Professor & Head of Musical Theatre This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Office Location: ASC 260
(205) 996-8847

Office Hours: By appointment

Education:

• B.A., Otterbein University, Musical Theatre Pedagogy
• MFA, Virginia Commonwealth University, Theatre Pedagogy

Valerie is our Head of Musical Theatre, teaching classes in Musical Theatre Performance. She is a member of Actor’s Equity Association, an Associate Member of Stage Directors and Choreographers, and an Estill Mentor and Course Instructor in Estill Voice Training. . As an Equity actress, Valerie played Margy Frake in the First National Tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s State Fair, starring John Davidson. She has performed in numerous other musicals including the title role in Cinderella, Maria in The Sound of Music, and Katherine Blake in Freaky Friday, and she performs regularly in concerts and cabarets.

She first began her studies in musical theatre at the University of Miami and received a BA in Musical Theatre Pedagogy from Otterbein University and an MFA in Theatre Pedagogy from Virginia Commonwealth University. She was the Head of Drama at Campion School, a British international school in Athens, Greece, directing seven productions including Godspell, which toured to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the summer of 2010. Her other directing or assistant directing/choreography credits include Gypsy, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, Avenue Q, The Producers at Virginia Repertory Theatre, Annie at the Pioneer Theatre, and Cinderella and Beautiful at Red Mountain Theatre. For many summers, Valerie directed shows at Weathervane Playhouse in Ohio including Oklahoma, South Pacific, Pippin and Matilda.

In addition to her directing and teaching work, Valerie stays active in other areas of the theatre business. In 2013, she worked as a rehearsal accompanist at Arena Stage in Washington DC on Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children starring Kathleen Turner. She has had articles published in Studies in Musical Theatre and the Voice and Speech Review, and she was a contributing author to Voice and Identity and The Voice Teacher’s Cookbook. She regularly presents at national conferences including the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, Estill World Voice Symposium and Musical Theatre Educator’s Alliance.

Recent Courses:

• Musical Theatre Performance
• Musical Theatre Showcase
• Musical Theatre History