Jeff Kennedy

Jeff Jeff is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Humanities, Art and Cultural Studies at Arizona State University, where he is celebrating his 16th year of teaching courses in Interdisciplinary Arts and Performance. As a music theatre professional, he worked on production staffs for Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, and also has been a music director for Broadway performers that include Pamela Myers, Carol Lawrence and Jubilant Sykes. An award-winning composer, arranger and producer, he has many recordings in gospel and choral music and traveled as a pianist for the Bill Gaither Trio and Gaither Vocal Band for a number of years, also accompanying vocal artists Sandi Patty, Larnelle Harris, and Michelle Pillar. While a teaching fellow getting his Ph.D. in Educational Theatre at New York University, he was the founder/producer with Dr. Lowell Swortzell of the award-winning New Plays for Young Audiences reading series at the Provincetown Playhouse, where he also designed the Playhouse’s historical gallery and has since become a recognized scholar on the Playhouse and its history. Currently finishing a book tracing the Playhouse’s history, in 2008 he launched a research website about the Playhouse, www.provincetownplayhouse.com, is the immediate past-President of the Eugene O'Neill International Society and was the chair of their 2011 international conference in New York City. As a performing artist, his recent productions include the one-man show Liberace! and End of the Rainbow at Phoenix Theatre; Words and Music by Samuel Beckett and Morton Feldman; three years as the music director of Phoenix Theatre’s Hormel New Works Festival; music director of the Phoenix Symphony/Phoenix Theatre concert productions of South Pacific, My Fair Lady and Oliver; and he received the 2016 AriZoni Award as Best Music Director for the Phoenix Theatre production of The Toxic Avenger and in 2014 for their production of Avenue Q. He has conducted for Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx in a tribute concert to Ray Charles that featured a line-up of jazz all-stars. He has directed Arizona premiere productions that include Floyd Collins and Myths and Hymns: Saturn Returns by Adam Guettel; James Joyce’s The Dead; the revue of music by John Bucchino It’s Only Life; the world premiere of Daniel Lentz’s Café Desire (also performed for the Other Minds Festival in San Francisco) and the world premiere live performance of Handel’s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration at the Orpheum Theatre. For iTheatre Collaborative, he recently directed Passing Strange and he's created, directed and performed in their Holiday Cabaret for the last thirteen years.  He was awarded in 2012 the Outstanding Teacher Award-Lecturer by ASU New College and in 2015 was given the Champion of the Arts award by the West Valley Arts Council for his work as the West campus Artistic Director.

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