Head of Musical Theatre & Associate Professor This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Office Location: ASC 260
(205) 996-8847
Office Hours: By appointment
Education:
- B.A., Otterbein University, Musical Theatre Pedagogy
- MFA, Virginia Commonwealth University, Theatre Pedagogy
Valerie is our Head of Musical Theatre, teaching classes in Musical Theatre Performance. She is a member of Actor’s Equity Association, an Associate Member of Stage Directors and Choreographers and a Certified Master Teacher in the Estill Voice Training System. Valerie played Margy Frake in the First National Tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s State Fair, starring John Davidson. She lived for a number of years in New York City and has performed in numerous other musicals including the title role in Cinderella, Maria in The Sound of Music, and Lady Larkin in Once Upon a Mattress.
She first began her studies in musical theatre at the University of Miami and received a BA in Musical Theatre Pedagogy from Otterbein University and an MFA in Theatre Pedagogy from Virginia Commonwealth University. She was the Head of Drama at Campion School, a British international school in Athens, Greece, directing seven productions including Godspell, which toured to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the summer of 2010. Her other directing or assistant directing/choreography credits include Gypsy, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, The Producers at Virginia Repertory Theatre and Annie at the Pioneer Theatre. For three years, Valerie has been a guest director at Weathervane Playhouse in Ohio directing Oklahoma!, The Pajama Game and South Pacific.
In addition to her directing and teaching work, Valerie stays active in other areas of the theatre business. In 2013, she worked as a rehearsal accompanist at Arena Stage in Washington DC on Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children starring Kathleen Turner. She has had two articles published in the international journal Studies in Musical Theatre. She regularly presents at the Association of Theatre in Higher Education conference and she serves as the Chair for the Musical Theatre Committee of the Southeastern Theatre Conference.
Recent Courses:
- Musical Theatre Performance
- Musical Theatre Showcase
- Musical Theatre History
