APSU Theatre and Dance Faculty
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Associate Professor Dance/African American Studies - Department Chair (931) 221-7879 Pronouns: She/her |
Eboné Camille Amos is a Professor of Dance in the Dept of Theatre and Dance at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN where she focuses on Afro-aesthetics within contemporary dance techniques, dance history, improvisation (the embodiment of culture) and multidisciplinary approaches in dance composition and solo practices. She received a Bachelor of Professional Studies in Dance Education from the University of Memphis and a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Dance: Performance and Choreography at the Florida State University. As an MFA student, Eboné had the honor of performing her own choreography We Carry it Everyday in the COCO Festival in Port of Spain, Trinidad. She also premiered her thesis work Let The Church Say in Thomasville, GA. In addition to works in the University, she premiered her first contemporary ballet loose with the Tallahassee Ballet in the Evening of Music and Dance: Gershwin and Bernstein in Tallahassee, FL. As a performer, she has danced with Debbie Allen, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Millicent Johnnie and Josephine Girabaldi. |
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Talon Beeson, MFA Pronouns: He/Him/His
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Talon Beeson (SAG/AFTRA) is an actor/singer, director/choreographer, Assoc. Prof. of Acting/Directing/Voice at APSU, and One Voice certified singing coach. Degrees: BFA Musical Theatre – Shenandoah Conservatory. MFA Acting – DePaul. Talon has been seen on stages across the country including: Lexington Childrens Theatre, Shenandoah Summer Musical Theatre, Psyched: A New Musical (Original Cast with Adam Pascal), Roxy Regional Theatre, Hell in a Handbag Chicago (NYC Fringe Fest Award and Off-Broadway run of Poseidon! An Upside Down Musical at New World Stages), and many others. You have also seen him on screen in the independent films Black Sunshine and It Was Good which he wrote and directed , and a series of Match.com commercials. Talon also has a successful VO career spanning commercial, video games, animation and audio books. Some selected credits are: Suspense! (3X Peabody and SOVAS Nomination,) Divorce Court (Daytime Emmy Nomination,) Red Lobster, Aoi Boi (Animated Series), GTAV, COD: Advanced Warfare, and the best-selling audiobook series Fae Wars and Car Wars. Some of the original cast recordings you can hear him on are: Take it Easy, TG! The Musical!, and Finding Nemo! The Musical. His book “Starting Your Career in Voice-Overs” is available anywhere books are sold. www.talonbeeson.com |
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Jason Dunk, M.F.A. Pronouns: He/Him/His |
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Leni A. Dyer, M.F.A. Pronouns: She/Her/Hers |
Leni is an Associate Professor and Costume Designer in the Department of Theatre & Dance. She received her BA from Kennesaw State University and her MFA from the University of Alabama. Her professional career has taken her all over the United States and the world. She has worked for such theatres as the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, GA, The Omaha Playhouse in Omaha, NE and Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown, MA just to name a few. She also spent time working in the area of costumes on Cruise ships which offered her the opportunity to travel to places such as Japan, China, all of the Virgin Islands and Hawaii. Costume history and research is Leni's strongest interest. She is very active with the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, Southeastern Theatre Conference, and Tennessee Theatre Association where she is a past President. In the past Leni had the opportunity to tour mainland China as an Education Delegate with People to People Ambassador Programs.
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Lindsey Grant, MFA Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
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Coming Soon! |
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Zakk Mannella Pronouns: He/Him
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Zakk Mannella is an Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre, as well as the current Head of Musical Theatre. Zakk holds a BA from Marymount Manhattan College (2015), and an MFA in Musical Theatre from San Diego State University (2024). Zakk is a performer, director, choreographer, and educator who has worked professionally all over the country both on stage and off. He is currently training to become a certified Intimacy Director for stage and screen. His teaching philosophy lives within strengthening individuality and personal empowerment in an industry that is ever-changing, and how to achieve personal success within all facets of theatre. The breadth of the classes he has taught include dance (jazz, tap, ballet, MT), Acting, Theatre History, Musical Theatre History, Directing/Choreography, Private Voice, MT Techniques, MT Fundamentals, Scene Into Song, Audition Prep/Coaching, and more. He is immensely proud to be a part of the faculty of Theatre & Dance at APSU. |
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Pic Coming Soon! Darren Michael, MFA Pronouns: He/Him/His |
Darren is a Professor of Theare at Austin Peay State University where he teaches a variety of courses, including Acting, Directing, Improvisation, Playwriting, Script Analysis, and Stage Dialects. Darren earned a Bachelor of Arts in Performance from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Southern Mississippi. His particular interests and training include Shakespeare and his contemporaries, theatre history, mask work and stage combat. Darren’s plays have been produced across the country from Nashville to New York City. Darren’s play Scarecrows Will Never See a Sunset is published through Concord Theatricals and his book Brief Encounters, a collection of short plays, was released by Waveland Press in January 2023. Darren is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Vice President of Festivals for the Southeastern Theatre Conference and former president of the Tennessee Theatre Association. He is the APSU 2026 – 2027 Faculty Senate President.
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Joe Pew, M.F.A. Pronouns: He/Him/His
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Joe Pew is an Assistant Professor of Scene Design at Austin Peay State University and an accomplished Art Director and Designer with extensive experience in television, film, and theatre. He earned his MFA from Brandeis University and BFA from Texas Tech University, bringing a unique blend of academic expertise and professional artistry to his teaching. Joe has worked on numerous high-profile television productions, including Fear the Walking Dead, American Horror Stories, Hannah Montana, How I Met Your Mother, and Rules of Engagement, earning multiple Emmy Award nominations and an Art Directors Guild Award nomination for his work. Beyond television, his theatrical designs have been showcased at venues such as New Repertory Theatre, Main Street Theatre, and the American Stage Festival. |
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Margaret Rennerfeldt, M.F.A. Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
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Margaret Rennerfeldt, Professor of Dance holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts, and a Master of Fine Arts, in dance performance from the University of Wisconsin, and a Master of Arts in Teaching reading from Rockford University. She is certified in Somatic Movement Education from the Center for BodyMindMovement and Somatic Experiencing through Somatic Experiencing International. Her areas of focus are dance technique, improvisation, choreography, somatic movement, anatomy and dance in education. Professional performance credits include Chicago Dance Medium, Akasha Dance Company and Without Shoes Modern Dance Company. She has presented choreography, master classes and workshops at the American College Dance Association, Alabama Arts Council, and Tennessee Association of Dance and internationally Russia, Ecuador, Hong Kong, and Japan. Her choreography “Finding Place” and “Gotta Make a Dance, the Last Gasp” were selected for the Gala performance at the American College Dance Association South Region. She joined the department in 2011.
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