Theatre Arts Program Faculty and Staff

Randy Messersmith
Theatre Arts Director

r.messersmith@sccmail.maricopa.edu

(480) 423-6718

PA 133B

Randy Messersmith has been the SCC Theatre Arts Director since 2006, and was Adjunct Faculty in Performance since 1990.  A professional actor, director and producer, Randy has worked extensively in the theatre in New York on Off-Broadway, in regional theatres throughout the U.S. and Europe, and in film and television, including leading roles on The Young Riders and The Guiding Light, as well as roles in Hidden Palms for the CW network and Maneater for Lifetime.

Locally Randy’s theatre projects include work as an actor and director for Actor’s Theatre, Phoenix Theatre, Arizona Jewish Theatre Company, Algonquin Theatre Company, and Theatre Works.  A co-founder and the former Artistic Director of the Southwest Shakespeare Company, his ariZoni award-winning productions include The Dining Room, A Winter’s Tale, Romeo and Juliet and Henry V.  His 2003 production of The Road to Mecca earned six ariZoni awards.  At SCC Randy has directed The Nerd, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, A Lie of the Mind, 3 by Tennessee, Ramshackle Inn, Boy Gets Girl, Suburbia, Metamorphoses, and the ACTF Regional Finalist As You Like It. Randy is a member of Actor's Equity Association, AFTRA, Screen Actor's Guild, SSDC, the American Society of Fight Directors.  He is also a 1^st degree Black Belt.

Kimb Williamson

Associate Theatre Arts Director

Communication and Performance Arts Department Chair
kim.williamson@sccmail.maricopa.edu

480.423.6355

PA 129

Kimb Williamson is SCC’s resident scenic designer, the Department Chair for the Communication and Performance Arts department, and Associate Theatre Arts Director.  She teaches Theatre Design, Production and Art Humanities, and serves as Vice President for Commissions of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, Inc.  She also serves as Academic Advisor to students in SCC’s Fine Arts Programs

Kimb has designed and/or worked as a scenic artist for Music Theatre of Wichita, Arizona Theatre Company, Actors Theatre, Childsplay, ASU's Department of Theatre, Phoenix Theatre, Arizona Jewish Theatre Company, Southwest Shakespeare Company, and is a guest instructor of scenic art at Cobalt Studios in New York. She has been a guest designer at the University of Northern Colorado and taught master classes at UNC and Colorado State University. Kimb was selected to be part of a delegation of American stage designers and artisans to the People’s Republic of China, is on the editorial board of The Painter's Journal and is a recipient of the KCACTF Region VIII's Medal for Excellence in Theatre Education.

Elaine "E.E." Moe

Adjunct Faculty in Acting and Directing

ee.moe@sccmail.maricopa.edu

(480) 423-6356

PA 138

Elaine “E.E.” Moe has worked in Los Angeles, New York, in regional theatres, Off-Broadway, and as guest artist for the Los Angeles Shakespeare Company, The Olympic Theatre Festival, and solo-artists touring productions.  Since returning to Arizona her directing credits include Arizona Jewish Theatre Company, Theatre Artists Studio, Desert Foothills Theatre, Theatre Out Back, and five ensemble-winning KCACTF productions for SCC (Guest Artist/Senior Lecturer) including The Matchmaker, 1940's Radio Hour, Street Scene, Johnny Belinda and The Philanderer. She is represented by Samuel French, Inc for To Feed Their Hopes, An American Cantata, celebrating American women, which received productions in New York, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara.

Ms. Moe’s acting credits include performances for Phoenix Theatre, New Works Festival, Theatre Artists Studio and The Arizona Women’s Theatre Co.  She has earned LA Drama Critics, Drama-Logue, LA Reader, LA Weekly, and NY/LA Audience Awards among others for more than 100 productions. She is Artistic Director/co-Founder of The Megaw Theatre - Megaw Actors Studio, Inc., a founder actor/director of Arizona Theatre Company, an alumnus/guest artist and Director of Production for The University of Arizona, served as host critic/commentator for Talk Cinema, as well as a presenter for many national arts management panels and international arts symposiums. Her professional career reflects her lifelong dedication to developing artists in all mediums.  Elaine is a member SSDC, Actor’s Equity Association, AFTRA, as well as council members for SSDC and Screen Actor’s Guild of AZ.

Pamela Fields

Theatre Arts Faculty Emerita

pamela.fields@sccmail.maricopa.edu

(480) 423-6352

PA 131

Pamela Fields is a professional actor, director and educator. She was the Theatre Arts Director at Scottsdale Community College from 1975-2002, and her directing activities there earned extensive recognition.  Award-winning productions included Lady House Blues, Blue Window and the acclaimed Working, which enjoyed invitational performances at the Kennedy Center.

Across her thirty-year academic career, Pam was active in the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival at the national, regional and state levels. She earned three Kennedy Center Medals for Excellence in Theatre Education, and invitational membership in the ACTF Fellows for Distinguished Service. Other awards include SCC Innovator of the Year for development of the Scottsdale Conservatory Theatre and accepting the Arizona Theatre Alliance Award of Excellence on behalf of the Theatre Arts program (2002).

Since retiring, Pam's professional activities have afforded the opportunity to return to her first theatre love—acting!  Some favorite roles include an award-winning turn as Big Mama in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Ida in Mornings at Seven, the actress in Talking With, Dolly Levi in The Matchmaker, Judith Bliss in Hay Fever and Alma in Myself, Alma Mahler -  her one-woman show that tours theatres and music festivals throughout the southwest. Pam continues to stay active by teaching theatre classes, volunteering with Book Pals, and serving as the contact person for SCC’s Theatre Arts Alumni Association on Facebook.

Gene Ganssle

Adjunct Faculty in Acting

A professional actor in the Valley for over twenty years, Gene Ganssle has an extensive background in the performing arts.  As an Equity stage actor for over a decade, Gene has acted in over 60 professional roles.  This season (2009) Gene has appeared in productions of A Christmas Carol, Half and Half and Rabbit Hole.  Represented by Dani's Agency, he has over 600 commercials, films, and industrial projects to his credit.  He has also directed, stage managed, run lights, sound and house. 

An experienced sound designer, Gene has won seven AriZoni Awards for his sound and acting work.  Currently teaching at SCC as well as his own workshops, Gene is director for the AZ Student Film Festival and has his own video production company.

Matt Hill (1973-2009)

Adjunct Faculty in Performance

Matt Hill was an actor, director, dramaturg and beloved teacher at SCC. He earned his B.A. in Theatre from Arizona State University and was in the process of finishing his M.A. in Theatre History, Theory and Criticism from Brigham Young University. Matt was an alumnus of the SCC Theatre Arts program.

While a student at SCC, Matt was an active leader in ImageMakers, helmed a variety of production assignments, and appeared in featured roles in The Boys Next Door and the award-winning As You Like It. He returned to SCC to serve as the Conservatory Director of the Southwest Shakespeare Conservatory in 2004 and as Conservatory faculty in 2005. For two years Matt also managed the Provo Theatre Company (Utah), a professional company that produces six shows a season.

Steve Gonnella 

Technical Director

steve.gonnella@sccmail.maricopa.edu

(480) 423-3689

PA 4