Kellee Van Aken

Directing credits: Letters to Sala, Good Person of Setzuan, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Little Night Music, Urinetown, Salvation Road, Running in Traffic by Denise Pullen (world premiere), Cabaret, Macbeth, Kindertransport, Life is a Dream, all at Seton Hill. Other directing credits: Mercy Train (Microscopic Opera), Rachel Carson Saves the Day! (Shakespeare in the Schools), Tammy Ryan’s Lost Boy Found at Whole Foods (reading), Phantasmagorilla (premiere) Opera Theater Pittsburgh, The Pirate Queen, Timeout with Didi and Rose!, autodelete (readings City Theatre Momentum). With visual artist and puppet maker Cheryl Capezzuti she has created and directed over half a dozen performances including Random Teleology, Songs from a Lost Civilization (Lovelace Puppet Festival), Mismatched Pair (Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Women’s Work Festival, Penn State Arts Festival, Black Sheep Puppet Festival), the musical Colorfast, with composer Douglas Levine, Night Flight, and Stuff (all for Pittsburgh International Children’s Theatre Festival. ) She worked for eight years as City Theatre’s Artistic Associate under Marc Masterson and Tracy Brigden. She also served as the Programming Supervisor at Gateway to the Arts.

Education

• Ph.D, University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA) 2006

• M.A., University of California-Davis, (Davis, CA) 1992

• B.A., University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA) 1988

Organizations

• Member of the Association of Theatre in Higher Education

Presentations

• Preparing Students for the Profession: Professional Practice Courses and the Capstone Experience- Association for the Theatre in Higher Education Conference Boston 2018 Theatre and Dance Programs: Working Under a Big Umbrella- Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference, Las Vegas 2017