Theatre Conservatory at Roosevelt University Welcomes New Visiting Professors

A Broadway dancer, a Roosevelt University theatre alumna with expertise in Shakespeare/classical theatre and a veteran actor of Chicago theatre have joined Roosevelt's Theatre Conservatory this academic year as assistant visiting professors.

Teaching dance, acting and musical theatre, the new instructors bring a myriad of talent and practical experience to the Roosevelt classroom. They include:

· Nancy Hess, a veteran dancer from New York City, whose dossier includes dancing roles in nine Broadway shows, and an acting and singing role as Madame Giry in Broadway's Phantom of the Opera. Dancing since the age of eight, Hess also has performed in many off Broadway productions and has been an instructor at the Tisch Musical Theatre Conservatory at New York University. She teaches ballet, including ballet for beginners. Hess will choreograph the Theatre Conservatory's Freshman Footlights dance showcase being held April 8-10, 2016 in Roosevelt's Katten/Landau Studio.

· Barbara Zahora, a 2001 graduate of Roosevelt's Theatre Conservatory and a resident of Naperville, Ill. A director, actor and Roosevelt adjunct theatre instructor since 2009, Zahora did a prestigious residency at Shakespeare's Globe in London in 2004. A core member of Shaw Chicago and associate artistic director for Shakespeare Project of Chicago, she has starred in Shakespeare productions all over Chicagoland. Well-versed in dialects, Zahora is dialect coach for the Theatre Conservatory's The Plough and the Stars, an Irish drama being staged Oct. 23-25 in Roosevelt's O'Malley Theatre. She also will be directing Something Shaw on March 31-April 3 in the University's Yolanda Miller Studio Theater.

· Scott Calcagno, a Chicago and New York resident and a veteran of Chicago-area and regional theatre. Cast in major roles at a number of theatres, including Drury Lane, Ravinia Festival, Kennedy Center, Goodman and the Marriott Lincolnshire, Calcagno has acted in inaugural national tours of Ragtime and Scrooge. He has directed shows at Drury Lane, including last year's The 25th Annual Spelling Bee and the upcoming A Christmas Carol. Calcagno will be directing the Theatre Conservatory's Legally Blonde: The Musical on Feb. 18-21 at Roosevelt's O'Malley Theatre. He teaches musical theatre.

"As proven professionals, these new assistant visiting professors bring a wealth of knowledge and experience about their craft to our students," said Sean Kelley, director of the Theatre Conservatory and associate dean of Roosevelt's Chicago College of Performing Arts. "We are thrilled to have them as members of our faculty, and look forward to their many contributions to our students this academic year."

For more information on the shows these visiting professors are leading, visit www.roosevelt.edu/ccpa or to purchase tickets call the Theatre Conservatory Box Office at 312-341-3831.

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