Theatre Arts

Bonny Gable

Bonny Gable serves as Coordinator of Performing Arts, directs theatre productions, and teaches acting, directing, and theatre history. She holds a Masters of Education in Theatre from East Tennessee State University. She has served as director of theatre arts at King College in Bristol, Tennessee and has directed productions and taught classes for Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, and East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee. Bonny joined the VIC faculty in 2003. She has performed professionally with the North Carolina RSVP Theatre Company A Night On the Town in Virginia, and was one of the original company members of Tennessee's Shakespeare and Friends. Ms. Gable has over thirty years experience in theatre, music, and education with numerous arts centers, schools, and performing arts programs.

Will Hankins

Will Hankins is Assistant Professor of Theatre and the technical director for the Department of Theatre. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Drama/Technical Direction from the University of Virginia. While at UVA, Will served as technical director on two KCACTF award-winning productions: The Way of the World and Private Lives. In summers since 2004 Will has worked as the production manager, technical director and sound engineer for Encore! Theatre and the Richmond Shakespeare Festival in Richmond, Virginia, where he worked on the following productions: A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Merchant of Venice, The Comedy of Errors and Romeo and Juliet. The 2005 production of A Midsummer Nights Dream was digitally recorded for local broadcast by the public television station in Richmond. In the summer of 2008 Will was festival coordinator for the Richmond Shakespeare Festival, which included productions of The Compleat Works of Wm. Shakespeare (Abridged), As You Like It, Henry IV, Part II. Will currently serves as a member of the production committee for Encore! Theatre. Additionally, he is a member of USITT and SETC. Wills technical experience, along with his special skills in vacuum-forming, welding, upholstering and molding/casting, are a vital asset to Virginia Intermont's technical theatre program.

Trevor Smith

Dr. Trevor Smith teaches applied voice and serves as vocal coach for theatre productions. His credentials include a Master of Music in Conducting from the Eastman School of Music, a Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Performance from Emory & Henry College, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Voice Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Smiths accomplishments and honors range from graduate assistantships at both the Eastman School and USM to winning the Regional National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Artists Division competition. In both 2000 and 2001 he was selected to participate in the Carnegie Hall Choral Workshop where he worked with James Conlon and Sir Neville Marriner, respectively. A distinguished performer his operatic and musical theatre credits include Kodaly in Bock's She Loves Me, in Britten's A Midsummer Nights Dream, and Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figarro. As baritone soloist he has performed in such oratorios as Handel's Messiah (also performed arias as a counter-tenor), Saint-Saen's Requiem, Bach's Magnificat, Mozart's Coronation Mass, and Schubert's Mass in G. Significant teachers and coaches include Mark O. Davis, Maryann Kyle, Benton Hess, Russell Miller, and Steven Daigle.

Melanie Barton

Melanie Barton holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Florida. While in Florida, she worked professionally with the Hippodrome State Theatre, including a state tour of A. R. Gurney’s The Middle Ages. Other stage credits include Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire, Fraulein in Cabaret, and M’Lynn in Steel Magnolias. Directing credits include The Crucible, The Miracle Worker, Smoke On the Mountain, and The Sound of Music. She worked extensively in the North Carolina schools, serving as both director and teacher. She has acted, directed, and taught professionally and at the college level, including the University of Florida and King College. Melanie directs and teaches Acting and Performing Arts classes.

Deborah Alonzo

Deborah Alonzo holds a Master of Music in piano performance from the University of Southern California and Bachelor of Music in piano from the University of Tennessee. A large portion of her career was spent in Los Angeles, California where she performed extensively as musical director and keyboard/synthesizer player for theatre productions throughout the Southern California area, as well as director of music and organist for several of the areas churches. She presently serves as organist/pianist at First Presbyterian Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. Deborah teaches piano and serves as musical director for theatre productions.

Amy Oblinger

Amy Oblinger holds a Master of Music from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and Bachelor of Arts in Music from King College. Her research has included modern/world worship music, theatre and film music, and politics in music. She has studied voice, organ, and harpsichord, and has extensive performing and conducting experience throughout the region and in the Iona Abbey community in Scotland where she conducted Edinburgh’s Revelation Rock Gospel Choir. Amy assists with direction of musicals and conducts the Virginia Intermont Concert Choir.

Kim Fore

Kim Fore's teaching career spans the Broadway Dance Center, Chelsea's Dance Studios, and National Dance Institute of New York City. She recently received the Choreographer's Award at Broadway Dance Center's The Pulse Tour in Secaucus, New Jersey and appeared on ABC's reality show Dance Machine. She holds a BA in Dance from Radford University and is owner/ director of Extreme Dance Company in Abingdon, Virginia. Ms. Fore teaches studio dance courses in modern and contemporary dance and serves as choreographer.