About the Department of Theatre & Film

Learn about our department faculty and program offerings

two men holding camera equipment inside a bar

Department of Theatre & Film

What We Do

The Department of Theatre & Film at the University of Mississippi offers training in design, performance, film production, and more. We produce a full season of mainstage shows each year, providing students with hands-on experience beginning in freshman year.

Who We Are

With a 1:6 faculty-to-student ratio, our faculty and staff create a supportive, artistic, and academic environment. Students receive individualized attention from a faculty with extensive professional experience.

The University of Mississippi is classified by Carnegie as an R1 university, a designation reserved for the top 2.5% of universities in the nation. As part of a research-intensive university, our faculty are at the top of their field. Studying with R1 faculty matters for students because it means they will have professors who bring exciting new discoveries into the classroom and give students a chance to work alongside them.

Melanie Ho and Professor John Rash — John Rash (left), Assistant Professor of Film Production and Southern Studies, and his collaborator Melanie Ho, have earned the Excellence in Community Engagement Award with Distinction for The Movement Starts Here, a documentary film focusing on Warren County, North Carolina, and its role in the launch of the environmental justice movement in 1982. Their project was awarded $2,500.

Instructional Assistant Professor Teresa Simone was recognized as a William Winter Scholar at the 35th annual Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration in February.

What We Offer

The Department of Theatre & Film offers various undergraduate degrees. Find detailed information about our programs here. For information about the minor in theatre arts, visit the webpages for those Bachelor of Theatre Arts degrees.

UG

Theatre Arts, B.A.

Train in the crafts of performance and production.

Oxford

UG

Film Production, B.F.A.

Tell your story through film.

Oxford

UG

Theatre Arts, B.F.A.

Receive extensive training in the crafts of performance and production.

Oxford

Department Leadership & Support

We support the faculty and students of the Department of Theatre & Film.

Sarah Hennigan

Interim Chair of Theatre and Film and Associate Professor of Film Production

Madison Riker

Administrative Assistant

Becca Marley

Secretary

Design and Theatre Production Faculty

Meet the faculty who teach courses in costume, lighting, and scenic design; stage management and production.

Michael Barnett

Chair and Professor of Art and Art History

Miriah Borden

Instructional Assistant Professor of Lighting Design

Donna Buckley

Instructional Associate Professor of Costume Technology

Sarah Garrett

Instructional Assistant Professor of Stage and Production Management

Carey Hanson

Professor of Costume Design

Yi-Chien Lee

Visiting Assistant Professor of Scenic Design

Jared Spears

Instructional Professor of Technical Direction

Film Production

Meet the faculty who teach courses in film production and studies.

Alan Arrivee

Associate Professor of Film Production

Keith Davis

Instructional Assistant Professor of Film Production

Sarah Hennigan

Interim Chair of Theatre and Film and Associate Professor of Film Production

Chriss Alison Huff

Instructional Assistant Professor of Film Production

Juli Jackson

Assistant Professor of Film Production

Julye Newlin

Instructional Assistant Professor of Cinematography

John Rash

Assistant Professor of Film Production and Southern Studies

Michael Tuxhorn

Instructional Assistant Professor of Film Production

Performance Faculty

Meet the faculty who teach acting, dance, movement, musical theatre, and voice classes.

John Carden

Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre

Roxie Thomas

Adjunct Instructor in Dance Theatre and Film

Andrew Flasch

Instructional Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre

Lydia Foster

Adjunct Professor of Dance in Theatre & Film

Bill Gordon

Instructional Assistant Professor of Stage Combat

Joe Jackson

Instructional Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre Dance

Helen Knudsen

Instructional Assistant Professor of Performance

Rory Ledbetter

Associate Professor of Theatre Arts and Senior Fellow, South Residential College

Lauren Bone Noble

Assistant Professor of Movement for the Actor

Dan Stearns

Assistant Professor of Acting

Theatre Studies

Meet the faculty who teach courses in theatre appreciation, history, and literature; directing and playwriting.

Anne Marie Cammarato

Instructional Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts

Leslie Delassus

Instructional Associate Professor of Film and Gender Studies

Mike Franz

Instructional Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts

Beth Reeves

Adjunct Professor of Theatre Arts

Matthew Shifflett

Instructional Associate Professor of Theatre Arts

Teresa Simone

Instructional Assistant Professor of Theatre Studies

Pria Williams

Instructional Associate Professor of Theatre and Gender Studies

Production Staff

Meet the staff who support our production season in both theatre and film.

Corey Brittain

Costume Shop Manager

Jeffrey Hannah

Performing Arts Technical Coordinator

Cory Kosman

Sound Designer

Felipe Macias

Performing Arts Technical Coordinator

Joseph Neilson

Scene Shop Carpenter

Holly Rankin

Costume Shop Assistant

Jonathan Smith

Film Equipment Manager

Meg Winkler

Properties Designer

Emeritus Faculty

Meet the faculty whose dedicated contributions to teaching across various areas of the Department of Theatre & Film have left a lasting impact on our program at the University of Mississippi.

Joe Turner Cantú
Professor Emeritus of Theatre Arts
Cantú is an accomplished actor trainer, director, and playwright who serves as head of the acting area at the University of Mississippi, where he teaches acting, directing, and playwriting with a focus on acting process, styles, and voice. With a career spanning decades, he has directed numerous productions nationally and internationally, led several theater festivals, written award-winning plays, published a book on actor training, and received the Cora Lee Graham Award for Outstanding Teaching of Freshmen.

Dex Edwards
Associate Professor Emeritus of Scenic Design
Edwards, who holds an M.F.A. in Directing from the University of Mississippi, spent over 15 years designing and directing for major theatres across the U.S. and internationally, earning awards such as the Critics Choice, Jefferson, and Boston Critic’s Circle Awards for his innovative scenic designs. His career includes serving as resident designer at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre, consulting for events like the 1996 Olympic Centennial Park and 1994 World Cup Opening Ceremonies, and contributing acclaimed work to venues from the Berlin Opera House to Las Vegas stages.

Rhona Justice-Malloy
Professor Emerita of History & Literature
Justice-Malloy is a distinguished scholar, honored as a Fellow of the College of Fellows of the American Theatre, the Mid-America Theatre Conference, and the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies. She has served in leadership roles such as President of the Mid-America Theatre Conference and editor of Theatre History Studies, published widely in theatre scholarship, and is an active member of organizations including the National Theatre Conference, the League of Professional Theatre Women, and Actors Equity.

Jennifer Mizenko
Professor Emerita of Movement & Dance
Mizenko ran the dance and movement programs at the University of Mississippi for over three decades, teaching courses like jazz, modern technique, and movement for actors. Certified in the Alexander Technique and Laban Movement Analysis, she has taught internationally, choreographed award-winning works, and co-authored The Laban Workbook for Actors: A Practical Guide with Video, combining her expertise in movement, psychology, and performance.

René Pulliam
Associate Professor Emerita of Theatre Arts
Since 1993, Pulliam has headed the B.F.A. program in Musical Theatre at the University of Mississippi, having directed and choreographed hundreds of musicals across the U.S., including West Coast premieres of Smile, Closer than Ever, and Over Here. With a B.A. in Music and an M.F.A. in Dance/Choreography, she has received the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Award, performed on television and in touring companies, and is a published researcher and Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voice Work.

Facilities

The Gertrude Castellow Ford Center for the Performing Arts

The Ford Center houses two performance spaces: the Sam & Mary Haskell Theatre, a large proscenium theatre which seats 1,250 and the Studio Theatre, a black box theatre which seats 150 patrons. The Ford Center hosts a variety of events, including major national touring productions and popular musicians. In addition to these touring productions the Ford Center also hosts productions produced by the Department of Theatre Arts and the Opera Theatre Program in the Department of Music.

Meek Auditorium

Meek Auditorium, renovated in 2007, is an intimate, modified thrust stage, with seating for 140. Recent renovations have completely updated the house, the rigging, sound and dimming systems.

Fulton Chapel

Fulton Chapel is an Ole Miss landmark that has been converted into a 650 seat proscenium theatre. This space houses the departmental scene shop and hosts many of the department's larger productions. Recent renovations have completely updated the sound and rigging systems.

South Oxford Center

The South Oxford Center (SOC) is located about 2 miles from the main campus and houses the film production complex and the department's costume shop and studio spaces.

With a $2M investment by the College of Liberal Arts and private support from Nancy Starnes, the Film Production complex has ~10,000 square feet of specialized spaces including two sound stages, editing classroom, private editing suites, sound recording studio, equipment cages, student collaboration spaces, and more.

A $1M gift from Nancye Starnes helped create the new costume and craft studio in an 8,500-square-foot area of the SOC. This fully outfitted studio allows students to produce costumes in an environment similar to a professional setting.

Our Community

Oxford, MS downtown square at night. Squarebooks Bookstore corner building is focus.

Aerial view of Oxford, MS square. Courthouse is featured in middle.

A Place That Ever Calls

Located 70 miles from Memphis and surrounded by the natural beauty of Northern Mississippi, Oxford boasts thriving music, art, and literary scenes along with great restaurants. UM's athletics provide many opportunities to watch and participate in sports—and one of the world's best tailgating parties.

With everything Oxford has to offer, it's no wonder USA Today named Oxford as one of the Top Six College Towns in the Nation.

Come see why.

Explore Oxford