Ashland University Theatre Students Spend Summer in the Field

Several Ashland University theatre students and theatre graduates are spending their summer months getting hands-on experience in the theatre field.

Brittany Hartman, a 2012 graduate, has taken a full-time position as resident wig and make-up artisan with the Hartford Stage in Hartford, Conn., and will start this career in September. She is currently working at the Utah Shakespeare Festival this summer and will be moving from Utah to Hartford in September.

At left, Hartman styles wigs for the Ashland University production of "Marisol" in the fall of 2010.

Drew Rothhaar, also a 2012 graduate, is an actor this summer at Tecumseh! Outdoor Drama, which is part of the huge, outdoor stages of the Sugarloaf Mountain Amphitheatre located in Chillicothe. Since the premiere performance of “Tecumseh!” in 1973, more than 2.5 million visitors have witnessed this great outdoor play, making it the most popular of its kind in the State of Ohio and entire Midwestern United States.

At left, Rothhaar plays Einstein in the Ashland University production of "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" in the spring of 2011.

Jensen Glick, a senior theatre major, is a stitcher at the Ohio Light Opera, the resident professional company located in downtown Wooster. The Ohio Light Opera operates a nine-week season that attracts more than 22,000 patrons annually. At right, Glick designed costumes for the Ashland Univesity production of Circle Mirror Transformation in the fall of 2011.

Hilary Rheinheimer, a junior at Ashland University, is serving as the assistant company manager at Porthouse Theatre, the premier summer theatre in the Cleveland-Akron area. Porthouse Theatre offers audiences the finest in professional summer theatre, set in the beautiful Blossom Music Center. The 500-seat, outdoor, covered pavilion theatre is located next to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Cuyahoga Falls. At left, Rheinheimer stage managed the Ashland University production of "Whistle Down the Wind" in the fall of 2011.

Becca Ribley, a junior theatre major, and Nate Sayatovich, a senior theatre major, are both working at the Medina Youth Theater Summer Day Camp & Performances. Sponsored by the Medina Performing Arts Center, this Medina Youth Theatre Summer Day Camp is a fun theatre day camp for student in first to eighth grade.At right, Ribley and Sayatovich star in the Ashland University production "Of Mice & Men" in the fall of 2010.

Nick Seemann, a sophomore theatre major, is spending his summer studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts’ Shakespeare Summer School in London. The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) offers vocational training for actors, stage managers, directors, designers and technical stage craft specialists. RADA was established in 1904 and has built an outstanding reputation as a world-renowned center of excellence, offering the best possible facilities, exceptional teaching and strong links with the industries that employ graduates. The Academy prides itself both on the professional standard of its student productions, which are attended by agents, casting directors and theatre practitioners, and on their track-record of employment in theatre, film and television.At left, Seemann plays Antony Wilding in the Ashland University production of "Enchanted April" in February of 2012.

Ashland University, ranked in the top 200 colleges and universities in U.S. News and World Report’s National Universities category for 2012, is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students.