2020 Retiring Faculty

Elane Denny-Todd

Professor of Theatre & Dance
(1992-2020)

Elane Denny-Todd, MFA, CLC, served as a full-time professor of performance in the Department of Theatre & Dance at OWU from 1992–2020. She was chairperson of the department from 2008-2010 and served as chairperson of CAFA (Committee on Admission & Financial Aid) for three terms. She received the Sherwood Dodge Shankland Award for teaching and served on various university committees and university searches for faculty and administrators. She served as an EEO Compliance Officer for the University in recent years. Elane directed main season theatre productions and supervised senior projects in the department every year.

Before teaching at OWU, she held tenure-track full-time faculty positions at Auburn University for three years and the University of Toledo for two years, where she headed both performance programs. While at both universities, Elane led the departments’ process to become certified by NAST (National Association of Schools of Theatre).

She earned a B.A. in theatre, English, and education with departmental honors and certification to teach from Western Maryland College and an MFA in performance from Indiana University. She was a regional and national winner for acting in the National Society of Arts and Letters competition and is an alumna of the Royal National Theatre’s actor training program in London, England.

Prior to university teaching, she headed the theatre and English program at Maryvale Trinity College Preparatory School in Brooklandville, MD, and later was hired as the performance specialist at Dwight Englewood College Preparatory School in Englewood, NJ.

Her professional acting and directing include working at Indiana Repertory Theatre, Center Stage (Baltimore, MD), CATCO (Columbus, OH), Brown County Playhouse, the Springer Opera House State Theatre of Georgia (Columbus, GA), and Off-Street Theatre (NYC), among others. Some of her favorite productions directed at OWU include Hamlet, As You Like It, The Importance of Being Earnest, 2 Gentleman of Verona the Rock Musical, Camelot, Heartbreak House, Twelfth Night, Hay Fever, Royal Gambit, Othello in Wonderland, Night Watch, and No Exit.

Elane was recognized by President William Clinton for her work with the Ohio Department of Transportation video “Fairness in the Workplace,” recommended by the State of Ohio to the U.S. government’s Initiative on Race, a national program created by President Clinton as a model of an effective tool in combating racial and gender discrimination in government agencies.

In collaboration with the Delaware/Morrow County Mental Health Services Board for over 15 years in partnership with the local Delaware Police and Delaware County Sheriff’s departments, Elane provided CIT (Crisis Intervention Training) for officers and first responders. She trained and provided actors for crisis and de-escalation scenarios.

Elane was certified as a Professional Life Coach in 2017 and left academia in 2020 to pursue personal life coaching full-time.