New Faces

The College of the Arts is pleased to announce our new faculty members.  We look forward to their creative brilliance, educational guidance and dedication to our team of artists and educators. 

Mr. Marty Aikens, Assistant Professor of Performing Arts, Theatrical Design

Marty Aikens has a lifelong background in theatre and has worked with many prominent performance companies including the Utah Shakespearean Festival and Cirque du Soleil. He holds his undergrad degree in Acting and Directing from the University of TN, and an MFA in Theatre Design and Production from Tulane University. He served as Artistic Director of Atlanta's critically acclaimed Jack in the Black Box Theatre Company for eight years.

Marty then moved into education for a ten year stay at Atlanta's magnet school for Performing Arts, North Springs Charter High School as faculty, resident designer, and technical director.  Under his direction there, the school garnered national attention as one of the top programs in the U.S., performed internationally, and landed students in national tours, and on Broadway.  In television and film, Marty has worked with NBC, Fox, and CBS networks in almost all areas of production, from camera-work to directing, and everything in between.

Currently, Marty produces and directs a lifestyle / food magazine show called "A Taste of the Good Life" with SkyFilms. He also worked as Assistant Director on two award-winning indie films. You might even catch him on screen as an actor in a few television shows and films. His New Orleans design work includes The Misanthrope and Woyzeck (Tulane / the New Orleans Fringe Fest), Totalitarians (Southern Rep), Pterodactyls and The Tempest (Promethean Theatre Co.),  The Producers and Into the Woods (Rivertown Theatres), and Caroline or Change and Richard III for Loyola University where he served as Technical Director and resident designer. 

Dr. Dale Bazan, Assistant Professor of Music, Music Education

Dale Bazan is Assistant Professor of Music Education and Coordinator of Music Education for University of Louisiana at Lafayette where he will oversee the music teaching program. He holds a Bachelor of Music and Bachelor Music Education from the University of Manitoba (Canada), Masters of Music from University of Northern Iowa (with concentrations in jazz saxophone and music education), and Ph.D. in Music Education from Case Western Reserve University.  Prior to accepting his position at UL Lafayette, he was a music education professor at University of Alaska – Anchorage and was previously Associate Professor of Practice in Music Education at University of Nebraska - Lincoln from 2007-2017.  Dr. Bazan has also served as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music Education and Course Designer for the Kent State University and University of Florida Online Masters of Music Education programs.  He is (or has been) an Editorial Board Member and Reviewer for Contributions to Music Education, the Journal of Music and Dance, Urban Education, and Middle Grades Research Journal. His research interests include foundations of teaching, creative process, recruiting/retaining music students, popular musicianship, and social justice. Dr. Bazan was previously an English/Language Arts/Drama and 5-12 Instrumental Music Teacher in Canada and the USA through 11 years.

Dr. Kelly Ann Bixby, Assistant Professor of Music, Voice

Recognized for her rich, colorful soprano and insightful musicianship, Dr. Kelly Ann Bixby is a distinguished performer in concert, operatic and chamber music repertoire. Since 2009 Dr. Bixby has been a member of the Grammy Award-winning new music ensemble, The Crossing. Dr. Bixby appears as a soloist on two Crossing recordings, “Gavin Bryars: The Fifth Century,” which won the 2017 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance, and Thomas Lloyd’s “Bonhoeffer,” nominated for a Grammy in 2016. Her recorded work includes Opera America's, "New American Songbook," and "21st Century Song Cycles," an album of songs by Daron Hagen for premiere art song series, Lyric Fest, for which she is a perennial performer. In 2014 Dr. Bixby made her debut with Opera Philadelphia in Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar and was the Eastern Region Artist Award Winner for the National Association of Teachers of Singing Competition in the same year. A noted interpreter of new works and a frequent recitalist, Dr. Bixby has an extensive concert repertoire and has premiered commissions by numerous composers including Pulitzer Prize-winner Lewis Spratlan. Dr. Bixby holds a D.M.A. in voice performance from the University of Michigan, a M.M. from Westminster Choir College and a B.M. from the University of Michigan.

Dylan Guidry, Technical Director/Burke Facility Manager

Dylan Guidry in the Music and Performing Arts Department grew up in a small town outside of Lafayette called Parks. He attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette from 2010 to 2015 receiving a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design. Upon graduation, he moved to Savannah Georgia to attend the Savannah College of Art and Design. While in Savannah Dylan worked on multiple short films, as prop master for episode 4 of the school run sitcom called “Le Buzz”, as a carpenter in the school’s scenic shop, and as a production assistant on the Lifetime film “Christmas in Mississippi”. In 2018 Dylan received a Master of Fine Arts in Production Design from SCAD and returned to Louisiana.

Dylan’s experience is in fabrication and digital design. He has grown up working in various shop environments from wood shops to metal shops. He now holds the position of Technical director and Burk facilities manager.

Kathryn Gordon, Assistant Professor in Visual Arts, Drawing

In a world where reality is a layered event, Kate Gordon’s drawings seek to build illusions that challenge our perception of what is real and what is imagined. For Gordon, the painted picture plane is a three--‐dimensional installation inlaid with video and, at moments, burgeoning on becoming a pop--‐up book. The ranging material facts of her work are in keeping with the notion that the dream imagery she mines is itself not rational and does not prescribe purely to naturalistic sensibilities. Her vision is a translation of the utter strangeness of the world.

Kate Gordon Earned an M.F.A. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro And a B.F.A. from Pratt Institute. Gordon has shown her paintings, collages and video works nationally; recent exhibitions include curation into the Weatherspoon Art Museum’s Art On Paper exhibition, an Invitation to create a public video installation at Block 2—a visual platform for new media artists in Raleigh, NC, and a solo exhibition at The Carrack, an artist run project space, in Durham, NC. Past exhibitions include a solo show at 68 Jay Street in Brooklyn, NY and a group exhibition at Five Points Gallery in Connecticut.

www.kate--‐gordon.com

Trent Pcenicni, Instructor of Costuming

Trent Pcenicni is a Costume, Wig, and Makeup Designer whose work has been seen all over the US and the world including Avenue Q (Off-Broadway), The Phantom of the Opera (International tour), Barrington Stage Company, The Geffen Theatre, Gateway Playhouse, Triad Stage, Open Space Café Theatre, Ogunquit Playhouse, City Arts Drama Center, The Wick Theatre, Twin City Stage, and Greensboro Opera. He has an extensive Film and Video resume, including projects for the History Channel, Showtime Television Network, NYU School of Film, and Soomo Publishing. He designed the costumes and Hair for the Emmy award-winning short Bad Romance: Women’s Suffrage. His research in non-western theatre has taken him to Dubai, China, Thailand, and Indonesia, where he was able to interview and collaborate with theatre artist from around the globe. In addition, he has a passion for education and professional development which lead him to develop and manage an extremely successful wig and makeup internship in NY from which 75% of students went on to Broadway careers. Trent is extremely proud of his experience teaching students with disabilities, believing that the art and craft of theatre should be accessible to everyone regardless of physical and mental differences.