Students in C. Patrick Gendusa’s Acting IV class at Loyola will work with a variety of guest artists throughout the semester.
Karl Lengel is a New Orleans-based equity stage manager with Broadway credits including Miss Saigon and Minnelli on Minnelli as well as national tours of Les Miserables, Cats, Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Annie. Additionally, Lengel has worked as an actor, announcer, director, administrator, and teacher for most of his life. He will stop by in January to discuss the importance of a healthy and respectful actor/stage manager relationship. https://www.wwno.org/people/karl-lengel
Guest Artist John Michael Colgin will also be teaching Acting IV students in January. John Michael has focused on devised theatre, developing five original plays with Nouveua Theatre 47 and his mentor Matthew Tomlanovich in Dallas including: Would You Like Guys With That? A McTolerant One-Man Show; The A-Gays: Stillwater, Oklahoma; John Michael and the Order of the Penix; Like Me; and Crossing Your I’s. Now a resident of Chicago, Colgin continues to create original works there, having produced two original shows since moving to Chicago, Dementia Me and Meatball Séance, to critical acclaim. Meatball Séance will run at Southern Rep Theatre January 31-February 2. Colgin will visit Acting IV that week, teaching students about devising and producing your own theatre work as well as the Chicago theatre scene. http://johnmichaelplays.com/
Co-founders of the New York-based Tectonic Theatre Project, Jeffrey LaHoste and Moisés Kaufman, will be with students throughout the semester workshopping LaHoste’s new play, Zephyr. Kaufman is known for his groundbreaking play The Laramie Project. He has also directed numerous Broadway plays and was awarded the 2015 National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama. Nominated for a Best Play Tony Award for 33 Variations and an Emmy Award as a writer for his HBO adaptation of The Laramie Project, LaHoste will be spending three weeks throughout the semester with Acting IV students doing moment work. This will culminate in a staged reading of his new play in April as well as a master class taught by both co-founders. https://www.tectonictheaterproject.org/
Jenny Mercein, recently seen as Karen in August: Osage County at Southern Rep Theatre, is another guest artist joining Acting IV this semester. She has television and stage performance as well as directing credits all over the country. Head of the Undergraduate Acting Program at Tulane, she will be teaching students the Viewpoints Technique, adapted for the stage by Anne Bogart. This acting technique focuses on the physical and vocal viewpoints of the actor that help performers become more aware as they work to create a character. http://www.jennymercein.com/
Brian Moore, heading up the new Loyola Theatre Arts & Dance Improv Troupe, will be in Acting IV throughout March. He has worked professionally as an actor, writer, and director in Chicago, San Francisco, Milwaukee, Louisiana, Michigan, and Stockholm, Sweden. He received his BA in Theater Arts from Marquette University where he was awarded the Chris Farley Humor Scholarship and earned his MFA in Physical Theatre from The Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre. Additionally, he has studied improvisation at Second City Chicago and iO Chicago, movement with Lume Teatro (Campinas, Brazil), and clown with Ronlin Forman.
Professor of Practice at Tulane University Ryder W. Thorton will be another guest artist in Acting IV this semester. As a theatre scholar, he specializes in modern tragedy, the history of directing, and the work of Eugene O’Neill. Beyond his graduate work at Temple and UCSB, he received additional training from The American Conservatory Theater and SITI Company. He is the current director of the School of Liberal Arts Management Minor (SLAMM) and the Performance Review Editor of the Eugene O’Neill Review. He will be teaching two classes on Uta Hagen and her acting method of transference to Acting IV students. https://liberalarts.tulane.edu/departments/theatre-dance/people/faculty/ryder-thornton
In April, Cristina “Cuba” Hatheway will be a guest artist in Acting IV. Cristina received her BFA in Acting Performance with a Musical Theater minor from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. She is currently in her fifth year as a Talented Theatre Teacher in St. Charles Parish. She will be teaching students stage combat over the course of two classes as she is an Advanced Actor Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors. http://cubahatheway.weebly.com/
Monica Payne will be with Acting IV students at the end of April to close out the semester. Founder of Theatre Lumina, she is a freelance director and a member of the 2008 Lincoln Center Director’s Lab in New York as well as the 2012 Director’s Lab West in Los Angeles. Assistant Professor at Tulane University, Payne has taught both acting and directing for various universities including UCLA, Carnegie Mellon, and Point Park University where she served as the Head of Graduate Acting for two years. She has been a teacher of the Meisner Technique for 20 years and will be introducing this technique to Acting IV students. http://monicapaynedirector.com/
Loyola University New Orleans is thrilled to have such wonderful guest artists working with our students!
By Madeline Taliancich