Theodore Swetz

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Theodore "Ted" Swetz (born March 21, 1953) is an American actor, theatre director, and educator. [1] He currently serves as the Head of Acting at UMKC Theatre, an academic department of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. [2] [3]

UMKC Theatre is a graduate and undergraduate academic department of the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) that provides both educational and professional training in multiple areas of theatrical production, including acting, scenic design, lighting design, costume design, sound design, dramaturgy and historical research, playwriting, and stage management, and maintains a strong connection with the Kansas City Repertory Theatre (KCRT), the leading regional theatre in the Kansas City area.

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Early life

Swetz was born and raised in Yonkers, New York, and completed his B.A. at Lehman College in 1976 in New York City. [4] During his undergraduate career as a performer, Swetz acted in multiple productions at the New York Shakespeare Festival, performing at both Central Park and Lincoln Center. [5] Following graduation, Swetz continued his study of acting and theatrical production under such major American stage luminaries as Stella Adler, Phoebe Brand, and Morris Carnovsky, all of whom served as members of the influential Group Theatre founded in New York during the early 1930s. [6]

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Lehman College college

Lehman College is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY) in New York, United States. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, the school became an independent college within CUNY in September 1967. The college is named after Herbert H. Lehman, a former New York governor, United States senator, philanthropist, and the son of Lehman Brothers co-founder Mayer Lehman. It is a public, comprehensive, coeducational liberal arts college with more than 90 undergraduate and graduate degree programs and specializations.

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Career

In 1980, Swetz began work as an actor with the American Players Theatre (APT), helping to open the company in Spring Green, Wisconsin, and later acting, teaching, and directing there for almost a decade. [7] During founder Randall Duk Kim’s leave of absence in 1988, Swetz took on a two-year position as assistant artistic director of the company under artistic director Anne Occhiogrosso. [8] He announced his resignation from the APT in 1989, and left the company in 1990, in order to begin teaching at University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC).

American Players Theatre outdoor theater in Spring Green, Wisconsin

American Players Theatre (APT) is a classical theater located just south of Spring Green, Wisconsin. It includes a 1,089-seat outdoor amphitheater.

Spring Green, Wisconsin Village in Wisconsin, United States

Spring Green is a village in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,628 at the 2010 census. The village is located within the Town of Spring Green.

Randall Duk Kim is a Korean American stage, film and television actor.

While in Kansas City, Swetz served as an artistic associate of the Missouri Repertory Theatre (now the Kansas City Repertory Theatre) while simultaneously working as an instructor at UMKC. [9] After over a decade of performing in the Kansas City area, Swetz accepted a position as associate professor of acting and directing at Binghamton University and returned to the New York area. [10] After a time as a member the Binghamton University faculty, Swetz eventually, after accepting the position of Patricia McIlrath Endowed Chair in Theatre Arts in Acting at UMKC, returned to the Kansas City area in order to serve as Head of UMKC Theatre's Master of Fine Arts acting program. [11]

Kansas City Repertory Theatre theater and theater company in Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City Repertory Theatre is a professional resident theater company serving the Kansas City metropolitan area, and is the professional theater in residence at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC).

Binghamton University university

The State University of New York at Binghamton, commonly referred to as Binghamton University and SUNY Binghamton, is a public research university with campuses in Binghamton, Vestal, and Johnson City, New York, United States. Since its establishment as Triple Cities College in 1946, the school has evolved from a small liberal arts college to a large doctoral-granting institution. Presently consisting of six colleges and schools, it is now home to more than 17,800 undergraduate and graduate students. Binghamton is one of the four university centers in the State University of New York (SUNY) system.

Swetz's regional directing and acting credits includes productions with the Unicorn Theatre, the Commonweal Theatre Company, the Kansas City Repertory Theatre, the Kansas City Actors Theatre, the Coterie Theatre, the Nebraska Repertory Theatre, the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, and the Riverside Shakespeare Festival, where Swetz was elected to serve as an artistic associate. [12]

Commonweal Theatre Company

The Commonweal Theatre Company is a professional, live theatre company in Lanesboro, Minnesota, United States. Established in 1989 by Eric Bunge, Scott Olson and Scott Putman, the company's season runs April to December and comprises five plays chosen from among classic, contemporary, and emerging playwrights.

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References

  1. ↑ Bautista, Joann. “Ted Swetz kicks off Shakespeare Fest with Love’s Labour’s Lost.” The Daily Iowan. June 10, 2010.
  2. ↑ UMKC Theatre. "Faculty Bios: Acting" Accessed at http://www.umkctheatre.org/faculty_bios.html#swetz on 10/9/13.
  3. ↑ Houx, Kellie. “UMKC Presents Classic Adult Fairy Tale ‘The King Stag’”. KC Studio. Oct. 22, 2010
  4. ↑ Trussell, Robert. '"The magic of comedy." The Kansas City Star. Dec. 15, 1999.
  5. ↑ “Classical Actor and M.F.A. Director Theodore Swetz ’76 Discovered the World at Lehman.” Lehman Today. Fall 2010-Winter 2011.
  6. ↑ Houx, Kellie. “UMKC Presents Classic Adult Fairy Tale ‘The King Stag’”. KC Studio. Oct. 22, 2010.
  7. ↑ Bautista, Joann. “Ted Swetz kicks off Shakespeare Fest with Love’s Labour’s Lost.” The Daily Iowan. June 10, 2010.
  8. ↑ Jaques, Damien. “A familiar face will be missing from Spring Green stage this year.” The Milwaukee Journal. May 6, 1990.
  9. ↑ Taylor, Rachael. “Swetz got his Mojo workin’” University News. Feb. 8, 1999.
  10. ↑ Trussell, Robert. “A happy/sad Ted Swetz heading to New York” The Kansas City Star. Jul. 1, 2001.
  11. ↑ “Project Playwright to Provide Local Playwrights with a REAL Challenge.” KC Studio. Apr. 11, 2001.
  12. ↑ UMKC Theatre. "Faculty Bios: Acting" Accessed at http://www.umkctheatre.org/faculty_bios.html#swetz on 10/9/13.
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