan H. Krupp teaches design and technology classes as well as some of the general education classes.  He serves as the Director of the Theatre and Dance Division and as the Division's Technical Director.   He's also a lighting, scenic, properties and sound designer for the BU Players and other theatre companies.