Faculty & Staff

Faculty

Robert Ellis, Faculty/Theatre Coordinator at the Western Campus: Robert.Ellis@tri-c.edu; Office - 216-987-5531

Bob has been the Western Campus Theatre Coordinator and Assistant Professor of Theater for the last 22 years.  His directing credits include; the world premiere of Three Generations of Imbeciles, (which was invited to be performed at The American College Theater Festival in Michigan) The Art of Dining, Twelfth Night, Taming of the Shrew, The Crucible, Lone Star/Laundry & Bourbon, American Hero, Crazyface, Macbeth, Fuddy Meers, Blood Wedding and many others. He holds an MFA in Acting from the University of Florida, an MA in Theater History & Criticism from Kent State University and a BA in English and Theater from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Bob is also an accomplished professional actor.  He is represented by the Docherty Talent Agency, is a member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA, and has performed in numerous television, film, commercial and industrial projects in addition to his stage credits.  Local AEA credits include; The Little Foxes, A Carol for Cleveland, Galileo and A Soldier’s Tale at The Cleveland Playhouse, Stone Cold Dead Serious at Cleveland Public Theater, Circle, Mirror, Transformation, Peter and the Starcatcher, The Norwegians & The Late Henry Moss at Dobama Theater, God of Carnage at None Too Fragile, and Annie Get Your Gun, The Foreigner, and Inherit the Wind at Porthouse Theater.  Professor Ellis also served as the Ohio State Coordinator for Region 3 of the American College Theater Festival and served on the Region 3 Festival Selection Committee.

Frederick Perry, Ph.D. Professor of Theatre Arts and Television at the Metropolitan and Western Campuses/Theatre Coordinator at the Metropolitan and Eastern Campuses/College-Wide Faculty Counterparts Chair: Frederick.Perry@tri-c.edu; Metro Office - 216-987-4535, West Office - 216-987-5147

Dr Perry has a Doctorate from the University of Colorado in Stage Directing Analysis, his Master of Arts degree is from the University of Arizona in Playwriting, and his BA degree is from the University of California in Dramatic Criticism. As a playwright he has been produced at The Source Theatre in Washington DC, the University of Colorado, The Invisible Theatre in Tucson, Arizona, Actor's Ensemble Theatre Company in Boulder, Colorado, and with The American Theatre Association in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the recipient of the Christina Crawford Playwriting Award (Who Is He This Time), the Panowski Playwriting Award (Tip and Rosey O'Connor's Home) and has received state playwrighting awards from Colorado and Arizona. His stage-directing credits include The Lake Effect, Hamlet, The Tooth Of Crime, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Nerd, Fences, Medea, Sylvia, The Hoochy-Choochy Dancer, Suicide in B Flat and Greater Tuna. He was the recipient of the University of Colorado’s Teacher Excellence Award for his acting classes. He has appeared in The Little House on the Prairie and Father Murphy television shows, and a number of feature-length movies. 

Production Management and Technical Direction

Charles Smith, Director, College-Wide Production Management: Charles.Smith@tri-c.edu; Office - 216-987-5611

Charles comes to Tri-C from Denver, where he was Assistant Technical Director at the University of Colorado at Denver. Previously he was at Denver Center Theatre Company in the scene shop. During his tenure there, he worked on over 100 plays including the ten hour epic, Tantalus, directed by Sir Peter Hall. Charles was proud to be part of the DCTC team when they were awarded the 1998 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theater. Charles received his Masters Degree in Technical Direction from Texas Woman’s University. There he met his wife, Julie, who has been the highlight of his life.

Eastern Campus Theatre Staff

Astrid Jobe, Associate Technical Director: Astrid.Jobe@tri-c.edu; Office - 216-987-0513

Prior to coming to Tri-C, Astrid was the Production Manager, Technical Coordinator, and a Lecturer in Theatre and Dance at Oberlin College for 12 years. She has also worked professionally as a stage manager with Cleveland area dance companies such as VERB Ballets, Ohio Dance Theater, and Dancing Wheels. Astrid holds a B.S. in Speech and Theatre Education from Georgia Southern University and an M.A. in Theatre Production and Design from the University of Pittsburgh, where she also served as Assistant Technical Director.

Tim Kennedy, Lead Theatre Technician: Tim.Kennedy@tri-c.edu; Office - 216-987-2480

Tim has been in the live entertainment field for more than 25 years. Starting out performing live on stage to eventually working live productions with local event companies as a sound engineer. Some of his live sound credits consists of George Clinton and P-Funk, Kenny Chesney along with corporate events with President Bill Clinton/Vice President Al Gore, and the Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies.  Tim joined the Metro Theatre staff in 1999 as a technician specializing in sound. Throughout his time at Cuyahoga Community College, he has operated and maintained the sound systems in the four theatre spaces and designed and implemented new sound systems in the Auditorium, Studio Theatre and Black Box Theatre. Other work consists of; on field audio for the Cleveland Browns for 9 years, sound design of “Lake Effect”, “Buried Child” and “Tempest” (Tri-C Metro), “The Gamblers” and “Masterpieces of Russian Drama” (Cleveland Museum of Art). Tim is also an adjunct faculty in Tri-C’s Recording Arts and Technology department, teaching Live Sound Reinforcement.

Metropolitan Campus Staff

 Josh Caraballo, Lead Theatre Technician: Joshua.Caraballo@tri-c.edu; Office - 216-987-5254

A graduate of Tri-C's very own Recording Arts and Technology Program, Josh transitioned from working an internship in the RAT program to working as a technician in Tri-C Metro's Theatre Department in early 2006. As a sound engineer his work includes designs for the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, freelance work for the Cleveland Museum of Art, and reinforcing live bands with the Cleveland Music Group. His work in Musical Theatre began over ten years ago with Near West Theatre where he designed audio for productions such as "A Christmas Story the Musical", "Shrek the Musical", and "Move On". Other Musical Theatre designs include work with groups such as Oberlin College's Little Theatre, the Creative Licensing Group, North Pointe Ballet, and Olmsted Performing Arts.

Thomas Jeffries, Lead Theatre Technician: Thomas.Jeffries@tri-c.edu; Office - 216-987-0526