Aurora Held-Dodd

Mid-Ohio Valley native Aurora Held-Dodd joined the theatre department as an adjunct professor in 2016. Aurora is a Director, Choreographer, Stage Manager, and experienced educator who brings her love of the arts into the classroom and strives to make theatre and dance accessible to everyone in her classes, regardless of major or degree of experience.

Before coming to MC, Aurora was a regular stage manager for the Monomoy Theatre in Chatham, Massachusetts; directed "An Enemy of the People" at Monomoy in 2014, and choreographed "South Pacific" and "Twelfth Night" that same year. Her favorite directing credits include "Marathon ’33" and "My Attic Wife" at Ohio University, "Mary Poppins" for Ohio Valley Summer Theatre, and "Annie" at Marietta College. Other favorite credits include "Rent," "The 39 Steps," and "Arsenic and Old Lace."

Aurora has held a wide variety of positions in theatre, dance, opera, and music, and was on staff at Peoples Bank Theatre in Marietta from 2016-19, working in the front and back of the house in multiple capacities. As a performer, her educational experience is rooted in nearly twenty years of touring as a dancer, actor, and voice-over artist performing for K-12 school systems throughout Ohio and West Virginia.

Aurora brings her unique perspective to each course she teaches and draws from her time both onstage and behind the scenes to make each course engaging, relevant, and transferable through practical application. Her research interests are in automation for stage management and storytelling, and expression through movement.