Rob McKercher
Professor
Phone Number: 402.826.8280Department: Theatre
Office: CON206
Email: [email protected]
Primary Campus: Crete
Credentials: BA, BS, MFA
About
As a native of Nebraska, Professor McKercher started his theatrical career as an actor in six national tours with the Nebraska Theatre Caravan. As a member of the United Scenic Artists in New York City, he painted more than 37 Broadway productions and served as the charge artist on the Tony Award-winning design of The Secret Garden, Beauty and the Beast, The Red Shoes, Aspects of Love, Grand Hotel and Tommy to name just a few. Numerous television and feature movie credits include "The Late Show with David Letterman," "Kate and Allie," To Wong Foo..., Brighton Beach Memoirs, Hannah and Her Sisters and Radio Days. He also painted for The American Ballet Theatre at Lincoln Center, Paul Taylor Dance Company and Dennis Cunningham Dance Company.
After earning his Master of Fine Arts in directing from UNL, Robin directed original productions such as A Christmas Carol, Romantic Rhapsody and A Salute to Pearl Harbor at the Lied Center. He served as associate artistic director of the Nebraska Rep directing Starting Here... Starting Now, My Nebraska and Pterodactyls. For the Nebraska Theatre Caravan, Robin garnered national and international attention for his innovative production of A Thousand Cranes, which has toured eight times from Alaska to Florida. He was artistic director for the Lincoln Playhouse from 1996 to 2003. Favorite shows he directed include West Side Story, Tommy, Children of Eden, and The Civil War. In 2002 Robin received the Sam Davidson Award for excellence in theatre arts at the Lincoln Mayor’s Arts Awards.
He designed My Way and directed Ragtime and Seussical for the Fulton Theatre, a LORT C Equity theatre in Lancaster, PA. For his production of Ragtime, Robin was awarded the 2004 Footsie for Best Musical and Best Director in Pennsylvania. Additionally, he has designed Gypsy, George M!, Seven Brides, The Sound of Music (nominated for the 2005 ariZoni Award in Best Scenic Design) and Show Boat for the Broadway Palm West Dinner Theater in AZ, and the Dutch Apple Dinner Theater in PA. He directed/designed Forever Plaid and Shear Madness for the Temple Theatre and Beauty and the Beast for the Playhouse in Des Moines.
In 2005, Robin's first year at Doane, he directed Irma Vep, Phedre (selected to present at 2006 KCACTF Region V festival), and The Grandma Show at Doane. He directed the world premiere of Local Wonders, a musical adaptation of poetry and Nebraska reflections by U.S. Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Ted Kooser, for the Nebraska Repertory Theatre. The past seasons saw Robin direct the Doane productions of Woyzeck (nominated for selected scene at 2007 KCACTF Region festival), Reeling (nominated for selected play at 2008 KCACTF Region festival). Arabian Nights, Civil War Voices (world premiere), Titus Andronicus, Evil Dead the Musical, See Rock City and Other Destinations (regional premiere), The 39 Steps (selected to present scene at 2012 KCACTF Region V festival), Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (selected to present scene at 2014 KCACTF Region V festival), American Idiot (American amateur premiere) (outstanding direction KCACTF), and soon the revival of The Robber Bridegroom recent seen at the Roundabout Theatre in New York . Recent professional directorial work included a New York City workshop of Little Mary Sunshine starring the incredible Sarah Rice and the highly successful world premiere of Around the World in 80 Days and the U.S. premiere of the West End smash Glorious! once again at the Fulton in Pennsylvania. In 2016 Robin directed his fifth version of Civil War Voices for an honored place at the National Lincoln Bicentennial Birthday Celebration. Robin headed the production team for The Secret Garden, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, The 39 Steps, and Adaptation in Lenox, MA. Robin had the great pleasure to get back up on the boards and perform in the world premiere of Catherland by Becky Key Boesen and David von Kampen. Most recently he was cast to perform in the one-man play based on the best-selling book about the Vietnam experience by Tim O'Brien, The Things They Carried at the Lied Center in 2015. To date Robin has worked as a director/designer/actor/scenic artist on well over 470 professional productions and has won 10 individual Meritorious Achievement Awards or invited Showcase Play/Scene for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region V. He has currently written a new adaptation of Alfred Jarry's Ubu Roi, entitled Ubu the King, a populist's journey into hell.
Professor McKercher teaches Acting, Directing, and Theatre History plus directs the majority of the mainstage productions in the Doane University season.