Morgan Roberts
THEATER EDUCATOR · DIRECTOR · TECHNICAL DESIGN · MUSIC
Twenty-five years directing, designing, and teaching theater. 47 productions. Currently head of theater at STEM School Highlands Ranch.
STATEMENT
I teach theater the way it actually gets made — with students’ hands on the equipment, running their own load-ins, focusing their own plots, and calling their own shows.
My work sits in the place where teaching and production meet. I have designed lights and built scenery for shows I was also directing, accompanied my own rehearsals on piano, and written the curriculum that taught the crew standing in the catwalk. That range is deliberate: a program with one person who can cross between the booth, the shop, the pit, and the classroom is a program that can say yes to ambitious work.
What I care most about is the moment a student stops asking permission — when a sophomore who has never touched a console decides where the light should go, and is right. Building the conditions for that is the whole job.
CURRENT & RECENT ENGAGEMENTS
Head of Theater · Drama & Technical Theater Teacher
STEM SCHOOL HIGHLANDS RANCH, CO — 2023 TO PRESENT
- Wrote and teach the school’s entire technical theater curriculum — lighting, sound, scenic construction, props, projections, stage management — built from nothing
- Sole instructor for every middle and high school drama and technical theater section
- Direct the fall play, the spring musical, and all performing arts class productions
- Tripled student participation within six months; classes have stayed full since
- Students have earned multiple Superior ratings in Individual Events at the Colorado Thespian Conference and were selected to perform at the International Thespian Festival
- Coordinate production staff, rehearsal schedules, the parent booster organization, marketing, and production budgets
Founder & Artistic Director
MOUNTAIN PERFORMING ARTS — 501(C)(3) NONPROFIT — LITTLETON, CO — 2013 TO PRESENT
- Founded and direct a nonprofit performing arts school serving the Denver metro area through outreach and production programming
- Lead theater enrichment and a two-week production camp at Colorado Academy, directing High School Musical, Beetlejuice Jr., Finding Nemo Jr., 101 Dalmatians, and The Jungle Book on that campus
- Founded and direct an overnight performing arts camp in Estes Park
Founder & Director
MUSICALARTS ACADEMY OF MUSIC AND DANCE — EXETER & DOVER, NH — 2001 TO 2018
- Built a community music, dance, and theater school serving more than 1,000 students annually
- Designed curriculum and performance programming; hired, trained, and mentored the teaching faculty
- Mentored a successor and sold the school as a going concern — it continues to operate today
Teaching Assistant
TUFTS UNIVERSITY — MEDFORD, MA
- Delivered classroom instruction for undergraduate courses, prepared course materials and lesson plans, and graded student work
TECHNICAL INVENTORY
Areas I design, build, and teach — and the systems I work on at console level.
DESIGN
Lighting · Scenic · Sound · Props · Projections · Costuming · Makeup
PRODUCTION
Direction · Stage management · Scenic construction · Load-in & focus · Pit orchestra coordination and rehearsal
LIGHTING
Strand NEO consoles · Plot drafting · Focus & cue construction
AUDIO
QLab · Allen & Heath digital consoles · Shure wireless systems
MEDIA
Adobe Photoshop · InDesign · Premiere · Audition · Audacity · Camtasia
MUSIC
Classroom music instruction (licensed endorsement) · Pit orchestra coordination, direction, and rehearsal · Rehearsal and performance accompaniment on piano · Classical guitar repertoire including Bach · Ukulele
NOTE
Able to step into any production role as needed — and regularly do.
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Directed and produced. Grouped by production scale, since scale is what determines the demands on a program.
Full-Length Musicals & Plays
12 titles
- Into the Woods (full version)
- The Addams Family
- The Sound of Music
- The Wizard of Oz
- Peter Pan
- Alice in Wonderland
- Clue: High School Edition
- Almost, Maine
- Puffs
- The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon
- Circus Olympus
- Employees Must Wash Hands Before… Murder!
Junior & Youth Editions
27 titles
- Beetlejuice Jr.
- Matilda Jr.
- Mean Girls Jr.
- Moana Jr.
- Newsies Jr.
- Shrek Jr.
- Something Rotten! Jr.
- Mary Poppins Jr.
- Frozen Jr.
- Frozen Kids
- Beauty and the Beast Jr.
- The Little Mermaid Jr.
- The Lion King Jr.
- The Lion King Kids
- Aladdin Jr.
- Aladdin Kids
- Annie Jr.
- Elf Jr.
- Finding Nemo Jr.
- High School Musical Jr.
- Into the Woods Jr.
- Seussical Jr.
- Seussical Kids
- Willy Wonka Jr.
- Willy Wonka Kids
- 101 Dalmatians Kids
- The Jungle Book Kids
One-Acts & Short-Form Work
8 titles
- The Day the Internet Died
- The Nine Worst Breakups of All Time
- The One Act Play That Goes Wrong
- The Worstest Play Ever Written
- Cookie Soiree
- Superhots!
- Book Lovers
- End of the Line
EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS
M.M., Performing Arts — Tufts University, Medford, MA
B.A., Performing Arts — University of Hartford, Hartt School of Music, West Hartford, CT
Colorado Teacher License — Drama and Music endorsements
#24511836
ALSO
Founder — Studio Guru
LITTLETON, CO — 2015 TO PRESENT
A consulting practice helping small performing arts schools in music, dance, and theater grow their programs and enrollment. I develop online courses, digital products, and individualized coaching — work that has also made me comfortable teaching in remote and hybrid formats. Signature programs: Summer Camp Lab, Facebook for Studios, Market Like a Magnet, and Marketing Calendar Club.
CONTACT
Littleton, Colorado · Available for teaching, directing, and design engagements