Instructors

D’Antwuan Roper

Choreographer Bio

2010-Current

D.Antwuan Roper is a 2nd year Graduate student attending Savannah
College of Art & Design (SCAD) from Avon Park, Florida. He received his
BA in Theatre Performance from Florida A&M University(FAMU) in 2009.
His credits include the live show of High School Musical 2:School’s
Out at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, FL. He has also danced
for artists such as: Jordan Knight from New Kids On The Block, Brooke
Hogan, and Willa Ford. After receiving his Masters degree from SCAD he
plans to pursue a career in acting & dancing.

Johnathan Johnson

Assistant Director

2010-Current

Jonathan Johnson is a proud native of Birmingham, Alabama.  After high
school he left B’ham with a dream to perform and change the world.
His ambition and drive led him to Berea Kentucky where he majored in
Theater and Communications.  While at Berea College he became an
active participant in the Berea College Theater Laboratory and
participated in four major productions. Those plays included: Winnie
the Pooh by A.A. Milne (Tigger), West Side Story by Arthur Lawrence
(Action), Seven Guitars by August Wilson (Canewell), and BC Cubed
Arranged by Adanma Onyedike (Multiple Characters).  He was nominated
as an Irene Ryan candidate for West Side Story and Seven Guitars;
which is a prestigious honor given to the cast member who gave an
outstanding performance. He also was a part of several independent
endeavors directed by students which included: Hidden Wounds by
Cedarian Crawford (Bishop), Yellow Boat by David Saar (Benjamin), and
The Misfits by Cedarian Crawford (Deacon Edwards). In 2010 he was
selected to be a part of a new project sponsored by Eastern Kentucky
University. This new production was a one man show entitled A Man
Stands: A Man’s Struggle for Equality, which traveled to different
high school educating students on the history of African Americans and
their struggle for equality in America. In the spring of 2010 he
received his Bachelors of Arts in theater and decided to continue his
education. In the fall of 2010 he was accepted into the prestigious
graduate program at the Savannah College of Arts and Design (SCAD)
where he is pursuing a Masters of Fine Art. Jonathan continues to stay
active, just recently he directed Ntozke Shange’s For Colored Girls,
which was his Savannah directing debut. In the spring of 2012 he will
be directing Before It Hits Home by Cheryl L. West, which showcases
Jonathan’s passion for HIV/ AIDS Awareness in the African American
community. Jonathan is so blessed to be a part of A.W.O.L, because of
the amazing purpose and prestige in the Savannah community. With this
new opportunity at AWOL Jonathan is fulfilling his dream of changing
the world, by being a positive impact in the lives of these amazing
young people.

Pam Newton

Stage Movement Instructor/Choreography

2009-February 2011 Artist Facilitator

A New York trained dancer who has choreographed many shows at Boston College; she directed her own company for several years and currently coaches professionals in movement and performance enhancement. Pam frequently lectures and writes about the creative process and the expressive body. She has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College, an M.A. from Teachers College at Columbia University in dance education, and an M.A. from Boston College in counseling psychology. She also received a diploma from the C. G. Jung Institute – Boston in analytical psychology where she wrote her dissertation on couple dancing.

Timothy Reynolds

Assistant Director

2010-February 2011 Artist Facilitator

Graduated from the University of West Georgia in 2007 with a BA in Theatre Arts and have worked professionally in Atlanta. He also celebrated the birth of his daughter Scotland in 2008 and spent the previous two years focused on supporting and raising her. While at the University of West Georgia, his education and experience involved not only acting and acting theory but play-writing, design, directing and Theater education. His objective would be to work professionally as a director. In the summers of 2003 and 2004, I worked as an instructor for a Shakespeare Camp as affiliated with the City Lights Theatre Company, working with children from grades from 4th to 8th.

Alfred Pierce

Stage Manager

2010-February 2011 Artist Facilitator

Savannah native has had many different experiences in acting, after graduating high school he attended Armstrong Atlantic State University where he obtained his B.A. in Theater Arts. As a theater major Alfred has had training in different aspects of theater. Alfred’s training has been both on stage and off. He has taken two directing classes, in which of one he has written and filmed his personal script. After receiving his degree Alfred is making his next move, writing for short films, plays and books.

Steven Baumgardner

Break Dancer Choreography

2006-Current

Breakdancing was one of the four founding elements of hip-hop ( Breakdancing, Emceeing , Djing & Graffiti) created in the late 70′s in New York City during a time when poverty and gang violence where at an all time high. Being used as one of the tools to bring peace between gangs, hip-hop became the battle ground for the former gang members and breakdancing took over the floor! Starting with Uprock (The part of the dance that was done while standing) and making it’s way to the floor, breakdancing has evolved from its simple movements to an incredible dance form with thousands of moves and infinite possibilities! Not to be confused with Poppin n Lockin.(which is a form of hip-hop dance created on the west coast in the early 80′s focusing more on isolated movements and equally important to the continuing growth in hip-hop culture.) What we will be focused on is the basic foundation of this dance form( Uprock, battlerock, six-step, and a freeze). Each one of these steps will teach, in there ow way, self control. As wild as breakdancing appears every move is practice precisely. What we will be focusing on is the movements, how they are all connected, and how to control yourself in any position.

Dr. John Houchin

(Expert Volunteer)-Vocal Training for the Actor

2010-February 2011 Expert Volunteer

Dr. John Houchin holds a MFA degree in Directing and a Ph.D. in Performance History from New York University. He is an active scholar and his research has been published in The Drama Review, The New England Theatre Journal, The Journal of American Theatre and Drama, Theatre History Studies and the Eugene O’Neill Review. His critical anthology, The Critical Response to Eugene O’Neill, was published by Greenwood Press. His most recent book, The Censorship of the American Theatre in the Twentieth Century, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2003. He is currently at work on Black Broadway, an annotated bibliography detailing the history of African American productions on Broadway. His latest article, “Bodily Fear: Recent American Performance Controversies”, appeared in Theatre 38:3.Prior to coming to Boston College John directed nearly thirty productions in New York, Texas, and Georgia. He has also taught at Berry College in Georgia, the University of Texas at Dallas and Southern Illinois University. He has staged eleven productions, including Dreaming Shakespeare, an experimental Shakespearean collage with original music and choreography; Dario Fo’s We Won’t Pay, We Won’t Pay; Cole Porter’s Anything Goes and Stage Door, a 1935 comedy by Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman. In fall 2008 he directed Hotel Paradiso, a farce by Georges Feydeau and Maurice Desvalleres.

Elsie Mufuka

African Dance Choreography

2010-February 2011 Artist Facilitator

Coker College graduate of 2008 of dual Bachelor of Art degrees in Dance and Communications. Some of her references are The Amy Marshall Dance Company of New York City, The Wanda Project, and Choreographer/Mentor Natty Mncube. After her graduation in 2008, she accepted her first employment in South Africa with Ntosana Contemporary Dance Theatre director Sello Pesa. For almost two years, Mufuka worked with this company as well as Taelo Dance Theatre-Gustin Makgeledisa, DTL Entertainment-Tumie Letsoenyo, and Lorcia Cooper. Not only as a dancer but administrator, executive assistant, and dance instructor. As a dance instructor, Mufuka has proved to transform anyone into his or her inner dancer. This was evident in her additional work of teaching in the townships of Soweto and Alexandra, South Africa. Both internationally and locally, Mufuka has developed even more experience in her craft of dance across the board and now will enlighten her skills back into her home country, USA. Currently she is the founder/director of MufukaWorks and achieving her Master degree in Arts Administration at Winthrop University.

“He is like a man building a house, who dug and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built”. –Luke 6:48

Lakesha L. Green

Director
Ms.Lakesha L. Green native of Montgomery Al, holds a B.A in Theater Arts from Alabama State University and a M.F.A in Media and Performing Arts from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Ms. Green began her theater career in Central and Southeast Alabama. She has directed over 25 productions and performed over 30 works for the theater.

Her extensive background in theater, film, and education has taken her to many new experimental venues to show case her directing, acting, and designing. She has enormous productions throughout Alabama, Georgia, and New York. Some of her directing credits include adaptations of classic texts such as Hamlet, Lady Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet. more