Theatre and Dance Alumni Honored

Two accomplished alumni, one a dancer and one a well-known actor, were honored by the theatre and dance department at its Alumni Award Ceremony during Western's Homecoming Weekend in September.

Tiffanee Arnold McPhee '91, professor and chair of the dance department at Collin County Community College, Plano, Texas; and actor Michael Boatman ‘04, recognized for his role on ABC's “Spin City” as Carter Heywood and in the HBO series “Arli$$” as Stanley Babson; were presented the awards.

egla birmingham Hassan MA ‘82 (sic), professor of theatre and head of the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program in directing, presented the theatre award to Boatman, who sent a video acceptance. Candace Winters-March, professor and co-director of University Dance Theatre (UDT), presented the award to McPhee.

The honorees received an original copper and silver cup artwork by Western's Kat Myers, associate professor of art, representing the “spirit of creativity.”

Tiffanee Arnold McPhee

Tiffanee Arnold McPheeMcPhee, who earned her bachelor's degree in psychology in 1991, was a four-year member of UDT. As a UDT dancer, McPhee had opportunities to work with nationally known guest artists, attend the American College Dance Festival, and perform in adjudicated concerts. She was a graduate teaching assistant and choreography assistant at Texas Women's University from 1995-1997, when she earned her MFA in dance. In 1998 McPhee was awarded the Promising Professional Kitty McGee Alumni Award from TWU. She joined Collin College in 1997 as an associate dance professor, and was named professor and chair of the dance department in 1998.

In her 10 years at Collin College , McPhee has developed the dance program of 122 students, nine dance courses and one dance studio to its current enrollment of 562 students, 43 dance courses and four dance studios on three campuses. She serves as artistic director of Collin Dance Ensemble, the student dance company, where she choreographs, advises student choreography and is the production manager. Her choreography is performed at the American College Dance Festival (ACDF) South-Central Region, and four of her works have been selected for the ACDF's Gala Concert. McPhee also coordinates dance residencies at Collin with famed artists and international companies. She recently received the Outstanding Professor Award in Collin's fine arts division.

McPhee is an eight-year member of the Elledanceworks Dance Company, a professional company in Dallas, as well as a freelance artist.

Michael Boatman

Michael BoatmanAs a student at Western in the early and mid-1980s, Boatman earned best supporting actor in the Irene Ryan National Competition at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (1986). In 2005, he returned to Western to share an afternoon of insight and ideas with theatre students. He was also scheduled in the lead role of Western's April 2007 University Theatre production of “Othello,” but had to cancel because he was offered a TV comedy series, “Traveling in Packs.” The ABC sitcom pilot does not yet have a release date.

“I was happy for him, getting his own series,” said Hassan, who was one of Boatman's original theatre instructors at Western. “He wants to come back to Western when his schedule allows and work with us on another show.”

Boatman has worked in television, film and theatre. His first role was as Motown in “Hamburger Hill.” He starred in ABC's “Celebrity Mole: Hawaii” and “ China Beach ” as Sam Beckett. Boatman's film credits include “ Kalamazoo,” “The Peacemaker” and “The Glass Shield;” and television movies include “Fourth Story,” “In the Line of Duty: Street War” and the PBS special “The Trial of Bernard Goetz.”

The Western alumnus has also participated in several off-Broadway productions including “The Glass Menagerie” in San Francisco and “Tiny Mommy” at the Playwright's Horizons. Recent television credits include “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Scrubs” and “CSI: Miami.”

Boatman was presented Western's Alumni Achievement Award in 1997.

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