Explore the theatrical genres of Neo-Burlesque and Cabaret as forms of solo performance and dramatic storytelling. Study the evolution of the art form, modern examples of Neo-Burlesque, and fair business practices for today’s cabaret performer. Develop a character persona and generate a solo piece, along with the necessary performance skills that are unique to the genre of burlesque. Learn makeup and costuming techniques, use of music, and how to employ existing acting/dance skills in service of the ‘art of the tease.’ No dance training or nudity required.

Photo Credit: wittypixel Photography

In addition to teaching at Cornish, Timothy has taught classes for the Seattle Children’s Theatre, Freehold Studio Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre and served as artistic director of Langston Hughes Cultural Arts Center Theatre Camp.

As an actor, he made his Broadway debut as Agent Bill Cod in Catch Me If You Can. Other acting credits include roles at the Denver Center Theatre Company, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Portland Center Stage and Pioneer Theatre Company, among others. His northwest credits include roles at the 5th Avenue Theatre, ACT, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Intiman Theater, Empty Space Theatre, Village Theatre, Showtunes, The Group Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre and Operating Theater.

Recently Timothy directed A Raisin in the Sun at the Seattle Repertory Theater and will co-direct Hairspray in the spring of 2018 at the Village Theatre where he recently served as associate director for Dreamgirls. Timothy has directed many productions at Cornish, including Hedda Gabler, The Laramie Project, Intimate Apparel, Urinetown: The Musical, Home and The Secret Garden.

In 2015 Timothy was honored with both the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship and the Sustained Achievement Award from Theatre Puget Sound, our local theater service organization. He is the recipient of Gregory, Gypsy Rose Lee, Seattle Times Footlight and Seattle P-I awards for his work. Timothy received a BFA from the University of Utah and an MFA from The National Theatre Conservatory.

Photo Credit: LaRae Lobdell

From the Classroom to the Stage

Your experience at Cornish goes beyond the classroom and right onto the stage.

Develop your craft in class, then put your skills into practice by performing in the many plays, musicals, and dramas of our richly varied Cornish Theater season; and collaborating on the 30-plus original works we produce every year. Students may participate as performers, assistant directors, and student dramaturgs.

Freshmen create and perform in the LORE Project, bringing myths and legends from around the world to life on stage. Sophomores participate in a three-show repertory of an established drama, musical, and ensemble-generative work. Juniors and seniors perform in our fall season of contemporary work and spring capstone projects, including a classical production, large-scale musical, and O!FEST, featuring a clown show and ten-minute play festival.

The work you do each semester builds towards your senior thesis project, where you showcase skills you’ve polished through four years of “practice/perform/repeat.” And Seattle theater
companies know the value of a Cornish education. You also have opportunities to audition or interview for internships at local theaters and producing organizations.

It takes a village to put on a theater production. So whatever craft you choose—performing, playwriting, directing, or all of the above!—there’s always a part for you in our Theater department. ​

PERFORMANCE SPACES

Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center

Our premier performance space, former home of two Tony Award-winning regional theater companies, right in the heart of Seattle Center's Theater Row

Marleen & Kenny Alhadeff Studio Theater at Cornish Playhouse

Our black box studio theater used for original works, smaller productions, and repertory festivals

Raisbeck Performance Hall

Our easily configurable black box space used for dramas, comedies, musicals, and an annual cabaret show

Our faculty and staff are active as practicing theater artists, working in venues from major regional theaters to Broadway, from musical theater to film to community-based theater with underserved populations, as performers, directors, playwrights, administrators and dramaturgs. Your instructors meet regularly with you to discuss your progress and help you set goals for Cornish and beyond. Through your academic engagement with the faculty, you receive artistic mentoring and professional networking opportunities as well as intensive instruction. The Theater faculty is chaired by Richard E.T. White, and includes such distinguished artist-educators as Geoffrey Alm, Ellen Boyle, Kathleen Collins, Sheila Daniels, Tinka Gutrick-Dailey, Ryan Hartigan, Elizabeth Heffron, Keira McDonald, Kate Myre, Lisa Norman, Timothy McCuen Piggee, Robin Lynn Smith, John Kendall Wilson and many others.

Administration:

• Richard E. T. White , Department Chair
• Shawn Belyea , Producer
• Amy LaZerte , Department Coordinator

Faculty:

• Ellen Boyle
• Kathleen Collins
• Ryan Hartigan
• Keira McDonald
• Kate Myre
• Lisa Norman
• A Rey Pamatmat
• Timothy McCuen Piggee
• Robin Lynn Smith

Instructor:

• Geoffrey Alm
• Mallery Avidon
• Jeanette Ball
• Shawn Belyea
• Amelia C. Bolyard
• Caroline Brown
• Frances Brown
• Jeannette D’Armand
• Sheila Daniels
• Christopher Goodson
• Tinka Gutrick-Dailey
• William Halsey
• Sarah Harlett
• Tim Hickey
• Jacob Alfredo Hutchison
• Alyssa Keene
• Marc Kenison
• Claire Marx
• Meg McLynn
• Michael Place
• Maureen Provencher
• Candice Pullom
• Shelby Rogers Richardson
• Carol Roscoe
• Kerry Skalsky
• Rhonda J. Soikowski
• Katherine Strohmaier
• Guillaume C. Tourniare
• Nuria Ugalde
• Katjana Vadeboncoeur

Cornish Theater alumni have found success:

• Acting, directing and administration in regional theaters
• Creating original performance pieces
• Making feature films, television shows, and commercials
• Establishing new theater companies
• Teaching drama at all levels
• Making and touring theater to Europe, Asia, Australia and Latin America

In Seattle, alumni work consistently at:

• Seattle Repertory Theatre
• Intiman Theatre
• A Contemporary Theatre (ACT)
• Seattle Children’s Theatre
• 5th Avenue Theatre
• Book-It Repertory Theatre
• Seattle Shakespeare Company
• Village Theatre
• Annex Theater
• New Century Theatre Company
• Washington Ensemble Theatre
• Strawberry Theatre Workshop
• Many fringe theaters and outdoor Shakespeare productions, as well as forming their own companies

Alumni have also gone on to prestigious graduate schools such as Yale, ART/Harvard, NYU Tisch, Northwestern, University of Texas at Austin and the American Conservatory Theater. Our notable alumni include:

• Kjerstine Rose Anderson (actor, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, ACT Theatre, Seattle)
• Richard Andriessen (AKA Major Scales) (writer-composer- performer, The Vaudevillians, ACT Theatre)
• Brenda Arellano (writer-performer, Neo-Futurists, Chicago and San Francisco)
• Meghan Arnette (artistic director, Live Girls Theatre, Seattle)
• Mallery Avidon (playwright, Los Angeles)
• Sherrine Azab (producer-director, A Host of People, Detroit)
• Brett Baker (actor)
• Jessica Barkl (Assistant Professor of Theatre & Speech, Sullivan County CC, NY)
• Gabriel Baron (filmmaker, Gabriel Baron Studios)
• Greg Bennick (performer-juggler- motivational speaker)
• Tawnya Bhattacharya (television writer-producer, Los Angeles)
• Todd Bjurstrom (instructor, Lee Strasberg Institute, Los Angeles)
• Margot Bordelon (director, Steppenwolf Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre)
• Skye Borgman (director-cinematographer)
• Wolfe Bowart (internationally touring clown/physical theater creator-performer)
• Xanadu Bruggers (Senior Assistant to the Director, Pixar Animation Studios)
• William Burke (playwright-director, NY)
• Rose Cano (playwright-performer, artistic director, eSe Teatro, Seattle)
• Emily Chisholm (actor, Seattle Repertory Theatre, ACT Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare Company)
• Joshua Conkel (playwright-producer, DODO Theatre Collective, NYC; staff writer, Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events)
• Andrew Lee Creech (playwright-performer, Seattle)
• Samie Spring Detzer (actor/artistic director, Washington Ensemble Theatre, Seattle)
• Chris Dodge (Partner Education and Program Manager, Google)
• Brendan Fraser (actor-producer)
• Malte Frid-Nielsen (stage, film and television actor, Denmark)
• David Gasman (actor-director- voiceover artist, Los Angeles)
• Tavia Gilbert (award-winning audiobook narrator, NYC)
• Jose Gonzales (actor-musician, Jose Gonzales Trio, Seattle)
• Sarah E.R. Grosman (Community Programs Manager, Turtle Bay Music School, NY)
• Lisa Halpern (screenwriter)
• Jessica Hatlo (playwright-director, Pe/Mo, Seattle)
• Megan Hill (actor-playwright- producer, DODO Theatre Collective, NYC)
• Jerick Hoffer AKA Jinkx Monsoon (actor-singer/award- winning drag artist)
• Jake Hooker (writer-director- scholar, A Host of People, Detroit)
• Diana Huey (actor-singer, NY)
• Joel Isaksen (architect: Design Lead, ADD Inc./Stantec, Boston)
• Alyssa Keene (actress-singer/musician- teacher-voice and dialect coach, Seattle)
• Robbie Laughlin (host, E! Network)
• C.S. Lee (actor: Dexter, True Detective, Power)
• JoCurtis Lester (Professor of Theater, Suffolk County College, NY)
• David Anthony Lewis (performer, American Shakespeare Center, VA)
• Eleuthera Lisch (YMCA Alive and Free, nationally renowned expect on gang violence prevention)
• Phillip Lomax (recording artist, account executive at Uber)
• Natasha Martina (Associate Professor of Drama, University of Saskatchewan; artistic director, Ground Cover Theatre))
• Pamala Mijatov (former Artistic Director, Annex Theatre, Seattle)
• Derrick Ryan Claude Mitchell (Saint Genet Company, Austria’s Donau Festival)
• Ramiz Monsef (actor-writer/hip- hop performer, The Unfortunates at Oregon Shakespeare Festival and ACT, San Francisco; actor, Los Angeles)
• Jon Kristian Moore (actor, Santa Fe)
• Hannah Mootz (actress, Seattle Repertory Theatre, New Century Theatre Company)
• Deanna Mustard (actress-voiceover artist, Super Mario Brothers’ Princess Daisy)
• Edward O’Blenis (actor, NY)
• Mandie O'Connell (Knuckle Cartel, Berlin)
• Peter Dylan O'Connor (actor-producer- technical director, New Century Theatre)
• Beethovan Oden (actor, NYC)
• Brandon Olson (performer-stylist, NYC)
• James Oliver (actor, Los Angeles)
• Opal Peachey (cabaret writer-producer performer, Seattle)
• Christopher Peak (Senior Director/Head of Retail Design and Sourcing, Apple Inc.)
• Sage Price (performer, media producer: Vacation Theory LLC)
• Alexander Pschill (actor-producer, Vienna)
• Ron E. Rains (actor, Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, film critic for The Onion)
• Wayne Rawley (playwright-director, Seattle)
• Laurie Records (Laurie Records Casting, LA)
• Don Darryl Rivera (actor-composer- playwright, Broadway: Disney’s Aladdin)
• Stephanie Roberts (Associate Professor of Physical Theatre, UMKC)
• Elizabeth Rose-Browne (actor-singer/ Marketing Relations Manager, Wexford Opera, Ireland)
• Caety Sagoian (singer-actress, Seattle; voiceover artist (“Buster, Jr” for Super Mario Brothers)
• Courtney Sale (Artistic Director, Seattle Children's Theatre)
• Lanise Antoine Shelley (actor-writer- visual artist, Stratford Festival, Canada, and Chicago)
• MJ Sieber (actor-director, New Century Theatre and Seattle’s ACT Theatre)
• Jasmine Jean Sim (actor-singer, Seattle)
• Julia Sirna-Frest (actor-singer, Half Straddle Theater, NY, and Doll Parts, Brooklyn)
• Kerry Skalsky (actor, director, teacher, Seattle)
• Yuri Skujins (Target Margin Theatre, NY)
• Dylan K. Sladky (Artistic Administrator, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre)
• Rhonda J. Soikowski (director-theater maker-teacher, soikowski research/performance)
• Asa Taccone (writer-composer- performer, Electric Guest, Emmy award-winner)
• Chris Tharp (author, The Worst Motorcycle in Laos)
• Connor Toms (actor, Seattle)
• Kayla Walker (actor-director, Seattle)
• Deedra Watts (Deedra Watts Casting, LA)
• Tami Workentin (actress-director, Milwaukee)
• Amelia Rose Zirin-Brown AKA Lady Rizo (internationally renowned cabaret performer-actor)

Cornish Theater alumni are empathic, nimble, and proficient communicators. Graduates of our program have also gone on to effectively use their communications, ensemble-interactive and storytelling skills as lawyers, teachers, social workers, drama therapists and counselors, marketing directors, event coordinators, architects, pastors and in management roles at Microsoft, Google, Pixar and Apple.