Jere O'Donnell
Department
Theatre
Biography
Prior to moving to Turlock in 1986, Mr. O'Donnell worked throughout the United States and New York City as a professional actor, vocal coach and director. In addition to teaching acting and directing courses at the university, Mr. O'Donnell, together with his wife, Patricia, created two new theatrical venues in Turlock: Winter at the Carnegie Performance Series, which annually presents chamber theatre productions in the city's Carnegie Arts Center and a Summer Arts Festival which now includes presentations from the music and arts departments as well. Performances at the Carnegie have included productions of The Fever, by Wallace Shawn; Love Letters, by A. R. Gurney; Faith Healer, by Brian Friel; A Room of One's Own, adapted from Virginia Woolf's lectures by Patrick Garland; Molly Sweeny, by Brian Friel and Richard III, by William Shakespeare. The summer theatre program has staged Shakespeare's King Lear, Hamlet and Macbeth; Uncle Vanya, by Anton Chekov; The Dining Room, by A. R. Gurney; Loot, by Joe Orton; Molly Sweeny by Brian Friel; and Steven Berkoff's adaptation of The Fall of the House of Usher.
Mr. O'Donnell has directed numerous Theatre Department productions, including American College Theatre Festival award-winning productions of Marat Sade and Turn of the Screw. He is a recipient of the American College Theatre Festival's "Excellence In Theatre Education" award and Certificate of Honor for "Excellence in Performing Arts" from the Stanislaus Arts Council. Recent productions include Sam Shepard's Fool for Love, Moliere's The Miser, and Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew for the new Summer Arts festival on campus.
Academic Credentials
B.A. in Theatre Arts from Florida State University; M.A. in Theatre production from the University of Louisvillle; and an M.F.A. From Temple University in Philadelphia
Area of expertise
Acting, directing, text analysis, and classical theatre
What have you learned from your students?
They want the truth. After close to 25 years of coaching actors, I have learned how to give it to them.
Why do students choose CSU Stanislaus?
Affordable, good faculty-to-student ratio, excellent faculty
How do students succeed in your class?
A positive attitude, a sense of self. And a willingness to "put it all on the line."
What brought you to CSU Stanislaus?
After years in New York, the opportunity to teach in a reasonably sized theatre program and direct plays of my choosing in very nice facilities, with talented faculty designers and eager student artists, was hard to pass up.
If you were not teaching, what other career do you see yourself in?
My career is in the theatre, wherever it takes me.
Describe a former student who has attained professional success.
There are a number of students who have gone on to professional careers in the theatre.
Students have been successful as theatre instructors, scenic and light designers, as well as costume designers. One former student, Jack Souza, is the founding artistic director of the Prospect Theatre Co. in Modesto, and another student of mine is the founding director of the Iron Ring Theatre Co. in Turlock.
E-mail Address
JO'Donnell@csustan.edu
