New faces in the Moss Performing Arts Center

The Colorado Mesa University Theatre Arts Department is welcoming two new tenure track faculty members to their team. Amanda Benzin and Benjamin Reigel joined CMU to start the fall semester.

Amanda Benzin is the new assistant professor of dance and is teaching tap, jazz and hip hop. Originally from Buffalo, New York, she finished her undergraduate studies at the University of Buffalo. Benzin received her bachelor of fine arts in dance and a minor in business administration before moving on to Boulder, Colo., where she received her master of fine arts in dance.

Benzin’s focus at The University of Colorado Boulder was somatic techniques, such as body-mind centering, alexander technique, audio kinesis and pedagogy. Benzin also did a certification in women gender studies.

Prior to CMU, Benzin taught at CU Boulder and attended graduate school. Benzin taught in the Denver area in studios, schools and offered private lessons.

“The students here have been like sponges, super wanting to learn, asking questions, really engaged, so I just look to continue to foster that and give them new and different information and new ways of looking at things,” Benzin said. “I’d love to start bringing more somatic techniques into it and eventually I’d love to get into some feminist theory.”

Benzin will be helping to direct and choreograph the fall and spring dance concert. Benzin has a total cast of 16 for the fall semester. Benzin will also be choreographing the musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie”, which is primarily tap dancing, in the spring semester.

“I feel like dance is a different kind of intelligence and a different kind of knowing. I think one of my favorite things is seeing people develop and deepen that love or even explore it for the first time,” Benzin said.

Benjamin Reigel is taking the position of assistant professor of theatre. Originally from Wisconsin, Reigel attended the University of Minnesota, where he received his bachelor of fine arts before moving onto the University of Delaware, where he received his masters of fine arts in acting.

Reigel taught at Western Michigan University for five years prior to his arrival at CMU. Reigel has acted from coast to coast at regional theatres and has a classical background. Reigel has worked at multiple major Shakespeare festivals in the country from Oregon to Utah to Texas.

Reigel is teaching an acting for camera class, a beginning acting class and theatre appreciation classes. Reigel will direct the musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie” in the spring.

“What I love most about theatre is that it changes. One of the things I like as an actor or director is that you’re always doing something new,” Reigel said. “Every time you do a show, it’s new. Even if you do a show you’ve already done before, you’re doing it with new people, so it’s very easy to keep stimulated. I find that I never get bored with it because I’m always doing something new.”

Reigel looks forward to helping the theatre department grow and is excited about the projects for the 2017-2018 academic year.

“One of the things that attracted me about this department was that it is a department that seems ripe for growth. Something I am looking forward to is working with my colleagues to really take a look at the program, see what we want to do with it and make the department a reflection of who we are as a faculty and what we want to stand for,” said Reigel.

For information about the productions and events taking place in the Moss Performing Arts Center this year, see the schedule online at coloradomesa.edu/arts.