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Assistant Professor of Theatre Education, Thad “Ted” Jacobs, originally hails from Chesterton, Indiana and retired from teaching high school Theatre and English in 2023. Ted taught for most of his career at Greenfield-Central High School in Greenfield, Indiana where his Thespian Troupe won Chapter Select designations for the Indiana Thespians, and performed at Nationals in Lincoln, Nebraska. Ted attended Ball State University and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in secondary English education with a minor in choral music, and his MA in Education Administration. Prior to joining the faculty in the Department of Theatre and Dance, Ted served as the Executive Director of The Warren Performing Arts Center in Indianapolis.

As an actor, Ted regularly performs in various Indianapolis, Greenfield, and Anderson theatres, his most recent being Kinky Boots at Indianapolis Footlite Musicals. Other onstage credits include Bob Wallace in White Christmas, Will Masters in Bus Stop, Beverly Carlton in The Man Who Came to Dinner, Peter in Company, Captain Georg Von Trapp in Sound of Music, Orin Scrivello D.D.S. in Little Shop of Horrors, Billy Crocker in Anything Goes, Ralphie (the adult narrator) in A Christmas Story, and his favorite role: Professor Harold Hill from Music Man which he has played countless times. Ted has also performed in vocal jazz ensembles, was a singer/dancer in Fred Waring’s U.S. Chorus and was once an on-screen villain in an episode of America’s Most Wanted. As a set designer and builder, Ted has designed many productions including Bright Star, Fiddler on the Roof, Kinky Boots, Hadestown, American in Paris, The Prom, Once on This Island, and many others.

Ted is often heard telling his students, “If you find a job you really like, you’ll never work a day in your life.” Ted treasures his years as a teacher and hopes that he can impart just a tiny bit of that love and excitement as he teaches teachers of the future!

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