Theatre & Dance Faculty

Shirley Huston-Findley - Associate Professor of Theatre
(330) 263-2543 / sfindley@wooster.edu

B.A. Indiana University at South Bend, 1986; M.A. Miami University, 1989; Ph.D. University of Missouri, 1998.

Shirley Huston-Findley, Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance and current chair, received her B.A. from Indiana University at South Bend (1986), her M.A. from Miami University of Ohio (1989), and her Ph.D. from the University of Missouri (1998). She teaches a wide variety of courses, including Origins of Western Drama, Realism and Beyond, Feminism and Theatre and Writing for the Stage and Screen.

Her research focus on intergenerational theatre has lead to the development of her newest play, In Memory of Me, a First-Year Seminar on creativity and aging, as well as her leadership of the Time Slips Storytelling Project in Wooster.

Directing credits at the College include, Anna Deveare Smith’s Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992; Paula Vogel’s How I Learned to Drive; Marsha Norman’s Getting Out; Moliere’s Tartuffe, Arthur Miller’s All My Son’s, and Adam Rapp’s Nocturne, which received a performance at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Washington, D.C. in April 2007.

Shirley has presented papers at the Southeastern Theatre Conference, The Mid-American Theatre Conference and the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. Her article, Re-visioningThe Rainmaker, co-authored with Dr. Suzanne Burgoyne, can be found in Text and Performance Quarterly, and we can anticipate the publication of her anthology Footpaths and Bridges: Voices from the Native American Women Playwrights Archive to be released soon by The University of Michigan Press.

Mark Kobak - James N. Wise Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre
(330) 263-2561 / mkobak@wooster.edu

B.A. Baldwin-Wallace 1991; M.F.A. Missouri, Kansas City 1996.

Mark Kobak is the James N. Wise Assistant Professor of Theatre at the College of Wooster. A scenic designer by trade, Kobak received his B.A. from Baldwin-Wallace College (1991) and his M.F.A. from University of Missouri—Kansas City (1996).

Kobak has designed more than 90 sets for dance, theatre, and opera companies around the country since 1991. Assignments include sets for the Emerald city Opera, Sorg/Whitewater Opera Company, the Southwestern College in Kansas, the Miniature Theater of Chester in Massachusetts, and the Berea Summer Theater and Baldwin Wallace Conservatory. In Cleveland, he has created scenic designs for outreach touring productions presented by The Great Lakes Theater Festival; for Crossroads Dancing and The Mai at Dobama Theatre.

Kobak also served as designer in residence at Lyric Opera Cleveland, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the Cleveland Opera. He has completed four seasons as designer in residence at the Cleveland Institute of Music and served as the Director of Theatre Arts for Bay View Music Festival, a summer music conservatory in northern Michigan.

Dale E. Seeds - Professor of Theatre
(330) 263-2027 / dseeds@wooster.edu

B.S. Bowling Green, 1971; M.A., Ph.D. Kent State, 1975, 1990.

Dale E. Seeds is a professor of theatre, set designer, and currently chair of the Film Studies Curriculum Committee at The College of Wooster, where he joined the faculty in 1984. He specializes in scenic and lighting design. He also focuses on the performance traditions of indigenous peoples, particularly those of Alaskan natives.

Seeds’ credits include more than 175 productions of theatre, dance, and opera – most notably The Ohio Light Opera Company, the Abbey Theatre of Dublin (Ireland), The University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the Eastman School of Music. He has been published in Drama Review and Melus, and served as contributing author and editor for Reinventing Traditional Alaskan Native Perfromance by Thomas Riccio.

A member of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, Seeds received the Ohio Valley Section’s Award for Excellence in Scenic Design for his production of Brian Friel’s “Translations.”

At Wooster, he teaches courses in theatre technology, text and performance, lighting design, scene design, indigneous film, and Native American performance.

Kim Tritt - Professor of Theatre
(330) 263-2027 or 263-2540 / ktritt@wooster.edu

B.F.A., M.A. Ohio University, 1975, 1983.

Kimberly Tritt, professor of theatre as well as department chair, has been a member of the faculty at The College of Wooster since 1983. She is an authority on choreography, dance history, and world dance.

A graduate of Ohio University, where she received her B.F.A. (1975) and her M.A. (1983), Tritt's expertise lies in modern dance, ballet, and movement for actors. She is a choreographer and performer in Wooster dance concerts and the department of theatre.

A member of the Congress of Research in Dance, Tritt is also on the Advisory Board for OhioDance, a statewide organization that promotes dance and movement arts, and the Advisory Board for the GLCA New York Arts Program.

Prior to coming to Wooster, Tritt attended Bennington College for choreography and was a dance instructor for one year at Ohio University as a graduate assistant. She also taught dance at the Moving Space Studio in Berkeley, Calif., for four years and was a performing member of Moving Space Dance Company. In addition, she taught dance at the University of Maryland for one year.

Ansley Valentine - Associate Professor of Theatre
(330) 263-2028 / avalentine@wooster.edu

B.A., Wabash College, 1990; M.F.A., Indiana University, 2000.

Ansley R. Valentine is an associate professor of theatre at The College of Wooster, where he joined the faculty in 2000. An actor, director, designer, arts administrator and teacher, he has worked in many venues across the country, including The Cleveland Play House, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and Karamu House. His expertise lies in directing and the theatrical uses of large puppets.

Valentine received his B.A. from Wabash College (1990) and his M.F.A. from Indiana University (2000). He is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. His directing and acting credits include “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Once on This Island,” “Charley's Aunt,” “Me & My Girl,” “Big River,” and “Six Degrees of Separation.”

Valentine was a Minority in Arts Administration Fellow at the Cleveland Play House and an associate instructor in the department of theatre and drama at Indiana University. He also served as the Theatre School Director at Studio Arena Theatre in Buffalo, and currently serves on the show selection committee for Region III of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.