Staff
andrew almeter | Senior production coordinator for events
aalmeter [at] illinois.edu
Before coming to Krannert Center, Andrew worked at the Buffalo Philharmonic working as the operations coordinator, which included planning the logistics of guest artists’ travel, hotel, catering, and being a go-to person for the “different” tasks associated with the orchestra. His most memorable project was making around 1,000 individual jingle bells for audience members to ring during one of the Christmas concerts. As a note to all, Andrew recalls cutting ribbon and threading it through the bells gets pretty boring at around the 700th time. Besides being a martyr, Andrew is an avid Ultimate Frisbee player, coffee drinker, doesn’t know anything about movies, and has the worst sense of humor in the office, all of which he is very proud of. His love for his job is seeing the creative problem solving that this building is capable of and the sheer ability of getting so many shows up and running.
ANDREA BOUCK | COSTUME DIRECTOR
For costume donations, contact Richard Gregg at rdg [at] illinois.edu.
abouck2 [at] illinois.edu
Bree Brock | Production Coordinator for Events
217.244.2151 | bkb15 [at] illinois.edu
Bree moved to Champaign, Illinois, in 2019, with her husband and three dogs. She is originally from Kansas City, Missouri, but really feels at home in Champaign. Bree graduated with a BFA in theatre management in December 2018. Before Krannert Center, she had been working multiple retail jobs to make a living and to provide as many toys and treats for her dogs as possible. It’s important to note that Bree is always willing to show pictures of her dogs—you just have to ask. Now, as a staff member at Krannert Center, she is beyond thrilled to be working in her field and to be a part of the Krannert Center team. Aside from theatre, Bree is an avid artist and foodie, both of which she takes seriously. She hopes one day to make a name for herself in the art community. Bree says she’s always been a right-brained, creative individual, which is why she loves working in this business.
katie brucker | accounting staff
217.300.8583 | kbrucker [at] illinois.edu
MICHAEL BUNTING | HOSPITALITY Supervisor
bunting3 [at] illinois.edu
Michael was raised in Mahomet, Illinois, and left the area to enlist in the military. He moved back to Mahomet seven years ago. He is an Air Force veteran who specialized in security police, law enforcement, and customs. He completed training as a customs officer through the US Department of the Treasury. Michael is a graduate of Parkland College in business administration, the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago/Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Chicago, and Judson University in accounting. In addition to the AAS degree in culinary arts, he holds a professional cooking and nutrition certificate. He has been a member of the American Culinary Federation and the Association of Nutrition & Foodservice Professionals for nearly 20 years, earning his Certified Dietary Manager and Certified Food Protection Professional credentials. Michael has spent over 25 years cooking in the Chicago, Rockford, and Champaign-Urbana areas and has worked about every job in a kitchen from dishwasher, waiter, cook, sous chef, chef, chef/manager, food service manager, assistant director to director. He has also had the opportunity to work in every kind of restaurant/food service including fast food, pizza, casual, fine dining, hotel, conference center, retirement community, nursing home, and hospital. He enjoys trying new recipes, new restaurants, and new foods when not working and also likes to travel in his free time. Michael has been to many different countries and hopes to visit China and India at some point in time.
scott butler | Attendant
Joe Butsch | building Electrician
217.265.5328 | jbutsch [at] illinois.edu
Eric Carr | Attendant
217.333.6707 | ecarr [at] illinois.edu
Emmett Catlin | Attendant
217.333.6707 | ecatlin [at] illinois.edu
Abraham castro | Assistant director of food preparation
Terri Anne Ciofalo | Director of Production
217.265.6969 | tciofalo [at] illinois.edu
Terri is the associate director for production and the director of new work at Krannert Center as well as a member of the stage management faculty in the Department of Theatre. Originally from New York City, Terri was the production manager and production stage manager for Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet prior to joining Krannert Center in 2007. She has stage-managed for the Yale Repertory Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, American Players Theatre, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, and Maryland Stage Company and has toured with Ralph Lemon, Urban Tap, and American Repertory Ballet, among others. Terri is the program director of The Armagh Project, bringing American college students to Northern Ireland each summer to study playwriting, performance, creative writing, and journalism. She earned her MFA in stage management at the Yale School of Drama.
glenda dalton | operations Office Support associate
217.300.9765 | gsdalton [at] illinois.edu
Glenda joins the Krannert Center building operations office after working 17 years as a Cashier II for Willard Airport commercial operations.
Austin Dearth | Attendant
217.333.6707 | adearth3 [at] illinois.edu
Debbie Delaney | Accounting Staff
217.244.4862 | ddelany [at] illinois.edu
Debbie has worked at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts since December 2007. She grew up in Tuscola, Illinois, but now lives in Gifford. Debbie has three daughters, one stepson, and three grandchildren.
Ann-Marie Dittmann | Patron Services Assistant Director
217.333.9716 | amd21 [at] illinois.edu
Adriane Binky Donley | Properties Director
217.333.9720 | adonley [at] illinois.edu
Binky is the properties director at Krannert Center as well as the chair of the Properties Design and Management Program for the Department of Theatre. Originally from Florida, Binky was previously an assistant professor at Ithaca College heading the areas of props and scenic art. She has also worked as a prop master at the Actors Theatre of Louisville's Humana Festival and the University of Virginia. As a prop artisan, she has had the privilege to work at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, Alley Theatre, Hangar Theatre, Seaside Music Theatre, and Virginia Shakespeare Festival, among other venues. She has a BA from the University of South Florida and an MFA from the North Carolina School of the Arts.
John ekstrom | Attendant
217.333.6707 | jekstrom [at] illinois.edu
Stacey Elliott | Accounting Staff
217.300.2312 | sjelliot [at] illinois.edu
jesse fancher | attendant
217.333.6707 | jdumyahn [at] illinois.edu
Jason Finkelman | Artistic Director of Global Arts Performance Initiatives
217.265.0640 | finkelma [at] illinois.edu
Established in 2012, Global Arts Performance Initiatives consolidates Jason’s distinct curatorial programming in partnership with cultural arts institutions and programs across the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. With a focus on genre-blurring music and international performing arts, established engagement programming includes Sudden Sound, Global Transfer Afterglow, Gateways to World Music, and Improvisers Exchange concerts, workshops, and artist residencies. Jason’s efforts in enriching campus and community through the arts was recognized in 2019 with an Advocate ACE Award from the Champaign County Arts Council 40N|88W and as Best Promoter of the Decade by Champaign-Urbana’s online magazine Smile Politely.
Bryan Franzen | Attendant
217.333.6707 | franzen1 [at] illinois.edu
andrew giza | Events Director
217.300.5222 | giza [at] illinois.edu
Originally from Massachusetts, Andrew is an alumnus of Emerson College where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in acting. Before joining the Events Office at Krannert Center, Andrew worked with the Artist Partner Programs team at the University of Maryland’s Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center while earning a Master of Science degree in management. Andrew’s professional career began at The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as the program’s music production manager, a position he held for over 14 years. He is a member of SAG-AFTRA and enjoys golfing, riding motorcycles, and working with the Boulanger Initiative to promote inclusivity in classical music.
richard gregg | Costume Rentals Director / wardrobe / associate costume director / costume donations
rdg [at] illinois.edu
Whitney Havice | INTERIM TicketING AND PATRON Services Director
217.244.3963 | whavice [at] illinois.edu
Whitney has worked as part of the Krannert Center team since 2003 as a ticket services supervisor and then assistant ticket services director. In addition to her extensive experience working in the Ticket Office, for many years Whitney has served on Krannert Center’s Engagement Team, Occupational and Safety Committee (including co-chairing the group), and as class coordinator for Krannert Center’s Dance for People with Parkinson’s program. Whitney is an English and journalism graduate of Bradley University and is active in Champaign-Urbana and regional communities as a dance instructor, choreographer, director, and a board member for the Champaign Urbana Theatre Company, in addition to other efforts.
Tara Heiser | Human Resources Specialist
217.244.2600 | tlheiser [at] illinois.edu
elizabeth henke | stage 5 bar manager
ehenke [at] illinois.edu
tatsuya Ito | Associate Technical Director
217.300.8015 | tito [at] illinois.edu
Tatsuya “Tito” Ito is an associate technical director at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts and a member of the scenic technology faculty. Tatsuya started his career off by freelancing in the greater Boston area working for companies like Bent Productions, Company One, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, and Suffolk University amongst many others. He would go on to work his way from an over-hire carpenter to technical director at Stoneham Theatre. Looking for a change of pace, he was fortunate to become the shop foreman at Brandeis University where he discovered his love for working in educational theatre. In grad school, he had the pleasure of spending his summers in New York to work for Productions on Point, a layout and survey company focusing on live events, as well as in Los Angeles to work for Center Theatre Group. In 2011, Tatsuya received his BFA from Salem State University in Massachusetts and is currently finishing his thesis to complete his MFA in technical design and production from the Yale School of Drama.
Linea Johnson | communications director
linea [at] illinois.edu
Linea moved to the Champaign-Urbana community from Seattle in August 2022 and joined Krannert Center in March 2023 as Communications Director. She studied piano for three years at Columbia College Chicago before transferring to Seattle University to finish her undergraduate degree in creative writing. After completing a master’s degree in healthcare leadership at Brown, she went on to work in a variety of fields, specializing in communications, change management, program management, and employee and stakeholder engagement. A strong advocate for mental health, she has published a book on the subject with St. Martin’s Press, served as assistant producer on the film Hidden Pictures, and worked as an intern with the World Health Organization in Geneva.
Nick Jukes | lighting & media technician
nickjukes1 [at] illinois.edu
Bill Kephart | Scene Shop Chief Clerk
217.300.3943 | kephrt [at] illinois.edu
In addition to clerical duties, Bill manages the Krannert Store in the Scene Shop where a variety of materials are available for purchase by students, staff, and the public. Bill has an English literature degree from the U of I. He loves clothing design, sewing, and spreadsheets.
Lisa Kidd | Lighting Director
217.300.6245 | lisakidd [at] illinois.edu
Lisa is the Lighting Director for the Krannert Center as well as a member of the lighting faculty for Illinois Theater. You may have seen their work as the lighting designer for Ellnora the Guitar Festival. That includes inside the venues as well as outside on the building. Lisa has a hand in an average of thirty performances annually and enjoys the variety of performances that Krannert Center produces. Prior to coming to Illinois Lisa worked in Nashville Tennessee as a freelance lighting designer and technician and has toured nationally as a lighting supervisor. In their spare time they enjoy gardening and dogs.
david krupla | associate lighting director
krupla2 [at] illinois.edu
David is the Associate Lighting Director at the Krannert Center and a member of the lighting design faculty. He previously served as the Lighting Director at the Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center and as the Resident Lighting Designer at the Studio Theatre Tierra Del Sol located in The Villages, Florida. He has also worked with such companies and institutions as Nebraska Shakespeare, Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre, the Santa Fe Opera, Great Lakes Theatre, Porthouse Theatre, Cleveland Public Theatre, Near West Theatre, Weathervane Playhouse, Hathaway Brown Theatre Insitute, and Cuyahoga Community College. David received his MFA in lighting design from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and his BA in lighting design and technologies from Kent State University.
Sean Kutzko | assistant communications director
217.244.3187 | sekutzko [at] illinois.edu
Sean joined Krannert Center in 2022. Born and raised in Urbana and a graduate of the University of Illinois at Springfield, Sean brings a wealth of experience in social media, public relations, audio and video recording, and storytelling. He uses those skills to help tell the stories of Krannert Center events, artists, audiences, staff, and history. He worked as Media and Public Relations Manager at ARRL, the National Association for Amateur Radio, and as Social Media Manager at the Mark Twain House and Museum, both in the Hartford, Connecticut area. Sean also worked at several National Public Radio (NPR) stations in Illinois and Indiana as on-air host and Operations Manager and was a long-time volunteer at WEFT-FM community radio here in Champaign-Urbana. Passionate about jazz music and jazz history, Sean runs the website ChambanaJazz.com, which records, documents, and preserves the Champaign-Urbana jazz scene. He’s also a drummer/percussionist in the local music scene, an active amateur (ham) radio operator, baker and pizzaiolo, and loyal Chicago Cubs fan.
Alec LaBau | Assistant Audio Director / video director
217.244.9899 | alabau [at] illinois.edu
Alec is currently serving as the assistant audio director at Krannert Center and as a member of the sound faculty for the Department of Theatre. He received his BFA in sound design from Utah State University and continued his education, earning an MFA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Alec has worked nationally as a sound designer and engineer with the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Crossroads Theatre Company, Actors Theatre Kansas City, and the Old Lyric Repertory Theatre in Logan, Utah. Prior to coming to the Krannert Center, Alec worked as the assistant technical director for production services.
Mark Lashbrook | Attendant
217.333.6707 | lashbrok [at] illinois.edu
Emily Laugesen | Co-director of Engagement
217.333.9727 | elaugese [at] illinois.edu
Part of the Krannert Center staff since 2009, Emily is endlessly fascinated by the power of the arts to bring people together through shared experiences. Her work with arts engagement is focused on creating opportunities for intercultural exchange, personal and professional growth, and community development. She is program director and collaborative curator of the Krannert Center Youth Series, a series of performances by professional touring artists designed to nurture creativity in students preschool through high school. Born and raised in Indiana, Emily feels at home in the Illinois prairie but has also enjoyed living in St. Louis and New York as she completed degrees in comparative literature, Italian, and musicology/music theory. She embraces the inherent contradiction in her love of both coffee and yoga.
jacob lerch | attendant
217.333.6707 | jlerch [at] illinois.edu
kari little-mckinney | Theatrical Stitcher
kira lyon | assistant properties DIRECTOR
217.244.5379 | kiral2 [at] illinois.edu
From Hattiesburg, MS, Kira joined Krannert as a full-time staff member in 2022. She graduated with a BFA in theatre performance from the University of Southern Mississippi and completed her MFA in properties design and management right here at the U of I. Kira’s worked in props with Definition Theatre, Chicago’s New Colony, and with the Virginia Heritage Theatre Festival. Other experience includes stints with the Utah Shakespeare Festival, PlayMakers Repertory Theatre, and for the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at Loyola University of Chicago. When not helping manage the Krannert Center Properties Shop or serving as an instructor in the Department of Theatre Level 21 Design and Production Area, Kira continues to work on her goal of hiking in all 63 US National Parks.
Tony Mapson | assistant facility manager
217.333.6707 | amapson [at] illinois.edu
april Mckinnis | cutter/draper
aprilmck [at] illinois.edu
EB McTigue | cutter/draper
mctigue2 [at] illinois.edu
Ty Mingo | Assistant Ticket Services Director
217.265.0271 | tmingo [at] illinois.edu
Zia Moon | Patron services assistant
217.333.8300 | ziamoon [at] illinois.edu
Nicholas Mulvaney | Senior Designer
217.300.2240 | nmulvane [at] illinois.edu
Since childhood, the arts have inspired Nic’s imagination and have been a rich platform to teach him about the world we live in. After receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts, Nic has worked professionally as a designer since 2005. He strives to always remain curious about the craft of design and be thoughtful towards its privilege and responsibilities. He has been involved with local organizations such as 40 North Arts Council and Champaign Urbana Design Organization (CUDO). Nic joined the talented team at the Krannert Center in 2018 and considers it a special highlight both personally and professionally. When not designing, Nic likes wandering imaginary worlds, taking photos, drawing, reading, and listening to the wind. The inky skies of a starry night will always feel like home.
Jared Painter | Assistant Chief Building Operations ENgineer
jaredp [at] illinois.edu
Jon Proctor | ticket office Supervisor
217.265.0271 | jproctor [at] illinois.edu
Maureen v. Reagan | Associate Director for Marketing
217.244.4864 | reagan [at] illinois.edu
In her role at Krannert Center, Maureen is responsible for fostering the work of a multifaceted team including staff members in public services, communications, and administration. Since joining the Center in 1987, she has combined professional and scholarly pursuits while working in positions of continually increasing responsibility and scope. Maureen’s recent research explores performance history, including archival research, digitization, crowdsourcing, and cross-Atlantic musical influence. Her dissertation examined the history of the University of Illinois British Brass Band, 1981-2011. She currently co-leads the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK)-funded project “The Internet of Musical Events: Digital Scholarship, Community, and the Archiving of Performance” and serves as advisor for University of Illinois Doctor of Musical Arts candidates seeking a cognate in performing arts administration.
Bobby Reynolds | SCENE SHOP coordinator
rwr3 [at] illinois.edu
Bobby joined the Shop staff full time in 2022, where he uses his extensive background in carpentry and welding to help build sets for various Krannert Center productions. He graduated from Wittenberg University (Ohio) in 2014 with a BA in Theatre, then came to Illinois and earned an MFA in Scenic Technology in 2019. He’s been with Krannert off and on since his grad student days. Outside of work, Bobby enjoys exploring, seeing the world through camping, hiking and kayaking adventures.
Adrian rochelle | front of house supervisor
arochel2 [at] illinois.edu
Champaign native Adrian Rochelle joined the Krannert staff in the summer of 2022. A graduate of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale with a Bachelor of Arts in musical theatre, Adrian attended many performances at Krannert Center while growing up. Adrian has worked with the JET Theatre in West Bloomfield, Michigan and Thunder Bay Theatre in Alpena, Michigan, and has stage management and choreography experience with such productions as West Side Story, Mamma Mia and Songs for a New World. When not working, Adrian enjoys cooking and baking, dancing, and independent choreography projects.
Liam Romano | Theatrical Scene Shop Assistant
liamr99 [at] illinois.edu
From Lawrence, Kansas, Liam comes to us by way of the University of Nebraska, where he graduated with a BFA in theatre design/technical production. Liam assists with set construction, load-in/set strike, and shop maintenance. He’s garnered experience with the Utah Shakespeare Festival, Nebraska Repertory Theatre, the Lake Dillon Theatre Company, and Lovewell Institute. Liam enjoys playing music (guitar and bass), sculpting and bike riding in his free time.
Mike Ross | Director
217.333.6700 | mikeross [at] illinois.edu
Mike Ross became the sixth director of Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in 1997. He came to the Center from the Miller Theatre at Columbia University in New York City where he received his doctorate with distinction in music composition and where, under his direction, the Miller Theatre was recognized by The New Yorker as “the city’s hottest hotbed of innovative programming.” Deeply committed to embracing the art of the past as well as the art of our time across disciplines, aesthetic sensibilities, and cultural legacies, Mike views Krannert Center as a potent blending of classroom, laboratory, and public square. He attributes his experience as a professional classical, jazz, and rock musician and his interest in the visual and environmental arts, broader cultural history, and explorations into the nature of creativity writ large as major influences on his collaborative approach to arts administration. He has served as board chair for the Association of Performing Arts Presenters and as board president of Arts Alliance Illinois and is a founding member of 40 North, the Champaign County Arts Council. He is a recipient of the North American Performing Arts Agent and Managers Association’s Award for Excellence in Presenting the Arts and was selected by National Arts Strategies to participate alongside 100 national and international cultural leaders in its inaugural Chief Executive Leadership Initiative. Mike is an associate dean in the College of Fine and Applied Arts, has served on numerous campus committees, and chaired the cross-campus Seedbed Initiative for Transdomain Creativity, which led to the establishment of the eDREAM Institute (Emerging Digital Research and Education in Arts Media), for which he now serves as an advisor. Mike is a passionate advocate for the micro-urban Champaign-Urbana community and has served as co-chair of the 2013 Champaign County United Way Campaign.
Rick Scholwin | Audio Director
217.300.2154 | scholwin [at] illinois.edu
Richard is a Wisconsin native. He attended DePaul University School of Music in Chicago, Illinois, as a voice major, completing his Bachelor of Science in sound recording technology in 1994. He served as the assistant audio director for the University of Illinois School of Music from 1994 to 2001. Richard worked for Northern Illinois University as a recording engineer during the 2001-02 school year and then as lead audio technician for the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at the University of California, Davis from 2002 to 07. While working at the Mondavi Center, he earned his MFA in dramatic arts-sound design from UC Davis, graduating in June 2007. He was resident sound designer for the Denver Theatre Company for the 2007-08 season. Richard then served as fine arts and humanities audio director for the University of Nebraska at Kearney from 2008 through December 2014. In January 2015, Richard joined Krannert Center as audio director, also serving as the chair of sound design for Illinois Theatre, and is delighted to be on the Illinois campus.
Ryan Schultz | Technical Director
217.300.4223 | ryans [at] illinois.edu
Ryan is the technical director as well as the chair of the Scenic Technology Program for the Department of Theatre at the U of I. Prior to joining Krannert Center in 2016, Ryan was the technical director at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. There, his credits include the annual production of A Christmas Carol; Disney’s The Jungle Book adapted by Mary Zimmerman; The Iceman Cometh at the Brooklyn Academy of Music starring Nathan Lane and Brian Dennehy; Robert Fall’s and Seth Bockley’s massive interpretation of Roberto Bolaño’s 2666; and the Broadway production of War Paint starring Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersol. Ryan received his education from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
Sam Smith | Director of Civic Engagement and Social Practice
217.244.0925 | smsmith3 [at] illinois.edu
With interests in schools, challenged neighborhoods, and international settings, Sam uses the resources and tools of making art to extend the impact of the Krannert Center.
Cheryl Snyder | Director of Advancement
217.333.2533 | casnyder [at] illinois.edu
Jodee Stanley | Program and Web Editor
217.300.4315 | jastan [at] illinois.edu
Jodee has worked at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign since 2003. Prior to joining the Krannert Center staff, she served as the editor of Ninth Letter, the award-winning literary journal published by the Creative Writing Program in the Department of English. She has been awarded an Academic Professional Award from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and a Faculty Fellowship from the University of Illinois Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership. A native Missourian, she received her BA in English from the University of Missouri and her MFA in creative writing from Emerson College.
Julianna Steitz | Theatrical Stitcher
217.244.4086 | steitz [at] illinois.edu
paige stewart-rankins | hair & makeup supervisor
prankins [at] illinois.edu
amy thomas | director of food production
amyt [at] illinois.edu
shelly thomas-eichorn | accounting staff
217.300.8954 | seichorn [at] illinois.edu
SETH WHEELER | technical coordinator for Events
sww22 [at] illinois.edu
Bethany Whoric | associate Director of Advancement
217.300.6042 | bbwhoric [at] illinois.edu
Bethany joined Krannert Center in February 2019 after relocating from Columbus, Ohio. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Bethany received her Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to her move to Champaign-Urbana, Bethany spent seven years working in personal styling, sales training, and customer relationship management for Nordstrom Inc. Always a lover of the arts, Bethany is thrilled to oversee Krannert Center's corporate giving program while also working with individual donors, allowing her to play a part in continuing to bring the performing arts to an already vibrant arts community. Bethany’s hobbies include running, yoga, fashion, and traveling.
John O. Williams | Facility Manager
217.333.6702 | jowillia [at] illinois.edu
John started at Krannert Center in 1999 as an extra help building attendant, shoveling snow and filling in where needed. In 2000, he was hired as a part-time building attendant. By the end of that year, John was upgraded to a full-time building attendant. In 2001, John was promoted to day-shift facilities manager. He was assigned his current duties filling in as the assistant director of operations when his predecessor retired in 2008. When not working to maintain Krannert Center, John enjoys riding his Harley Davidson motorcycles across the country. He has visited 49 states, Canada, and Mexico from the seat of his motorcycles.
Kayley Woolums | Theatrical Scene Shop Assistant
kwoolums [at] illinois.edu
nick wurl | ticket sales supervisor
217.333.6280 | wurl2 [at] illinois.edu