Lone Star College–Montgomery is proud of its accomplished drama faculty. With degrees from world class institutions and years of teaching experience, our faculty offer the highest quality of instruction right here at LSC–Montgomery.

We offer a variety of classes throughout the year including: Introduction to Theatre, Introduction to Make Up, Theatre Practicum Lighting and Sound Stagecraft, Development of the Motion Picture, Acting and much more! Check out the latest information regarding our faculty and the next theatre production at LSC–Montgomery.

Full-Time Faculty

Emmy Levine
Chair of Art, Humanities, and Theatre

Email: Emmy.Levine@lonestar.edu
Phone: 936.273.7078
Office: A-200N
Degrees: BFA in Directing from New York University, MFA in Musical Theatre Directing from The Pennsylvania State University 
Courses: Acting II, Acting for the Camera, Script Analysis, Theatre Practicum, Theatre Appreciation & Film Appreciation

Emmy Frank Levine is Chair of the Art, Humanities and Theatre department at Lone Star College—Montgomery. Her LSC-Montgomery directing credits include award-winning productions of The Rocky Horror Show, The Normal Heart, 1984, Little Shop of Horrors, and many others. Prior to moving to Texas, Emmy lived in New York City for ten years, where she worked on Broadway, off-Broadway and regionally as Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning director James Lapine’s Assistant Director. Some of those productions include Sondheim on Sondheim  (Studio 54, starring Barbara Cook), Merrily We Roll Along (Encores!, starring Lin-Manuel Miranda) and Act One (Lincoln Center Theatre, starring Tony Shalhoub). She also assisted Lapine on the HBO documentary Six by Sondheim, starring Darren Criss and Jeremy Jordan. Other favorite directing credits include The Fantasticks (Weathervane Playhouse), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (FUSE Productions), HAIR (Penn State Center Stage), and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (Nittany Theatre at the Barn). Emmy received her BFA in Directing from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and her MFA in Directing from The Pennsylvania State University School of Theatre, where she studied under Susan H. Schulman.

Katie Gruenhagen
Program Director of Live Entertainment Technology

Email: Katie.Gruenhagen@lonestar.edu
Phone: 936.273.7421
Office: A-200H
Degrees: BA in Theatre Design and Technology from the University of North Colorado, MFA in in Lighting Design from Indiana University
Courses: Theatre Practicum

Katie Gruenhagen is an Associate Professor of Live Production and Program Director for the Live Entertainment Technology Program. Katie received her Masters of Fine Arts in Lighting Design from Indiana University and completed her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Design and Technology from the University of Northern Colorado. Throughout her freelance career as a Lighting Designer, she has designed with companies across the country including: Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center Theatre Company: Off-Center, Jacob’s School of Music: Musical Arts Center, Oregon Cabaret Theatre, B-Street Theatre in Sacramento, and the Omaha Theatre Company: Rose Theatre. Katie is a member of the United States Institute of Theatre Technology and has participated in the Prague Quadrennial as a Curator for the United States Emerging Artists exhibit.

Alexandra A. Hooper
Assistant Professor

Email: Alexandra.Hooper@lonestar.edu
Phone: 936.273.7297
Office: A-200K
Degrees: BA from Jacksonville State University, MFA in Technical Direction from The University of North Carolina School of the Arts
Courses: Theatre Practicum, Stage Craft

Alexandra A. Hooper is a full-time faculty member in the Live Entertainment Technology Department at LSC-Montgomery. Alexandra is a theatrical artist with professional experience in many areas of the entertainment industry. After completing her bachelor’s degree at Jacksonville State University, Alexandra worked for theatres all over the United States in various capacities. In 2014, Alexandra joined the United States Peace Corps where she served as a Peace Corps Health Volunteer in The Gambia West Africa. When Alexandra returned state side in 2016, she furthered her education at The University of North Carolina School of the Arts where she received her Master of Fine Arts Degree in Technical Direction.  

Chase Waites
Professor of Theatre

Email: Houston.C.Waites@lonestar.edu
Phone: 936.271.6127
Office: A-200P
Degrees: BA in Theatre from Centenary College of Louisiana, MFA in Directing from the University of New Orleans
Courses: Acting I, Voice for the Actor, Theatre Practicum, Theatre Appreciation & Film Appreciation

Chase Waites is a professor of theatre at Lone Star College-Montgomery where his directing and design credits include Gruesome Playground Injuries (Respondent's Choice-KCACTF), The 39 Steps, 12 Angry Jurors (Respondent's Choice-KCACTF) The Birds, The Tempest, Dog Sees God, Power Lunch, The Very Merry Xmas Carol Holiday Adventure Show, Peter Pan, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Respondent’s Choice-KCACTF) Private Eyes (Respondent’s and Directors’ Choice, Texas State KCACTF-2011), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Lend Me a Tenor, Too Much Memory (Committee’s Choice, Texas State KCACTF-2010), Rent, The Miss Firecracker Contest, And They Dance Real Slow in Jackson, Little Shop of Horrors, Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, A Trio of Ones, Mind’s Prison, Goodnight Desdemona (Good morning Juliet), The Great American Trailer Park Musical, Noises Off, The Actor’s Nightmare, Home Front, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, The Foreigner, The Shape of Things, The Sleeper, 96 Minutes, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, and The Problem. In 2020, his production of Student Body was selected to participate in the KCACTF Region 6 Festival where it garnered national awards for Ensemble Work and Citizen Artistry. Chase teaches acting and film and theatre appreciation. A Ft. Worth native, he spent ten years in New Orleans where he served as the artistic director of theatre and fine arts department chair at Jesuit of New Orleans. Production credits in New Orleans include award-winning productions of Tracers, The Boys Next Door, The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (abridged) and regional premieres of Dead Man Walking, The Who’s Tommy, Footloose, and Copacabana. Chase received his BA in theatre from Centenary College of Louisiana and his MFA in directing from the University of New Orleans. He is the Immediate Past Chair for KCACTF Region 6, serves in leadership for the Association for Theatre in Higher Education and is a member of Texas Educational Theatre Association. Chase was a 2018 recipient of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Gold Medallion award.

Adjunct Faculty 

Staff