MICHAEL AULICK
Theatre Director | MFA, Performance – University of Louisville
Michael Aulick serves as Professor of Theatre and Theatre Director at West Liberty University, where he has been shaping artistic journeys since 2009. A seasoned director and theatre educator, his career includes touring with the Louisville Repertory Theatre Company and serving as Artistic Director and Professor of Theatre at Northeast State Theatre in Blountville, Tennessee before joining WLU.
Since arriving at West Liberty, Aulick has worked to build a program consistently recognized for its excellence. His productions have been honored multiple times by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Region II, where they received additional recognition from the national committee. He has twice been awarded the Distinguished Work of a Director of a Play Award, a national honor celebrating artistic achievement.
At West Liberty, Aulick works extensively with the Hilltop Players, guiding students through a wide variety of productions ranging from contemporary plays to classics. Under his mentorship, WLU students have been named national finalists in the Student-Directing Initiative, earned multiple Irene Ryan nominations, and numerous students advanced to the Southeastern Theatre Conference through the state-level screenings.
He has served the discipline in several additional roles, including Irene Ryan Coordinator and Vice Chair for Region II of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre festival and is currently the president of the West Virginia Theatre Association.
His true love is working with students and looks forward to a long career helping student-actors fulfill their potential as theatre artists.
Christopher “Chris” Rees
Assistant Professor of Theatre (Design, Technology & Management) | MFA – Design Technology, Ohio University
Chris Rees joins West Liberty University as Assistant Professor of Theatre, specializing in Design, Technology, and Management. A proud alumnus of WLU (B.A., Theatre, 2019), he earned his M.F.A. in Production Design from Ohio University in 2022
An accomplished freelance scenic designer based in the Pittsburgh area, Chris’s design career includes notable projects such as the first regional staging of Dave Malloy’s Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 at Tantrum Theater in 2022. His scenic design for Mary Zimmerman’s The Secret in the Wings at West Liberty University was selected as an invited production at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region II in 2019, underscoring his creative impact at the regional level.
Chris brings robust technical skills to his teaching and design practice, including expertise in drafting, model making, scenic painting, and carpentry — essential tools for immersive and imaginative stagecraft.
In the classroom and studio, Rees empowers students to push beyond the conventional, using inventive forms, textures, and spatial configurations to transform physical space into theatrical expression. His work extends the possibilities of scenic design, creating environments that are not just practical but richly evocative and collaborative in nature.
Jill Howard Warren
Professor of Dance | MA – Teaching Dance in Professions, NYU
Jill M. Warren is a dance educator from NYU with a certification in Ballet Pedagogy from American Ballet Theatre. Jill teaches dance in a manner that supports her philosophy emphasizing whole-body, developmentally appropriate, well-rounded training. While at NYU, Jill studied under Dr. Susan Koff, Deborah Damast, and Patricia Cohen, and at American Ballet Theatre under Raymond Lukens and Franco De Vita. Jill also holds a BS in Exercise Physiology from West Liberty University. Along with her training in NYC, Jill has also taken classes from Frank Hatchett, LUIGI, and Twyla Tharp, to name a few.
Jill’s choreography has been performed at the University of Kentucky, West Liberty University, New York University, and various dance studios throughout WV.
Jill has performed with the University of Kentucky Dance Ensemble, West Liberty University Dance Ensemble, and in NYU Master’s Dance Concerts as well as the annual Distinguished Faculty Concert. She also performed in NYU Steinhardt Program in Vocal Performance’s production of Bloomer Girl.
Along with her MA in Teaching Dance in the Professions, Jill is an American Ballet Theatre® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 7 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She is also a member of the National Dance Education Organization.