Professor Mandy Fox, who works in the Department of Theatre, Film, and Media Arts, is directing a upcoming musical. Credit: Courtesy of Mandy Fox
Professor Mandy Fox is a long-time Columbus resident who has shared her love for theater arts with Ohio State for the past 23 years.??
Throughout her childhood, Fox knew music was her calling. She said she recalls receiving a record player as a gift from her grandparents and listening to those records over and over again. She said she continued to pursue music through her church and school and “never looked back.”?
After high school, Fox attended Otterbein College, where she studied musical theater, and later went on to study at the Yale School of Drama for her masters of fine arts. As a postgraduate, Fox moved to New York City and worked on Broadway.
“It was absolutely an incredible experience, and I was a swing in there,” Fox said. “So, I understudied a bunch of different roles. I was 23 or 24, something like that, very young.”?
Over the summer, New York’s musical theater scene slows down, so Fox said she decided to spend her summer running a camp theater program.?
Here, she was given free rein to teach the pre-made plays or create her own, and Fox took the opportunity to create “Dr. Decade,” where each week would be a new decade, and the kids would learn about music from those years.??
Soon after this, Fox decided that she wanted to explore education.
“I think I wanted to teach because I really wanted to be in a place where there were people in the rehearsal room all the time,” Fox said. “There [are] always new people and new energy coming at me and new things to work on and experiment with, rather than being concerned with what was my next role and my next thing.”
Fox began her teaching career at Ball State University and eventually moved over to Ohio State.??
Before her, Fox said there was no professor who specialized in musical theater. Over time, she created the Musical Theater minor and the Voice Acting minor while directing most of the musicals at Ohio State.??
Specifically, THEATRE 3820 – Introduction to Voice Acting, which Fox teaches, has become extremely popular as students get the chance to use the new voiceover studio and try recording everything from commercials to audio books. It is open to all students, and Fox encourages people to give it a try.
Currently, Fox and her colleagues are in the process of creating a BFA in Acting at Ohio State. Fox said she is especially excited to start teaching more undergraduate classes as she usually focuses on graduate students.??
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Fox taught an online heightened text class to students in Kuwait. The online and cultural barrier forced Fox to adjust her traditional teaching methods.?
She said that during her lessons, she would try to incorporate more physical actions to teach information and focused on smiling constantly through the lesson.
“I was watching and coaching them without being able to fully understand every single word, but I was watching their emotions and how authentic and passionate they were,” Fox said.?
Reflecting on how the musical theater landscape has changed over the years, Fox said that pursuing acting used to be focused on regional theater with a small number of movies and TV. Now, there are significantly fewer actors doing regional theater.?
With acting spanning a wide range of activities from directing to video games to podcasts, she said she hopes to give students a “whole wheel of skills” to succeed in their careers.???
One of Fox’s favorite projects to work on was “The Dog Project,” which was a play she created with Ohio State’s masters class of 2025. The project collaborated with three dog training programs: one for local service dogs, a therapy dog and prison.
The play explored the vital connections humans create with dogs to help improve their lives. Before people entered the theater, the lobby had a section with dogs from these organizations for people to pet. The goal was to create a joyful atmosphere through both the play, but the experience around it as well.
Opening April 9, Fox is directing the musical “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” which will run for two weeks at the Proscenium Theatre in the Theatre, Film and Media Arts Building.
She said all the scene designs will be computer automated, hopefully making the background more interesting. Fox said the costume designers are also creating a new spin on the outfits by creating outlines in the clothing to mimic a drawing style. The jazz band will be playing in the background of the play.??
Rehearsals for the musical started Feb. 9 and the cast is made up of six students and three understudies, all of whom are undergraduate students at Ohio State.?
For those interested in participating in future productions, Fox said to reach out to her via email or anyone in the department.
“We laugh our butts off all the time, and we cry together if it’s sad,” Fox said. “You have good days, and you have bad days, but you show up and say, ‘It’s okay, tomorrow will be better.’”
The headline was updated on Feb. 27 at 11:53 a.m. to include The Professor Profiles.
