CSD Theater Staff Bios - Corvallis School District

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Laura Braning “Miz B” (Director)

Has acted and directed professionally throughout the United States and Japan. Additionally, she has taught at multiple colleges and Universities throughout the country and is currently the theatre program director for Corvallis High School. She also teaches language arts classes and online language arts for the Corvallis School District and teaches drama pedagogy in the graduate school of education at Western Oregon University.

Miz B started her career as a professional actress and make-up artist and earned an MFA in acting from the University of Louisville. She has played many roles from musical comedy to classical including several turns as the Queen in Once Upon a Mattress, Judy Turner in A Chorus Line, Amanda in The Glass Menagerie, Eliza in Look Homeward Angel, and numerous television commercials, music videos, educational, and industrial films. Local audiences have seen her as Mama Rose in the Majestic Theatre’s Gypsy, Joan in Willamette STAGE Company’s production of Love Song, Miss Hannigan in Annie, the Queen in Once Upon a Mattress, or Reverend Mother, Sister Regina in Nunsense: A Las Vegas Review.

Miz B began directing for a small theatre group while on active duty in the U.S. Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS Lexington (AVT-16), and continued her studies in directing while an undergraduate student at SOU in Ashland, Oregon. She didn’t begin directing professionally, however, until after graduate school. Since then, she has directed over 50 mainstage productions, including 30 large-scale musicals. Two of her productions, Tom Jones and I Never Saw Another Butterfly, won awards for best play at two consecutive ‘Far East Theatre Festivals’ in Japan.

James Murray V (Director)

James is an Actor – Writer – Director based in the Willamette Valley. He is passionate both about theater and filmmaking, and has been pursuing both crafts for well over 15 years. James got his start in theater as an actor, playing the role of The Baker in Into the Woods. Since then, James has played many roles in dozens of productions, some of his favorites being Willard in Footloose The Musical, Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther Strikes Again, Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing, and most recently, Ash in Evil Dead The Musical. James has also appeared in various TV shows, films, and even some billboards around town.

James is currently attending Western Oregon University to finish his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Education. When he isn’t involved in a theater production, you might find James working on his next film project, playing video games with his friends, or spending time with his lovely wife, Nicky.

Josh Hiser (Technical Director/ Designer)

Has been designing lights for over 15 years. A graduate of the prestigious Stephens College theater program in Columbia, Missouri, Josh has worked at venues throughout the country such as Okoboji Summer Theater in Iowa and the award-winning Lyceum Theater in Arrow Rock, Missouri. A 2009 graduate of Corvallis High School, he returned to his alma mater in 2017 for their production of Robin Hood and had so much fun, that he decided to stay.