Jeffrey Ingman Challenges Students and Audiences
Jeffrey Ingman came to FSU first as the 2005 Artist-in-Residence and later became a professor of acting and directing in the Theatre Department of the School of Fine Arts. Before coming to FSU, Ingman taught at the University of the Pacific, the University of Montana and the Pasadena Playhouse. He has acted in university and regional theatre, television and film, in everything from rock musicals to Shakespeare.
Ingman has become well-known in the region for directing complex, confrontational plays that are a challenge both to his students and to audiences. He has directed "Kindertransport," "Edward II" and "Pippen." (For links to reviews of these plays, visit the Department of Theatre web page at http://www.fairmontstate.edu/schooloffinearts/academics/department-communication-and-theatre-arts).
In addition to teaching and directing, Ingman serves as the State Audition Coordinator for the WV Theatre Conference /Southeastern Theatre Conference. His responsibilities include organizing auditions for over 100 actors from West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania, arranging for judges and respondents for the auditions, sending information to over 15 colleges and universities and compiling the results.
A good indicator for how effective any university theatre department is in preparing its students is how well the students fare at such conferences, and by this measure the FSU Theatre Department shows itself to be one of the strongest departments in the region.
The following list shows this year’s successes at various conferences of FSU students prepared by Jeffrey Ingman.
At the Region 2 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival:
• Morgan Davis: Semi-Final Round (from 270 actors to 30)
• Bruce McGlumphy: Irene Ryan Nominee for Kindertransport
• Sam Huffman: Irene Ryan Nominee for Kindertransport
• Eliza Huff: Irene Ryan Nominee for Kindertransport
• Loralee Simpson: Accepted into the directing competition sponsored by the Society of Stage Director and Choreographers (one of six in the entire region to be selected). She was also the Runner up for SDC Directing Award in Region II for her direction of a scene from "Angels in America."
At the 2011 West Virginia Theatre Conference auditions:
More students were passed onto SETC from Fairmont State than from any other theatre program in the state including Marshall University, West Virginia Wesleyan College and West Virginia University. This audition includes students from West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
The following students went on to SETC from the WVTC pre-screening audition:
• Daniel Crowley
• Jay Lindsay
• Jeremiah Ripley
• Bruce McGlumphy
• Celi Oliveto
At the University Resident Theatre Association Auditions:
Specifically for professional training and graduate school auditions in February in Chicago, these auditions are held in New York, Chicago and Las Vegas.
• Celi Oliveto: Accepted to Mary Baldwin M.F.A. in Acting / Classical Text program. She was also accepted to British Academy of Dramatic Arts in Birmingham, England
At the 2011 Southeastern Theatre Conference— the largest regional theatre conference in the United States:
• Jay Lindsay: Called back by four theatre companies
• Daniel Crowley: Received four callbacks for theatre companies throughout the U.S.. including Walnut Street Playhouse where Marlon Brando got his start.
• Celi Oliveto: Accepted to Stella Adler’s Conservatory in New York for summer 2011
Of course, theatre companies are made up of more than directors and actors, and the same is true of theatre departments.
A number of Troy Snyder’s students-- for instance, Matt Snyder, Shane Belcher, Evan Storm, Jeremiah Ripley, and Cora Childress --received honors and, in some cases, positions, at these same conferences for their work in design and stage management. And all this is only a small part of the whole story of what goes on in the Theatre Department here at FSU. The rest of the story must wait for future department stories and faculty profiles.
School of Fine ArtsJeffrey Ingman
