Who Does That?

Over 300 shows are staged by the School of Music and Dance in a year. Thor Mikesell is the virtuoso who keeps everyone on cue.

Mikesell is the producing technical director, a job that encompasses everything from coordinating where the piano or gospel choir will be positioned to if the person in the 23rd row can see the stage to scheduling his team of talented student workers for each show.

Zipping from the Dougherty Dance Theatre to Beall Concert Hall to the Collier House, he checks in on each performance. Faculty members and students come up with creative ideas for dance shows, recitals and concerts while Mikesell shepherds them into production. He is the wizard of superdelegation and coordinates the right information, the right tools and the right person. Every show is different, and no detail is overlooked.

While not an instructor, he and his professional staff mentor the students who help put on productions and gives them agency to take control of a stage. His varied background in opera, set construction, arts administration and other skills gives him valuable knowledge to share. His previous students have gone onto careers in the theater, and they compare notes as colleagues.

An old theater maxim says a bad rehearsal nearly always means a good show and Mikesell aims to have the audience yelling “bravo!” after each performance. 

Peruse the School of Music and Dance calendar of events to find a performance to attend. UO faculty, staff and students with valid ID can buy tickets at a discounted price.

—Jennifer Archer, University Communications