Andy Head

Assistant Professor

School of Performing Arts

College of Liberal Arts

awhgla@rit.edu

Andy Head

Assistant Professor

School of Performing Arts

College of Liberal Arts

Education

BS, Bradley University; MFA, Michigan State University

Bio

Andy Head is an Assistant Professor working with both RIT & NTID Performing Arts. Since joining RIT/NTID, he has directed "Love’s Fire: Seven Plays Inspired by Seven Shakespearean Sonnets" (2016), an adapted version of "Peer Gynt" with the RIT Orchestra (2017), "Stupid F*cking Bird" (2018), "Cabaret" (2018), "I and You" (2019), “She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms” (2021) and “Angels in America: Millennium Approaches” (2021). Both "I and You" and “Angels in America” were selected to perform at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for Region 2. “I and You” won a 2020 Outstanding Ensemble Production award from the KCACTF National Committee. “Angels in America” won a 2022 Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Award from KCACTF National Committee, among others. The award “recognizes programs in higher education using theatrical production to promote long-term societal impact through an artistic lens, to encourage empathetic exploration of the complex cultural and physical world, and to advocate for justice on campus and throughout the world.”

Andy completed his graduate studies in Acting at Michigan State University. He has acted professionally with the Michigan Shakespeare Festival, New Harmony Theatre, Summer Circle Theatre, and the Williamston Theatre. Locally he's appeared in the Rochester Fringe Festival, at the Wallbyrd Theatre Company, and with Blackfriars Theatre.

Andy has carried theatre outreach work to Ghana, where he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer for two years and created educational theatre pieces with members of his community. Before joining the RIT faculty, Andy taught for the Performing Arts Department at the University of Southern Indiana.

Courses Offered:
Introduction to Theatre
Introduction to Theatre Online
Introduction to Performing Arts
Traditions of Theatre in the US
Traditions of Shakespearean Theatre
Museum Theatre
Fundamentals of Acting
Devising Theatre
Theatre Ensemble
Dramatic Theory & Text Analysis
Experiential Learning in Performing Arts

His current office is 50-A147, under Peterson Hall.

awhgla@rit.edu

Select Scholarship

Peer Reviewed/Juried Poster Presentation or Conference Paper

Kushner, Tony. "Invited Production: Angels in America: Millennium Approaches." Proceedings of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival - Region 2 Festival 54. Ed. Andy Head. Online, Online: n.p..

Gunderson, Lauren. "Invited Production: I and You." Proceedings of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival - Region 2 Festival 52; University of Maryland: January 14-18, 2020. Ed. Andy Head. College Park, Maryland: n.p..

Kander, John, Fred Ebb, and Joe Masteroff. "Invited Scene: Cabaret." Proceedings of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival - Region 2 Festival 51; Montclair State University; January 15-18, 2019. Ed. Andy Head. Montclair, New Jersey: n.p..

Invited Keynote/Presentation

Head, Andy and Gary Jacobs. "The Compositor: How Hybrid Productions Will Create a New Job Title in Theatre." 42nd Annual Mid-America Theatre Conference. MATC. Cleveland, OH, United States. 5 Mar. 2022. Conference Presentation.

Head, Andy. "Embracing the ‘Virtual’ in She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms." 2022 Annual Conference. Association for Theatre in High Education. Detroit, Michigan. 30 Jul. 2022. Conference Presentation.

Head, Andy, Victoria Covell, and Kendell Charles. "Deaf Actors, Hearing Director: Tackling Challenges in Adaptation." Region 2 - Festival 52. Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. College Park, MD. 18 Jan. 2020. Conference Presentation.

Head, Andy. "From the Director’s Notebook: Conceptualizing Theatrical Worlds for Deaf and Hearing Characters." 41st Annual Mid-America Theater Conference. MATC. Chicago, IL. 8 Mar. 2020. Conference Presentation.

Head, Andy, et al. "Blurring Boundaries and Dissolving Silos: Developing an XR Museum Project in Collaboration." Educators in VR Series. Educators in VR. AltpaceVR, VR. 20 Oct. 2020. Guest Lecture.

Head, Andy, et al. "SOMNIUM" VR Demo." Frameless Labs Symposium. Rochester Institute of Technology. Rochester, NY. 19 Nov. 2020. Conference Presentation.

Head, Andy and Omen Sade. "Into the Unknown!: Digital Theatre and Boldly Going Forward with "SOMNIUM"." Frameless Labs Symposium. Rochester Institute of Technology. Rochester, New York. 20 Nov. 2020. Conference Presentation.

National/International Competition Award Winner

Head, Andy. Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival National Committee. Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Award for "Angels in America: Millennium Approaches". Washington, DC, 2022.

Head, Andy. Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival National Committee. Outstanding Production Ensemble for "I and You". Washington, DC, 2020.

Shows/Exhibits/Installations

Jacobs-Jenkins, Branden. Everybody. 10-13 Nov. 2022. Ingle Auditorium, Rochester. Performance.

Nguyen, Qui. She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms. 16-18 Apr. 2021. Panara Theatre/Youtube, Rochester/online. Performance.

Kushner, Tony. Angels in America: Millennium Approaches. 16-18 Nov. 2021. Panara Theatre, Rochester. Performance.

Gunderson, Lauren. I and You. 25-27 Oct. 2019. LBJ-1510 Lab Theatre, Rochester. Performance.

Invited Article/Publication

Head, Andy and Gary Jacobs. "The Compositor: How Hybrid Productions Will Create a New Job Title in Theatre." Theatre/Practice. (2023). Web.

Head, Andy. "“Equal Prominence: Directing a Deaf and Hearing Production of I and You." Theatre/Practice. (2021). Web.

Currently Teaching

PRFL-130

Introduction to Theatre

3 Credits

An introduction to theatre as a performing art. Students develop skills in reading, analysis and evaluation through an examination of theatre’s forms, constituent elements, and its cultural, stylistic and historical development.

PRFL-220

Theatre Ensemble

1 Credits

The Theatre Ensemble is an experiential-learning course in which students will have various opportunities to apply theoretic knowledge to practice through participation in a faculty mentored or faculty directed theatre production on campus. Course content will include CLA main stage productions, as well as other ensemble productions that perform or develop theatre performances covering a range of genres, periods and cultures. Students will be expected to write, create and/or analyze texts as well as participate as actors, designers, and technicians.

PRFL-221

Fundamentals of Acting

3 Credits

This course will introduce students to the history and theory of acting in Western Culture from the late 19th century up to the present day. Particular focus will be paid to the theories of Stanislavsky and Stanislavsky-based approaches along with complementary and contrasting methods developed by such theorist/practitioners as Jerzy Grotowski, Lee Strasberg, and Sanford Meisner. Students can expect a course that combines lecture/discussion with practical exercises designed to apply concepts and theory using acting techniques designed to strengthen vocal and physical expression and to stimulate the imagination. In addition, actors will be introduced to scene work and develop skills for text analysis as a basis for character development. Assessment will include quizzes, papers, and in-class participation in exercises and scene work. As an introductory course, the course objectives are to provide students with a broad survey of the aesthetics, theory, and practice of acting.

PRFL-333

Auditioning Techniques

3 Credits

This course will run parallel to PRFL 221: Fundamentals of Acting by introducing and developing acting concepts and techniques that focus on the audition process. Through a variety of audition settings such as theatre, musical theatre, television, and film, students will hone their skills of play reading, script analysis, character development and personalization, memorization, improvisation, and confidence in presenting their work. Students can expect a course that is highly experiential. At the end of the semester students will have created an audition repertoire book to take into any audition setting. The skills built in this course can be applied to job interviews in most other careers and disciplines.

PRFN-100

Introduction to Performing Arts

3 Credits

This course will examine the characteristics and elements of theatre and the performing arts, emphasizing the principles and conventions that guided theatre productions through history. The course examines the ways that theatre influences and is influenced by cultures and by individual life experience. Particular attention is paid to the development of scripts, visual theatre, theatre vocabulary, and the emergence of Deaf and multicultural theatre.

PRFN-218

Theatre Practicum

1 - 3 Credits

This course applies technical, performing, script analysis, stage management, and other skills to an actual theatrical production. Students contract with a department mentor for responsibilities and the appropriate credit expectations. In addition to production responsibilities, students are expected to complete reading and writing assignments connected to the production. This course is repeatable for credit.

In the News

January 24, 2023

RIT students receive Kennedy Center awards

Three RIT students involved in last semester’s production of Everybody brought home awards from the Region II Kennedy Center College Theatre Fest, held Jan. 17-22.
July 29, 2022

RIT/NTID and College of Liberal Arts present 2022-2023 theatrical season

RIT's 2022-2023 theater season will include Everybody, a morality play on death; a production celebrating Thomas Warfield’s 25th anniversary of dance at NTID; a musical on unexpected connections; a play of episodic poems on deafness, violence, and resistance; and a dance production of an extended 1970s progressive rock song.
February 8, 2022

NTID Performing Arts, Dance at RIT present IGNITE showcase

A variety of RIT performing artists will showcase their talents at IGNITE, organized by NTID's Department of Performing Arts and Dance at RIT. IGNITE will have four shows Feb. 11-13 at Robert F. Panara Theatre in Lyndon Baines Johnson Hall.

More News