Aaron Butikofer — A Resume in Three Acts

✦ DELTA TAU DELTA PRESIDENT · DELTA SIGMA PI · BIENEN CHOIR · WAA-MU EVENTS COORDINATOR · EXCEL PROFICIENCY · ALL-STATE CHOIR · VALEDICTORIAN · CEDAR RAPIDS · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · PERFORMANCE ART · CIVIL ENGINEERING · DETROIT LIONS · BALLET · JUGGLING · VOCAL PERCUSSION · DELTA TAU DELTA PRESIDENT · DELTA SIGMA PI · BIENEN CHOIR · WAA-MU EVENTS COORDINATOR · EXCEL PROFICIENCY · ALL-STATE CHOIR · VALEDICTORIAN · CEDAR RAPIDS · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · PERFORMANCE ART · CIVIL ENGINEERING · DETROIT LIONS · BALLET · JUGGLING · VOCAL PERCUSSION

PLAYBILL

Northwestern University · Evanston, Illinois

Aaron
Butikofer

A Resume in Three Acts

A note from
the artist.

I'm a dual-degree student at Northwestern studying Performance Art and Mechanical Engineering — two disciplines that both require precision, collaboration, and a lot of creativity.

I grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where I was valedictorian of my high school class and managed the local pool. At Northwestern, I work with the Communications team, manage equipment for our athletic teams, sing in Bienen Chorale, and coordinate events for the Waa-Mu Show. I care about community, performance, and have a passion for set design.

Theater & Performance Mechanical Engineering Set Design MATLAB Coding Python Coding CAD Modeling Excel Proficiency

Act I

The Training

Northwestern University · Evanston, IL

Bachelor of Performance Art

Training

Ballet
Contemporary
Partnering
Acting — Meisner method

Bienen School of Music · Northwestern

Bienen Chorale Singers

Member of Northwestern's collegiate choir, performing regularly and building discipline, ensemble collaboration, and stage presence alongside coursework.

University of Iowa · Iowa City, IA

Ballet
Training with Sean Boyt

Vocal Coaches

Bradley Barrett
Stephanie Rohr

Ruth Page Center · Chicago, IL

2026 Summer Dance Intensive

Jazz
Modern
Contemporary
Ballet

▾ Photo

All-State Choir

Selected Iowa All-State performer

Special Recognition

Principal role performance award

Skills

Voice

Tenor 2 (A2–A4 chest/mixed, falsetto to D5)
Vocal percussion — intermediate
Trumpet — 8 years, strong sight-reader
Piano — chords & inversions

Dance & Movement

Ballet
Contemporary dance
6 years hip-hop
Partnering & lifts
Windmill break move
Combat — 12+ years wrestling

Specific Skills

Juggling
Cartwheels
Northern US & Canada dialect
Common dialect
Strong upper-body strength
Athletic throwing (football, baseball)

General

5′9″ · 175 lbs
Caucasian
Waa-Mu Events Coordinator
Set design & construction
Playwriting

Act II

The Productions

Evanston, IL - Northwestern · 2026

Call it a Day — Easton

Played Easton, an 18-year-old high school student graduating and searching for his identity.

↗

Played Easton in Call it a Day — an 18-year-old high school student on the edge of graduation, caught between who he's expected to be and who he's still figuring out he is.

Waa-Mu Show · Northwestern · 2026

Dillo Day Disaster — Ensemble

Northwestern's original student-written musical.

↗

Performed as part of the ensemble in the Waa-Mu Show — Northwestern's student-written musical, running since 1929.

Ten-Minute Play Festival · Northwestern · 2026

Emmanuel Launamel

Leading role in Northwestern's Ten-Minute Play Festival.

↗

TYA · Northwestern · 2026

Barnyard Bash — TYA

Leading role in a Theater for Young Audiences production at Northwestern.

↗

Leading role in a Theater for Young Audiences production at Northwestern.

Short Film · Evanston, IL · 2026

Rap Batter — Actor / Beat Boxer

Actor and beat boxer in a short film production.

↗

Acted and performed vocal percussion in a short film based in Evanston.

Cedar Rapids, IA · 2025

Hello, Dolly! — Barnaby Tucker

Played Barnaby Tucker in a full production of Hello, Dolly!

↗

Performed Barnaby Tucker in Cedar Rapids.

Act III

The Experience

2026–Present

Waa-Mu Show · Northwestern

Events Coordinator

▾ Photo & Description

2026–Present

Wirtz Center · Northwestern

Set Construction

▾ Photo & Description

2026

Wirtz Center · Northwestern

Set Design — Thinner Than Water

▾ Photo & Description

2026

Wirtz Center · Northwestern

Co-Producing — WAA-Mu Cabaret

▾ Photo & Description

Portfolio

Act I

The Education

Northwestern University · Evanston, IL

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Dual-degree student between Mechanical Engineering and Theater — hands-on work in both degrees. Anticipated June 2029.

3.55

Cumulative GPA

Washington High School · Cedar Rapids, IA

High School Diploma

Football Team Captain
Show Choir President
Honor Society Vice President

WAA Mu Coordinator

Washington High School · Cedar Rapids

Delta Sigma Pi

Professional Business Fraternity · Northwestern

Delta Tau Delta President

Fraternity · Northwestern

Act II

The Projects

DTC · Shriners Children's Hospital · Northwestern

SpicAlign — Car Seat Width System

Partnered with Shriners Children's Hospital to design a solution for children who can't fit safely in standard car seats.

↗

Kids with certain physical conditions can't be positioned safely in standard car seats — the door cart width is wrong for their bodies. We partnered with Shriners Children's Hospital to fix that. SpicAlign is a workflow-integrated guide that shows caregivers the correct seat width parameters and adjusts automatically using telescoping arms, a linear actuator, and foot pedals. From compacted to operational in about 15 seconds — hands-free.

DTC · BCA · Northwestern

Bone Conducting Alarm

A alarm that only wakes you up. Using the same technology as a tuning fork.

↗

The Bone conducting alarm was created in my white space section of DTC, meaning we had no project partner. Inspried by a tuning fork we set out to create an alarm that would wake the user up, but not their roomates or other indivuals in the room.