Theatre Arts Faculty and Staff
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Annie Bergquist Office Manager |
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Craig Ellingson Professor, Chair and Director of Theatre Craig A. Ellingson is the Chair and Director of Theatre Arts at Minnesota State University Moorhead where he teaches in the area of acting, directing, musical theatre, movement and dance. His most recent appearances onstage with Music Theatre Fargo Moorhead’s January 2009 production of Working, and as a guest artist with FM Ballet’s December 2008 Holiday Spectacular. Other musical theatre performance credits include Gordo in A New Brain, Emcee in Cabaret, Jamie in The Last Five Years, Charlie Brown in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown!, Albert in Bye, Bye Birdie, Che in Evita and Rutledge in 1776. He has also performed at the Kennedy Center with Signature Theatre’s production of Overtures. In addition to his musical theatre experience, Craig has danced professionally with Ballet Omaha, Lincoln Midwest Ballet, Omaha Dance Collective, Lincoln Contemporary Dance Theatre and The Prairie Dance Collective. Craig’s directing and choreography work has been seen regionally at MSUM, The Straw Hat Players, The Theatre of the Invisible Guests, Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre, FM Opera, Detroit Lakes’ Playhouse 412, Highland Summer Theatre, Nebraska Repertory Theatre and The Lofte Theatre. Craig holds a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre Performance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a M.F.A. in Theatre Directing from Minnesota State University Mankato. |
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Elizabeth Evert Karnes Managing Director Ms. Karnes oversees the budgetary and financial aspects of the University Theatre Series, The Cheryl Nelson-Lossett Performing Arts Series, and The Straw Hat Players. She is also a professional stage manager and teaches our Theatre Management course. |
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Matthew Gasper Dance Instructor Mr. Gasper has performed as a soloist with the Cleveland San Jose Ballet Company, and has performed on and off Broadway as a dancer and actor. He is currently a Master Teacher with Gasper's School of Dance and Performing Arts, and is the Artistic Director of the FM Ballet. |
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Ricky Greenwell Costume Designer Ricky Greenwell is proud to serve as the Costume Shop Manager and Resident Costume Designer For Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM). Since 2004, his designs have brought numerous productions to life on the Gaede and Hansen stages. Ricky also serves as advisor to the theater student organization Blackfriars. During the summer months, Ricky serves as the resident costume designer for the Straw Hat Players at MSUM. |
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Niffer Reider Technical Director/Assistant Managing Director An MSUM Theatre Arts grad, Niffer coordinates the technical support areas at MSUM. She oversees crews for theatre, university and performing arts events. |
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Jennifer Tuttle Assistant Professor, Theatre Arts Jennifer teaches acting, Shakespeare, voice, diction/dialects. She is a professional actor and director, and a member of Actors’ Equity Association. Jennifer holds a BA in Literature from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago and an MFA in Theatre from Wayne State University in Detroit. Additionally, she has studied with members of the Royal Shakespeare Company, members of the Stratford Festival Company, at the Dell Arte School of Physical Theatre, and abroad at the Moscow Art Theatre (MHAT). She relocated from New York City, where she was a film and theatre actor. She has worked regionally at Milwaukee Rep Theatre, Tulane Shakespeare Festival, and The Theatre at Lime Kiln, amongst others. Favorite roles include: Lear's Fool in "King Lear," Charlotta in "The Cherry Orchard," Morning Star/Mary Anne in "The Kentucky Cycle", Alexa Vere de Vere in "As Bees in Honey Drown," Maud/Lin in "Cloud 9," Philamente in "The Learned Ladies," Olivia in "Twelfth Night," and Brooke in "Noises Off." |
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Dr. David Wheeler Professor Dr. David Wheeler holds a Ph.D. in theatre history and dramatic literature from the University of Oregon. He has been teaching and directing at MSUM since 1986, with particular responsibility for the Drama I, II, and III series. Dr. Wheeler is the author of five children's plays (Jack and the Beanstalk, The Big Bad Wolves, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Wonderland). He has directed these and other children's plays at MSUM, and over the years they have played to an audience of over 100,000 children and their teachers, parents, and grandparents. Dr. Wheeler's most recent directing assignments included A Midsummer Night's Dream, Prelude to a Kiss, Wonder of the World, As Bees in Honey Drown, and Blithe Spirit. He is a past chair of the theatre department, a member of the MSUM Academic Policy Advisory Council, a winner of the Academic Affairs council Award for Excellence in Teaching, and a nominee for the Carnegie Foundation's CASE Professor the Year program. |