Faculty
Rex Knowles (Executive Director / Improvisation) teaches both first and second year improvisation. Sherry and Rex have been teaching improvisation for over 30 years.Their classes were recommended in the book "Your Film Acting Career". Garry Shandling said of their classes, "Everything I ever said was conceived in Rex and Sherry's improv class." Former students have included Leslie Jordan (Emmy Award winning actor), Sonny Shroyer (Enos, Dukes of Hazzard), Mary Wilson (The Supremes), Dennis Palumbo (screenwriter "My Favorite Year"), Frank Buxton (director, "Mork and Mindy", and hundreds of improv enthusiasts.(photo credit: Bill Shipley, Rex in That Other Woman's Child)
Sherry Landrum (Artistic Director / Acting) teaches acting and scene study for first and second year students. The technique is grounded in Stanislavski and informed by the work of George Morrison, one of America's premiere acting teachers. George was Sherry's first professional acting teacher. While in Los Angels, Sherry studied with Joan Darling (Emmy award winning director) and Paul Kent (Meisner technique). Sherry received her MA in Acting and Directing from Antioch. (Photo: Sherry with Leslie Jordan and Del Shores)
Lindsay Fussell (Movement, Second Year / Resident Choreographer) has played leading roles in The Graduate, Chicago, Cabaret, Gypsy, and The Best Little Whorehouse Texas. She has choreographed numerous musicals for the Chattanooga State Repertory Theatre, Chattanooga Theatre Center, and Center for Creative Arts, among others. She performed in the world premiere of That Other Woman's Child for the Chattanooga State Repertory Theatre and the New York premiere at the New York Musical Theatre Festival. She worked as East Coast casting director/choreographer for the film, Straight Into Darkness, which won best production design at the Milan International Film Festival. Lindsay is proud to be an original member of Chattanoodle, directed by Rex Knowles and Sherry Landrum. (photo credit: Bill Shipley, LIndsay in That Other Woman's Child)
R.E. Hobgood (Production / Facilities Manager) has been involved in theatre in Chattanooga for the past 30 years. He has been technical director of the Tivoli Theatre and Chattanooga Theatre Centre, assisted with the design of performance spaces at Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts, and is a lighting designer and actor. Bob is a member of Local 140, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). He is manager of the Humanities Theatre at Chattanooga State. (photo credit: Bill Shipley, Bob in That Other Woman's Child)
Ann Law (Movement, First Year / Director, Dance Department) received her BA in Dance from Mills College and her MA in Dance Education from University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She spent six years dancing and performing in New York City. She is certified in Pilates and has spent many years studying Kinetic Awareness from founder and master teacher Elaine Summers. She has been honored with the Tennessee Association of Dance Outstanding Dance Educator Award in 2004, the Tennessee Arts Commission's Individual Artist Fellowship Award in Dance in 2001 and Professional Artist Development Award in 2002. Currently, she is performing Passion Flower, an original, evening-length dance that synthesizes her kinesthetic and holistic experience with breast cancer.
Jeffrey Parker (Voice and Speech) is a certified teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework and has completed training in Knight/Thompson Speechwork. A professional actor since the age of 16, Jeffrey holds an MFA in Acting from the University of California (Irvine) and a B.A. in Theatre from UCLA. He has performed with Kelli O’Hara, Jason Danieley, Adam Lambert, Marin Mazzie, John Rubinstein, and Robert Morse. Credits include Beauty at the La Jolla Playhouse (directed by Tina Landau), Sunday in the Park With George, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, La Celestina, The Seagull, Nine, and a national tour of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. He is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association.
Garry Posey (Production / Acting / Resident Director) teaches production and acting. In addition to teaching, Garry is the Production Coordinator for the Professional Actor Training Program and Producing Director for the Chattanooga State Summer Theatre Festival. He is also the Founder and Producing Artistic Director for Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga. Garry's work has been recognized and honored by SETC (Leighton Ballew Award) and Allied Arts of Chattanooga (Arts Move grant). Garry has worked professionally as a director, costume designer, set designer, playwright, actor, stage manager, teacher and wardrobe supervisor at theatres in NY, NC, MA, DC, VA, OK, GA, FL, MS, AL, and TN. He is a graduate of Catawba College (BA) and the University of Mississippi (MFA).
(Photo: Garry in Luck of the Draw)
Brenda Schwab (Resident Costume Designer / Production) costumed That Other Woman's Child for the world premiere and for the New York Musical Theatre Festival. She served as resident costume designer for the Cumberland County Playhouse in Crossville, TN where she also appeared in many productions including The King and I (Anna), The Music Man (Marion), and The Glass Menagerie (Laura). She was co-founder and director of development for The New Harmony Theatre in Indiana and director of the drama program at the New Harmony School. As an actor she has appeared in theaters throughout the South and Midwest. Brenda works with the first year production class and acts as a mentor to students interested in costuming.
(Photo: Brenda in Angels in America)