Two Minutes

A star that shines in, and behind, the spotlight

Jane Cox deserves a star on her door -- be it dressing room or office. The professor has a long list of credits as actor, director and writer. As ISU Theatre chair, she oversees an impressive list of productions each season, and mentors scores of students involved in performing arts.

Encore! Jane Cox is versatile -- she's been acting, directing, writing and designing theater productions, with more than 250 under her belt. During ISU's sesquicentennial year, she wrote and directed Love and Honor, a play that followed the lives of four young Iowa men during the Civil War.

A one-woman show: A veteran performer of one-woman plays, Cox's first production as writer and actor was powerful enough to take on the road. The Yellow Rose of Suffrage, a tribute to women's suffrage pioneer Carrie Chapman Catt, toured the nation -- including a performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

She's an original: Cox has a knack for researching and writing productions with historical significance. Exploring the lives of pioneering women and characterizing the struggles of early Iowans are among her specialties. She says it takes about 18 months to develop an original piece.

-- Erin Rosacker
Jane Cox

"Nadia Boulanger, a renowned teacher of music, said that when we memorize music written by a fine composer, we are then always in the company of a genius. The arts at their best enable us to keep that level of fellowship; they enable us to feel a sense of inspiration and connection that makes us feel truly alive."

Jane Cox

Cox, a graduate of Iowa State, is chair of ISU Theatre and a professor in the music department. More Two-Minute briefs.