CVPA faculty

Heather Streckfus-Green

Pam Muirheid — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 17:48:22 +0000

Heather Streckfus-Green Pam Muirheid Wed, 03/22/2023 - 13:48

Assistant Professor, School of Art, CVPA

Contact Information

Campus: Fairfax
Building: 2016 Art and Design Building
Mail: MSN: 1C3
Email: hstreckf@gmu.edu

Personal Websites

See Heather Green's Website

Biography

Heather Green’s poetry collection No Other Rome (2021) was published in the Akron Poetry Series. Her poems have appeared in Bennington Review, Denver Quarterly, Everyday Genius, the New Yorker, and elsewhere. She’s the author of the chapbooks No Omen and The Match Array.

Her translation of Tristan Tzara’s Noontimes Won, published in 2018 by Octopus Books. Her translation of Tzara’s Guide to the Heart Rail was released in 2017 in a limited-run art edition, with images by artist Pete Sculte, by Goodmorning Menagerie. Her translations of Tzara’s work have appeared AGNI, Asymptote, Guernica, Ploughshares, and several anthologies, including In the Shape of a Human Body I Am Visiting the Earth, from McSweeney’s Books.

Green was the recipient of the inaugural Albertine Translation Prize in Fiction for her in-progress translation from French: The Woman and the Falcon, by Isabelle Sorente, and her translation of Sarah Manigne’s Leaving Madrid won the 2021/2 French Voices grant. Her recent writing on poetry and translation appears in Hopscotch Translation, reviewer in 2021. Green served as a longlist judge for the NBCC’s inaugural Barrios Prize for a book in translation and currently serves as a juror for the National Translation Award in poetry.

Green holds an MA in literature from the University of Nebraska and an MFA in creative writing (poetry) from Boston University. She works as an Assistant Professor in the InterArts program in the School of Art at ��AV.

Degrees:

MFA, Creative writing (poetry), Boston University
MA, Literature, University of Nebraska

Specialist Areas:

Aesthetics
Art Writing
Literary Translation
Poetry and Visual Art
Writing for Artists

Amanda Snellings

Pam Muirheid — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 15:33:49 +0000

Amanda Snellings Pam Muirheid Wed, 01/18/2023 - 10:33

Assistant Director of Development, CVPA

Contact Information

Campus: Fairfax
Mail Stop: 4C1
Email: asnelli@gmu.edu
Phone: 703-993-1593

Biography

Amanda Snellings joined ��AV in 2021. As the Assistant Director of Development for CVPA, Amanda secures philanthropic support for scholarships and academic programs related to the School of Theater, School of Dance, and the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music. She is the liaison to community volunteer Friends groups for those academic units and leads fundraising efforts for the Dance Fête signature event.

Amanda has previously worked with the National MS Society, the Shakespeare Theatre Company, and NextStop Theatre Company in development roles as well as Forum Theatre, the Berkshire Theatre Group, Asolo Repertory Theatre, and the Virginia Theatre Association in arts administration roles.

Amanda participates in volunteer community theatre in Northern Virginia as a director, producer, and performer. She has been the Artistic Director of the City of Fairfax Theatre Company (CFTC) since 2018. In 2019, she was nominated for a WATCH Award for Outstanding Direction of a Musical for CFTC’s Beauty and the Beast, among two wins and seven additional nominations for the production.

Degree:

BA, Theatre and Dance, James Madison University

Ahmad Maaty

Nafisa Ferdous — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 18:42:49 +0000

Ahmad Maaty Nafisa Ferdous Tue, 11/01/2022 - 14:42

Adjunct Professor, School of Theater, CVPA

Contact Information

Campus: Fairfax
Building: de Laski Performing Arts Bldg
Room A407
Mail Stop: 3E6
Email: amaaty@gmu.edu

Personal Websites

www.ahmadmaaty.com

Biography

Ahmad Maaty is an Egyptian-American actor, dancer, choreographer, and singer. He holds an M.F.A. from the Actors Studio Drama School in NYC which gave him the privilege of being a finalist at the Actors Studio. He received his BA in Theater from ��AV where he now serves as an Adjunct Professor for the School of Theater. He has performed across the U.S. and internationally, and continues to work in the DMV and NYC in performance and mentoring artists of all ages and experience. His performances and choreography have been recognized by the Helen Hayes, Youth American Grand Prix, Broadway World, the Cappies, the Brandon Victor Dixon Awards, and the Jimmys.

Ahmad is passionate about telling stories of the human experience. His approach is rooted in realism and naturalism that is driven by an actor’s unique instrument and history. Ahmad asks his actors to find truth in every moment, and to explore, cherish, fortify, and give value to their instrument.

Degrees

MFA, Actors Studio Drama School
BA, Theater, George Mason University

April E. Brassard

Nafisa Ferdous — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 19:05:24 +0000

April E. Brassard Nafisa Ferdous Thu, 10/27/2022 - 15:05

Adjunct Professor, School of Theater, CVPA

Contact Information

Campus: Fairfax
Building: de Laski Performing Arts Bldg
Room A407
Mail Stop: 3E6
Email: abrassar@gmu.edu

Biography

April E. Brassard is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter, TV writer, producer, and professor. April attended the School of Theater at ��AV, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a BA in Playwriting and Dramaturgy in 2012. She then honed her craft at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where she earned her MFA in Dramatic Writing in 2014. At Mason, she teaches playwriting and co-directed The Originals!

April pursued film and TV in Hollywood, working at Team Downey, Warner Bros., ABC Studios, and writing for primetime television at CBS Studios. She then wrote and developed four original series with Archie Comics, Two Shakes Entertainment (Damon Wayans, Jr.), Lucid Road (Aaron Paul), and Tornante (Michael Eisner). Nine of her plays have been produced in the Washington, D.C., area, with five-star, must-see reviews. April wrote and produced an internationally awarded short film with stars from Orange Is The New Black, Hightown and Ozark, which was featured in five film festivals last year, and is being adapted into a feature film.

April hopes to use her underrepresented voice to incite change, shout for the silenced, turn trauma into drama, and share magic with the world through her words.

Degrees

MFA, Dramatic Writing, NYU Tisch School of the Arts
BA, Playwriting and Dramaturgy, George Mason University

Franklin A. Robinson, Jr.

Nafisa Ferdous — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 18:05:17 +0000

Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. Nafisa Ferdous Thu, 10/27/2022 - 14:05

Adjunct Faculty, School of Theater, CVPA

Contact Information

Campus: Fairfax
Building: de Laski Performing Arts Bldg
Room A407
Mail Stop: 3E6
Email: frobins2@gmu.edu

Biography

Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. (Frank Robinson, Jr.) is a professional actor, playwright, and award-winning filmmaker based in Charles County, Maryland. He is adjunct faculty for ��AV’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. He also teaches playwriting for Acting for Young People in Fairfax, Virginia. His play, A Christmas Carol, 1933, was first produced by the Parlor Room Theater in December 2014 and again in 2016. The play was mounted again by the Clark Chateau Radio Players, Butte, Montana in 2020. Other works have been produced at the Source Theater Festival (The World Turned Upside Down), Washington, DC; the Birmingham Children’s Theatre (The Tale of Peter Rabbit), Birmingham, Alabama.

Frank has written historically based plays and dramatic presentations for various historical sites, societies and organizations including the National Park Service (The Condition of Ellen Mitchell and Dreadful Days, Clara Barton at Lacy House). He was co-producer for the documentary, Remembered by the Wind (2017) about the discovery of a burial ground where twenty-three enslaved individuals rest dating from 1790-1810. Faith & Tobacco, his award-winning history of St. Thomas’ Episcopal Parish, Prince George’s County, was published in 2015 by Anchovy Hill Press with a second edition published in 2022.

He has performed in over half of the United States and Canada. He is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) and Screen Actors’ Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). Favorite acting credits include, James Wilson, 1776, Ford’s Theatre; Friar Lawrence, Romeo and Juliet, Maryland Shakespeare Festival; and five tours as Bob Cratchit, A Christmas Carol, Nebraska Theatre Caravan. He has appeared in numerous films and television programs including Tom Hooper’s, John Adams. His thesis film, A Time to Sow, has won awards nationally and internationally.

In addition to teaching, Frank is employed as an Archivist with the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

Degrees

MA, American University
BFA, Catholic University

David Goldstein

Nafisa Ferdous — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 19:31:41 +0000

David Goldstein Nafisa Ferdous Wed, 10/26/2022 - 15:31

Adjunct Faculty, School of Theater, CVPA

Contact Information

Campus: Fairfax
Building: de Laski Performing Arts Bldg
Room A407
Mail Stop: 3E6
Email: dgoldst@gmu.edu

Biography

David Goldstein has over 20 years of professional experience as a screenwriter, having written (and rewritten) scripts for companies such as Disney, Sony, Paramount, Lucasfilm and Fox.

Degrees

BFA, Film/Television Production, NYU Tisch School of the Arts

Nicholas Kfoury Horner

Nafisa Ferdous — Tue, 25 Oct 2022 18:50:44 +0000

Nicholas Kfoury Horner Nafisa Ferdous Tue, 10/25/2022 - 14:50

Assistant Director, School of Theater, CVPA

Contact Information

Phone: 703-993-2195
Campus: Fairfax
Building: de Laski Performing Arts Bldg
Room A407G
Mail Stop: 3E6
Email: nhorner@gmu.edu

Biography

Nicholas Kfoury Horner is a singer, voice-over artist, theatre actor, and director based in Washington D.C. He has directed, taught, and performed in numerous professional and educational venues in D.C., New York, and around the country. Horner has received Voice and Theater training from renowned institutions such as Stella Adler Conservatory, The Juilliard School, Studio A.C.T. (San Francisco), The Roy Hart Institute (Paris, France), Shakespeare and Company (Lenox), Catholic University, and University of Cambridge (England). Horner earned a B.A. in Theater and an M.F.A. in Visual and Performing Arts from ��AV where he serves as Program Manager for the School of Theater and teaches courses in Directing, Voice and Speech, and Theater Studies. He also serves as Co-director of 1,001 Plays, Mason's first international play exchange. Horner owns and operates InTune Studio– offering classical and musical theater voice and speech. His research interests include Interdisciplinary Arts, Middle Eastern Theater, Directing, and Voice and Speech.

Recent Publications:

Stop Stopping: Elemental Voice and Breath (Voice Teachers International, 2021)
The Harder Disease to Beat (LMDA Forum, 2021)
Parasite or Symbiont: Voice Stress in muscle and bone (Voice and Speech Review, 2020)

Degrees

MFA, Visual and Performing Arts - Theater, ��AV

Sophie Zuehl

Pam Muirheid — Thu, 13 Oct 2022 14:59:17 +0000

Sophie Zuehl Pam Muirheid Thu, 10/13/2022 - 10:59

Production Manager, School of Dance, CVPA

Contact Information

Campus: Fairfax
Building: deLaski Performing Arts Building
Room: A410
Email: ssotsky@gmu.edu
Tel: 703-993-3634

Biography

Prior to her position as Production Manager in the School of Dance, Sophie Zuehl (neé Sotsky) lived and worked in New York City. She was a dancer, choreographer, lighting designer, and production manager. Sophie had the pleasure of Production Managing at venues including Danspace Project, of dancing for choreographers including Chafin Seymour, and designing lighting for artists including Sibyl Kempson and Peggy Gould. As a choreographer, Sophie was recognized as a 2016/2017 Fresh Tracks artist at New York Live Arts. Her choreography has been supported by the GO! Emerging Artist Commission at the Elizabeth Streb Lab for Action Mechanics (2016 and 2019), as well as by Salem Art Works, the Jonah Bokaer Arts Foundation, Mount Tremper Arts, and Gibney Dance Center.

Degree:

BA, Dance and Psychology (honors in Dance), Wesleyan University

Celine Berthaud

Pam Muirheid — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 21:37:07 +0000

Celine Berthaud Pam Muirheid Wed, 10/12/2022 - 17:37

Adjunct Faculty, School of Dance, CVPA

Contact Information

Email: cberthau@gmu.edu

Biography

Celine Berthaud began her formal dance training at the Boston Arts Academy where she graduated as a Dance Major. Upon graduation, she attended ��AV on a performance scholarship receiving her Bachelors in the Fine Arts for Dance. As a member of the Mason Dance Company, Celine has been featured in guest works by choreographers such as Camille A. Brown, Kate Skarpetowska, Robert Battle, Mark Morris, Christopher d’Amboise, and others.

Celine received the professional advancement in dance award from The School at Jacob's Pillow, participating in their first Hip Hop Continuum Program. She has studied at The Ailey School, Earl Mosley's Institute of the Arts, and the Contemporary Masters Series at Steps on Broadway. Celine has trained with artists such as Ronald K. Brown, Desmond Richardson, Camille A. Brown, Sidra Bell, Dana Foglia, Nathan Trice, Rennie Harris, and Tai Jimenez, Erika Pujic, and others.

Celine is certified by the National Association of Sports Medicine (NASM) for personal training, group fitness, and nutritional coaching. As a trainer and active performer represented by Clear Talent Group, she has worked with choreographers such as Luam Keflezgy, Jessica Castro, and Rich & Tone Talauega. Outside of her own performance endeavors, Celine continues to work closely with renowned dance institutes and training programs such as Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Steps on Broadway, Rock the Industry, ��AV School of Dance, and The School at the Washington Ballet to provide elite conditioning, and dance education to artists worldwide.

ARTS by George! Returns, raising nearly $250,000 to support students in the arts at Mason

Emily Schneider — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 20:55:40 +0000

ARTS by George! Returns, raising nearly $250,000 to support students in the arts at Mason Emily Schneider Tue, 10/04/2022 - 16:55

In This Story

Rick Davis

Kristin Chenoweth (right) stands backstage with Dean Rick Davis of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at ��AV. (Photo by Cable Risdon Photography)

“The full-scale return of ARTS by George! was a joyous experience from top to bottom,” exclaims Rick Davis, Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

ARTS by George returned on Saturday, September 24, 2022, following a two-year hiatus, hosted by the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) at ��AV. The event gave students and faculty from each discipline an opportunity to pull back the curtain and present behind-the-scenes showcases, film screenings, performances, and interactive experiences. Stations of exquisite cuisine and beverages were available to guests while attending exhibits across ten open studios and rehearsal halls on Mason’s Fairfax Campus.

In a truly special start to the evening, students from the School of Theater were able to join the event’s headliner, Kristin Chenoweth, for her soundcheck in the Concert Hall of the Center for the Arts, prior to their own performances in the evening’s showcases. The Tony and Emmy Award winner welcomed them with open arms, remarking “These are my people! I’m your people and you're my people, and I'm so excited to have you here tonight!”

Students from the School of Theater perform selections from the upcoming production of Head Over Heels at ARTS! By George 2022. (Photo by Cable Risdon Photography)

During the evening’s showcases, guests flowed in and out of three buildings on the Fairfax Campus: the de Laski Performing Arts Building, Harris Theatre, and Horizon Hall. Inside de Laski, students from the School of Theater dazzled the crowd with their powerful voices and clever choreography as they previewed songs from their upcoming production of Head Over Heels. Just down the hall, the emerging professionals of Mason’s School of Dance performed to packed houses, and graciously responded to questions from the audience after each performance. The Dewberry School of Music didn’t stop the beat all night, with talented instrumental and vocal musicians presenting piano, jazz, and opera selections during the two and half hours of student showcases.

Students from the School of Dance perform during a showcase at ARTS! By George 2022. (Photo by Cable Risdon Photography)

As guests made their way out of deLaski across the Johnson Center Plaza, they were enticed into Harris Theater by the resonant sounds of Mason’s Symphony Orchestra. Alternating their time on the Harris stage, students from the Film and Video Studies program screened their films, offering guests a sneak peek into the revolutionary stories crafted at Mason. More music flowed from the amphitheater space between Harris and Horizon Hall, where the Spirit Drumline, the 8^th Green Machine Regiment Band, and the Green Machine Pep Band kept toes tapping as guests ambled along the walkway into Horizon Hall.

The Mason Symphony Orchestra performs on the stage of Harris Theatre during ARTS! By George 2022. (Photo by Cable Risdon Photography)

Members of the Green Machine Pep Band perform outside Horizon Hall at ARTS! By George 2022. (Photo by Cable Risdon Photography)

Inside Horizon Hall, staff and students from Mason Community Arts Academy (MCAA) spoke about the impact of having such incredible arts programs available in our community from such a young age, and performed vocal and instrumental music for the assembled crowd. Offering a hands-on exploration of their disciplines, the Film and Video Studies program and the Computer Game Design program created mini studios inside the Mason Innovation Exchange (MIX), where guests explored a change of scenery via the green screen demonstrations and virtual reality headsets. Also in the MIX, the School of Art gave guests a chance to play with printing, personalizing a postcard they could take with them as a memento of their experience, while elsewhere in the room, students chatted with guests while demonstrating the capabilities of the 3D printers.

Faculty from the School of Art walk guests through the interactive printing station in the Mason Innovation Exchange (MIX) at ARTS! By George 2022. (Photo by Cable Risdon Photography)

A guest poses in front of the green screen during a demonstration by the Film and Video Studies program at ARTS! By George 2022. (Photo by Cable Risdon Photography)

A student from Mason Community Arts Academy performs a song on her violin at ARTS! By George 2022. (Photo by Cable Risdon Photography)

Guests test out the virtual reality demonstration with the Computer Game Design program at ARTS! By George 2022. (Photo by Cable Risdon Photography)

After the showcases, everyone flowed down the hill and into the Center for the Arts Concert Hall for the live auction, followed by the headlining concert. Guests were welcomed to the auction by Mason President Gregory Washington, who remarked, “Tonight, we celebrate the excellence of Mason’s College of Visual and Performing Arts and the vibrant cultural offerings it provides to our campuses and wider community. The arts are one of the front doors to the university and attract visitors of all ages and backgrounds. We’re pleased that so many of you have found your way through our door to become involved with CVPA and Mason. Your generosity supports student scholarships and helps ensure that talent meets opportunity, and that budding artists can develop their gifts and pursue their passions here at Mason.”

President Gregory Washington Addresses the Crowd at ARTS! By George 2022. (Photo by Cable Risdon Photography)

The auction items and the Fund-A-Student opportunities, which directly contribute to the scholarships available to CVPA students, raised more than $23,000. Taking the stage after the auction, Rick Davis expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the full house, saying “As I’m sitting here, knowing the students that these contributions support, many of them personally, many of them in my classes, knowing what it does for our College’s ability to grant the opportunity of a first-rate education, not just in the arts, but a first-rate university education, knowing what we have accomplished here tonight in just these 27 minutes or so, is personally very, very, very gratifying, so thank you all so very, very much. . . Some of you know me well and you’ll know that when I say I’m almost speechless, you’ll know that that is a significant accomplishment!”

Capping off the evening, Kristin Chenoweth performed a concert from her album For The Girls, a tribute to prominent female singers throughout history. After the show, Chenoweth and Davis ended the night with a champagne toast on stage.

The annual philanthropic event raised approximately $250,000 for student scholarships in dance, theater, game design, film, music, visual arts, and arts management, as well as for the Mason Community Arts Academy, Green Machine Ensembles, and the Great Performances at Mason season at the Center for the Arts.

See more images from the event by clicking here!

Topics

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)