Anne Fletcher, Ph.D., Professor,

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I write in support of Rion Towery’s application for the full time Dance Instructional Staff at The School of Theatre Arts at Illinois Wesleyan University. I have known and worked closely with Rion throughout his MFA in Directing program here at Southern Illinois University.

Rion has been enrolled in graduate courses I teach (e.g., Research Methods; a course on the historical avant-garde that covers the theatrical ISMs; and currently (audits) Improvisation. I also served as his supervisor when he taught THEA 101, our introductory level class for non- majors. In addition, I was the production dramaturg for Hay Fever, his MFA thesis production. He has been proactive in his work with me as dramaturg, and I enjoy our collaboration very much.

A bit of a perfectionist, Rion Towery is his own worst critic—always striving to put forth his very best effort on all fronts, including his public relations work for the School of Theater and Dance. Not surprisingly, he maintains a 4.0 GPA, and he is often singled out by faculty as the most ambitious and reliable of our students. My good friend, our now-retired scene designer who taught the architecture half of Period Styles, remarked to me that he could have taught the class better from Rion’s final style book! Rion reads voraciously and works diligently to craft polished papers, understanding (as some do not) that multiple drafts are indeed a fact of life.

For several reasons, that I will enumerate below, I believe Rion Towery particularly suits the position you advertise. He embodies both the practice-based approach and academic preparedness you seek. As his CV and Teaching Statement illustrate, he has decades of experience as a choreographer, imagining new and unique ways to communicate with young actors and dancers as together they make art. He is incredibly socially conscious and approaches diversification in the classroom and rehearsal hall with integrity and sincerity. Not only is he respectful of student concerns, inspiring thoughtfulness and creativity in their work, but also, by his very nature, he attracts students to the Theatre and Dance programs. He has excelled with his current acting class, his dance classes, and in delivering THEA 101 (Theatre Insights), our introductory-level CORE course for non-majors. I also served as his supervisor when he taught THEA 101 for three semesters.

For us at SIU, THEA 101, a foundational course, is not simply a graduate assistantship; graduate students are listed as Instructor of Record. The class is firmly rooted in Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences and in constructivist learning, and although developed to follow a common syllabus and reach 100s of undergraduates, the course is reviewed by the instructors with me and revised each semester. My intention in involving them in the intricacies of course development is that instructors emerge from teaching this course with an arsenal of practical skills, not the least of which being the ability to craft a syllabus with intentionality. Instructors meet weekly not only to discuss common issues as they arise but to craft experiential learning activities in order to communicate fundamental theatre conventions through grounding in these principles. As part of the instructional team from his first semester at SIU, Rion Towery quickly developed the equilibrium of individuality and commonality this sort of delivery requires, crafting excellent interactive lesson plans to share with the other instructors. He rapidly developed an excellent rapport with each of his classes, communicated effectively, and effortlessly managed the sizable group (capped at 55)—even on Zoom.

Additionally, Rion taught our THEA217 beginning acting class and has continued to “step up”— willingly and with grace—to fill significant gaps when he has been needed. In Fall 2020, for example, he took over Audition Techniques because of a faculty member’s surgery and unexpected death. Additionally, his expertise in graphic design has proved invaluable as the School of Theatre and Dance lacks a publicist.

Just as he mentors undergraduate students and “meets them where they are”, assisting them in advancing their artistry and skill bases, Rion always responds well to guidance from the faculty with his own work. He maintains a healthy balance of taking initiative and seeking direction in all his endeavors.

Rion is positioned to teach the required and several of the possible courses listed in your position description. I am certain he can provide undergraduates with fine reading selections and solid practical exercises and projects in directing. He is very much interested in experimental, political, popular theatre, and the devising process and is especially fond of the historical avant-garde and early Off- Off and Off Broadway productions and companies.

I have spoken at length with Rion about all of his major directing projects here at SIU, and I have attended them all. Structured loosely on the Head of Directing’s experience at Yale, SIU’s directing program insists that students demonstrate versatility in genre and style as they progress across the MFA curriculum. To Springtime, Rion brought his movement-based training as he executed the transitions in Fornes’s short play. He created a wonderful mise en scène for “Shrew”, a production that capitalized on Commedia techniques, precise comic timing, and experimentation with gender casting. Grounded in a firm vision and concept that addressed diversity, equity, and social class, his “Shrew” was a tightly crafted, incredibly funny post- modern romp underscored by some serious subject matter. For Hay Fever, Towery is appropriately tying together manners, slapstick, and verbal wit. Rion could easily have been assigned the other fall semester production, World Goes Round, a musical revue “in his wheelhouse” (See CV and note Towery’s vocal training and dance), but pedagogically speaking, it was important that he be challenged with a style in which he had not yet been tested. He has risen to the occasion masterfully. As a member of the production team, I was present at weekly design and production meetings. As director for Hay Fever, Rion Towery is the model facilitator, collaborator, and motivator! He fields questions, arrives at decisions, and encourages designers with more finesse than most established directors I have seen.

Although prior to SIU, most of Towery’s numerous professional credits are in musical theatre and dance, and he has just finished directing Godspell for the McLeod Summer Playhouse, the professional theatre company associated with SIU, and he has taught workshops for the company in the past. I am confident that Rion has a long, productive, and successful directing career in his future.

Towery is well aware of the tripartite evaluative structure of life in academia demands: teaching, research, service. This balance and categorizing of activities was new to him when he arrived because of his years in the industry. He acclimated and, without obsessively accumulating lines for his CV, he quite naturally participates and does what I call “the next right thing.”

Lastly, I want to convey the implicit trust that students and faculty have in Rion Towery. He is a person of his word; a sensitive soul who honors the feelings of others; an uncompromising self-critic, who at the same time can elicit the best from his students by “saying what he means, meaning what his says, but not saying it mean.” Personally, I have entrusted Rion Towery with my house and with my pet. He is a true “team player” and a “go to” person who will be sorely missed at SIU. I wish him only the best.

Sincerely,

 

Anne Fletcher, Ph.D.
Professor, School of Theater & Dance, Southern Illinois University Carbondale

SIU Distinguished Teacher
College of Liberal Arts Scholar of the Year, 2020 MATC Fellow