by Tyler Fransen
“He’s rad,” Alex Wagner, a freshman musical theatre major, said when talking about Maurice “Mo” LaMee. LaMee is the new head of the theater department at Colorado Mesa University.
LaMee took over as head of the department from Tim Pinnow who now serves as acting Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs at CMU.
LaMee’s professional theatre career is highlighted by his work at the Creede Repertory Theatre in Creede, Colo. where he served as the artistic director for 12 years.
“It ended up being a very important arts organization in the Southwest,” LaMee said. “I’m very proud of it.”
Between doing freelance work and running Creede, LaMee also ran a non-profit organization in Aspen, in collaboration with the Aspen institute. The literary organization called Aspen Words put on various programs encouraging literacy and education in the city during his tenure.
He received his Master’s of Fine Arts degree from the National Theatre Conservatory in Denver. The Conservatory closed its doors in 2012, the same year LaMee began teaching at CMU.
LaMee’s career path might not have included CMU had he not gained experience elsewhere first.
“When I got done with graduate school, I was invited to go teach at the professional theater training program at the University of Wisconsin,” LaMee said. “And I was on my way, had my bags packed, and I just stopped and went, ‘what am I doing going and teaching when I haven’t actually done it.’”
LaMee says he loves teaching and his students say they love what he teaches.
“I was talking to upperclassmen about all the teachers I had, and when I told them that I had Mo for acting they said, ‘oh you totally lucked out good job getting him’ … and I now understand why everyone in the department loves him,” freshman musical theatre major Brooklyn Buhre said.
LaMee’s plans for running the department have so far been maintaining the course and trying to get an understanding of what the theater department’s values are.
“I want to help create a place where artists, young people, young artists are discovering what their role in that conversation might be and getting the training to be able to participate meaningfully in that conversation,” LaMee said.
One thing LaMee is happy about is the soon to open production of Roald Dahl’s, “James and the Giant Peach.”
LaMee is not directing this production, but says it will be one of the most technical shows CMU has produced, utilizing projection and animation technology intertwined with the elaborate set pieces of the each.
LaMee will be directing “My Fair Lady” in the spring of 2017 and says that he is looking forward to directing what he called, “a classic musical.”
