Professor Kelly Allison, MFA, has been named chair of the UAB Department of Theatre. UAB College of Arts and Sciences Dean Thomas DiLorenzo, Ph.D., announced the appointment, which is effective Sept. 1, 2011. Allison was named interim chair Jan. 1.
Before being named chair, Allison was the production manager/head of design and technology for Theatre UAB. His previous academic appointments include the American University in Cairo, Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin at La Crosse and University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Allison’s students have won regional and national awards for scene design, lighting design, costume design, audio design and stage management.
As he starts his 14th year in the UAB Department of Theatre, Allison is very optimistic about the future of theater studies at UAB.
“The bones are in place here to realize something truly special in theater training,” he says. “We have an outstanding theater faculty and the students in the program are collectively the brightest I’ve known. This combination – in an environment where administrators recognize the importance of the arts, the ability of the arts to entertain, educate and enlighten society – makes anything possible.”
Allison’s professional credits include work for the Guthrie Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Opera Birmingham, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, 7 Stages, Southern DanceWorks, 12 seasons as production director and designer for Alabama Ballet and 14 seasons with the Utah Shakespearean Festival, including the Festival’s Tony Award-winning season.