Lily Charkow, Arts and Life Editor–
From Green Day to Granville, Alison Morooney has had quite the professional career.
The music theatre professor grew up in State College, Pennsylvania, where she attended Penn State University for her undergraduate degree. Morooney first became acquainted with the performing arts when she began ballet classes at age nine. But in the seventh grade, Morooney took part in her school’s production of Annie and her passions became focused on musical theater.
Through theater, Morooney was able to learn how to perform and sing.
“Singing felt very personal…it felt like one of the only places where I could express myself in a way that felt truthful,” said Morooney.
Additionally, musical theater gave Morooney the opportunity to further hone her dance skills.
“[Dance] is the purest form of expression for me because you’re not limited by language and there’s something because it’s physical, it’s visceral,” said Morooney.
Growing up practicing ballet, she became accustomed to the discipline associated with the art form. But musical theater showed Morooney that dance can also be an expression of “humanity and truth.”
During her experience in adolescence and college, Morooney began to notice a proclivity towards a specific position while in the theater space. She enjoyed learning from a “bird’s eye view,” and learned better when she understood when she understood “…how the whole thing works.” She first choreographed a show during a summer camp in the ninth grade. And between that first choreographer role and her decision to attend graduate school, Morooney was often pursuing leadership roles in theatrical productions.
After attending Penn State and receiving a bachelor of fine arts degree in Music Theatre, Morooney almost immediately began working professionally. Her first professional job was on Green Day’s national “American Idiot” tour. Morooney was a part of this show for two years and participated as a swing and as a dance captain.
After leaving “American Idiot,” Morooney joined a production of the show “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” where she also assumed the position of a dance captain.
The show taught Morooney valuable lessons about performance and about leadership, respectively.
“That show really taught me the value of staying grounded and being in the moment,” said Morooney. “But the act of leadership was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. And it helped me learn what I actually believe as a leader and what’s important to me as a leader and the importance of the necessity of communicating that to the people that you’re leading.”
After finishing her run with “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” Morooney decided that being part of an ensemble was no longer the path for her. So she decided to pursue higher education and return to Penn State to receive her master of fine arts degree. It was during her experience in graduate school that she was inspired to pursue teaching. Morooney was influenced to become a professor because of the mentors and professors that she met in graduate school.
Morooney taught at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania for three years before deciding that she needed a change of pace. She was advised to apply to teach at Denison per the recommendation of her college friend, Brad Frenette, who is an assistant professor of music theatre at Denison.
She eventually found Denison during the job search process and was intrigued by how “hungry” and “curious” the students were.
“Students who are deeply involved in other aspects of their education and of their social life and whatever it is, it makes them better artists,” said Morooney about Denison students being heavily involved.
In the classroom, Morooney leads class with the intention of maintaining curiosity. She radiates enthusiasm as she greets differing opinions with inquisitiveness instead of judgement.
“Professor Moroney is so much fun in class, and makes learning about music theatre fun and refreshing,” said Emily Orsini ‘27, who is currently enrolled in Morooney’s introduction to music theatre class.
“I took this class to fulfill a GE, but I’ve found myself looking forward to class because of the obvious passion she has for it.”
After an extensive theatre career, Morooney’s passion has not faded even a small amount.
“What I love about [theater] is that you’re always pursuing better. Like there’s always something that you can keep working on,” said Morooney. “And I think I would like to spend my life feeling like there’s always another thing to do instead of just waiting or being complacent.”