Meet Our Faculty
Michael Curtis Johnson, Department Chair
Associate Professor, Film Production
UNA Box 5260
128 W Tombigbee
Johnson's film Savage Youth was selected for the Venice International Film Festival's Biennale College Cinema program and had its premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival. It screened at the Atlanta Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Award at the Florida Film Festival. His first feature film Hunky Dory won jury awards at the Slamdance, Atlanta, Nashville, Naples, BendFilm, San Francisco Indie, and American Film Festival. His feature films and shorts have been screened and won awards at over 100 international film festivals. He was chosen for the Berlin International Film Festival's Berlinale Talents program. He is a Narrative Features Programming Captain for the Slamdance Film Festival and has been a co-director of the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival for 8 years. He is an alumnus of the directing program at the American Film Institute Conservatory.
Robert Fuson, Visiting Assistant Professor, Theatre
2nd Floor, George S. Lindsey Theatre
Robert Fuson (They/He) earned an MFA in the Theatre Arts with a concentration in Directing from the University of Alabama and a BA in Theatre Arts from Furman University. They worked as the Artistic Company Manager of the Guerilla Shakespeare Theatre Company and the Company Manager of Horizon Theatre’s Apprentice Company. He has trained with SITI Company and the Atlantic Acting School. Additionally, Robert is getting certified in Fitzmaurice Voice Work that is expected in summer of 2025. Their focus on theatrical work that incorporates the audience as collaborators in the live storytelling experience has led to interpreting and writing plays for a post-streaming era of theatre. Award-winning projects include: I Am My Own Wife (directing), Never Swim Alone (directing), and Barbie Liberation Organization (writing). More accolades are available at
Nora Stone, Assistant Professor
Film Production
UNA Box 5260
128 W Tombigbee
Nora Stone is a film scholar and filmmaker. Her monograph, How Documentaries Went Mainstream: A History, 1960 - 2022, was published by Oxford University Press in 2023. She has published work in Film Quarterly, Media Industries Journal, and Historical Journal of Film and Television, among others. Her short narrative film Lakebed won the Mitchell-West Women in Film Award at the Lindsey Film Festival and screened at numerous venues around Alabama. Her short doc-hybrid film Dear Esther was featured on the Los Angeles Review of Books and played at the Maryland Film Festival, Better Cities Film Festival, and Festival Film a Architektura in Prague. She holds an MA and PhD in film from the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Suzanne Reese-Mills, Assistant Professor,
Theatre
Suzanne Reese-Mills is a Florence native who received her training and early professional experience in the Northeast before returning home to invest in the Shoals artistic community. In her work with both vocalists and actors, she specializes in Voice and Speech exploration, guiding performers to discover their natural voices and examine US and world dialects. Suzanne received her Master of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from The Boston Conservatory and spent five years working with Boston area theatres as a performer and dialect coach. She also has a BS in Psychology from UNA with a minor in Music. In addition to teaching at UNA, Suzanne currently oversees and teaches for the Ritz School of Performing Arts and directs for the Ritz Theatre in Sheffield.
ADJUNCT FACULTY
Charlton James - Theatre