Susan V. Booth ’85
Susan V. Booth is the Jennings Hertz Jr. artistic director at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Ga. In the past 11 seasons, she has initiated the Collision Project for teens, the National Graduate Playwriting Competition, and has created local, regional, and commercial producing partnerships. Alliance originated productions during her tenure include: Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly Away; The Color Purple; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee; SISTER ACT the Musical; Bring in Da’ Noise, Bring in Da’ Funk; Twist; and Bring It On: The Musical. As a director, her Alliance projects have included Jesus Christ Superstar GOSPEL, and world premieres of What I Learned in Paris, The Nacirema Society, Managing Maxine, Bluish, Frame 312, and Stephen King and John Mellencamp’s, musical, Ghost Brothers of Darkland County. Booth was a fellow of the National Critics Institute and the Kemper Foundation. She has held teaching positions at Northwestern University (where she earned her master’s degree), DePaul, and Emory University. She is a past president of the board of directors for Theatre Communications Group (the national service organization for the field), is on the artistic board of the Steinberg Charitable Trust in New York, and served on the board of the Metro Atlanta Arts and Culture Coalition.
Mark Heckmann ’11
After Mark Heckmann graduated with a double major in sociology/anthropology and communication, he took on a summer internship with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. He stayed on to become a special projects manager, helping create a plan for sustainable real estate development in the city. In September, Heckmann joined the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership as an economic development associate. He’s currently working toward a Master of Science in public policy and management at Carnegie Mellon University, where he was awarded the Stephen M. Lauble Community Fellowship. The award recognizes promising students in economic and community development. Heckmann is also working to create a start-up company that will help