The Artistic Team

Rachel (she, her, hers) is an Assistant Professor of Theatre who hails from Chicago, IL. She received her Ph.D. in Theatre History and Criticism from the University of Illinois in 2016 and her master's degree in Directing from Ireland's, University College Dublin in 2009. Prior to that, she worked as an actor and director in the United States and Nagoya, Japan where she lived for two years after undergrad. Her scholarly work focuses on gender roles in contemporary adaptations of ancient Greek drama and mythology. She also specializes in Irish Drama from the late 19^th century forward specifically in regard to funerary performances and the role of the mother on the Abbey Stage. Most recently, she has done dramaturgical work for the Public Theatre in Lewiston and directed Urinetown and The Love of the Nightingale at the University of Southern Maine. https://www.rachelpricecooper.com/

Andy Johns
Technical Director

Andrew holds MFA in Technical Production from The University of Delaware. He had started his professional career as a Staff Carpenter at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. After serving as a Technical Director at Kenyon College for six years, he started at Denison in the Fall of 2001 as the Technical Director for the Theatre Department. He has also designed Lighting and Sound for various productions and provided support for Denison’s Music and Dance Departments. He has taught Stagecraft for Lighting, Scenery, and Sound production.

Andrew has also worked for Wolf Trap Opera Company, Brevard Music Center, Illinois Shakespearean Festival, Utah Shakespearean Festival, Weathervane Playhouse, Actor’s Theatre of Columbus, MTVArts, The Bruce Jacklin Company, Available Light Theatre, and The Central Ohio Youth Ballet In 2018 he was named the Technical Director for the Michael D. Eisner Center for the Performing Arts at Denison, providing support for the Theatre, Music, and Dance Departments in 6 performance spaces. The Eisner Center opened in the Fall of 2019. Andrew was an integral member of the Denison design team and helped to coordinate the construction, implementation, and commissioning of all Technical Performance elements within the Center.

He is a member of The United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT).

Previous USM designs include: Women Who Mapped the Stars, The Love of Nightingale. Recent designs: English (Speakeasy Stage), Polaroid Stories (Northeastern Univ.), 3 Decembers (Berkshire Opera Festival), West Side Story (Reagle Players), Greater Boston New Works Festival (Moonbox), Paradise Blue (Gloucester Stage). Venues include: NYCDanceAlliance, Lynn Redgrave Theatre (NY), New Rep, ASP, Lyric Stage, Odyssey Opera, Weston Playhouse (VT), Umbrella Stage, North Shore Music Theatre, Central Square Theatre, Ohio Star Theatre(OH), Company One, Merrimack Rep, NJ Shakespeare Festival. 4 time Elliot Norton Award winner, 4 time IRNE Award winner; adjunct faculty at Northeastern, Emerson and Wellesley College. StageSource Board member, Founder of the Prop Co-Op. USA Local 829.(she/her/hers) www.janiehowland.com

Seif (he/him/his) has been telling stories using light and video for the past 17 years. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Design from the University of Missouri-Kansas City with a focus on Lighting and Projection Design. His career has taken him across the country and has allowed him to design for many companies in Opera, Dance, and Theatre including Portland Stage Company (Portland, ME), Opera Colorado (Denver, CO), Palm Beach Opera (Palm Beach, FL), Tulsa Opera (Tulsa, OK), Boston Conservatory @ Berklee (Boston, MA), Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Program (Providence, RI), Unicorn Theatre (Kansas City, MO), Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts (Warsaw, IN), Umbrella Stage Company (Concord, MA), and Theatre at Monmouth (Monmouth, ME). He brings his knowledge and experience to help shape the next generation of theatre professionals, focusing on developing complete storytelling. www.seif.design

Kevin is currently the Costume Director at USM. His work was recently seen in USM's production of She Kills Monsters. Kevin has worked as a costume designer for over five years in the New England area and specializes in children's theatre and theatre for young audiences. He holds a BFA in Musical Theater from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and an MFA in Costume Design from Boston University, where he received the Virgil C. Johnson award for excellence in costume design. Kevin has worked for many theatre companies, including The Children's Theatre of Maine, Wheelock Family Theatre, Greater Boston Stage Company, and Boston Playwright's Theater. In addition, Kevin was a founding member of the CIC Theater Company and was the Production Manager and Resident Costume Designer for over five years, bringing theatre education to underserved youth in the Boston area. Kevin's favorite costume design credits include Peter Pan, Anyone Can Whistle, and The Wizard of Oz.

Ryan Is in his final semester at USM as a theatre major with a concentration in design. Besides attending USM, Ryan also works full-time at the Heartwood Regional Theater Company in Damariscotta Maine, where he works as the Technical Director for their productions.

Alyssa is a fourth-year double major in theatre and media studies. Previously at USM, she was the assistant projection designer for both She Kills Monsters and the 2022 tour of The Women Who Mapped the Stars, and a dancer in the Evening of Theatre and Dance. She most recently was the projection designer for Collective Rage at Mad Horse Theatre Company.

Sage is a third-year theater design/tech student from Eastport, ME. Previous USM experience: props assistant for Urinetown and Clue, set design and construction for
Rosencrantz & Gildenstern Are Dead in An Evening of Theatre & Dance, and puppet master for She Kills Monsters. This summer Sage was also the props designer for Away Downeast, an original musical at the Eastport Arts Center.

Remy graduated from the USM theatre department in 2020, and is very excited to be returning for this design. Remy is the department’s master electrician this semester, and he works with a number of local organizations including IATSE Local 114, High Output, and more.