Last night I received an exciting email from Alan Patrick Kenny, the Artistic Director of the late and great New Stage Collective. Currently completing his MFA in Theatre Directing at UCLA, 30 year-old APK shares the next phase on his career.
“It’s with great excitement that I write you today, as I am able to announce the next chapter of my life. As I leap towards the finish line of completing my MFA in Theatre Directing from UCLA, I’ve just been offered a life changing opportunity that I’m really thrilled to take on.
I’ve been offered a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in the fantastic BFA conservatory style Musical Theatre program at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. It’s a really terrific small and rigorous program, whose alums include Broadway star Laura Osnes, and staffed with a vibrant and dedicated young and professionally active faculty.
The position is intense and challenging, utilizing all of my skill sets in a very exciting way. I’ll be directing or music directing the mainstage musical every semester, teaching performance labs and Music Theatre History, and teaching private voice to 16 students (half of the program). At this stage of my career, I’m very much looking forward to taking on a position that will keep all of my “theatre muscles” engaged!
The culture of the theatre school there is very much in tune with my values about the work, the students are very talented, and I’m excited to take them to the next level.
UCLA, thankfully, has been very supportive of this tremendous opportunity. Since I’ve crammed my 3 year courseload into 2 years, I have only the thesis production left to complete, and they’ve agreed to let my production of XANADU at The Carnegie back home in Cincinnati this August count as my thesis requirement. How pumped am I to show my professors at UCLA what the Cincinnati theatre community can do (while wearing roller skates)!
I’m very glad that I’ll be able to continue to work professionally while making Wisconsin a home base, only a few hours away from both Chicago and Minneapolis, two fantastic theatre towns.”
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 