Acting/Directing - Faculty - Hodgin
Jere Lee Hodgin, Associate Professor email
Director of the School of Theatre & Dance
Directing, Problems in Acting, Production Acting
Jere Hodgin is an MFA graduate in Acting and Directing from the University of Georgia with over 30 years’ experience in professional theatre and ten years’ experience in academic theatre. He has produced over 200 productions, many of which were new and premiere works, and his directing career includes more than 190 plays, operas, and musicals. Scripts he has written and adapted include Castlewalk, A Christmas Carol (two versions—musical and non-musical), The Shiniest Rock of All, and The Christmas Cup. For 20 years, Jere was the Producing Artistic Director of Mill Mountain Theatre in Virginia, where he founded the nationally recognized Norfolk Southern New Play Festival. Jere also served as Artistic Director for Idaho Repertory Theatre and Co-Producer/Artistic Director of Highlands Playhouse in North Carolina and has directed at numerous theatres including The Fulton Opera, Montana Rep Missoula, Walnut Street Theatre, The Barter Theatre, Salt Lake Acting Company, Theatre Artists Studio, Phoenix Theatre, Montana Repertory Theatre (where he directed the national tour of Bus Stop) and Wayside Theatre. He has directed at Shenandoah Playwright’s Retreat, Montana Repertory Theatre’s Missoula Colony, Northwest Playwrights Alliance/Seattle Repertory Theatre, Native Voices/La Jolla Playhouse and Native Voices/Los Angeles, and The Phoenix Theatre New Play Festival. He has served as a National Endowment for the Arts site visitor and has been a member of the NEA Creativity Panel for multiple years. He has also been a regional panelist for the Virginia Commission for the Arts, as well as theatre panelist for the Idaho, South Carolina and North Carolina Arts Councils. Jere is a past president of the Southeastern Theatre Conference, where he also chaired the Playwriting Committee. He served as Vice President of the board of The National Alliance for Musical Theatre, serving as co-chair of New Works and member of the Festival of New Works committees. He has been a reader and judge for numerous national new-play contests and competitions. Jere consults with national and regional theatre boards and management teams. He is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, Actors’ Equity Association, Theatre Communications Group, and the National Theatre Conference. Jere has been a consultant to non-profit theatres across the country and works regularly with Theatrical Rights Worldwide. He received the Perry F. Kendig Award in recognition of his efforts to champion the arts in Southwestern Virginia and was named the 1999 Citizen of the Year in Roanoke, Virginia.
“Theatre is a fundamental part of our being and connects us with society in ways that no other activity in our lives does. It is universal, without boundaries and cultural differentiation, thus it has an unlimited power to transform—both those involved in the creation of it and those participating as audience members. This is the power to which we should always try to connect in our training and study as well as our work and performance. This is what connects us and reminds us that we are all one.”