Faculty
John David Lutz graduated in 1964 from what was then known as Evansville College. Afterward, he received an MA from the University of Denver in 1965 and returned to his alma mater that same year.
In 1980, he received an MFA. from the University of New Orleans. After 45 years on the faculty, he has brought the UE Theatre Department to national recognition as one of the premiere theatre training programs in the nation.
He is a founding member of the New Harmony Project and is still actively involved in this script development workshop, and he is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
Contact him at jl24@evansville.edu
Mr. Lank has studied acting at The Actors Center, the New York Ensemble Studio Theatre, and with Uta Hagen. His professional experience includes major positions as actor, director, and production manager at regional theatres across the nation. As a director, he has had three productions selected to appear at the Kennedy Center as part of the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival.
He is the recipient of state and national grants in playwriting, having had his work developed at the Canadian Stage Company, Toledo Repertory Theatre, the Lark Theatre, Sewanee Writers' Conference, and the Edward Albee Theatre Festival. He is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and holds an MFA in Directing from the University of Nebraska.
Contact him at sl29@evansville.edu
Ms. McCrory received her MA from the University of California, Santa Barbara and joined USA (United Scenic Artists) in 1990.
As a participant of the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival, she travels to other participating colleges and universities, responding to their productions for inclusion in the regional Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival.
A recipient of the National Design Fellowship, she studied with costume designer Constance Hoffman and scene designer Ming Cho Lee in the summer of 2004 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
She regularly teaches at Harlaxton college in the summer, and recently spent a month drawing at the Italia Accademia in Florence. In 2008, she assisted Linda Cho and Ming Cho Lee at the Kennedy Center’s Summer Intensive titled “The Collaborative Process: Designer/Director Process.”
Contact her at pm4@evansville.edu
Mr. Meacham received a BA in Theatre from Wake Forest University after which he served there for two years as the Assistant Technical Director. He earned an MFA in Theatre Technology from the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, in 1997.
He worked for six years with Hope Summer Repertory Theatre as a master electrician, lighting designer, and production manager, and at the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival as a technical director.
Contact him at cm53@evansville.edu
Dr. Brewer is a member of LMDA (Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas). She has served as dramaturg on projects produced at the Mark Taper Forum, the Utah Shakespearean Festival, the Foothill Theatre, and the Ark Theatre. She worked with Arlene Hutton on See Rock City and Gulf View Drive and with Irene O'Garden on Little Heart, both at The New Harmony Project.
Her work as a director is a featured subject in Deaf Side Story, Hearing Jets and a Classic American Musical (Gallaudet University Press). Her writing has appeared in Theatre Topics and PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Contact her at db57@evansville.edu
Ms. Ward received her MFA in Acting from the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. She is a member of AEA (The Actor's Equity Association) and VASTA (Voice and Speech Trainer Association). Her acting credits include roles with the Dallas Theater Center and Chicago's Mary-Archie Theatre.
She was previously on the faculty at the University of Oklahoma and served as the vocal coach on Gunfighter: A Gulf War Chronicle and The Christmas Carousel, two world premieres by Tony Award-winning playwright Mark Medoff.
Contact her at cw46@evansville.edu
Mr. Renschler returned to the University after nearly twenty years working on and off-Broadway.
His Broadway designs include scenery for As Long As You Both Shall Laugh (including a national tour and PBS special) and Mamaloshen. Off-Broadway credits include designs at the New York Shakespeare Festival, Circle Repertory Company, Pan-Asian Repertory Theatre, Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre, and The Juilliard School. Regional credits include Cincinnati Playhouse, Chautauqua Opera, Barrington Stage Company, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Adirondack Theater Festival, Hangar Theatre, and Seattle Repertory Theatre.
As an associate of designer John Lee Beatty, he worked on over forty Broadway productions and tours including The Color Purple, Doubt, Chicago, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Footloose, Proof, Wonderful Town, The Redwood Curtain, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
He holds an MFA in Theatre Design from the University of Michigan and is a member of IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) and USA (United Scenic Artists).
Contact him at er55@evansville.edu
Mr. Winchester has designed for theatre, opera, and dance in theatres across the country, including Boise Contemporary Theatre in Idaho, Williamston Theatre in Michigan, Peter Kyle Dance in New York City, Michigan Shakespeare Festival, and with the Pacific Performance Project in New York City.
The newest member of the Department of Theatre faculty, Mr. Winchester's expert knowledge of the latest lighting technology, professional experience, and sophisticated sense of design are great assets to UE's design and technology program. With his use of advanced intelligent lighting equipment, Mr. Winchester plays a vital role in the training of students and preparing them for a successful career in lighting for theatre, film, and television.
Mr. Winchester holds an MFA from the University of Washington and a BFA from the University of Oklahoma.
Contact him at jw414@evansville.edu
Ms. Cowden has her MFA in Theatre Management from Wayne State University.
She served as the Managing Director of Connecticut's Hartford Children's Theatre, Marketing Associate at Hartford Stage, and worked extensively for eight seasons with the Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival. She also served as the Audience Development Coordinator at the University of Oklahoma School of Drama for six years.
She is a graduate of Leadership Evansville and serves on the Integrated Marketing Communications Committee for the University.
Contact her at sc75@evansville.edu
Ms. Nelson has an AA in theatre and business from Austin Community College, a BA in family and consumer science from Mankato State University, and an MA Design, Housing, and Apparel from the University of Minnesota in St. Paul.
She worked for the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, the Minnesota Opera, Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, Santa Fe Opera, Baltimore Opera, and Disney. For 20 years, she owned and operated Town Tailor, specializing in alterations, tailoring, and custom sewing.
Contact her at jn50@evansville.edu
Mr. Critel recently received his MFA in Technical Direction from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, after spending a year in residency at UE. Previously, Mr. Critel served as the Technical Director for several productions at the Nebraska Repertory Theatre and the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, as well as for UMKC's productions of The Cure at Troy, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, and The Secret Lives of Losers.
He was the Assistant Director for UMKC's Twelfth Night and the Nebraska Shakespeare Festival's Pericles and Othello. In 2007, Mr. Critel created special effects for Wide Awake Films, including projects for The National Geographic Channel, Perryville, and War is Hell. Mr. Critel holds a BFA in Technical Theatre Production from the University of Nebraska.
Contact him at mc199@evansville.edu
Mrs. Dial graduated from the University of South Florida, Tampa, where she received a BA in Speech Communications with a minor in Oral Interpretation of Dramatic Literature.
Now in her eleventh year at the University of Evansville, she previously served as a production assistant for Keller Crescent Advertising on the national accounts of Kimball Piano, Welbourn Hospital, and Old National Bankcorp.
Contact her at bd24@evansville.edu