TFTV faculty continued their professional creative work over the summer, taking on projects ranging from international theatre workshops and major opera productions to documentary filmmaking, research and new theatrical work. Their projects took them from Paris and New York to Tucson and St. Louis, often collaborating with students and alumni.
Greg Pierotti: Theatre-making in Paris and New York
Associate Professor Greg Pierotti brought his theatre-making practice to international audiences this summer.
In June, Pierotti traveled to Paris to lead an Affect Theater Workshop for anthropologists at Université Paris Cité, funded by France’s National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). He will continue leading the workshops in Paris over the next four years, culminating in a French-language performance.
Pierotti also led a private Moment Work workshop for lead teachers of Social Presencing Theater in upstate New York. He also connected TFTV alum Hope Niven with a week-long Moment Work intensive at Tectonic Theater Project in New York, where she studied alongside the company’s founder and artistic director, Moisés Kaufman (pictured). Pierotti is a longtime member of Tectonic Theater Project, which is preparing for the Broadway opening of Here There Are Blueberries this fall.
Lisanne Skyler: Wrapping production on a new documentary
Professor Lisanne Skyler reached a major milestone this summer, wrapping production on her National Endowment for the Humanities-funded feature documentary about pioneering designer Florence Knoll.
Two TFTV alumni, Laura Snow and Ruben Reynoso, have been contributing to the project in research and post-production respectively.
Skyler also has a short fiction film, Break, in post-production. Produced by Academy Award-nominated producer Sofia Sondervan, the film stars Gaite Jansen (Peaky Blinders).
Rick Tuckett: From rendering to opera stage
Associate Professor Rick Tuckett spent the spring and summer working as a draper for the festival season at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, one of the country’s major summer opera festivals. The 2026 season was the first planned by newly appointed Artistic Director Patricia Racette, the internationally acclaimed soprano.
Tuckett created costumes for four productions: The Pirates of Penzance, The Light in the Piazza, A Streetcar Named Desire and Romeo and Juliet.
Highlights included costumes for Clara Johnson in The Light in the Piazza, designed by Ulisses Alcala and performed by Metropolitan Opera soprano Katrina Galka, and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, designed by Robert Perdziola and performed by Metropolitan Opera soprano Emma Marhefka (pictured).
Drew Humphrey: Inclusive theatre across the country
Associate Professor of Practice Drew Humphrey spent the summer directing and creating opportunities for young performers through inclusive musical theatre programs in Arizona, Kentucky and Missouri.
As Artistic Director of Saguaro City Music Theatre, Humphrey helped lead the company’s June summer musical theatre camp, serving 75 young people, approximately 45% of whom had an identified exceptional need.
He then directed Matilda the Musical for The Lexington Theatre Company before traveling to St. Louis to co-direct an inclusive summer camp and production of The Addams Family for Variety the Children’s Charity of St. Louis in partnership with COCA. More than 70 students participated.
Humphrey also cast an upcoming New York production of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical, hiring two TFTV alumni, Lily Grubert and Jaz Gomez, for the production.
Michael Mulcahy: New films take shape
Professor Michael Mulcahy spent the summer developing two short films.
He completed filming on Not All Equally at Risk: Extreme Heat in Tucson, a short documentary about the city’s extreme heat, and worked with Austin-based editor Marcella Garcia to bring the film to its fine cut.
Mulcahy also wrote, produced and directed Everyone Has a Plan…, a short psychological horror film with an all-TFTV cast and crew. Faculty members Erin Roberts and Rick Wamer and student Fern Robinson appeared in the film, while the crew included Damon Mosier, Jayna Rogers, student Michael Staggers and TFTV alum Gilbert Rataezyk.
Matt Marcus: Sound design and mentorship
Associate Professor of Practice Matt Marcus served as sound designer for Saguaro City Music Theatre’s June production of The Addams Family, which featured professional adult actors alongside 63 young performers from the company’s Studio Arts Presents summer camp.
Marcus collaborated with alumni Noah Dettmann (’20) and Michael Meneguin (’24), who served as associate sound designer and assistant sound designer respectively. He also mentored Catalina Foothills High School student Milo Peters and Pima Community College student Elyana Palma, who interned on the production.
In July, Marcus presented in a panel on sound design techniques and helped run audio at the annual national conference of the Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association (TSDCA).
Rick Wamer: A new work takes the stage
Assistant Professor of Practice Rick Wamer directed Stand in the Shade of Me, a one-woman, multi-character performance inspired by Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard.
Developed with University of New Mexico colleague and performer Kate Clarke, the production premiered at the Albuquerque Fringe Festival in June and is now being prepared for a limited tour.
Roweena Mackay: Researching Native representation in film
Assistant Professor of Practice Roweena Mackay was invited to be a mentor for A Student’s Journey (ASJ), a year-long program with a 5-week on-campus summer experience at the University of Arizona for Tribal College Students. Using an experiential internship-based approach, ASJ addresses the academic transfer barriers for Tribal College students enrolling at 4-year universities.
Mackay worked with Tohono O’odham Community College student Andraya Garcia on research into Native American participation and representation in the 1940 film Arizona. Their work included archival research into two versions of the film’s screenplay held by the Arizona Historical Society (pictured), as well as visits to filming locations including Old Tucson and White Stallion Ranch.
Jacob Bricca: Editing stories rooted in Southern Arizona
Professor Jacob Bricca continued his work as an editor on Whose Land? O’odham Land!, a documentary exploring the impact of the U.S.-Mexico border barrier on Tohono O’odham and Hia-Ced O’odham communities in Southern Arizona and Sonora, Mexico.
The film follows O’odham people defending their land and sacred sites while examining questions of Indigenous sovereignty, religious freedom, environmental stewardship and human rights.