Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film

Please join us as we gather to celebrate the life and legacy of Professor Emeritus Ed Stauffer, a beloved teacher, mentor, artist, and friend whose impact on the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Theatre program spans generations.

For many years, Ed was a cornerstone of our program, inspiring students through his creativity, leadership, generosity, and unwavering dedication to the arts. Alongside his wife, Janice, he helped shape a community that continues to thrive because of his influence and care.

A memorial service honoring Ed's life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on June 19 in the Temple Building at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Janice and the Stauffer family invite former students, colleagues, friends, and members of the community to join them in remembering and celebrating Ed.

Ed will be remembered for his creativity, leadership, dedication to the arts, love of family, and the lasting impact he made on students, colleagues, readers, and friends.

We hope you will join us as we honor a remarkable educator and a cherished member of the UNL Theatre family. Nebraska Repertory Theatre Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts

Edward Stauffer Obituary (1943 - 2025) - Lincoln, NE - Lincoln Journal Star View Edward Joseph Stauffer's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.

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Welcome Home Adam Jefferis. Jefferis has been a working Los Angeles based actor for several years and has been sharing his experiences with our students the past view days.

Our Alumni Achievement Awards honor alumni from each area of the college who have demonstrated outstanding achievement and overall professional excellence.

This year's honorees include:

• Alumni Achievement Award in Art:
Valery Wachter (B.F.A. 1983)

Wachter earned her BFA in painting in 1983 and has made a distinguished career as a professional artist, most notably in Nebraska, working primarily in pastels and acrylics. She has exhibited widely and is represented by the Burkholder Gallery in Lincoln. She has served on the FPA Alumni Board, MEDICI, and the Mayor’s Arts Awards Selection Committee. She co-founded the Bryan Health Art Committee.

• Alumni Achievement Award in Music:
Karen Benson (B.M.E. 1987; M.M. 1995)

Benson serves as the professional development director for the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA), where she is also a past president and former national conference chair. Benson taught grades PreK-5 for 33 years, including 29 years in the Millard Public School District in Omaha, Nebraska, where she also directed the school’s choir and the district’s Orff Schulwerk Honors Ensemble.

• Alumni Achievement Award in Theatre and Film:
Adam J. Jefferis (B.A. 2003)

Jefferis lives and works as an actor based in Los Angeles. His success spans all media with recent supporting roles on TV (“Matlock,” “Mr. Mayor”), an indie film (“I Love You Both”) and countless national and regional commercials. His creative home since 2008 has been Tim Robbins' theater company, The Actors' Gang. Jefferis has performed in over 30 productions and toured the world with four separate productions. In 2019, he was nominated for his performance in “Accidental Death of an Anarchist” at the Los Angeles’ Stage Raw Theater Awards. Jefferis is the Director of Education, infusing theatre arts programming into school classrooms, afterschool programs, camps and classes to the youth of Los Angeles. He is a lead teaching artist for the company’s adult training program.

All of our faculty, student, staff and alumni award recipients will be recognized at this year's Honors Day celebration on Friday, April 24 at 4:30 p.m. in Kimball Recital Hall.

We’re thrilled to honor Lori Adams for her outstanding career and for the work she has done with Nebraska Repertory Theatre.

The Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts Award of Merit honors those who have made contributions to the college, but who are not necessarily alumni of the College. The award is made to individuals who have demonstrated continued interest in the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, who have shared their time, energy and guidance.

This year's Award of Merit recipients are both alumni:

• Lori Adams

Adams, who is an alumna, has supported students in the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film. She has returned to direct multiple shows for the Rep, including “POTUS” and this year’s “Tigers Be Still.” She has been supportive of both performers and designers throughout the productions. Adams retired last spring from Illinois State University, where she served as professor since 1998 and as head of the acting program since 2005.

• Barb Schmit

Schmit earned Bachelor of Music Education (1993) and Master of Music (1997) degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Since then, she has been an active trumpet player in a variety of settings, including Lincoln Municipal Band, Nebraska Trumpet Ensemble, Monday Night Big Band, Floating Opera chamber pop group, the Shrine Circus band, and at a variety of area churches. She is an active volunteer, currently serving on the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts Alumni Board, as secretary/treasurer and founding member (2002) of the Nebraska Trumpet Ensemble, as vice president of the Lincoln Musicians Association, and assisting with the annual Trumpet Fest fundraiser since its inception in 23 years ago. She enjoys attending arts events at UNL and getting to know and encourage current students and recent graduates through community music activities.

All of our faculty, student, staff and alumni award recipients will be recognized at this year's Honors Day celebration on Friday, April 24 at 4:30 p.m. in Kimball Recital Hall.

You're never too young to feel at home at the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film.

Lincoln middle school students from the UNL TRIO Program spent the after-school hours with us — touring our facilities, braving the haunted prop attic, and diving into theatre games with visiting faculty Noelle Rodriguez. They will cap the day with a performance of Bright Star at Nebraska Repertory Theatre.

This is what it looks like when we invest in the next generation of theatre artists and audiences.

This is what training at the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film looks like — students working alongside a Broadway professional on a fully produced mainstage production. Happy Opening! Tickets at NebraskaRep.org.

We’re saddened to share the passing of Timothy Scholl (’98), a proud Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film alumnus.

At the JCSTF, Timothy was deeply involved with Theatrix, serving as Artistic Director and helped shape a strong culture of student-driven work. He carried that same focus into the community as Artistic Director of Angels Theatre, where he championed new work and supported emerging voices.

He’ll be remembered for his leadership, his generosity, and the way he showed up for the people around him.

Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and all who knew him.

Our students get to work with some amazing guest artists through Nebraska Repertory Theatre.

Meet Bobby Pieranunzi.

Bobby's career spans California, New York, and many places in between — though home will always be the Windy City. His Broadway tour credits include Bright Star (Swing, Dance Captain) and A Bronx Tale (Frankie Coffeecake). Regional credits include A Transparent Musical (Len), Bye Bye Birdie (Albert), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Jimmy), and CATS (various kittens), just to name a few.

His path to Nebraska Rep runs through a long-standing professional friendship with UNL's Hank Stratton.

"Hank and I have been in the same professional circles for a number of years through the Los Angeles performing arts community," Pieranunzi says. "We'd talked about my directing Bright Star if he ever brought it into UNL's season, so I was thrilled to learn it was on the books this year. Any chance I get to return to this material, I love to take it — just to introduce more people to the show."

For Pieranunzi, each production is a fresh collaboration. "Whenever I approach this show, I love hearing the new perspectives the design team brings and what they want to do," he says. "The production has to be reimagined for pretty much every theatre we go into because everything was so specific to the original Broadway setting. I try to carry the spirit of that wherever I go, to honor the piece. Some of it is just brilliant storytelling."

The show's themes hit close to home. "There are so many simple but powerful messages that aren't revolutionary on their own — but with the addition of music, they land differently," he reflects. "The arts were always supported in my own life, and one line in the show has stayed with me: 'Hopes and dreams and fine imaginings — they happen in their own good time.'"

"I hope everyone can hear that, whether they're 14 or 85. As long as there's hope and you keep your dreams alive, those things can still happen for you. We're all on our own journey — and hopefully, we'll all achieve whatever it is we want."

Bright Star opens April 16 and runs through April 26. Tickets, season details, and donation opportunities are available at NebraskaRep.org.