Office of Public Relations
Missouri Baptist University
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For Immediate Release
RE: 30 somethings
30 somethings
March 19, 2007
They’ve garnered terminal degrees, researched life-saving vaccines, been published in dozens of scholarly publications and performed on world-renowned stages. And they are only in their thirties. Meet a sampling of some of MBU’s brightest—and youngest—faculty members.
Read about other MBU faculty members in their 30’s:
Dr. Lydia Thebeau, assistant professor of Biology
Mr. Greg Farris, assistant professor of Health and Sport Science
Coordinator of Sports Medicine Program
Dr. Keith Beutler, assistant professor of History
Joy Powell, Instructor of Theatre Arts
MBU: After years of producing acclaimed productions, MBU launched a theatre Arts major at the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year. In addition to general education requirements, the program weaves students through 45-credit hours of theatre-related courses necessary to equip students with the skills needed to enter the acting profession.
Education:
M.A. in Theatre, Lindenwood University
B.S. in Musical Theatre Performance, Ball State University
The year was 1991 and on a spring day in April then fifteen-year-old Joy Powell sat in awe as she watched the Broadway hit Les Miserables at a venue in Indianapolis.
Joy Powell
That day changed her life.
“Something clicked. I just knew at that moment that I wanted to be a part of theatre,” Powell explained, now 30-years-old and an instructor of Theatre Arts at MBU. “I wanted to make an audience feel the way those actors made me feel. Since, the love of the craft and the work is so important to me that I want to pass that along to everyone.”
Since that fateful day, Powell’s booming voice and dramatic flare has wowed hundreds of audiences. She’s produced and directed a host of highly acclaimed productions. By all accounts, Powell’s experience runs as deep as her God-given talent.
Despite her vast talent and proven experiences, pre-audition jitters never fade.
On a nippy yet balmy Saturday afternoon last spring, Powell fidgeted in a seemingly endless line of hundreds of local actors at a casting call for the St. Louis Muny, the oldest amphitheater in America.
Her nerves proved irrational. Powell was chosen from hundreds of actors who auditioned at casting calls in St. Louis and New York for two of the season’s seven shows. Powell appeared in Elton John’s AIDA, a timeless love story, and Oliver, a story of Oliver Twist’s journey through the backstreets of Dickens’s grimy Victorian London.
For the last three years, MBU has enjoyed the successes that have come with a seasoned actress and passionate academic at the helm of the Theatre Arts department. Its productions have grown into acclaimed performances with elaborate sets and a heightened level of theatre art.
The beginning of the 2006-2007 school year, however, marked another unprecedented milestone. MBU began offering classes towards its new theatre arts major. In addition to general education requirements, the program weaves students through 45-credit hours of theatre-related courses necessary to equip students with the skills needed to enter the acting profession.
“This is absolutely going to transform the way we do theatre at MBU,” Powell said. “Our students are going to gain invaluable knowledge about theatre arts by learning fundamentals and theory in the classroom. Then, they’ll incorporate that knowledge in our productions.
Powell has high hopes for the young academic program. Ultimately, however, she hopes that the new major will allow students to grow in their faith through their expressions.
“I believe that we are here to manifest the glory of God through our actions,” she said. “As actors, we have the potential to impact society through our art form.”
MBU’s Theatre Program will debut its Spring Play, Steel Magnolias, on March 23. For more information, visit www.mobap.edu/events.
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Missouri Baptist University is a premier Christian university in Saint Louis, offering graduate and undergraduate studies in over thirty specialized fields and nine degrees. MBU's education and fine arts programs are nationally known in addition to business, religion, administration of justice, and more. MBU is one of the fastest growing higher education institutions in Missouri with an enrollment of over 4,500 students at five locations in the bi-state region — West County, Lincoln County, Jefferson County, Franklin County and the new Illinois extension at Lewis and Clark Community College.
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