SUMMER 2026 | 13 department in 1988. Nearly a decade later, in 1997, Zoellner opened, complete with three theaters, an art gallery, and dance and recording studios; it now hosts more than 250 productions a year. Johnson is an alum of the theater program, originally coming to Lehigh to study computer science and engineering before getting bit by the acting bug. After earning an MFA at the University of Pittsburgh, she returned in 1999 to teach and direct at Lehigh at the invitation of Pam Pepper, professor emerita of acting and directing. A renowned expert on Black Acting Methods, Johnson since launched a popular course on Hip-Hop Theatre long before “Hamilton” broke the genre into the mainstream, and has been a witness over the years to the many strong graduates of the program. “The tools and technologies have changed, but what we do has remained remarkably consistent,” Johnson says. “The same theater education that supported me is now helping today’s students become storytellers, collaborators and critical thinkers.” Lehigh has a reputation in the Lehigh Valley for staging daring shows that push the envelope, she says. “Students today are engaging with digital media, interdisciplinary collaboration, community engagement and a far broader range of stories and perspectives than theater students could have imagined a generation ago,” she says. Whether or not they eventually go into the industry, she says, theater as a discipline teaches skills applicable to a broad range of post-graduation experiences. “The arts provide something increasingly rare in higher education: spaces where students can learn to navigate ambiguity, collaborate deeply, take risks, make meaning and develop empathy,” Johnson says. “The world is so focused on answers, and the arts teach students how to ask better questions.” Carving Out Bold Paths That vision of theater resonates with Hunter, who always knew she wanted to pursue a theater career, performing in plays from a young age growing up outside of Boston. “The vibrancy and electric sparkle I got from working together and creating something we were proud of has always been my community, my team sport, my religion,” she says. When it came time for college, she searched for a well-rounded university where she could get a liberal arts education and landed at Lehigh. “I wanted to learn about the world in other areas, and bring that back into the theater,” she says. She boldly auditioned for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” her third day on campus, and was lucky enough to secure a part as one of the fairies. She followed that up with numerous roles in plays over the years, including Nora in “A Doll’s House” and Olga in “Three Sisters.” At the same time, she was shaped by the rigor of theater courses, especially the “Dramatic Action” class taught by Augustine Ripa, professor emeritus of acting and directing. “I still use that training to analyze new scripts to determine the dramatic intent from line to line,” she says. While other subjects may encourage concrete answers, theater lives in ambiguities that demand critical thinking. “There was no right or wrong—it was, ‘What’s your thesis and how do you defend it?’” Hunter says. “It allowed me to think outside the box and approach the world in a way that helped me better understand what I’m trying to achieve and why.” “The vibrancy and electric sparkle I got from working together and creating something we were proud of has always been my community, my team sport, my religion.” —NICKI HUNTER ’09 EMILIO MADRID
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