Department of Theatre Professor Michael Riha Featured in 'FPAC Live' Digital Series Sept. 25

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Michael Riha, professor of theatre.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center at the University of Arkansas welcomes Department of Theatre professor Michael Riha for the fifth installment of the "FPAC Live" digital series at 3 p.m. (CDT) Friday, Sept. 25, via the FPAC Facebook page.

Riha will sit down digitally with Nicole Leachman, managing director of the Faulkner Center, to discuss how the Department of Theatre has transitioned to digital performances and their upcoming performance schedule. 

Riha is a professor of theatre and has taught at the University of Arkansas since 1992 where he served as the head of design from 1996 to 2013 and as chair of the department for the past seven years. Riha's Broadway credits include assistant designer to Christine Jones on the musical, On A Clear Day You Can See Forever, and the Metropolitan Opera's 2013 production of Rigoletto.  

He has worked as an assistant designer to John Iacovelli on productions at the Southcoast Rep, The Mark Taper Forum, Syracuse Stage, and the Princess Cruise Line. He has also worked at the Muny in St. Louis, Missouri, TheatreSquared in Fayetteville, Ark., and on the national tour of Fiddler on the Roof. He has designed sets and lighting for over one hundred productions and is the author of Starting Your Career as a Theatrical Designer: Insights and Advice from Leading Broadway Designers published by Allworth Press. He is a proud member of USA-829.

For later viewing of the interview, it will be recorded and posted to the Faulkner Center homepage.

For additional information about the Faulkner Performing Arts Center, "FPAC Live" digital series, the "FPAC Presents" series, and much more, please visit faulkner.uark.edu.

About the Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center: The newest performing arts center at the University of Arkansas — a renovation of the old Field House — is named the Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center, in honor of the couple's major gift to the project. Completed in September 2017, this world-class performance venue is 39,400 square feet, with seating for 587, and a stage that can accommodate as many as 250 performers. The center is the main performance venue for the university's Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences Department of Music and hosts guest musical activities for the university and Northwest Arkansas community.  

About the Department of Theatre: The Department of Theatre in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences has been providing exciting and affordable live theatre for more than 60 years. The department combines a first-rate theatrical education full of hands-on experiences with a wide selection of titles to challenge students and delight the community. The department offers a broad-spectrum program in the context of a liberal arts education, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre, and the Master of Fine Arts degree in six concentrations: Acting, Directing, Playwriting, Costume Design, Scene Design, and Lighting Design. Classes at both undergraduate and graduate levels are focused on providing a strong, professional orientation to theatre performance and technology in conjunction with appropriate research-based coursework to address the required foundations in theatre history, dramatic literature and dramatic criticism. 

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs.