USM School of Performing and Visual Arts Welcomes New Faculty

Wed, 06/21/2023 - 09:38am | By: Ivonne Kawas

The School of Performing and Visual Arts (SPVA) at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) will welcome several new distinguished and talented faculty members this upcoming fall 2023 semester.

SPVA Director Meg Brooker enthusiastically notes that the new cohort of artists and educators will help further the School’s mission as a leader in the performing and visual arts.

“I am excited to welcome these outstanding educators to our vibrant arts community,” said Brooker. “They all bring a wealth of experiences and perspectives that will further enhance our educational programs through new curricular and performance offerings.”

The new faculty members joining SPVA include:

Andrew Park “Andy Park,” who will serve as the Head of Directing for our USM Theatre program and as Associate Professor of Directing.

Andy Park is an educator, artistic director, stage director, and puppeteer. He was a faculty member at University of Nebraska-Lincoln (2017-2023) and taught at Columbia College Chicago (2014-2017).

Andy has served as artistic director for multiple theaters, organizations and festivals over a professional theater career that spans more than two decades. 

Brooker stated, “Andy most recently served as Artistic Director of the Nebraska Repertory Theatre, which is the only professional theatre in the state of Nebraska, and he spent many years as a Chicago-based theatre artist and maintains a relationship there, directing large-scale shows for Shedd Aquarium. He has a background in arts entrepreneurship, is an engaging and positive collaborator, and brings professional experience ranging from the classics to new devised work. He has the background, skillset, and vision to mentor our students into a range of opportunities in a twenty-first century marketplace.”

During his tenure at Nebraska Repertory Theatre, he forged a multi-year collaboration with the St. Louis Black Repertory Company and served as the writer and director for N150: Music and Milestones, The University of Nebraska’s 150^th celebration. He directed numerous productions for The Rep including The Glass Menagerie, Mother Courage, Avenue Q and Hair.

Andy served as artistic director of the John G. Shedd Aquarium for a decade writing, directing, and producing multispecies aquatic shows that featured dolphins, beluga whales, sea lions, penguins, and birds of prey. Past shows at the Aquarium include Fantasea, A Holiday Fantasea, Land and Water and One World.

Additional directing highlights include the opening spectacle for the Lollapalooza Music Festival in Chicago’s Grant Park, Circus Crashers at The Actors Gymnasium, Failure: A Love Story, Peter and The Star Catcher and Cymbeline at Illinois Shakespeare Festival, and three productions for the Cirque Shanghai franchise in Harbin, China and at Navy Pier's Pepsi Skyline Stage in Chicago and the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City.

Aaron Allen, who will serve as an Assistant Professor of Dance.

Allen is a Contemporary dance artist from the dance program at Middle Tennessee State University, where he served as a Lecturer of Dance and as an Artistic Director. Creating safe spaces for movers to be themselves has been a constant guide in his technique classes and choreographic works.

Brooker stated, “Allen’s choreographic and performance research is rooted in the African Diaspora and personal experiences centered around identity and safety. He draws on House and Vogue dance traditions in his choreographic work. He teaches widely as a guest artist in festivals and intensives such as the Alabama Dance Festival and the Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts. He also brings experience in commercial dance to our faculty, including dancing with the Weeknd in the Super Bowl LV Halftime Show. We are excited for the energy, enthusiasm, and network that Prof. Allen will bring to USM Dance.”

Allen has performed in numerous cities, including Shanghai, China, Chicago, Illinois, Washington, D.C., Oberlin, Ohio, and Tallahassee, Florida. Allen has also performed with numerous musical artists over the past 4 years most notably he performed with the Weeknd at Super Bowl 55 in Tampa, Florida. During the summer of 2022, Allen was awarded an individual arts Fellowship through the TN Arts Commission.

Allen holds a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Dance Performance from Middle Tennessee State University, as well as a Master of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Derreck Williams, who will serve as an Assistant Teaching Professor of Dance.

Williams is a dance practitioner and educator who earned his BFA in Dance from USM. As an instructor, Williams has taught and continues to teach masterclasses in Jazz and Contemporary dance throughout the US.

Brooker stated, “Williams earned his MFA from the University of Alabama, where his research focused on Majorette dance in the context of HBCUs. He is an energizing presence in the studio, crafting rigorous and thoughtful classes in jazz and contemporary dance techniques. He is also active as a judge for dance competitions and brings to USM extensive experience training dancers in private studios and also teaching in the schools as a K-12 dance educator. He’s an alum of our dance program, and we are excited to welcome him back to campus as a faculty member and look forward to the vision, curricular contributions, and mentorship he can bring.”

William’s research interests lie within the intersection of Gender and Black Dance Studies. Most recently his research, Bucking Down the Barriers: Connecting HBCU Majorette Dance and Jazz Dance was presented at The National Dance Education Organization’s annual conference.

Creatively, Williams has choreographed over thirty original works for university dance programs alongside public, and private sector dance institutions. His choreographic aesthetic is an amalgamation of various genres of dance including jazz, contemporary, and hip-hop. His choreographic works have been commissioned and presented at various national and international venues…most notably, The Black Lives Rising Film Festival (NYC) and Ten Tiny Dances Concert (Birmingham, Ala).

Williams holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance from USM and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance from The University of Alabama.

Visit the School of Performing and Visual Arts website to learn more.