Faculty & Staff

Sean Patrick Gibbons (he/him) is a certified Intimacy Director with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators mentored under Broadway's industry leaders on creative consent, Claire Warden and Cha Ramos. Sean is also an Actor, Director, and Voice and Movement specialist. He is also in the process of becoming a certified teacher of the Michael Chekhov Acting Technique with the Great Lakes Michael Chekhov Consortium through Kent State University.

He has performed Off-Broadway (Theatre Row) and in various regional theatres across the country including New Repertory Theatre, Boston Playwrights Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Scranton Shakespeare Festival, Bridge Repertory Theatre, Atlantic Rep, Atlantic Theatre Lab, and many more.

A member of Actor’s Equity, and SAG-AFTRA eligible, he has also worked and taught at the International Theatre and Dance Project in Greece, Emerson Stage, Gloucester Stage, Central Square Theatre, The Front Porch Arts Collective, The University of Scranton, Brandeis University, Wellesley College, American International College, Florida Atlantic University, Harvard University, and Boston Theatre Company. Sean holds an MFA in Acting from Florida Atlantic University, and two undergraduate degrees in Acting and Theatre Education from Marywood University. Sean is a proud board member of Scranton Shakespeare Festival.

www.seanpatrickgibbons.com  external website

Chester Loeffler-Bell is an educator and theatrical professional who earned his B.A. in Theatre Arts from Carroll College in 1985 and his M.F.A. in Lighting Design from the University of South Carolina in 1995. He spent two decades as an Artistic Assistant Professor of Performing Arts at Marquette University from 2001 to 2021. More recently, he served as a Visiting Professor of Lighting Design and Production at Willamette University and taught 3D Design at Concordia University. His institutional production career includes early work as the Lighting/Sound Supervisor and Assistant Production Supervisor for the Milwaukee Repertory Theater from 1988 to 1992. He later stepped into leadership as the Production Manager and Finance Manager for the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre from 1998 to 2001.

He has also managed educational venues, serving as the Auditorium Manager for Homestead High School and Mukwonago High School between 2021 and 2024. He also served as a Deputy Sheriff for Milwaukee County in the early 1990s. While at Marquette, he secured several funding opportunities, including grants for Viz Lab Development with the MU College of Engineering and a curriculum grant for course redesign. His service to the theatrical community included a term as chair of the Summit Players, a traveling, non-profit theatre company that brings free, accessible Shakespeare workshops and outdoor performances to Wisconsin state parks. Chester is a member of IATSE Local 18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Stefan Zubal is an artist and educator from Forest Hill, Maryland. He began his training at County Ballet Studio and continued at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and the Washington School of Ballet. He performed with Richmond Ballet and Fort Wayne Ballet, where he also served as Assistant Director, Principal Dancer, teacher, and choreographer.

He holds a BA in Theatre from Purdue University Fort Wayne and an MFA in Dance from Florida State University, where he expanded his work into choreography, pedagogy, leadership in the arts, and dance for camera. Stefan has taught at Seton Hill University and Utah Valley University, contributing to curriculum development and interdisciplinary initiatives.

Dr. Joel M. Graham is the Director of Bands at Wilkes University. He directs the Civic Band, Jazz Ensemble, Pep Band, conducts musical pit orchestras, and teaches courses in music history and music theory. Previously, he was the Director of Bands at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA and at the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio where he also led their instrumental music education program.

Past K-12 teaching appointments include directing the music programs at Lee Academy in Lee, ME and at Kents Hill School in Readfield, ME. During his time in Maine, he also directed the Robert Browne Hall Memorial Band in Oakland, ME. Under his leadership, that community ensemble performed an active performance schedule of up to ten performances per year with musicians ranging from young novices to retired professionals.

Graham earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting from George Mason University, where he studied with Professor Mark Camphouse and Dr. Dennis Layendecker, Colonel USAF retired, and his Master of Arts degree in conducting from the University of New Hampshire, where he studied with Dr. Andrew Boysen and served as the graduate assistant to bands. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in music education at the University of Southern Maine, where he studied with Dr. Peter Martin.

In addition to his conducting and education career, he maintains an active performance schedule on trumpet, trombone, and horn and has been featured as solo artist with the multiple ensembles in New England. He studied trumpet privately with Professor Elizabeth Rines, Professor Trent Austin, and Dr. Robert Stibler.

Graham was named as an honorary mention in the American Prize Conducting Competition Wind Conducting Division in 2023 and is currently a finalist in the Musical Theatre Conducting Division.

• Bachelor of Music in Music Education, University of Southern Maine
• Master of Arts in Music: Music Conducting, University of New Hampshire
• Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting, George Mason University

Praised for his “inspired” conducting (The Daily Courier), Dr. Joshua Harper is thrilled to be going into his 5th season as Guest Conductor with the Arizona Philharmonic conducting Bach’s monumental St. John Passion. Harper was recently named the second Artistic Director for the Choral Society of Northeast Pennsylvania as they enter their 26th season. Along with their regular season programming, he will lead the Society in collaborations with the Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic and Maestra Mélisse Brunet. Shortly after his time in Arizona, Harper will lead the Wilkes Chamber Singers as they join forces with the Arcadia Chorale for Bach’s B-minor Mass, also in late March ‘25.

Dr. Harper is currently the Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Choral Conducting & Applied Voice at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania. At Wilkes, he conducts the Chamber Singers and University Chorus. He also teaches music theory, and private voice, and serves as the musical director for all musical productions. He has performed on some of the nation’s largest stages, including Carnegie Hall and Jazz At Lincoln Center. Harper is the founder of the Quartz Ensemble, a fully professional chamber choir drawing singers from across the country of international renown. He maintains an active schedule singing, adjudicating, and presenting his research across Pennsylvania and Arizona, as well as engagements in Tennessee later next Spring. He holds the Doctor of Music degree from the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University with a minor in Music History and Literature.