BEHIND THE SCENES: TINA NEWHAUSER JOINS CULLEN PERFORMANCE HALL

UH acquired its very own Broadway Baby. Tina Newhauser took over the reins as theatre manager at Cullen Performance Hall (CPH) on July 1. With her strong theatre background and keen instincts for the industry, Newhauser is an exciting addition to our on-campus entertainment.

Originally from Ohio and a Kent State graduate, Newhauser has over 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry. She spent several years after college graduation working regionally before she and her husband, Mark Willoughby, decided to take their talents to the big city.

Newhauser worked on and off Broadway as a Production Stage Manager for nearly ten years. In her spare time, she also worked for her husband�s production management company. While in New York, Newhauser experienced one of her career highlights when she worked on the Broadway production �The Boy from Oz� with Hugh Jackman. She described it as her �most favorite production.�

But when the couple was ready to start a family, they decided New York City was not the place to raise their children and moved to Peterborough, New Hampshire. Newhauser got a job as Production Manager at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, N.H. where she managed and advanced shows for artists such as Train, Indigo Girls, B.B. King, and Houston�s own Lyle Lovett. Her husband was working as a technical director at the time and had hoped to eventually get back to working with students. When he discovered a job opening at the University of Houston for technical director, he jumped on it. Newhauser discovered a position for scenic supervisor for the School of Theatre & Dance, and the two packed up and headed south in June 2010.

Newhauser moved from scenic supervisor to theatre manager once the position recently became available and is quickly learning the system for the university venue. She hopes to make Cullen Performance Hall a familiar, welcoming fixture for our campus community.

�I want Cullen to be a place where students can come and find entertainment here on campus so they don�t have to travel for it,� Newhauser said. �My goal is to start creating things that can be brought in that appeal to them.�

She has hopes to bring back rock bands and performers to CPH once financial and structural adjustments are made.

�One step at a time, and we can get there,� she said.

Coming in the fall is a production from the School of Theatre & Dance, �Zombie Prom.� Newhauser said she also wants to build relationships with other departments and schools to create a learning environment at CPH and enrich our students� lives.

�I know when I was a student, I loved going on campus and seeing different shows. It�s easy, it�s convenient, and we want to give that to them as best we can,� she said.

Newhauser and her husband�s entertainment influence has made its way home as well. They have two children, Zackery, 6 �, and Sofia, 5 �. Zack has stepped into the spotlight himself.

�Zack made his acting debut at the age of two when he performed in the Peterborough Players production of "A Doll�s House" in the summer of 2007. At the age of two he was wonderful, never missed a beat. It helped that they taught him using M&Ms,� she said.

With Newhauser joining the team, CPH welcomes a behind the scenes entertainment star. For more information on Cullen Performance Hall, visit www.uh.edu/cph.