Let's Get to Know the Faculty: David A. Miller

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 David A. Miller who teaches acting, directing and scriptwriting at Bloomsburg University.

The Robot Inventor (Then)

What first got you interested in theatre?

My first experience seems to be acting in skits in Cub Scouts. I recently rediscovered a photo of one of those. In the skit I played a Robot Inventor. Like all Cub Scout skits, it was a comedy. As my colleagues and students can attest, my interest in comedy has not diminished since that fateful Pack Meeting performance oh so many years ago.

What made you want to teach theatre?

I have always loved working with young people in a teaching or mentoring capacity. From an early age I was a babysitter. In Scouts I was regularly a leader. In grade school I wanted to be either a teacher or a professional soccer player. By the time I reached undergraduate I had dreams of teaching theatre at the college level. But there was something particularly special that happened during undergrad: When searching for a summer job I saw a posting for a part time teacher to teach visual arts and drama to 8 to 11 year old students. I was amazed at the prospect of teaching arts to young people. I don't know that I believed before that moment that I might be able to create a career teaching theatre and visual art. That was turning point for me in my marrying of my two passions of teaching and the arts.

What is your most memorable theatre experience?

Perhaps my most memorable experiences, or at least the most unique, was when I served as an understudy for a professional production in Seattle. As an actor, the job of being an understudy is fascinating and potentially nerve wracking. The understudy is the "back up" for a role or for multiple roles. The actor has to learn those roles—the lines, the stage business—and be ready to go on at a moments notice if the actor in the role cannot, for whatever reason, perform. 

 

For this production, Kenny's Window at Seattle Children's Theatre, it was unlikely that I was going to be called to perform. The actors I was understudying were notoriously sturdy in their health and work ethic. However, I got the call on a Sunday afternoon. (Actually, I got the page, then called back, as this was in the pre-cell phone era.) It was 20 minutes before the matinee was to begin and stage management could not get a hold of one of the actors and they could not get a hold of his understudy. I grabbed my script and ran to the theatre which was thankfully only blocks from my apartment. While wardrobe fitted the Soldier's costume to my body I rehearsed lines with the other Soldier and talked through how he would help me while we were on stage. I had seen these scenes in rehearsal, but I had never rehearsed them myself. We performed the first act with a script in my hands and my fellow Soldier whispering directions to me ("Stay here." "Sit on the bed.") By intermission the other understudy had been contacted, so I got out of the costume and he got into it to perform the second act. We came out together for the curtain call.

What is one show you would love to work on?

There are so many great plays and musicals out there... These days I am thinking a lot about the plays of Eugene O'Neill. Pig Farm by Greg Kotis is on my list. Some day I would love to direct the play Spring Awakening. There's a slew of playwrights creating new work with whom I would love to collaborate, including Brenda Withers, Erin Mallon, Catherine Weingarten.

Now

Who would you love to work with?

There are several directors who I would love to assist. They include Ivo Van Hove, Katie Mitchell and Arin Arbus. Their work is always so clear and so compelling. I would love to be part of their process to learn more about how they approach a play script and how they work with actors and designers.

David A. Miller is a professional director, playwright and educator. He is Resident Director at Amphibian Stage Productions (Fort Worth, TX), a member of Stillwater Writers (New York, NY) and former Artistic Director of The Artful Conspirators (Brooklyn, NY). mrdavidamiller.com

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.  

Let’s Get To Know The Faculty: Julie Petry

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 Julie Petry who teachers performance courses in both Theatre and Dance.

What first got you interested in or involved in theatre/dance?

I was lucky to grow up with a Dance studio in the basement of our house.  Every chance I got I was going through the "dress-up box" my mom provided, putting on costumes and singing and dancing to all the records (musicals) she had: Anything Goes, Les Miserable, Xanadu and Fame were some of my favorites.....I knew every word to each of those albums by heart.  Sometimes I would dress up my brother, and get him to play characters, and I would direct him. 

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

I was lucky and had many benchmark moments in my career that brought great excitement and rewards to me. I have been fortunate to work with over 20 different professional companies, multiple University programs, and received several grants along the way. I will never forget touring with Kenny Rogers in his original musical, receiving two regional Emmy nominations for my work in Children's entertainment, or teaching Ellen DeGeneres dance steps via telephone live on national TV.

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

I would some day like to perform in musicals again.  Playing Little Red in Into the Woods, and Tzeitel one more time in Fiddler remain on my bucket list.

Where would you love to work on theatre or dance?

I would love to direct/choreograph an off-Broadway musical in either LA or New York. Access to an amazing talent pool of true triple threats is what would make it exciting!

Who would you love to work with?

I would love to work with so many folks that this question is over-whelming.  However, I can say Susan Stroman is high on the list. I know I could learn a lot from her.

Julie Petry, Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance, is in her 7th year teaching at BU, and enjoys writing, directing, choreographing, teaching, traveling, and the healing arts. She continues to study her craft, bodywork, Reiki, and the never-ending field of human behavior as much as she can. She has a great love of animals, and supports the generation of quality food products and humane farming techniques.

Five Questions for Julie Petry, Choreographer

Julie Petry is the head of the dance program at Bloomsburg University and is choreographing for the 5th Annual Repertory/Ensemble Dance Minor Concert. We asked her five questions.

What first interested you in choreography?
By the time I could walk, I was whirling and spinning around the house. I loved making up dances to music I'd find in my mom's RECORD collection.  Yes--RECORDS.  I would put on Fame and Xanadu, (musical theatre blood runs in our family) and I'd sing and improv dance for hours. Eventually, I also began making up movement phrases and teaching them to my younger brother. He loved me then, and still loves me now, for dressing him up in silly costumes.

Where have you found your inspiration for the piece that you are creating this spring?
This spring I am re-mounting an older work, and creating a new one.  The older work is one that I first created in Chicago.  The title is Hatari, which translates to danger, risk and/or peril! What could be more inspiring than that to a risk taker?  My new work....I have yet to start working on, but am greatly inspired by the bold quality of the music, and bold women enrolled in my Repertory class! They are fearless!

What are the challenges to creating a new piece?
New works can have you staring up at the ceiling at night, tearing your hair out to figure out what should come next.  There is no road paved....you must pave every inch of it!  And....making it work on the artists who are dancing it adds another layer of difficulty....their bodies may not gel with your ideas.  You must remain adaptable the whole time.

Who is an artist you admire?
I admire so many artists, but particularly the ones who make me uncomfortable. DV8 Physical Theatre produces some of the most controversial, challenging, and complex work I've ever seen.  I also admire Kathy Najimy and Mo Gaffney...they are two actresses who paved their way by writing their own material much of the time. They are original thinkers who also aren't afraid of pissing people off!

If you were a fruit or vegetable, what would you be?
I am pretty sure I'd either be an onion or an avocado.  An onion because they are a jack-of-all trades (they work in many recipes) and they are quite complex in terms of layers.  An avocado?  Because my favorite color is green, and they are a super food.  They seem to last through unbearable conditions!

Julie Petry (Faculty Choreographer) hails from the beautiful Pacific Northwest and is in her 6th year of teaching at Bloomsburg University. She enjoys a varied theatrical background, has worked with Flamenco, Polish and Aerial Dance companies, in addition to directing and/or choreographing over 100 works to date. A few of her favorite career gigs involved traveling the country with Kenny Rogers, teaching Ellen Degeneres a dance step by telephone live on National TV, and receiving multiple Emmy nominations for her work in children's entertainment.

Photos: The current Repertory class rehearsing Hatari; Julie rehearsing a solo, 2008.