Theatre Arts

Christopher Michael Bizub was born in Cleveland, Ohio and moved to Brooklyn OH when he was six years old.  While attending Brooklyn High School Chris became interested in the theatre arts, especially acting when he played the character of Roger in a production of Grease.  After high school Chris chose to pursue a theatre degree at Baldwin-Wallace College because of the outstanding theatre arts program.  He is most proud of his role as Giles Corey in The Crucible which he performed last spring.  He has also been very involved at the Cassidy Theatre in Parma where he performed in the musicals Violet and Dreamgirls.  His interests include acting, directing, and scenic design.  When he graduates he plans to attend graduate school.

Lauren Merrick Blazer will be graduating in December of 2008 with a B.A. in theatre and minor in psychology. She spent the first two years of her college career at Wheeling Jesuit University where she had the opportunity to perform as Sr. Mary Amnesia in Nunsense and The Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods. She then transferred to Baldwin-Wallace College and couldn’t have been happier with the decision. Lauren also thanks her lucky stars that she was asked to be a research assistant for an original play written by Dr. Jack Winget. Lauren’s passions, theatre and psychology work together seamlessly and she can’t wait to put them both to work in the professional world of acting.

Michael Columbro, a fifth year senior earning a triple major in intergraded social studies education, history and theatre, concentrating in acting.  In his tenure here he has performed at B-W, and several community theaters including: Cassidy Theater, Strongsville Community Theater, Tri-C Theater and Huntington Playhouse.  Michael further broadened his horizons by studying contemporary theater and dance abroad in England.  Although not always involved as an actor in the shows, Michael's selflessness and dedication to the arts ensures his involvement behind the scenes with most productions.  Michael's contribution to the department includes many active hours as a member and officer of Theta Alpha Phi, Theatre National Honorary.  Michael's time at B-W has been filled with challenging times but those memories are dwarfed when compared to the number of incredible triumphs he has experienced. 

CHRISTINA HAMWAY is a senior theatre major with a double minor in international studies and French at Baldwin-Wallace College. During her time at B-W she served as costume shop foreman during 2007-2008. She has built several costume pieces throughout her stay here at B-W for various productions including The Phantom of the Opera, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Company, The Marriage of Figaro, and for A Small World, which was a student directed One-Act. She has also done hair and make-up design for You Can’t Take it With You and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Christina furthered her education spring semester 2007 in her studies abroad at the University of Hull at Scarborough, UK. Christina is no stranger to the stage either; she has appeared on-stage acting in roles such as Evelyn Nesbit in Ragtime and The Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz at the Phoenix Theatre. Her hopes are to get into graduate school for costume design, acting, or directing, all are passions of hers. From there she hopes to work with television and film in aims of possibly producing one day. Christina can be reached at chamway@bw.edu. (Shown in picture to the left with Christina Hamway is costume designer Carrie Robbins).            

Elizabeth Kelly is preparing to graduate from Baldwin-Wallace in the spring of 2008 with a B.A. in Theatre.  As a student at B-W, Elizabeth was an active member of Drawing Board Productions, in which she helped to organize several events and fundraisers, and in the improve troupe Faces for Radio. Professionally, she has performed such roles as Mae in The Wild Party, Snookie in 110 in the Shade, Texas in Cabaret and Miriam in Summer of ’42. During her copious amounts of spare time, Elizabeth works as the music editor of Buzz!, B-W’s student run arts and entertainment magazine, in addition to singing with her band The Dreadful Yawns,  and cultivating her interests in photography, music, and the world, her oyster. She looks forward to her next grand adventure

 Leanora Lange, is a native of Newton Falls, Ohio, and fell into the theater and is still trying to find her way out.  She has thoroughly enjoyed working as the props master at B-W for the last four years along with dabbling in carpentry and scenic painting, and has also thoroughly enjoyed being co-scene designer for three one-acts.  She has served as co-editor of the campus satirical news magazine Maelstrom, and a member of the German club and B-W’s literary magazine selection committee.   Lea eventually took up a double major in German and a minor in English Literature.  She studied abroad in Osnabrück, Germany and fell in love with the German language, literature, and culture, not to mention the German theater, and hopes to return to Germany in the near future depending on how her scholarship applications turn out.  Her other option will be to enter law school next fall if her plans do not turn out as hoped.  She does not plan to pursue a career in the theater at this point despite her continuing interest in the field, especially in design and dramaturgy. Lea will, however, remain a loving, life-long patron/donor/board member and encourage others to do so.  She will graduate with honors with a B.A. in the spring.

Erin Nicole Neal, began her interest in the arts back in high school in the areas of music composition/performance and writing. It wasn’t until College that she got a chance to act. After performing in Antigone she knew acting was something she wanted to pursue. Erin’s major is criminal justice and theatre and she will graduate in May of 2008. She has performed in 5 shows at Baldwin-Wallace and when not acting she has worked backstage. She is considering using Erin Ivery as her stage name in honor of her mother’s maiden name.

Amara O’Donnell is a senior at Baldwin-Wallace and she plans on graduating in May with a B.A. in theatre and a minor in criminal justice. She plans to attend graduate school for acting in the fall. While at Baldwin-Wallace she has appeared on stage as part of Mitchell Field’s acting showcase and as a member of his improv troupe Faces For Radio. Her favorite roles include Fairy May in The Savage Dilemma and Savannah/Louis in You Have the Right to Remain Dead. She has accomplished an intense study on Lady Macbeth, The Porter and Young Siward, for an advanced acting Shakespeare course. She has also thoroughly enjoyed her directing study on Martin Scorsese, making it that much harder to decide between the stage and film, but that is what graduate school is about.

Aaron M. Rose transferred to Baldwin-Wallace College in 2005 from Cleveland State University, where he changed his major from vocal performance to theatre.  During his time at B-W, he has been involved in scene construction in all major stage productions.  Aaron has also been involved in sound design and operating on multiple shows and events including The 24 Hour Project, Company, and Macbeth.  Aaron plans to graduate in December of 2008 with hopes of returning to school to pursue an associate’s degree in business, and maybe someday owning his own dinner theatre. You can reach Aaron at amrose@bw.edu.

Danielle Vasickanin will graduate in May 2008 with a B.A. in Theatre. Danielle has gained experience at B-W as an assistant stage manager for The Phantom of The Opera, The Laramie Project, The Dumb Waiter, and Side Show.  Her stage management credits include Into the Woods, and the upcoming B-W production of Macbeth. Danielle has had the pleasure of working in the B-W Scene Shop as a carpenter and props assistant. She has been employed in the Cleveland area as a stage management intern at Cain Park, and a production assistant at Carousel Dinner Theatre. After graduation, Danielle plans to earn an M.F.A. in stage management and pursue a career as an AEA stage manager. Danielle can be contacted at dvasickanin@gmail.com.