Eva Patton

Eva teaches all levels of acting in the department of theatre and dance, as well as directing and performing in the production season. Most recently she played the character of Judy in Jennifer Blackmer’s new play Borrowed Babies directed by Karen Kessler. Eva directed the Ball State production of the new musical Mad World by Cristian Guerrero, Chandler Patton, and Steven Schmidt which was honored with seven national awards from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival including Distinguished Director of a Musical, and Outstanding Production of a New or Devised Work. In 2016, she was honored with the College of Fine Arts Dean’s Creative Endeavor Award for outstanding professional work in her field. As the departmental recruitment administrator, Eva helps direct recruitment efforts and travels to the National Unified Auditions each year to audition and interview students from around the country for the department’s nine BFA and BA degree programs.

Prior to Ball State, Eva was on the full-time acting faculty and the theatre program manager at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center Campus in NYC for twenty years. During that time, she acted in a number of productions in New York; favorites include her one-woman show Seen/Unseen, directed by Michael Kimmel and Laura Wagner at The Wild Project; Jean Harlow in The Beard written by Michael McClure, directed by Lawrence Sacharow at La MaMa, E.T.C.; The Mercy Swing by Lane Bernes, directed by Richard Perez at Cherry Lane Theatre/NY Fringe; Kraken by Len Jenkin, directed by Michael Kimmel at Walkerspace; and Man Made written & directed by Susan Mosakowski for the Ohio Theatre Ice Factory Festival. Eva has been a frequent participant in the development of new plays for theatres such as New York Theater Workshop, The Lark, Soho Rep, New Dramatists, and most recently, the Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis. Other work includes an appearance on Saturday Night Live and the audiobook recording for singer/songwriter/poet Patti Smith’s book Woolgathering. As a playwright, Eva was awarded an Edward F. Albee Foundation fellowship/residency. She holds a BA degree from Hanover College, an MFA degree in Acting from the FSU/Asolo Conservatory, and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.