Tinapp and Joyce

UWL established the major in theatre arts in 1980. Dr. Richard Tinapp and Dr. Robert Joyce took their initial offering and trained many theatre students, practitioners, and lovers of the art. Their blood, sweat, and passion laid the groundwork for what has become a vibrant, vital force within the region. Both had long and distinguished careers at UWL and in 1995, the Department honored their service by establishing the A. Richard Tinapp/Robert S. Joyce Endowment Fund in Theatre Arts.

Robert Joyce will be remembered for his passion and commitment to excellence. He passed away in 2001 at the age of 65 at his home in West Salem. He directed more than 100 productions as director of theater for UW-L’s Department of Speech Communication and Theater Arts from 1966 to 1995. “A number of his plays were the best plays I had ever seen,” said Richard Tinapp, his colleague in UW-L’s theater department for many years. “He had the ability to get students to be far better actors than they were.” Tinapp said Joyce was a brilliant teacher who helped make language come alive on stage. I’ll remember his passion, his fanatical passion of theater and his creativity," he said. “There was no end to his imagination.”

Dan Lee, the theater teacher at La Crosse Logan High School, said he acted or worked backstage in 14 consecutive Joyce productions at UW-L.Lee said Joyce had the ability to pass on his passion for theater to his students. “He had an uncompromising search for quality theater,” Lee said. “He was larger than life, and I feared, admired and loved the man dearly.” He learned from Joyce as a director and teacher “how to go with what the actors are giving you,” Lee said. Joe Anderson, the UW-L costume designer who worked with Joyce and acted in three of his plays, said there was no gray area when it came to Joyce – people either liked him or didn’t.
“But they respected what he did,” Anderson said. “His students were deadly devoted to him.” He said many people also didn’t see the funny, playful side of Joyce. Dr. Michael Hartigan, a Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center physician, said he was a former neighbor of Joyce’s in West Salem. One day Joyce called him and asked him to read from “Macbeth,” saying he needed a mature voice to read for his class. Instead, he cast Hartigan as King Duncan. “He gave me a rebirth and re-interest in theater, and for that, I’ll be forever grateful to him,” Hartigan said. Wendy Mattison, a teacher with La Crosse’s School of Technology and Arts, took theater history classes from Joyce. “His classes were a joy, and you couldn’t help but like theater,” Mattison said. Joyce was a visiting professor at the University of London, and co-founder of two theater groups, including The Wisconsin Traveling Theatre Company. He also served as a volunteer with the West Salem First Responders and the Salvation Army. Even after his retirement, Joyce returned to UW-L to direct plays. He directed “Angels in America” at UW-L in 1998 and last summer directed the UW-L Summerstage production of the 1960s musical, “Hair,” for the third time.

A. Richard Tinapp 83, passed away on Saturday, April 14, 2018. He was born in New Jersey on September 10, 1934 to the late Myra Rose and George Tinapp. In 1956 he married Jean Hallenbeck and together they raised two children and shared many adventures. He received both his B.A. in English and his M.A. in Literature from the University at Albany and his Ph.D. in Theatre from Northwestern University. He began his career in 1956 as an Associate Professor at the State University of New York Agricultural and Technical College at Cobleskill, NY. In 1968 he accepted a position at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse where he would teach Theatre and Speech for 22 years. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Dr. Tinapp chaired the department for three years, served as Interim Associate Dean for the College of Arts, Letters and Sciences, was on the Board of Directors for the Wisconsin Theatre Association, co-founded and directed the Wisconsin Touring Theatre Company, founded the Summerstage program at UW-La Crosse that continues to this day, served as business manager for the University Theatre, was a member of the La Crosse Community Theatre’s Board of Directors, and directed over one hundred productions ranging from the classics to the modern and through every period, genre, and style. He considered his directorial work to be the culmination of his research and creative efforts. A proud accomplishment of his career came in 1990 when he was awarded sabbatical leave by UW-La Crosse to study regional theatre in the United States. In 1992 he was recognized by the Alliance for Wisconsin Theatre Education for “Outstanding contributions, exemplary leadership, and a lifetime of service to theatre education in Wisconsin”. In 1994 he retired from UW-L. He and Jean spent the next 15 years as full-time RVers traveling the country, enjoying live theatre, and taking their grandchildren on yearly camping trips. “Doc” will be fondly remembered by family, students, and friends for the passion he poured into his endeavors, his great love of people and conversation, and the mischievous twinkle in his eyes.