Danette Baker, program director for the Theatre Department in the College of Fine Arts, passed away on Nov. 12. Services will be held Wednesday, Nov. 16 at Holy Savior Catholic Church, 3000 E. 13th Street North in Wichita. A rosary ceremony will begin at 10 a.m., and the funeral mass will begin at 11 a.m. Afterward, there will be a funeral procession to Ascension Cemetary, 7200 E. 45th Street North in Bel Aire.
Danette was a frequent director and member of the acting company for Seven Devils Playwrights Conference in McCall, Idaho, a national conference focusing on new play development. She is a Society of American Fight Directors Certified Teacher and founder of the Wichita Unrehearsed Shakespeare Society.
Danette acted in theatres across the country, appearing with the Aegean Theatre Company, American Globe Theatre, and the Director’s Company in New York, Monomoy Theatre on Cape Cod, and Cleveland Playhouse in Ohio. In Wichita, Danette appeared with Cabaret Oldtown, Chamber Music in the Barn, Prairie Pines Festivals, Wichita Center for the Arts, Guild Hall Players, Signature Theatre, Wichita Shakespeare Company, and Wichita Community Theatre.
Danette was an eight-time recipient of the Mary Jane Teall Theatre award for Outstanding Acting, a recipient of the 2012 Ruth McCormick Outstanding Theatre Educator Award, twice recognized as the Outstanding Female Performer in the Society of American Fight Directors Advanced Actor Combatant Workshop, received Certificates of Commendation from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region V for her direction of A Hedda Gabler, and her fight choreography for “Twelfth Night.”