Theatre

Patrick Battles received his MFA in Scenic Design From Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. While in Detroit, he designed for the Hilberry, Bonstelle, and Trumball Theatres, as well as the Plowshares Theatre Company. Patrick has also worked as a properties artisan for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespearean Festival, and the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago.

Patrick has worked as a Technical Director, Properties Artisan and a Scenic Designer. He is the Resident Scenic Designer, and Properties Coordinator at Northern Arizona University.  Trained in the fine arts, Patrick received a BFA from Truman State University, where he studied painting, printmaking and ceramics. 

Mac Groves holds a PhD in theatre from the University of Colorado, and teaches primarily in the areas of theatre history and literature, management, and in performance areas like acting Shakespeare and oral interpretation. He received his MA in theatre from Stephen F. Austin University and his BA in English and Drama from East Texas Baptist College. Dr. Groves has staged over 30 productions for Northern Arizona University Theatre since joining the faculty in 1992.

Dr Groves was named the College of Arts and Letters Teacher of the Year in 2008. In addition to his nearly 40 years as a director and artist scholar, Mac has worked in a variety of artistic and administrative leadership positions in the American regional theatre. His play, Route 66: A Celebration of America's Mainstreet, is an educational initiative of the Department of the Interior/National Park Service and has toured the eight-state Route 66 Corridor three times. 

Ms. McGeever received an MFA in Stage Direction from Humboldt State University in Arcata, California and a BA in theatre from San Diego State University.

Ms. McGeever has worked professionally as a director and an actor. Ms. McGeever's scholarly interests include mixing puppetry with live action, new plays, dramaturgy and literary criticism.  In 2001, Ms. McGeever directed a production of  The Art of Dining with the distinguished, award winning playwright, Tina Howe, in residence.  Her relationship with Tina Howe has continued over the course of her career and in 2006 she collaborated with the renowned playwright once again to present a course on the works of Eugene Ionesco and playwriting. The course, taught in Paris and Georgia, culminated in a staged reading of student plays.  In 2011, Ms. McGeever was selected as the Phi Kappa Phi, NAU Faculty  Artist of the Year.  In 2005, Ms. McGeever was selected as the Region IV Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival National Critics Institute Fellowship Nominee. 

Ms. McGeever has been involved with Arts Education for over 25 years.  Early in her career she taught Theatre Studies in a school for abused children in Colorado Springs, Colorado, junior high and high school Drama on the Mojave Desert in Southern California and was active as a teaching artist for the California Arts Project (TCAP). 

Ms. McGeever has been on the faculty of NAU Theatre from 1996-1998, at the University of Montevallo Department of Communication Arts in Central Alabama from 1998-2004 and served as Chair of Theatre for Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, GA from 2004-2007. 

Ms. McGeever is a native Californian but holds dual citizenship with Ireland. 

Nancy Parr holds an MFA in theatre (costume design) from Illinois State University, earned after undergraduate studies at the College of Du Page and Lewis University. After receiving her MFA, she completed doctoral course work in theatrical costume design at Michigan State University.

At Michigan State, Nancy managed the Theatre Department's costume shop. Wanting to pursue work in TV and film, Nancy and her singer/actor husband George, moved to Los Angeles. Nancy worked on the TV series Bone Chillers. Her commercial work includes ads for Budweiser and Hertz. In film, Nancy worked on Batman & Robin, Warriors of Virtue, and the American Film Institute's production of Stepping on the Cracks. In theatre, Nancy won a Drama-Logue award for costume design for her work on Club Indigo Revisited. 

Bob Yowell received his PhD from Bowling Green State University, his MA from St. Louis University, and his BA is from Southeast Missouri State University.

He has written original plays and directed more than 100 plays. His 2006 production of He Who Gets Slapped was selected to perform at the regional American College Theater Festival at Southern Utah University. He has had six productions that have been invited to regional.  He has held many leadership positions in professional theater organizations. He also interned with Hollywood Casting Director Mali Finn, who cast the blockbuster movie Titanic and many other Hollywood hits.