DianeTimmerman, Chair, Professor of Theatre

Diane is a professional actor, voiceover artist, director, and producer with longstanding memberships in Equity (Actors' Equity Association), SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild + American Federation of Television & Radio Artists), and VASTA (Voice and Speech Trainers Association.)

Diane is a Designated Linklater Voice Teacher, one of about 250 worldwide, and enjoys teaching a variety of voice, acting, audition, and theatre courses at Butler. She is the proud recipient of the 2014 Butler University Distinguished Faculty Award in Teaching. Diane received her M.F.A.in Acting from Indiana University and her B.A. in Theatre and German from Southern Illinois University. She studied for one year at the University of Hamburg on a German Academic Exchange Service Fellowship (DAAD) and for one year at the University of Vienna.

Diane served as Executive Artistic Director of the Equity theatre, Indianapolis Shakespeare Company (Indy Shakes), from 2013-2022. During her decade at the helm, Diane oversaw the rebranding and relocating of the company from Heartland Actors' Repertory Theatre, which produced in White River State Park, to Indy Shakes producing in Riverside Park. To achieve the move, Indy Shakes teamed up with the Indianapolis Parks Foundation (now called the Indianapolis Parks Alliance), Indy Parks, and Indiana Landmarks to create a plan to restore the Taggart Memorial into the Taggart Memorial Mainstage Amphitheatre in Riverside Park. This initiative was funded by a generous 9.24 million dollar Strengthening Indianapolis Through Arts & Culture Innovation Grant from Lilly Endowment, and the facility opened in the summer of 2021 with Indy Shakes' acclaimed A Midsummer Night's Dream followed the following summer by the innovative Ricky 3: A Hip Hop Shakespeare Richard III. With education close to her heart, Diane founded the Indy Shakes Traveling Troupe, the educational touring wing of Indy Shakes. Of note is that Butler Theatre students, alumni, faculty, and staff have always been involved in Indy Shakes productions, and that tradition continues to that day.

As part of Indy Shakes' move to Riverside Park, Diane has been engaged in the vibrant Near Northwestside community in numerous ways. She served as Co-Chair of the Arts, Parks, & Public Spaces (APPS) Committee of the Near Northwest, along with the Governance Committee. She was also a member of the Riverside Business Association, the Riverside Parade Committee, the Northwest Landing Neighborhood Association, and was Co-Chair of the Executive Committee for the Friends of Frank Young Park. She loves the Near Northwest community and continues to attend events in support of the neighborhoods.

Diane's professional acting roles include include Emilia in Othello, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing and Nerissa in Merchant of Venice --all with Indy Shakes. Favorite contemporary work at the Phoenix Theatre includes roles in Rancho Mirage, August: Osage County, Next Fall, November, Bug, Beautiful Thing and others. Diane has appeared with the Human Race Theatre Company in Ohio in Spinning Into Butter and Beautiful Thing. Other credits include Angel Street at the IRT and numerous credits on Chicago stages where she worked as a freelance actor prior to coming to Butler. Diane has many commercial, voiceover, and film credits, including Amanda for Adrenaline Motion Pictures and The Package with Gene Hackman.

Diane’s books include: Spare Scenes: 60 Skeletal Scenes for Acting and Directing; 90-Minute Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream; 90-MinuteShakespeare: Romeo & Juliet.

Diane is also a successful freelance voice coach who has worked with business people, TV news anchors, preachers, teachers, attorneys, and many others who want to make a shift in their voice. Diane works with clients on a wide variety of voice issues including: wanting more volume, less vocal fry, more power, less nasality, more expressivity, more ease in speaking, more command, and many other topics. Voices are like fingerprints: each one is unique, and Diane enjoys working with a wide range of people to achieve their voice goals.

Diane is a two-time recipient of the Creative Renewal Fellowship from the Arts Council of Indianapolis. She loves all kinds of international theatre practices and taught on the Spring 2010 voyage for the Semester at Sea program. Diane enjoys facilitating Butler Theatre’s unique Christel DeHaan Visiting International Theatre Artist (VITA) program, which brings internationally-recognized theatre artists to Butler to teach and direct or design. Diane is thrilled to teach at Butler Theatre where the students, faculty, and staff are bright, talented, open, curious artists who seek to better our art form each day.

Diane Timmerman

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