Theatre Faculty & Staff
Cleo House, Jr., M.F.A.
Acting/Directing; Program Coordinator
Associate Professor of Theatre Arts
Room Franco 136
610-396-6419
czh11@psu.edu
Cleo House, Jr. is a scholar, professional actor, director, and playwright that has performed for August Wilson in the author's play The Piano Lesson and in Death and the Kings Horseman (also for the author Wole Soyinka) at The Lantern Theatre in Philadelphia, PA. Previous work includes Theatre Alliance of Washington D.C. (Insurrection Holding History directed by Timothy Douglas), The Two River Theatre Company of Red Bank, New Jersey and the Folger Theatre of Washington, D.C. (Macbeth directed by Teller and Aaron Posner). In television, he has filmed commercials as well as industrial training films. As a theatre director he has received a certificate of achievement in directing for his work in the Region II Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival. He has collaborated with international directors, designers, and actors at the Lincoln Center Director's Lab in New York City. Professor House consistently works in theatre, film, and television as an actor or director. He is a co-founder and mentor of N.O.W. (New Original Works) at Berks. Cleo holds the following degrees: MFA from Texas Tech University and a B.S. in Theatre Acting/Directing from Texas A&M at Commerce.
Radhica Ganapathy, Ph.D.
History/Criticism; New Play Development
Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts
Room Franco 138
610-396-6026
rzg3@psu.edu
Dr. Radhica Ganapathy is Assistant Professor of Theatre at Penn State University's Berks Campus. Prior to her move to the United States, she worked as a professional actor in New Delhi, India. Ganapathy has taught several courses in Theatre and Women’s Studies, and collaborated extensively across disciplines with artists and scholars from various backgrounds. Her work has been recognized at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, as well as the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. She currently serves as the Co-Founder and Producer of N.O.W. at Berks, an annual one-act play festival. Her research areas and interests include: Women's Dramatic Autobiographical Crisis Narratives, Transgender/Transsexual Hijra subcultures (Focus: India), New Play Development, Performance Art, Postcolonial Theatre, and Bollywood Cinema.
Rob Napoli, M.F.A.
Technical Director; Scenic Designer
610-396-6421
run2@psu.edu
Rob Napoli is both a theatre technician and actor and the co-author of the textbook Scenic Design and Lighting Techniques. He has worked with such companies as the PA Shakespeare Festival, Philadelphia Theatre Caravan, Story Book Musical Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, the Summer Opera in Washington DC, Folger Shakespeare Theatre and The National Players; where he often did double duty as an actor and technician. Recent credits include working with Peter Campbell on the 3 Shorts by Samuel Beckett (The Chocolate Factory/NYC) and specialty prop work for the PTC production of NERDS scheduled for an Off Broadway run this year. He holds a BA in theatre from St Vincents College and an MFA in Theatre from The Catholic University of America.
Caehlin Bell, M.A.
Part-time Instructor
Instructor in THEA 105 - Introduction to Theatre
Caehlin is a theatre scholar, practitioner, and part-time instructor at Penn State Berks. She recently graduated from the Ohio State University where she taught introductory theatre and was the tour manager for OSU's School Tour. At Ohio State, she directed a play for OSU's Festival, a collection of ten-minute plays, and was the assistant director for Schiller's Mary Stuart, a collaboration with Columbus's Actor's Theatre, and for Labyrinth of Desire by Caridad Svich. She has also produced shows for both the Capital Fringe Festival in Washington and the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Ms. Bell is the co-founder of Bouncing Ball Theatrical Productions, a DC-based company. Her research interests include Irish theatre (her thesis topic), contemporary American drama, religion in theatre, and gender studies. She holds a MA in Theatre from Ohio State and a BA in Drama from the Catholic University of America.
Joshua L. Schulman, M.F.A.
Part-Time Instructor/Guest Artist in Lighting Design
Instructor in THEA 131 - Introduction to Lighting Design
Joshua has his MFA from Boston University. He was the recipient of the Barrymore Award for his lighting design of ART at Delaware Theatre Company. Other companies that he has worked for include the Wilma Theater, Azuka Theatre, Hotel Obligato, Flashpoint Theatre Company, InterAct Theatre Company, The Media Theatre, Theatre West Virginia, the Rebecca Davis Dance Company, Inis Nua Theatre Company, Arcadia University, Theatre Exile, Madhouse Theater Company, and many more.
Guest Speaker/Artist, Tony nominee Forrest McClendon