Marshall's Department of Theatre Gets a New Professor

Hey, welcome aboard to Marshall's newest associate professor! Here's the story:

The Marshall University Department of Theatre has a new faculty member. Nicole Perrone, a former dancer with Walt Disney World, joined the faculty as an associate professor.

Perrone started out as a dancer in high school, then got into theater because she thought it would open up more career opportunities as a dancer.

She said that while on a national tour for Walt Disney World as a dancer, it dawned on her that dancing careers are usually short and she started thinking about what would happen after that career.

She started acting training at about 19 years old at the New School in New York City, earning a fine arts degree. She also attended the Neighborhood Playhouse, a conservatory-type training program concentrating on the Meisner Technique.

Perrone worked as an adjunct instructor at Kent State University while she worked on her master’s degree in theater. She also has worked in theater education for several professional theaters, including the Cleveland Playhouse and the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

At Marshall, she is teaching Introduction to Theatre, Musical Theatre Studies, Behavioral Realism and Stage Movement. The intro course is one she really has a message for.

“If you’re getting into it to be famous — if that’s your expectation — you’re probably setting yourself up for disappointment,” Perrone said. “If you’re getting into it to be an actor, you can have a career. You have to look at it like a career.”

In addition to teaching, Perrone will be directing the musical Working next spring.

Julie Jackson, chairwoman of the Theatre Department, said she is looking forward to working with Perrone.

“I’m very excited about her,” Jackson said. “We look for all of our faculty to have a combination of a personal background and professional background and she fits it perfectly, couldn’t be better. She’s very excited to work with the students; that’s one of the things that attracted all of us to her.”

Welcome to Nicole - in her honor, tomorrow we'll preview the upcoming season for Marshall's Department of Theatre!