Though Glenn Bugala has been involved in theatre since the ninth grade, one of his most rewarding moments came in 2002 when he directed the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre’s production of “Tommy.”
Bugala says he tried a lot of new things with the production, including projecting images and video onto large screens for the audience. During the last song of the show, “Looking at You,” Bugala recalls standing in the balcony overlooking the audience as the song began.
Photo by Daryl Marshke, U-M Photo Services.
“We had the cast in the audience, singing and dancing,” says Bugala, marketing coordinator with the Stephen M. Ross School of Business. “The audience was standing and waving their hands and singing along. I just thought, ‘Wow, this is awesome.’ It was a great bonding moment between the audience and the cast.”
Working in the Marketing and Communications department for the business school, Bugala helps bring together email marketing and contact databases for seven of the school’s departments. He uses various software programs including Adobe Dreamweaver and RightNow Technologies to help design the layout of emails and newsletters distributed by these departments.
When the business school announced in April that Alison Davis-Blake would become the new dean, Bugala and the rest of the marketing team went to work to put together a special announcement to notify alumni. In a single day they got input from the new dean and designed, edited and developed the announcement — steps that would usually take a week to complete.
“We all gave a collective sigh of relief when that day came to an end and we had accomplished what we set out to do,” Bugala says.
Bugala says he began acting at Lake Fenton High School to overcome his shyness. He says he fell in love with the way theatre allowed him to explore different sides of his personality and share them with others.
Bugala’s talents won him a full tuition scholarship to major in theatre at UM-Flint. After graduation he won another scholarship to earn his master’s degree in theatre performance from Purdue University.
Once his education was complete, Bugala started his acting career in Chicago, performing in a number of successful professional shows like “On the Waterfront,” “Under Milk Wood” and “Coriolanus.”
He acted professionally for seven years, but says he eventually realized that he wanted to settle down and start a family. He moved back to Michigan, and says he chose to start his new life in Ann Arbor because he had heard about the rich cultural arts scene here while growing up in Fenton.
While acting in Chicago, Bugala had worked in advertising and marketing on the side, so he began doing this work full time and transitioned his acting career to a hobby. He worked in various marketing positions around Ann Arbor before joining the Ross School team in 2008.
Bugala is working on initiatives to better implement data sharing between departments and functions, and to better utilize webinars for informational exchanges with prospective students. He soon will attend a database development conference in Big Sky, Mont., to gain information on database design and sales function integration.
In addition to acting and directing with the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre, Bugala uses his design skills to manage its website and create season brochures. He appreciates the opportunity to merge his technical and creative skills both inside and outside of work, he says.
Bugala especially enjoys spending time with his three children, 8-year-old Sophie and 5-year-old twins, Lucy and Quinn. While he finds it a challenge to balance family, work and theatre, Bugala says he is grateful that he has been able to make time for all three.
“Theatre is a way to explore and find out new things about myself and the world, and to feed my creative spirit,” Bugala says. “I’ve done over 100 shows, and I hope to do 100 more.”
The weekly Spotlight features staff members at the university. To nominate a candidate, please contact the Record staff at [email protected].
