Ms. Naomi Hatsfelt Baker

Associate Professor

Performing Arts

Biography

Naomi Hatsfelt Baker is in her fifth year as an Assistant Professor of Theatre at Wilkes. She teaches all performance classes in the department, and has directed several shows including; Bat Boy: The Musical, As You Like It, Sweet Charity, and The Love of a Nightingale. 

Most recently, Naomi directed Creation of the World… by Arthur Miller, and performed in The Long Christmas Dinner for Wilkes Evening of One-Acts.  Naomi taught at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Southern State Community College before coming to Wilkes. While there, she directed productions of Working, The It Girl, and Praying Mantis. 

Prior to pursuing an MFA in Acting from The Ohio State University, Naomi spent many years working as a professional actress and singer. Most of her professional work was done in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area and includes productions of Kurt Weill: A Musical Odyssey, A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum, La Cage Aux Folles, and I'm Not Rappaport, as well as several commercials and industrial videos.  She also performed in Hello, Dolly in Paris, France. Some of her favorite roles include the title role in Beatrice adapted by Dr. Susan Kelso, Charlotte in Flesh and Blood by Elizabeth Dewberry, Mary in The Memory of Water by Shelagh Stephenson, Lady in Tennessee William’s Orpheus Descending, and the title role in The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs. Her thesis role was in the World Premiere movement theatre piece Uncommon Clay.

She also enjoyed spending two years working as a singer on cruise ships for Celebrity Cruises. She is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Voice and Speech Trainers Association, serves as the Secretary to the Board of the Lessac Institute, and is a Certified Lessac Voice Trainer. She is originally from Lake Charles, Louisiana.