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BIOGRAPHIES
Laura Ballard (Ruby), originally from New Orleans, LA, is a rising junior majoring in
Musical Theatre at The University of Alabama. Past professional credits include
Stephen Foster Story (Jane) and Footloose (Rusty u/s, Featured Dancer). Previous UA
credits include Hair (Sheila), The Violet Hour (Rosamund), and The Bourgeois Gentleman
(Soprano). Thank you to my friends, family, and faculty for their continued support.
Bobby Becher (Dick), from Huntsville, AL, is a recent graduate of The University of
Alabama, and is very happy to be returning to Gulf Shores. Previous SummerTide credits
include The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Leaf Coneybear), Godspell
(Lamar), and You're A Good Man Charlie Brown (Schroeder). Other UA credits include
Big River (Huck), Flora the Red Menace (Harry), and Thoroughly Modern Millie (Trevor
Graydon).
Jeff Horger (Hennesey/Captain) earned his BA in theater, Spanish, and education at
North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. Originally from LaSalle, IL, he is currently a
graduate student at The University of Alabama working on his MFA in acting. Previous
theatrical credits include Big River (The King), The Rose Tattoo (Alvaro), An Enemy of the
People (Horster), Twelfth Night (Orsino), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Demetrius), The
Playboy of the Western World (Old Mahon), and Cabaret (Schultz).
Matthew Lummus (Lucky) is an Atlanta, GA native and recent graduate of The
University of Alabama's musical theatre program. At The University of Alabama, he
appeared in Big River, Moby-Dick, Saint Joan, The Bourgeois Gentleman, Candide,
Hair, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Medea, and The Wild Party. matthewlummus.com.
Marianne McConnell (Joan) is thrilled to be a part of SummerTide this season!
Marianne hails from Huntsville, Alabama and is a senior studying Musical Theatre. Her
favorite past credits include Ado Annie (Oklahoma!), Master of Philosophy (The
Bourgeois Gentlemen), Jeanie (Hair), Dancer (Moby-Dick) and choreographing for Dance
Alabama! Many thanks to her friends and family for their unconditional love and
support.
Emmett Louise Smith (Mona Kent), who hails from Opelika, AL, is thrilled to be
spending her summer tapping away by the Alabama beaches, which are much different
from the Rhode Island shores where she spent last summer as an Intern for Theatre By
The Sea. Her favorite regional theatre credits include A Chorus Line (Val), The Full
Monty (Susan), and Little Shop of Horrors (Crystal u/s). Her previous UA theatre credits
include Hair, Moby-Dick, Candide, and The Bourgeois Gentleman.
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Edmond Williams (Director) was the founding Chairman of the UA Department of
Theatre and Dance at its formation in 1979, and served in that position until 2007. His
production of Edward Bond’s Lear was honored with its selection to the national level of
the American College Theatre Festival and was performed at The Kennedy Center for
the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Dr. Williams has been recognized with Druid
Arts Awards for Best Production of a Play and Theatre Educator. In 1996, he was
honored by the National Alumni Association of The University of Alabama with their Outstanding
Commitment to Teaching award. Dr. Williams is a past president of the Alabama Theatre League and
the Southeastern Theatre Conference. Former Chairman of the Commission on Accreditation, Dr.
Williams now serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Schools of Theatre, and
was recently elected to the National Theatre Conference, an honorary organization of the American
Theatre. Williams has directed Anything Goes, Grease, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, Little Shop of
Horrors, Godspell, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee for SummerTide Theatre.
Raphael Crystal (Musical Director) is the founder and director of the musical theatre
program of the Department of Theatre and Dance. Active professionally as a composer
and musical director, he received a NY Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway
Musical for his score for the show Kuni-Leml. Recent premieres of his music include
filmed sequences for the new Ripley’s Believe-It-Or-Not in Times Square, MegaHeroes at
the Birmingham Children’s Theatre, and The Bourgeois Gentleman at the Jean Cocteau
Repertory Theatre in New York. He has served as musical director for shows throughout the country,
including all of the productions at SummerTide. He is a member of ASCAP, The Dramatists Guild, the
Musical Theatre Educators Alliance, and the Birmingham Art Music Alliance, and an alumnus of the
BMI/Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop.
Stacy Alley (Choreographer) teaches musical theatre/dance at The University of
Alabama after seven years on faculty at Arkansas State University, where she taught
acting, dance, and voice & movement. She is a professional director and choreographer
whose recent credits include A Chorus Line at Forestburgh Playhouse in NY. She has
been performing professionally for twenty-five years, including five years in Radio City
Music Hall’s Christmas Spectacular. Stacy is excited to be a part of SummerTide again
after performing the role of Rhetta in the inaugural production of Pump Boys and Dinettes as well as
choreographing Pump Boys and Anything Goes. Stacy is a member of Screen Actors Guild, the
Association of Theatre Movement Educators, the Musical Theatre Educators Alliance, and The
Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies in NYC, where she was recently awarded the
title/degree of Certified Movement Analyst. She is also Chair of the Musical Theatre Committee for the
Southeastern Theatre Conference. Stacy holds a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from The University of
Alabama and a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from the University of Southern California.
Andy Fitch (Scenic Designer) has designed dozens of productions and leads the MFA
program in Scenic Design at UA. Some recent designs include: Joseph…,The Sound of
Music, and A Lesson Before Dying for Theatre Tuscaloosa; The Producers and Damn
Yankees for The Arts Center of Coastal Carolina; The Three Sisters, The Grapes of Wrath,
and Forever Plaid for the Alabama Shakespeare Festival; The Drowsy Chaperone, The
Wizard of Oz, Damn Yankees, Cats, and Gypsy for Red Mountain Theatre; and The
Drawer Boy and Betrayal for the Warehouse Theatre of South Carolina. He is a founding member of the
acclaimed Kitchen Dog Theatre in Dallas. His training includes an MFA degree from Southern Methodist
University in Dallas, where he studied with noted stage designers William and Jean Eckart.
Donna Meester (Costume Designer), Associate Professor of Theatre, is Director of
Costume Design/Production at The University of Alabama. Some of her favorite designs
while at UA include: Ragtime, All’s Well That Ends Well, and The Threepenny Opera.
Other design credits include work for The Alabama Shakespeare Festival, The Oklahoma
Shakespearean Festival, The Memphis Black Rep, The Red Light Theatre (Washington
D.C.), Arkansas State University, University of Louisiana-Monroe, Ouachita Baptist
College, Henderson State University, Louisiana State University and The University of Northern Iowa.
Meester recently served as Design Chair for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre FestivalRegion IV and was the 2011 Recipient of the Kennedy Center Golden Medallion Award. Her costume
designs have won several awards from KCACTF, including designs for Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Voices
and A Bright Room Called Day. An active member in the United States Institute for Theatre
Design/Technology, Donna is currently serving as the Costume Commissioner. She holds a BS in Apparel
Technology from Purdue University and an MFA in Stage Design from Southern Methodist University.
Bill Teague (Lighting and Sound Designer) is the Chair for the Department of Theatre and
Dance, and teaches design and technical theatre. In addition to this theatrical work, he
is represented in other media as well. He has designed scenery for Alabama Public
Television and was Production Designer for the feature motion picture, Rebel Love. Mr.
Teague wrote and supplied graphics for the Computer Assisted Design section of Scene
Design and Stage Lighting, the most widely used text in technical theatre. He has also
served as a theatre consultant on restorations and new facilities around the southeast. He is an active
member of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, serving many years on the executive
committee, the 1995 winner of the USITT Southeast Region “Outstanding Educator of the Year” award,
former President of the Alabama Conference of Theatre and Speech, and a member of SETC, as well as
USITT. In 2004 he received the “Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award” from the UA National
Alumni Association.
Karen Baker (Stage Manager) is pursuing her Masters in Fine Arts in Directing at The
University of Alabama. Karen has stage managed at the Asolo Center for the
Performing Arts/FSU Acting Conservatory, and at UA: Candide and The Tales of the Lost
Formicans. Some of her directing credits include Good News, ZAP!, The BoyFriend, and
Don’t Drink the Water. She directed Screwtape and The Baby Dance this past year and is looking
forward to Directing City of Angels in the fall.
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Spencer Collins (Technical Director) is a senior at The University of Alabama, majoring in
Theatre. He has appeared in such critically acclaimed films as The Lost Stallions: A Journey
Home (starring Mickey Rooney) and Stream, nominated for best cinematography in the
short films category at Sundance 06'. He has also worked as a lighting designer for Kim
Wayans and Malcolm Jamal Warner with the National Black Theatre Festival. Technical
credits, while at The University of Alabama, include The Rose Tattoo and The Bourgeois
Gentleman (Master Electrician), Candide and Hair (Sound Operator), The Realm (Lighting Programmer)
and Flora, The Red Menace (Sound Designer). Spencer has recently been seen on stage in UA’s
Department of Theatre and Dance's production of The Baby Dance (Ron).
Christopher Thomas (Pianist), a doctoral student in piano performance at The University
of Alabama, has served as staff accompanist at the Universities of Montevallo, North
Alabama, and Alabama at Birmingham. Currently, Thomas is an accompanist at Shelton
State Community College, a private piano instructor at UA's Community Music
School and will be serving as a graduate assistant next year in the musical theater
department at UA. A native of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Thomas plans to pursue a
career as a professor of piano.
Cooper Kennard (Percussionist) is a rising junior at The University of Alabama majoring in
Musical Theatre and Political Science. UA credits include The Time of Your Life, Saint
Joan, An Enemy of the People, and Moby-Dick (world premiere). Having played both
drum kit and percussion since age seven, Cooper is no stranger in the pit. Roll Tide and
break legs!
Christopher M. Montpetit (Business Manager) is originally from Niagara Falls, NY,
where he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English/Theater from Niagara
University. He continued his studies at Columbia University in New York City, where he
earned a Masters of Fine Arts Degree in Theater Management. Professionally, Mr.
Montpetit has worked at such companies as Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Publishing, The
Kathryn Bache Miller Theatre, The Alma Schapiro Theatre, Artpark Theatre and ABC
Television. He served for many years as Manager of Public Relations Operations for Showtime Networks
and, most recently, as Audience Services Manager for Genesee Community College. A member of the
Association of Arts Administration Educators (AAAE) and the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC),
Professor Montpetit was newly selected as the Vice Commissioner for Arts Management for the United
States Institute for Theatre Technology Inc. (USITT).
Nicholas J. Shabel (Assistant Business Manager) could not be more excited to be
working with such a talented group of people in such an amazing community! Having
just graduated from The University of Alabama, he intends to pursue law school in the
fall. His UA credits include Picasso at the Lapin Agile (C.D. Schmendimen), The Time of
Your Life, Sueño de una Noche de Verano, Henry V, The Winters Tale, Romeo & Juliet,
and Our Town.
www.summertide.org
The Professional Summer Theatre of The University of Alabama
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The University of Alabama
205/348-5283 main phone
Department of Theatre and Dance
205/348-9048 fax
Box 870239
205/348-3400 UATD box office
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0239
251/968-6721 Gulf Shores box office