Please join us in welcoming Professor Koehnle to KWC and enjoy reading about his life and career below.
Career:
Jim Koehnle has been working in the technical theatre industry for over 25 years. Most recently, he was the managing director, technical director and resident scenic designer for Seagle Festival in the Adirondack region of Upstate New York. Jim’s scenic designs at Seagle Festival include “Little Women,” “Sweeney Todd,” “The Pirates of Penzance,” “Falstaff,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “With Blood, With Ink” and the world premiere of “Roscoe.” He was the associate scenic designer for the world premiere production of “Voire Dire” at the Fort Worth Opera and the associate scenic designer for the world premiere of “The Falling and The Rising” at Texas Christian University. He has worked as a props artisan and props carpenter for the Virginia Stage Company and Syracuse Stage.
What do you teach?
Fall 2023: Intro to Theatre, Fundamentals of Production, Stage Management
Spring 2024: Intro to Theatre, Stagecraft, Stage Electrics
Why did you choose this field?
“There are moments when I believe this field chose me. However, once I was exposed to the creative and collaborative field of theatre, there was no going back. Every day is different. Every project incorporates new ideas and perspectives. No other field has enabled me to literally build environments from stories as part of a team. I am able to combine art, science and hard work every day. I have built countless pieces of furniture, carved giant statues, built monstrous puppets, and engineered and built suspended steel staircases over the top of revolving scenery. I would have it no other way.”
What do you like to do in your downtime?
Canoeing, hiking, camping, building custom furniture, woodturning and finding trouble with my dog, Oliver.