Eric received his BA in Theatre from Southern Arkansas University (Magnolia, AR) and his MFA in Costume Design & Technology from the University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg, MS).
At SAU, Eric designed costumes for a number of productions including Buried Child, How I Learned to Drive, and See How They Run. Following his undergraduate work, Eric was the Associate Youth Director for the Jefferson Davis Parrish Arts Council's (Jennings, LA) youth theatre program and designed costumes and other technical aspects for their productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream and A Bad Year for Tomatoes. In his time at USM, Eric designed costumes for Early One Evening at the Rainbow Bar & Grille,Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Much Ado About Nothing (women's costumes), Moon Over Buffalo, and Fefu & Her Friends. In 2006, Eric assisted Costume Designer Peggy Stamper and her Assistant/husband Fred Lloyd as an Extras Costumer on the ABC/ESPN film Ruffian. Following that, Eric worked in the Wardrobe Department at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival for the 2007- 2008 season. For GC, Eric has designed costumes for Eurydice, Yours, Anne, The Rover, The Smiles, RENT, and The 1940's Radio Hour. Other recent designs include South Pacific at the New London Barn Playhouse and the Southeastern premiere of Good Boys and True at Actor's Express.
Eric's areas of research include 20th century costumes, the symbolism of color, and digital costume rendering.
Natalie King was born in Pell City, Alabama and studied as a teenager at the Alabama School of Fine Arts under the direction of Madame Sonia Arova. While at ASFA, she performed corps de ballet roles in Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, La Bayadere, and Swan Lake, as well as,attended Joffrey Ballet and American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensives. Upon graduation, she attended Sweet Briar College where she earned a Bachelor of Art in Dance, Elementary Education Certification K-6 and Dance Education Certification K-12. Professors Mark and Ella Magruder afforded her opportunities to train with artists, such as, David Dorfman, Dan Froot, Meredith Monk, Lynn Neuman, Sarah Skaggs, Doug Varone, and Petrus Bosman.
Mrs. King was then accepted into Arizona State University Graduate Dance Program where she coordinated the university’s community dance program, Moving Inventors, and was selected to teach major and non-major courses including, Dance for the Regular Education Classroom and Modern Dance Technique. In partnership with Arizona State University alumni Erica Neilson, she co-designed content for a web based E-book to enhance the scholarship of the online dance community and provide dance pedagogists with technology based solutions for content delivery. She has presented her curricula for national organizations, including Congress on Research in Dance, Popular Culture Association and National Dance Education Organization. Previously, Mrs. King taught dance for seven years in an inner city high school located in Phoenix, Arizona. There she fulfilled many roles as the dance director, professional learning community facilitator, instructional leader for the performing arts department and summer arts program director. Most recently, she has come full circle back into collegiate academia as the newest dance instructor within Georgia College State University’s Dance Minor Program where she teaches dance technique and theory courses.
Beate M. Czogalla is delighted to be a part of the Department of Theatre at Georgia College as the Assistant Professor in Theatre Design since the Fall of 2000. She has a BA and MA degree in Theatre from Giessen University (Germany) and an MFA degree in Scenography and Lighting Design from Virginia Tech. Her credits at GC include A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Glass Menagerie, The Wild Duck, Quilters, The Beggar's Opera, On The Verge, Our Town, Julius Caesar, The Dining Room, You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, The Taming Of The Shrew, An Evening of Pinter, Pippin and The Illusion.
Ms. Czogalla has designed internationally with credits at theatres in Giessen, Frankfurt, Bad Hersfeld and Stuttgart, Germany; Wroclaw and Warsaw, Poland; Lige, Belgium; Chepstow, Wales, Great Britain; Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, and in the United States, and she is a founding member of the monumental Canadian outdoor theatre production, And Wolf Shall Inherit The Moon, mounted in Haliburton, Ontario every August. Since the Fall of 2000 she has worked as a Scenographer and Lighting Designer at The Warehouse Theatre in Greenville, South Carolina, and at 7 Stages in Atlanta, and since the summer of 2002 she has designed three shows per year for the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival in Allentown/ Center Valley, Pennsylvania.
She was the Resident Lighting Designer for the New Harmony Theatre from 1990 until 1997. Prior to that she worked at Actors Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky, The Road Company in Johnson City, Tennessee, and Playhouse 460 and the Studio Theatre in Blacksburg, Virginia. She has done concert and architectural lighting design and consulting for a variety of clients and has served as the Lighting Supervisor for the Lincoln Amphitheatre at Lincoln State Park, Indiana, from 1995 until 2000. As an active member of NASA's Teacher in Space/ Space Education Program she serves as a community volunteer conducting workshops for children and adults of all ages, and in late 2000 she was appointed as a Solar System Ambassador by JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory/ NASA), a position she plans to hold for many more years. She is also a certified Advanced Open Water Diver and a passionate hiker and kite builder.
Master of Fine Arts in Dance, Design, and Production: Creative Practice from Saint Mary’s College of California
Biography
Miss Freude is a native of Akron, Ohio where she trained for twelve years at The University of Akron Dance Institute supported by the Gena Carroll Scholarship. At the age of seventeen, Miss Freude worked with the Ohio Ballet performing in productions such as Rite of Spring and Dracula. Her career progressed with Nashville Ballet as a trainee and later as an apprentice with the Charleston Ballet Theatre, where she performed original works such as Rite of Spring, Sleeping Beauty, and Great Gatsby all choreographed by Jill Eathorne Bahr. Juliana also performed in works such as Chicago, The Producers, Hairspray, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat.
After leaving Charleston Ballet, she has had the opportunity to perform as a guest artist in the leading role of Helen Keller, A Tribute to her Teacher choreographed by Christopher Fleming. As well as a piece called Unconquered Warriors choreographed by Nai Ni Chen and guest artist for The Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theatre Company performing in a piece called Trucks and Leverage. While advancing her career, Juliana pursued her online Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toledo and establishing herself as an educator in pre-professional local dance performing arts schools.
Juliana transitioned and spend six years with Connecticut Ballet performing in works including Indian Summer, choreographed by Joseph Locarro, and Pulse, choreographed by Darrell Moultrie along with many others. She spent over a decade, working with Ohio Dance Theatre as a principle dancer in works such as Cinderella, Valse Fantaisie, Raymonda, and others. While dancing with Ohio Dance Theatre, she is also a company member with NEOS Dance Theatre. She has done various works with NEOS for instance, Gershwin Pas De Deux choreographed by the Artistic Director, Robert Wesner, and Whales choreographed by Hubbard Street’s previous principal dancer, Alicia Klock. She has had the privilege to perform in other Hubbard Street pieces such as Lickety-Split" Restaged by: Toban Del Cuore, Bonobo and Flight both choreographed by Penny Saunders.
Following her retirement in 2020, Juliana obtained a Master of Fine Arts in Dance, Design, and Production: Creative Practice from Saint Mary’s College of California. She then spent four years as an Assistant Lecturer in Dance at The University of Wyoming, where she choreographed various productions, including The Nutcracker, Petruska, and Morale’s The Value of Identity. Her creative research focused on a phenomenological and somatic movement approach in dance to facilitate psychological healing in soldiers suffering from PTSD, moral injury and loss of moral identity. Currently, she in her first year as Dance Lecturer at Georgia College and State University.
Ryan P. Jones received his BFA in Technical Theatre from Southeast Missouri State University, emphasizing in Stage Management & Costume Technology. He received his MFA in Stage Management from Wayne State University in 2017. Ryan has worked across the country as a costumer and stage manager. Some of his favorite shows he has worked on were Grease (SEMO), Beauty and the Beast(Theatre West), Inspecting Carol (Hilberry Repertory Theatre) and Meet Me in St. Louis (Ozark Actor’s Theatre). He has also worked on many original productions, including the original Scenic Design for Murphy’s Law (SEMO) and stage management for Wayne State University’s Adaptation of A Christmas Carol.
Along with his work in theatre, Ryan has a strong background in dance and music. Areas of study outside of theatre include the history of the Ritual and Symbolism of the Roman Rite, Sacred Music, and the Philosophy of Art.
MFA, Scenic Design, Virginia Commonwealth University
Biography
Phil received his BA in Theatre from James Madison University and his MFA in Theatre (Scenic Design and Theatre Technology) from Virginia Commonwealth University. Before coming back to academia, Phil worked professionally in several theatres as a Props Carpenter, Scenic Carpenter, Scenic Painter, Charge Artist, Designer, Asst. Technical Director, Technical Director, and Production Manager. He has designed several shows over the years and has been nominated for several awards. He won the Suzi Bass Award for Best Scenic Design of a Musical for his work on Aurora Theatre’s production of “Les Misérables”. Most recently, Phil was the Production Manager for the Department of Theatre and Dance at Gonzaga University.
Other experience includes Event Management (Trade Shows, Exhibits, Special Events, Parades, Inaugurations) for a large scale special event company in DC. He is looking forward to bringing his passion for theatre and productions to the classrooms here in Milledgeville.
PhD, Performance Studies, Speech Communication, Southern Illinois University
Biography
Dr. Amy Pinney received her MA in Theatre from the University of Missouri, Columbia, and her PhD in Performance Studies from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. She teaches Acting II, III, and IV, as well as Directing and Theatre History. Dr. Pinney has published essays in Theatre Topics, Qualitative Inquiry, and Theatre Annual: A Journal of Performance Studies. Her research interests include Performance Ethnography; Women in Performance History; and Performance Pedagogy.
Dr. Pinney is currently active in multiple academic organizations. GC productions include Coyote Point,Eurydice, RENT, To Kill a Mockingbird and The 1940's Radio Hour.
Jennifer Gheesling serves as Office Coordinator for the Department of Theatre & Dance. In this role, Jennifer is responsible for accounts payable/receivable, contracts, and purchasing for the department. Jennifer also acts as Box Office Manager and oversees student assistantships as well as supporting recruitment efforts and department marketing. She has many years of experience in the not-for-profit management field. She is a theatre enthusiast and is dedicated to supporting the incredible faculty and students. You can find her between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm in her office, but she spends her non-work hours with her husband, Hunter, and their four children. In her downtime, you can catch her indulging in dark chocolate, unwinding watching old Judge Judy episodes or diving into a gripping true crime podcast and if you play some 80’s and 90’s music, she’ll sing along like there’s no tomorrow.
Patrick received his BA in Theatre from Georgia College and State University and has returned to his Alma Mater to serve as the department's Technical Director and Scene Shop Supervisor.
Over the past decade, Hamilton has worked as a freelance Scenic Designer and Technical Director building up a resume that boasts over 100 productions. He has presented work across the Middle Georgia area through shows such as Noises Off, Once on This Island, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
He began his career at The Historic Grand Opera House in Macon, Georgia, working his way from the box office to backstage leadership, where he managed local crews and technicians during touring Broadway productions such as Once The Musical, Annie, and FAME. Upon construction of The Monroe County Fine Arts Center in Forsyth, Georgia, The Monroe County Board of Education recruited Hamilton to manage the 1200 seat state-of-the-art facility. In this position, he oversaw all venue production, box office, marketing, and talent booking. He worked with artists such as Don McLean, The Gatlin Brothers, and comedian John Crist.
He has co-presented research on the price of theatre textbooks across the country at the USITT Annual Conference. He served as the Vice-Chair of the Gordon College Fine, And Performing Arts Advisory Board, served as a member of The Macon Little Theatre Board of Directors, and served on the Arts Education Grant Panel for the Georgia Council for The Arts. He is also the Scenic Designer and Technical Director for Mercer University Opera.
MFA, Costume Design & Technology, University of Alabama
Biography
Cathleen came to Georgia College in the fall of 2017 from Virginia where she had been working at her alma mater Radford University as their costume shop manager. She graduated from RU in 2011 with a B.S. in Theatre and went on to attend graduate school at The University of Alabama. Cathleen earned her MFA in Costume Design and Production in spring of 2014.
She enjoys working as a freelance costume designer as well as an educator and has worked for various professional theatre companies including The Virginia Shakespeare Festival, Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre, Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Camp, and Aurora Theatre. This past spring Cathleen had the opportunity to design The Little Prince for Holy Innocence Episcopal School in Atlanta. Cathleen loves all elements of the costuming and enjoys learning new techniques and expanding her knowledge in the industry. She enjoys working on sewing projects at home for friends and family as well as herself. She and her husband Andrew live in Covington, GA with their dog Dixie and cat Carpenter.
