Burnett awarded fellowship for theatre research project
FOR RELEASE: Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Huntington, Ind. "Mike Burnett, chairman of the Department of Theatre Arts, has been awarded a Huntington University Research Fellowship. Mike Burnett
Burnett plans to visit several well-established, professional Christian theatre companies to study how they manage their seasons, artist relations, audience development, and budgets. With that information, he hopes to help Huntington University become one of the finest Christian theatre-training institutions in the Coalition for Christian Colleges & Universities.
The challenges of choosing and producing a theatre season as well as finding jobs and internships for students inspired the project idea.
The season selection process is a long and arduous one, with hundreds of plays considered each year for a four or five show season. It is long and arduous because of the considerations that we, as a Christian institution, have to place on the productions. Beyond what is the message of the play, we deal with issues of language, offensive content, who is the playwright, and what will the audience think? Burnett wrote in his proposal.
Theatre companies he will examine include Lamb's Players in San Diego, Calif.; Taproot Theatre in Seattle, Wash.; Sight and Sound Theatre in Lancaster, Pa.; Saltworks Theatre in Pittsburgh, Pa.; Salvation Army Theatre, Theatre 315, in New York City; AD Players in Houston, Texas; and Theatrical Outfit in Atlanta, Ga.
While Theatrical Outfit is not a professional Christian theatre, its mission and seasons are very similar to what we produce at HU, and their artistic director, Tom Key, is a prominent Christian theatre artist, Burnett said.
He also will attend two theatre conferences, the South East Theatre Conference, and the National Christians in Theatre Arts Conference.
Burnett will present his findings in the fall of 2006.
Employed at Huntington University since 2001, Burnett completed his bachelor of arts degree in theatre at Sul Ross University in Texas and his master of fine arts in scenic design from the University of Mississippi. He has worked in professional theatre as a designer and technician. For several years he served as technical director and designer at 7 Stages Theatre in Atlanta, Ga., working with local and international theatre artists on several world and American premieres. Burnett has either designed or built more than 250 shows for schools and theatre companies across the U.S., Holland, Croatia, Bosnia/Herzegovina, and Yugoslavia. During the summer months, he has been the production manager for the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival.
The Huntington University Research Fellowship was established in January of 2005. It is an award funded by a $1 million grant from the Lilly Endowment to help recruit and retain faculty members by providing funded opportunities for faculty research.
We plan to award one fellowship annually. The fellowship recipient will receive a $5000 grant to cover costs associated with the research project in addition to a reduction in his/her teaching load. The faculty member's salary also will be funded for the term of the fellowship. Faculty members are invited to submit proposals to the Academic Dean. The Faculty Appointments and Tenure Committee will make the final selection, said Dr. Norris Friesen, vice president and dean of the University.
Faculty who have taught at least two years at Huntington University are eligible to apply for the fellowship. Candidates must have a record of acceptable teaching performance to qualify for the award as determined by FATC, and some preference will be given to faculty prior to tenure and up to his/her first sabbatical leave.
