Fine Arts
Berry College Theatre Company
Housed in Blackstone Hall on the Berry College campus, the theatre program "champions the liberal-arts ideal." The program is committed to:
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broadening the consciousness of student artists and playgoers;
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preserving and fostering cultural achievements and aesthetic sensibility;
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developing the artistic maturity of students by stressing the virtues of collaboration, discipline, humility, and tolerance;
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providing opportunities for self-expression and creative fulfillment; and
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collaborating with other artists and scholars in community, academic, and professional settings."
Meet the Faculty
Dr. John Countryman earned his M.A. from the University of Massachusetts, and his doctorate from Bowling Green University. He has won many awards including the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival Award of Excellence and the Mary S. and Samuel Poe Carden Award for Outstanding Teaching, Scholarship, and Service. He is editor of Theatre Symposium, Volumes 9 and 10, and Associate Editor of the Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism. He has acted in programs aired on major networks, authored published articles, served as a frequent adjudicator for the American College Theatre Festival, and conducted research in theatre throughout Europe. Having taught at Berry since 1989, he holds the title of Associate Professor.
Christian Boy is the resident scenery and lighting designer for the Berry College Theatre Company. He teaches classes in design and technical theatre. Before coming to Berry in 2001, he designed at taught at the University of Kansas, The University School of Milwaukee, and Augustana College. Professionally, Christian has designed for the Horizon Theatre of Atlanta, the Circle Stage and Dale Gutzmann theatres in Milwaukee, and the National Shakespeare Theatre of Odessa, Russia. Professor Boy holds the Master of Fine Arts degree in Costume, Scenery and Lighting Design from the University of Kansas.
Alice Bristow has been steadily producing costumes for Opera, Ballet, and Theatre since completing her MFA at Indiana University. She has produced costumes for Indiana Repertory Theatre, University of Michigan, Opera Theatre St. Louis, Indianapolis Opera, and the Central City Opera in Colorado. Alice served as Head of Costumes and Make-up for Indiana University School of Music and as the Costume Shop Supervisor for the University of Colorado at Boulder. Highlights of Alice's career include producing costumes for Eyes a new Musical by Mari Evans Directed by Woody King, Jr. and for Five Singers: A PBS Special starring Tyne Daly, Sylvia McNair, Frederica von Stade, Kurt Ollmann, and Jon Garrison. The costume designer at Berry, she serves as the faculty supervisor of the costume shop.
Dance Specialist Jeanne Schul Elkins teaches in both the Theater and the Health and Physical Education Departments. She is also the Artistic Director of the Berry College Dance Troupe, which she founded in 1996. The troupe performs Ms. Elkins' original choreography each spring at the annual dance concert and takes selected pieces on tour. Dance Troupe has performed Ms. Elkins' work at adjudicated dance concerts for the state of Georgia, the Southern District of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, and the National Dance Association conventions. Grant awards have enabled Berry dancers to perform Ms. Elkins' work for enthusiastic students in Georgia public elementary schools. Ms. Elkins is a frequent presenter at state, district and national AAHPERD conventions. She has held several association offices, currently serving as the Vice President-Elect for Dance in SDAAHPERD and the Vice President for dance in GAHPERD. Ms. Elkins received high recognition as the 1999 College/University Dance Educator of the Year for Georgia. She earned her M.A. in Dance from Texas Woman's University and her B.A. in Dance and English from the State University College of New York at Brockport. Ms. Elkins has toured with the National Endowment for the Arts' Dancers-in-Schools Program.
The Theatre Program provides the academic and creative support for the Berry College Theatre Company, the student-run organization at Berry College that provides the college community with quality theatrical productions throughout the academic year.
Curriculum | Course Descriptions | Faculty/Staff | Facilities | Work Opportunity
Departmental Secretary:
Kay Simms - ksimms@berry.edu