Theatre Department hosting 5 guest artists

Cornell College’s Theatre Department is hosting three guest artists who are teaching courses during Blocks 5 and 6, as well as two members of a New York acting troupe in residence for a week during Block 7.

With the One Course At A Time curriculum, the department regularly brings in visiting faculty experts to teach 18-day courses.

During Block 5 (Jan. 11-Feb. 3), Patrick Elkins-Zeglarski, education curriculum manager at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, is teaching Play Analysis. Elkins-Zeglarski holds an M.F.A. from Arizona State University. He has taught at numerous colleges including Central Washington University, University of Northern Iowa, and University of Queensland. He is a freelance dramaturge, and has background in acting, directing, and teaching criticism.

Two additional visiting artists will teach courses Block 6 (Feb. 8-March 2). Actor, director, and teacher Lindsay Tornquist ’10 will teach Basic Acting. Sam Collier, a writer and theater artist from Washington, D.C., and a current Writing Fellow at the University of Iowa, will teach Playwriting.

Tornquist holds an M.F.A. in acting from Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory and was a member of the Asolo Repertory Company. In Chicago she performed in Raven Theatre’s Jeff Award-nominated “The Playboy of the Western World” and originated the role of Ellen in the American premier of “Belfast Girls” with Artemisia Theatre. She co-starred in the feature film “The Lucky 6” and is honing her improvisation skills at the iO Theater (formerly Improv Olympics) training center. Tornquist began her teaching career at Manatee School for the Arts teaching master acting.

 

Collier is a writer and theater artist from Washington, D.C., and a 2015-2016 Provost’s Writing Fellow at the University of Iowa. Her plays have been developed and/or produced by New Ground Theatre, Horse & Cart, PTP/NYC, Theatre Nyx, Middlebury College, and the University of Iowa. Collier holds an M.F.A. from the University of Iowa and has taught playwriting with Young Playwrights’ Theater, Imagination Stage, Indiana Repertory Theatre, and Combined Efforts Theater. In 2014 she co-produced the Iowa City 24-Hour Play Festival.

In addition, Joe Curnutte ’04 and Marc Bovino of The Mad Ones, a New York City theatre company, will be on campus for a residency March 13-19. They will teach a workshop on devising and devised theatre and consult with the ensemble of the spring mainstage production of “Those that Fall.”   

The theatre department frequently hosts guest artists and instructors for a block or more, teaching courses and working on productions. Some of the guests they’ve hosted include:

• New York City’s award-winning company, The Puppet Kitchen, who taught classes, collaborated with the department, and devised and directed a main stage production.
• Leda Hoffmann, director from Milwaukee Rep.
• Jennifer Fawcett, co-founder of Working Group Theatre in Iowa City and the playwright of “Birth Witches.”
• Tim Slover, playwright, screenwriter, and novelist from the University of Utah.
• Amy Barr, dancer and choreographer from Philadelphia.
• Paul & Peggy Sannerud, professional scenic designers from Minnesota.
• Courtney Schmitz Watson, professional lighting designer from Minneapolis.
• Dave Upton, professional lighting designer from New York City.
• Chris Clavelli, professional actor, director, and playwright from NYC and Florida Rep.
• The Sacred Heart Archive, professional company from Arizona.