Theatre Faculty & Staff
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DIANA DILLINGHAM Diana started doing ballet as a child, and performed with Denver Civic Ballet in high school and college.She then switched to belly dance as an adult, so she has gone from ballet to belly. She saw her first belly dancer many years ago and fell in love with the fluid, sensuous movements. She has performed on stage, in restaurants and for various civic events, such as the "Taste of Colorado," for the past 20 years. She has no plans to retire while she can still move and likes to share her enthusiasm for dance with her students. |
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NICOLE M. HARRISON Nicole has been teaching costume classes at Red Rocks for three years and has designed for the college's main-stage productions including Baby with the Bathwater and Wonder of the World. She has worked at many local theatre including The Aurora Fox, Country Dinner Playhouse and she been designing costumes at the Arvada Center for the Arts & Humanities for five years. Some of her work includes costume design for The Full Monty, The Crimson Thread, Pippin and A Raisin in the Sun. She is the recipient of the 2000 Denver Drama Critic's Award for her designs of The Ant Queen's New Clothes and has received critical acclaim for her work on Aida, The Heiress & Mother Whimsy. Most recently, Nicole was invited to work for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival designing costumes for As You Like It. |
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STEVE KELLY Steve "Jake" Kelly has been working professionally since 1976 in areas that include writing, producing, directing, acting and set and lighting design. He holds the MFA in Directing from Ole Miss, and has served as director/technical director/lighting designer on stage, radio, opera and live industrial shows. He is especially proud to have opened the regional premieres of K2, The Foreigner and Extremities at his John Galt West End Theatre in Nashville. Currently teaching set and lighting design, theatre history and technical theatre at RRCC, Steve is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. His acting credits include roles on One Life to Live, Superboy and HBO's Robert Altman series Tanner 88. |
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Kelli Krieschel History of Costumes and Fashion, The Costume and Fashion Industry Kelli joined the Red Rocks Community College Theatre program in 1997 as a student, graduated 2005 with an Associates Degree in Theatre with an emphasis in costuming and technical theatre. As well as multiple other related certificates. She continues to work with other theatres through the metro area on movie and theatre projects. At present, her full time position is an assistant to the designer of costumes for body building, figure and fitness competitors. |
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Keri McLean Hip Hop I & II, Tap I, Swing Ms. McLean has enjoyed a career in dance and the performing arts for over 25 years, which includes running her own dance studio State of the Arts Dance Studio. She has trained in Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Hip Hop, Precision, Pep Arts, Ballroom, Swing, Latin and Country Dance. Keri has traveled across the country in order to perform, teach, and train with top national and international instructors. Ms. McLean has trained extensively in the Luigi style of Jazz, and is trained in the Russian and Cecchetti methods of classical ballet and is certified to teach the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) method. She has performed, choreographed, taught and judged throughout the United States for such organizations and events across the country. Ms. McLean currently competes on the World Swing Dance Council’s national competition circuit and has earned many championship awards in several divisions. |
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PAMELA JAMRUSZKA MENCHER Pamela received her M.F.A. in Acting from the University of Wisconsin in 1981 and then moved back to Montana where she had grown up. There, she toured the one-woman show, “The Belle of Amherst” to neighboring states and served as an artist in residence and guest artist in the states of Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Washington before moving to Denver in 1983. She taught part-time at Front Range CC and Red Rocks CC as a speech and theatre teacher until receiving a full-time position at RRCC in 1989. There, she founded the Theatre and Dance dept. and since has developed it into one of the most comprehensive Theatre programs at a two-year college in the State of Colorado. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Rocky Mountain Theatre Association (RMTA) since 1991 as Secretary, Grants and Development Director, Vice President, President and Past President and has taken RRCC students to the RMTA’s annual conference since 1988. In addition, she has directed and acted in many theatres around Denver, written 36 plays and also founded the Playwrights Showcase of the Western Region in partnership with the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities in 2004. At Red Rocks, Pamela was honored in 2003 by being selected by her peers as Outstanding Faculty of the Year and also received an Endowed Teaching Chair Award for 2003-2006. She teaches Public Speaking, Acting, Theatre Production, Playwriting and Directing at the College. |
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Ric Murray Technical Theatre, Master Carpenter Ric received his BFA from CSU and has been involved in theatre while working at The King Center on The Auraria Campus. His first career was being a contractor which, combined with the arts in theatre, allows him to use his many skills. |
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Jared Oz Hip Hop I & II, Jazz I & II Jared Oz has been training in Ballet, Partnering, Tap, Jazz, and Modern since his early teens. He has studied extensively with Miller’s Dance Studios in Aurora, Colorado, where he continues to be a valued instructor and principle dancer. Mr. Oz has trained primarily within the Vaganova syllabus and teaches this style of ballet technique. Jared furthered his performing experience dancing with the Modern group, “Isaac’s III”, and is currently a member of the State Of The Art’s “Swing Team”. Jared attended Metropolitan State College Of Denver where he studied for a Human Performance Sports Degree with a Physical Training emphasis. |
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ELIZABETH PARKS Elizabeth, in her second semester at RRCC, is delighted to be able to serve the department as both a theatre manager and an instructor. With a passion for art, culture and language Elizabeth’s studies include Theatre, Dance and French. She earned her B.A. in English/Drama from Franciscan University of Steubenville and her M.A. in French from Bowling Green State University. In addition, Elizabeth has studied and experienced theatre around the world. She has traveled abroad, living in both Switzerland and France where she studied theatre and dance at Université François Rabelais in Tours. Before coming to Red Rocks Community College Elizabeth taught French at The Arvada Center for the Arts and was invited to work with the Helander Dance Theatre in Boulder, Co. In addition to working and teaching at the college Elizabeth is actively involved in the Denver theatre community working locally as a professional actress. She has appeared in such productions as The Aurora Fox’s “Death of a Salesman” and is currently performing with some of Denver’s most talented actors at Impulse Theater in Downtown Denver. |
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CONNIE SANDER From 1993-1997 Connie had her own acting company called Cattle Call Productions in Denver. Now she teaches at Red Rocks, where her enthusiasm is contagious. She has received the Part-Time Teacher of the Year Award from the Student Voice for the last two years. She got her passion for theatre back in high school when she began acting just for fun. Today the fun is still with her and with her students. "Acting gives them confidence," she says. "It's about facing fears and breaking down barriers." With a BFA from Emporia State University in Kansas and an MFA from Humbolt State University in California, Connie came to Red Rocks in 2001. She loves teaching her students communications skills that will help them go through life. In her classes, she teaches people from every profession imaginable. "When we learn about a character, we learn about ourselves and others; planting the first seed towards compassion and understanding." |
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Brett Scott Acting I &II, Theatre Appreciation Brett is a New York City native. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performance from The University of Miami and his Master’s of Fine Arts from The National Theatre Conservatory, part of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, where he also taught acting classes. In Los Angeles, he was the Artistic Director of the theatre company “First Stage Alert,” where he performed and directed the world premiere of Robert Patrick’s “Hello Bob.” Brett was recently nominated for an Arizona Award in the Best Actor category in the Southwest Shakespeare Company’s rendition of Much ado About Nothing playing Benedick. His TV Credits include, All My Children, The Guiding Light, The Chris Rock Show, and Lois and Clark. |
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PATRICE TURNER Patrice Turner is a graduate of Loretto Heights College in Denver, CO with a BFA in Musical Theatre. She has been performing professionally since 1986 as an actress and musician. She has worked with numerous theatre companies as a musical director and accompanist. She has also written and produced the musical comedies Bobby Grand's Doe Stop Cafe, A Matter of Time, High Rise to Nowhere, and Unplugged. Patrice has recorded 6 CDs of original material and has appeared on radio, TV, cable and in regional publications. Patrice has taught private voice and piano for the last 15 years and is the author of The Fundamental Voice book. She is the founder and chair for the annual Arvada Performing Arts and Cultural Festival. |
Contact
For more information about
Theatre Arts contact:
Pamela Jamruszka Mencher
Department Chair
pamela.mencher@rrcc.edu
Phone: 303.914.6231
Location
The Theatre program is located at the courtyard level (west end) of the Lakewood campus, room 0503.
We are normally open Monday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.