Every summer the Troy Arts Council Theater Committee works to bring in volunteer guest directors and creative teams to participate in a summer residency. This residency includes numerous educational opportunities, camps, and workshops. It also includes the production of a full-scale musical held in the Troy City Park.
We are so incredibly thankful for our guest directors and creative team. They volunteer their time, energy, and resources to help support our community through theater. They believe this community is worth investing in and give us so much. Learn about our team below!
We are so incredibly thankful for our guest directors and creative team. They volunteer their time, energy, and resources to help support our community through theater. They believe this community is worth investing in and give us so much. Learn about our team below!
Kenn Wheeler - director
Kenn Wheeler is an Associate Professor of Theatre Arts at Eastern Oregon University. He is in his twenty-first year and considers himself a theatre generalist. His areas of concentration would include musical theatre, stage management, and directing, but he also designs scenery and teaches acting, theatre history, stage makeup, and stage combat. He received his BA from Southern Utah University and his MFA from Michigan State University. Before coming to EOU, Kenn taught at Lansing Community College and Albion College, in Michigan, and Treasure Valley Community College, in Ontario, OR. His most recent project was directing All Together Now with the EOU Chamber Choir which ran last November. In his career, Kenn has produced,
directed, designed, or acted in more than three hundred productions. In the fall of 2010, Kenn was privileged to direct the first amateur university production of The Phantom of the Opera to be produced in the United States. While some of his favorite projects have included Urinetown
the Musical, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Les Miserables, and Much Ado About Nothing, he considers his greatest productions to be his three daughters, Jennifer, Jessica and Jillian. He and his wife, Denise are now working on spoiling their seven grandchildren: Valin, Boston, Nathaniel, Oren, Tobin, Hazel and Abigaille. Plenty of pictures are available upon request.
directed, designed, or acted in more than three hundred productions. In the fall of 2010, Kenn was privileged to direct the first amateur university production of The Phantom of the Opera to be produced in the United States. While some of his favorite projects have included Urinetown
the Musical, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Les Miserables, and Much Ado About Nothing, he considers his greatest productions to be his three daughters, Jennifer, Jessica and Jillian. He and his wife, Denise are now working on spoiling their seven grandchildren: Valin, Boston, Nathaniel, Oren, Tobin, Hazel and Abigaille. Plenty of pictures are available upon request.
Denise wheeler - choreographer
Denise Wheeler is a theatre generalist who has had a creative hand in almost every aspect of the theatre arts. She started as an actress at the age of 14 when she appeared in her high school production of Fiddler on the Roof. Since then, she has directed and choreographed nearly 200 shows with Urinetown, the Musical, Fiddler on the Roof and Newsies as some of her favorites. She has created roles in more than 75 plays and musicals, with Dotty Otley in Noises Off and Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance being especially memorable. She has costumed more than 150 productions including, Tartuffe, The Lion in Winter, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and The Music Man which boasted a cast of 84. She has worked with her husband for more than 20 years and on a myriad of productions as costumer, choreographer and actress. In addition to her remarkable work in theatre, Denise has literally “produced” three astounding daughters, Jennifer, Jessica and Jillian, who have in turn, gone on to produce seven grandchildren: Valin, Boston, Nathaniel, Oren, Tobin, Hazel and Abigaille.
Kaitlyn Atchison - Music director
Kaitlyn Atchison is currently working on her MM degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Idaho. She received her BA in Vocal Performance from Whitworth University. This is her second year working with Troy Community Theater, and her first time working as a musical director. She is greatly looking forward to the experience, as one of her passions is to help others learn to sing and perform. She has experience in both opera and musical theater, with roles including Marian Paroo from The Music Man, Lucie Mannette from The Tale of Two Cities, Mabel from The Pirates of Penzance, The Queen of the Night from The Magic Flute, and Bradamante from Alcina. When she is not working in theatre, Kaitlyn can be found teaching singing lessons, hiking, working with her horses, and caring for her excessive number of houseplants.
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