Faculty and Staff

The Theatre Department faculty is a passionate, knowledgeable cohort, dedicated to providing high quality, experiential learning experiences to SRU students.

Michael Boone

Michael Boone is the Technical Director for the SRU Performing Arts Complex.

E-mail: michael.boone@sru.edu
Phone: 724.738.4949

Aaron Galligan-Stierle

Photo of Aaron Galligan-Stierle Aaron Galligan-Stierle, Assistant Professor and Head of Musical Theatre, is an accomplished actor, director and producer with critically acclaimed work that ranges from Broadway musicals to Shakespeare. He is also a highly sought after audition coach providing exclusive workshops and one-on-one training for professionals in the Broadway community and at top universities across the country.

Aaron performed on Broadway as Papa Who in Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Henry Ford in the Tony-nominated revival of Ragtime, and was selected by Harold Prince to replace the longest-running actor in a Broadway show, taking over the role of Monsieur Andre in The Phantom of the Opera. Aaron’s touring credits include Mike Nulty in the national tour of White Christmas and Hark the Herald in the international tour of Cinderella, starring Lea Salonga.

Aaron is also well-known across the country in premiere regional theaters and top Shakespeare companies including 9 seasons for the Tony award-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival. Some of Aaron’s regional highlights as an actor include Leo Frank in Parade (The Rev Theatre Company), Dromio in The Comedy of Errors, Tateh in Ragtime, Wadsworth in Clue, Pirelli in Sweeney Todd, Feste in Twelfth Night, Smee in the regional Premiere of Peter and the Starcatcher, Clown #1 in The 39 Steps, Launcelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice (Utah Shakespeare Festival), Mendel “The Middle” in Indecent (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Motel in Fiddler on the Roof (Maine State Music Theater), and Ted in the World Premiere of Island Song (Adirondack Theater Company). Aaron has also performed at The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Papermill Playhouse, TUTS, and many more premiere regional theaters.

Aaron served as Executive Producer and Casting Director for feature film Ruin Me and served as Associate Director for Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas at The Grand Old Opry and Madison Square Garden, as well as Twelve Angry Men and Charlie’s Aunt at The Utah Shakespeare Festival. Aaron directed The Tempest at Sacramento Theater Company, Bonnie and Clyde at Nazareth College and the world premiere of the new musical Under the Bodhi Tree at The Royal Family Theater a block from Times Square in NYC. Aaron worked as a resident director for the NYU Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program and as the Executive director for MaxTheatrix, NYC’s premiere audition coaching company.

Aaron holds a BFA in Musical Theater from Shenandoah University and an MFA in Acting from Penn State. Unions & Affiliations: AEA, SAG-AFTRA. Please visit his website at https://www.aarongs.com/ to learn more.

Email: a.galligan-stierle@sru.edu
Phone: 724.738.2334

Mary Hodson

Mary Hodson is the Costume Coordinator and Instructor for SRU's Department of Theatre. She oversees the activities in the Costume Studio and works with student staff to create costumes for the Department of Theatre productions.

Having spent most of her career in academic theatre, Mary enjoys helping the students develop their skills in costume construction. In addition to supervising the construction of costumes for the Department of Theatre productions, Mary teaches

Mary started her theatrical career as a student herself, working as an undergraduate costume assistant in college. As a biology/chemistry student, she found the analytical and mathematical aspects of the work intriguing and the creative outlet rewarding. She eventually completed her MFA in theatre design and technology at the University of Illinois.

She has worked as a staff instructor at 5 universities and has worked professionally in costume technology at several regional theatres across the country including American Player’s Theatre and Santa Fe Opera. She has been a guest workshop instructor in millinery, dyeing and makeup application. Her design credits include A Raisin in the Sun, Seasons Greetings, A Member of the Wedding, Treasure Island, Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella and Seussical the Musical.

Email: mary.hodson@sru.edu
Phone: 724.738.2264

Dr. Kari-Anne Innes

Dr. Kari-Anne Innes, Assistant Professor, will join the Slippery Rock Department of Theatre in fall 2022 teaching theatre arts management and dramatic literature. Previously, she served as the program director and lecturer for the master of arts program in arts and entertainment administration at Valparaiso University, where she had also been the Assistant Director of the Center for the Arts and Director of Theatre Outreach Performances and the Young Actors Shakespeare Workshop.

As an artist-scholar, her performance manuscripts have been published in Text and Performance Quarterly and Departures in Critical Qualitative Research, and she has presented her performance works at the National Communication Association, Patti Pace Performance Festival, and Non-Fiction Now! conferences. She has experience devising plays with university students and community organizations, including the Historical Theatre Project: Shanghai Jewish Refugees at Valparaiso University and several forum theatre plays with the Humanities Troupe: Theatre for Community, Diversity, and Change at Bowling Green State University.

Her directing credits include over forty productions in university and community theatre, most recently As You Like It and Little Women. Professionally, she has worked at Chicago Street Theatre, Canterbury Summer Theatre, and Kaleidoscope Learning Theatre. She trained in arts administration and acting at Center Theatre, Chicago, IL, and The Purple Rose Theatre Company, Chelsea, MI.

She holds a B.A. in Theatre and Television Arts and M.A. in Liberal Studies, both from Valparaiso University and a Ph.D. in Theatre from Bowling Green State University.

E-mail: kari-anne.innes@sru.edu

Samantha Kuchta

Samantha Kuchta, Assistant Professor and resident Scenic and Lighting Designer for the SRU Department of Theatre, is a versatile technician, credited as a scenic artist, scenic carpenter, properties master, stage manager, and 3D modeler for stage and film.

In addition to teaching and designing for Slippery Rock’s Department of Theater, Samantha is also involved heavily in the Pittsburgh theater community. She has worked with Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks, the Pittsburgh CLO, Prime Stage Theater, Pittsburgh Classic Players, Unseam’d Shakespeare, and IATSE local 3. Her recent shows include: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged (Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks - Properties and Set Designer), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks - Properties and Set Designer), Peter and the Starcatcher (University of Georgia - Scenic Designer), Kinky Boots (Pittsburgh CLO - Scenic Artist), Godspell (Pittsburgh CLO - Scenic Artist)

She holds a B.A. from Slippery Rock University in Theater Design Tech and Communications and an M.F.A in Scenic Design from the University of Georgia's Department of Theater and Film Studies.

Email: samantha.kuchta@sru.edu
Phone: 724.738.2980

Julianne Leddy

Julianne Leddy is a Voice Instructor in the SRU Theatre Department.

Melanie Martin

Melanie Martin is the clerical staff for the SRU Theatre and Dance Departments.

E-mail: melanie.martin@sru.edu
Phone: 724.738.4215

Rebecca Morrice

Rebecca Morrice, Professor and Chair of the Theatre Department, is a costume designer for theatre, dance, and film. She received her B.A. in the History of Architecture & Art from the University of Illinois, Chicago and her M.F.A. in Costume Design from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

At Slippery Rock University, Rebecca has designed and supervised student designs for over 100 main stage productions. Some of her favorites include Macbeth, Ghosts, Techies the Musical, Blithe Spirit, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Pericles, Heathers, Cabaret, and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.

In addition to her work as a costume designer, Rebecca has worked as the costume craftsperson, dyeing fabric and making masks, jewelry, shoes, and hats for productions at Center Stage in Baltimore, Hope Summer Repertory Theatre in Michigan, American Players Theatre in Wisconsin, and Unseam'd Shakespeare in Pittsburgh. Current areas of interest include fiber arts and digital rendering techniques.

In 2017, Rebecca led the process that established SRU's BFA Acting and Musical Theatre programs and, in 2021, was a recipient of the SRU President's Award for Outstanding Service for her work as the co-chair of the SRU Steering Committee tasked with reaffirming the university's accreditation through the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

E-mail: rebecca.morrice@sru.edu
Phone: 724.738.2333

Dr. Lincoln Sandham

Photo of Lincoln Sandham Dr. Lincoln Sandham is the Music Director and Staff Accompanist for the SRU Theater Department, and teaches Music Theory courses in the school of music. Lincoln is an award-winning composer of choral, chamber, orchestral, and film music. His music has been performed in the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Australia, China, South Korea, Japan, Spain, Russia, Greece, Mexico, Finland, Canada, and across the U.S.

At SRU Lincoln accompanies MT classes, the MT studio, masterclasses and workshops, and is Music Director for all musical productions. Equally at home with the music of Mozart and Maroon 5, Lincoln loves exploring all kinds of repertoire with students.

Lincoln received his B.M. from Baldwin Wallace University, his M.M. from the University of Louisville, and the D.M. from Florida State University.

Emily Scott

Emily Scott, serves as an instructor of voice in the Theatre department, where she teaches a voice studio, Class Voice for Musical Theatre, and Musicianship. When not performing or teaching in the states, Emily is singing opera, operetta, and musical theater with the Landesbühnen Sachsen in Dresden, Germany. She is most well-known for her portrayal of Carmen Diaz in the musical FAME, which she "play(s) with fire and self-esteem. Burns' (Scott's) warm voice is a powerful force, which she uses skillfully in the lead role" (SächsischeZeitung). Emily's other roles in Germany include Inez in Zorro, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, Klärchen in Im Weißen Rössl, Chrystal in Der Kleine Horrorladen, and Der Küchenjunge in Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel.

Emily received her B.F.A from Carnegie Mellon University and her M.M in Opera performance/ Musical Theater from Arizona State University.

E-mail: emily.scott@sru.edu
Phone: 724.738.2090

Dr. David Skeele

Photo of Dr. David Skeele Dr. David Skeele, Professor, teaches acting and playwriting, and has directed over fifty shows at Slippery Rock University. Past SRU productions include Heathers, Spring Awakening, The Merchant of Venice, Streamers, Tallgrass Gothic, Jesus Christ Superstar, Cymbeline, Hedda Gabler and Pericles.

David's original plays have received professional and collegiate productions in Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Columbus, Omaha, and Orlando and internationally in Switzerland, Australia, England, Canada and Nigeria. In recent years, SRU has produced a number of David's plays--The Barwell Prophecy, Dark North, Hungry Jane, The Margins, Deepchurch Hollow, and Electra: An American Gothic--and brought them to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland, where they have received coveted five-star reviews.

David is a certified instructor of Meisner Technique and Foundation Training.

E-mail: david.skeele@sru.edu
Phone: 724.738.2978

Laura C. Smiley

Photo of Laura Smiley Laura C. Smiley, associate professor, has been focusing her energies on the development and practice of wellness for actors. She is a certified teacher of Cognitive Based Compassion training which fosters self-awareness and compassion as a foundation for resilience. She is also pro-active in sharing the boundary practice work developed by TIE (Theatrical Intimacy Education) to cultivate awareness and respect in our interactions with others in our community, as well as integrating this work and intimacy choreography for all productions. A dedicated teacher of Uta Hagen, she is in the process of developing a text incorporating CBCT and Intimacy work to inform and enhance this pedagogy. Laura teaches Directing which culminates in a 10-minute play showcase, Voice for the Actor, Acting Shakespeare, as well as various topics for Acting Technique. She regularly directs mainstage productions for the department: Recent SRU projects include December Things (new play premiere), Much Ado About Nothing, Doubt, Spring Harvest, Scab (Invited to KCACTF Region II Festival in 2015) & Dead Man's Cell Phone (Invited to KCACTF Region II Festival 2014).

Laura is a founding member and was the artistic and executive director of the Unseam'd Shakespeare Company for 23 years. She was a recent Co-Chair of the National Playwrighting Program for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) Region II, as well as a member of the National Executive Team. Along with acting and directing in the Pittsburgh area, she has taught acting, voice, and movement at many area universities, including Point Park University, the University of Pittsburgh and the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

In addition to many roles with Unseam'd Shakespeare, Laura has performed for the Pittsburgh Public Theatre, City Theatre, Starlight Productions and her one-woman show, Building. Recently she played a principal role in The Last Witch Hunter starring Vin Diesel & Michael Caine. She has guest directed for Living Images Arts in NYC, Bloomsburg University and Indiana University of PA, as well as collaborations with the City Theatre and the Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society.

Laura received her B.F.A. in Acting from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC and her M.F.A. in Acting from the University of Pittsburgh. She is a member in good standing in AEA, SAG/AFTRA & ATHE. She is a CBCT teacher and Yoga Alliance 200RYT Teacher.

E-mail: laura.smiley@sru.edu
Phone: 724.738.4838

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