Spotlight on the Faculty of Stephens College Conservatory for the Performing Arts

The Stephens College Conservatory for the Performing Arts faculty includes Broadway actors, ballet masters, theatre managers and artistic directors, and a regular rotation of working artists.

Jennifer Hemphill (AEA, SDC) | Dean of the Conservatory for the Performing Arts
Broadway's Mamma Mia!, National Tours, symphony concerts, regional theatre, KCACTF Region V MTI Coordinator

John Hemphill (SAG/AFTRA, AEA) | Assistant Professor of Acting
Broadway's Mamma Mia! and School of Rock; First National Tour of Dear Evan Hansen and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time; national commercials and TV shows

Darren Gibson (AEA) | Assistant Professor of Dance
Broadway's Movin' Out, On the Town, Fosse; Feld Ballet NYC

Jamey Grisham (SAG/AFTRA, AEA) | Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre
Lyric Opera of Chicago's Eugene Onegin, resident acting company member and director/choreographer with the historic Barn Theatre

Brett Olson | Assistant Professor of Theatre
Associate artistic director for North Dakota Shakespeare Festival; specialist in classical theatre and stage combat

Pamela Ellsworth Smith | Associate Professor of Voice
Voice and ensemble singing specialist; NATS instructor and adjudicator

Michael Burke (AEA) | Chair of Technical Theatre and Costume Design
Director of production and operations for Okoboji Summer Theatre; stage manager and company manager for 5th Avenue Musical Theatre in Seattle

Martha J. Clarke | Assistant Professor of Costume Design
Costume director for Sonoma State University; cutter/draper for Utah Shakespeare Festival

James Leo Ryan (SAG/AFTRA, AEA) | Guest Artist
TV: The Blacklist, Law & Order: SVU, NCIS, CSI, Medium, The Shield, Charmed, Love Inc, Numb3rs, ER, Three Sisters, The Pretender, and movies of the week for Hallmark and SyFy; Film: MGM's Species lll, No Ordinary Hero, A Light Beneath Their Feet, and Racing Colt; Broadway/National Tour: Annie, Les Misérables, Show Boat, Peter Pan, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Cheryl Black (SAG/AFTRA, AEA) | Guest Artist
Curators Distinguished Professor Emerita from the University of Missouri, where she directed 20+ productions; Fellow of the College of Fellows of the American Theatre; extensive publications on women's and feminist theatre and African American theatre

Brandon PT Davis | Visiting Assistant Professor of Scenic and Lighting Design
Scenic designer for more than 90 productions across the U.S.

For additional information about Stephens College Conservatory for the Performing Arts, visit: https://www.stephens.edu/