Assistant Professor
Office Location: ASC 285
(205) 996-4397
Research and Teaching Interests: Directing, Acting and Theatre Education
Office Hours: By appointment
Education:
- B.A., University of Alabama at Birmingham, Theatre
- MFA., University of Arizona, Directing/Acting
Jack is a 1985 alumnus of the UAB Department of Theatre and holds an MFA in Directing/Acting from the University of Arizona, received in 1992. Since that time Jack has spent his time working both professionally and in educational Theatre. He directed Twelfth Night for the National Shakespeare Conservatory in New York as well as the premiere production of the one act play, Blood Thinner, written by his wife, Cheryl Hall, a fellow faculty member in the Department of Theatre. While at Birmingham Children’s Theatre, Jack directed the productions Rumpelstiltskin, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and Romeo and Juliet. In addition to directing for BCT, he held the titles of stage manager, tour manager, actor, and playwright. Jack has written two plays for children, Mother Goose, produced at BCT, and Fairy Tales, based upon the book written by Monty Python's Terry Jones and produced by UAB while Jack was still an undergraduate. Before teaching at UAB, he spent three years teaching High School Drama at Birmingham's Ramsay High School.
Jack teaches three classes, Introduction to Theatre (a class where students actually perform in Ten Minute Plays), Beginning Acting, and a graduate class, Teaching Theatre for the Secondary School. Every Fall Term, Jack produces the Freshman Showcase that features incoming freshman in their first performances at UAB. Student performances range from monologues, scenes, songs, dances, comedy routines and even choreographed stage fight scenes. Jack is the faculty supervisor for the Theatre Department’s student organization, Blazer Theatre Organization (BTO). He serves as one of the Student Advisors keeping students on track in the pursuit of their college degrees.
Jack also directs and acts at UAB. In recent years, he has directed The Real Inspector Hound, Dancing at Lughnasa, In the Next Room, Twelfth Night, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Our Town, Largo Desolato, and The Food Chain. Some of Jack’s favorite acting roles at UAB are Grandpa in You Can’t Take It with You, Dodge in Buried Child, Chebutykin in The Three Sisters, and Kent in King Lear.
Recent Courses:
- Beginning Acting (THR 154)
- Introduction to Theatre (THR 100)
- Teaching Theatre at the Secondary School (THR 420)