After three years as a fixed-term Assistant Professor of Theatre Studies beginning in Fall 2012, my position was converted to a tenure-stream contract starting in Fall 2015. This narrative covers the five-year period 2012-2017. The areas of Research, Teaching, and Service are connected by a through-line of Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism, which means that I am especially interested in curating experiences for audiences.[1] I enjoy translating ideas for a range of audiences including scholarly audiences, student audiences, theatre audiences, and public audiences.
Research and Creative Activity
My research agenda in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism focuses on the interplay of canonical texts with challenges to the canon of dramatic literature. These research interests are reflected in my theatre practice as a dramaturg and director; my interdisciplinary critical inquiry into French culture and dramatic literature through the lens of queer studies and history of sexuality; and particularly the bridging of these interests through my scholarly and artistic focus on translation and adaptation for the stage.
I have aligned my research with the values of the Department of Theatre by combining theatre practice with theatre historiography and textual criticism. The period under review includes four directing projects and three production dramaturgy assignments within the department season, as well as a staged reading directed at Williamston Theatre. The Serpent Lady (2014) was my own adaptation of Carlo Gozzi’s eighteenth-century commedia dell’arte play, and included a collaborative translation process with Valentina Denzel of Romance and Classical Studies, and with student improvisers in rehearsal. Les Liaisons Dangereuses (2014) was honored with eleven awards by the Lansing City Pulse. Pride and Prejudice (2016)offered experimentation with color-conscious casting and was seen by an audience of more than 2000. Freshman Showcase: Carnival of the Absurd (2016) featured twenty-four short absurdist plays written by first-year students in the Department of Theatre. I chose to be credited as curator and director of this production, because it included a strong dramaturgical component due to the emphasis on developing new writing. During the period under review, I also served as dramaturg for three productions: 60/50 Theatre Project (written by Rob Roznowski and directed by Christina Traister); Hair (directed by Deric McNish); and The December Project (directed by guest artist Kellyn Uhl). 60/50 Theatre Project was honored with an Excellence in Diversity Award from Michigan State University’s Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives; I wrote the nomination narrative for this award, helping to frame the experience not only for the audience that attended the performance, but for a wider engaged audience.
I regularly curate my local work as a theatre artist for a national audience of scholars and educators through conference presentations and publications. I have presented my work on Hair and Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the conference of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), and my work on 60/50 Theatre Project and Carnival of the Absurd at the Mid-America Theatre Conference (MATC). My essay on the role of the faculty dramaturg for 60/50 Theatre Project appears in the journal Theatre/Practice.
My practice as a translator affords engagement with the dramatic canon on both critical and artistic levels. During the period under review, my translation work has led to a co-authored book publication (The Imaginary Invalid) and to two publications in The Mercurian, a peer-reviewed journal of theatrical translation. The publication of my co-authored translation of Molière’s The Imaginary Invalid (with playwright Constance Congdon) coincides with several productions of this version, including a nationally significant production at A Noise Within in Los Angeles that garnered a feature in American Theatre magazine. The two pieces in The Mercurian are both based in the eighteenth century: The Serpent Lady is a co-translation developed from directing this project for the Department of Theatre; Love in Disguise came out of an earlier production. I have also drafted two translations of French plays in the past two years: A Dangerous Liaison by Madame de Beaunoir has received staged readings at the Association for Theatre in Higher Education conference and at Hendrix College; The Horrible Experiment offers an exploration of Grand Guignol style that will be useful to pursue in a future Department of Theatre season. I have endeavored to connect my artistic and critical practice as a translator with scholarly communities, notably by organizing sessions on Translation and Adaptation at meetings of the American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR) and the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ASECS). I recently participated in the NEH Summer Institute on “What Is Gained in Translation?” hosted at Kent State University.
I am working to combine my artistic passion for translation with my scholarly interest in Translation Studies, to culminate in a book project, tentatively titled Dramaturgies of Translation: History, Culture, and Style. My pre-tenure course release during Spring 2018 will allow me ample time to draft a proposal, make progress on the manuscript, and submit this proposal in time for publication by 2020. Scholars in Theatre Studies have identified a need for considering translation due to the international nature of the canon of dramatic literature. My book focuses on multiple languages and periods, with careful consideration of translators’ strategies and criteria. In addition to translating language and culture as most literary translators do, theatrical translators ground their work in theatre practice. As a result, I argue, style is often the most important aspect of translation for the stage. Case studies from a variety of historical periods test this hypothesis. Translators of Greek tragedy tend to make formal choices about language that emphasize either the grandeur of tragic style or the immediacy of the plays’ politics. Translators of Roman comedy generally choose between updating the humor of Terence and Plautus, or focusing on difference between the social mores of Ancient Rome and the period of the translator. Translators of Molière must decide how to render rhyming French alexandrine verse in English, and often attempt to render a stage world that compares the political climate of absolutism under Louis XIV with different political situations in later periods. Translators of Chekhov are constrained by Russian culture of the late-nineteenth century and by Anglo-American approaches to realism as informed by the acting techniques of Stanislavsky. This interdisciplinary work represents a unique and necessary contribution to Theatre Studies, as well as a new perspective for the field of Translation Studies.
Finally, I continue to publish and present on theatre pedagogy, a research emphasis that crystallized while I was in a fixed-term contract that primarily valued teaching. The review period includes two articles (both in press) and five conference presentations on theatre pedagogy. By presenting on pedagogy at the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA) conference and publishing on pedagogy in the LMDA Sourcebook, I have enhanced my reputation in the field of Dramaturgy.An essay entitled “Brecht for Theater Majors” will appear in Brecht Yearbook, curating my work in our first-year Play Analysis course for teachers of Theatre and of German.My research agenda in theatre pedagogy is especially useful for the department’s MFA programs in Acting and Design, which have moved toward training graduate students as pedagogues.
Teaching
Through refereed and invited presentations on this research, I am developing a national profile in the pedagogy of Theatre Studies, notably in the areas of Ancient Theatre, Project-Based Learning, Online and Hybrid Courses, and Dramaturgy and New Play Development. In this way, my teaching directly supports my research and my research directly supports my teaching. My approach to teaching draws on my dramaturgical skills in that I curate learning experiences for students by helping them to tailor projects to their own interests and to connect with guest artists and opportunities that arise across campus. By offering students flexibility for the format of their projects while scaffolding a working process that makes them accountable for making progress, I have enhanced student learning in ways that sometimes surprise me. I always encourage students to take advantage of the resources available at a major university, and I model this behavior in my courses. Outcomes have included critically-engaged performance art inspired by both the Broad Museum and the MSU Museum; improved essays in IAH that focus on the question of citizenship; video responses to African drama and to Shakespeare; and both graduate and undergraduate work that has been presented at local, regional, and national conferences.
My teaching responsibilities during the review period encompass a wide variety of student audiences: General Education students (IAH 241D); beginning Theatre majors (THR 110); upper-level Theatre majors (THR 332, THR 390, and THR 431); and graduate students (THR 830 and THR 832). I have additionally taught Independent Study courses on History of Drag (Summer 2014) and Theatre of the Absurd (Spring 2016). Students regularly pursue Honors Options in eligible undergraduate courses. The most successful of these Honors Options included team dramaturgy projects for department productions of Baltimore and And Away We Go in the 2016-2017 academic year. I have also mentored student dramaturgs for several productions, including Punk Rock, Stage Door, and The Tempest.
All courses involve teaching a canon of texts. In the IAH course, this includes departmental productions that change from semester to semester. I have enriched the student experience in this course by curating essay assignments that help elucidate themes of the plays presented. THR 110 is structured to teach students realism and classical dramaturgy, followed by plays that depart from these models. Students practice dramaturgy in this course by designing advertising posters, practicing Brechtian rehearsal techniques, and casting Molière’s Tartuffe.Upper-level courses encourage students to look at the canon differently, imparting skills that enable them to curate plays for theatre audiences, producers, and grantors. The Fall 2015 iteration of THR 431 featured a residency with playwright Kristin Idaszak, whose adaptation of Medea became central to our understanding of the contemporary resonance of Greek tragedy. The Spring 2017 version of THR 431 placed diversity at the center of the curriculum, teaching a canon of African and Asian theatre, requiring students to explore a drama anthology, and interrogating curatorial practice through a sustained engagement with the MSU Museum. In THR 832 I teach graduate students to curate their own experience by asking them to define a personal dramatic canon; this helps them plan to teach their own courses in Theatre Studies. THR 830 emphasizes graduate students learning how to curate their own experience of graduate school and the profession as they work on research skills, pedagogy, and professional profile while discussing theatre curriculum and trends in contemporary theatre practice. In an effort to keep this course up-to-date, this semester’s version will introduce units on Devised Theatre and Immersive Theatre, and will include a guest visit with dramaturg Matthew Schneider (on campus for ĭmáGen’s We Foxes).
My curatorial practice of teaching means that I am responsive to student input and to opportunities for collaboration across the university. A Spring 2015 course on China, Theatre, and Intercultural Encounter took advantage of themed exhibits at the Eli and Edythe Broad Museum and at the MSU Museum. In Spring 2017 I implemented a museum performance assignment inviting students to react to exhibits in the MSU Museum, a collaboration facilitated by Max Evjen. My Fall 2016 History and Theory of Comedy course was intended to run as a supplement to Rob Roznowski’s Comedy Acting class, and several activities enhanced student learning across both courses.
My work in online and hybrid instruction is also significant, and demonstrates an ability to curate material across media platforms. Over the past five years, I have taught approximately 1900 students over six semesters of the hybrid IAH 241D, which has enrolled 295-325 students per semester. I have taken on a leadership role in this course, managing a team of six or seven instructors (usually 2 additional faculty, 3 grad student TA’s and a grader). Colleagues have expressed appreciation for my spearheading of this course, and student evaluations regularly compliment my dynamic lectures and responsiveness to email correspondence. My work with graduate teaching assistants in IAH has enhanced their skills for handling large lecture courses and management of online and hybrid courses. This facility with online learning has carried over into mentorship of graduate students teaching their own online courses. Because of my facility with the course management system (particularly rubric design), I was asked to lead an advanced workshop on the D2L course management system for graduate students and some faculty in the Department of Theatre.
Non-credit teaching includes outreach activities with high school teachers (workshops taught on Season Selection, Translation, Directing, and Playwriting). I have also been active with local cultural organizations including the Friends of Theatre, the Whitehills Book Club, and the East Lansing Woman’s Club. The dramaturgical spirit of these encounters is always evident, as I lead preview and post-show discussions on the bus for the Friends of Theatre Trippers’ Club, or curate reading experiences for other groups.
Service
Service and outreach demonstrate my interest in curating experiences of theatre and of the academy for varying audiences. The most palpable example of my dramaturgical approach to service is my work on the Young Playwrights Festival (YPF), a collaborative annual event that is co-sponsored by the Department of Theatre and Wharton Center Institute for Arts and Creativity. For the past five years I have been the faculty advisor for the script selection process of YPF. Each year I recruit a team of students to read short plays written by mid-Michigan high school students. Our task is to choose twelve semi-finalists (from 45-60 plays submitted) and provide feedback to the student playwrights. I then serve as a consultant to help these twelve students revise their plays, communicating via email, telephone, or in person depending on the student’s preference. Once the twelve semi-finalists have submitted their new drafts, I consult in the choice of six finalist plays, which are then produced in May. At each step of the process, I am curating the event for an audience: Wharton Center staff; MSU Theatre undergraduates and graduate students; high school teachers; high school student playwrights; and ultimately the theatre audience that will see the festival. I bring a similar curatorial perspective to my service within the profession and within the university.
My
service to the profession is valuable not only in keeping an active network for
myself in Theatre Studies and New Play Development, but also aids our students
and alumni in navigating these fields. My continuing work as a script reader
for the Source Festival in Washington, DC allows me to maintain a sense of the
landscape of new plays. I have similarly served as a peer reviewer for articles
in four scholarly journals during the review period. My service in ATHE and the
Mid-America Theatre Conference (MATC) make these conferences more accessible
for our students, and allows me to facilitate introductions to colleagues. I am
active in ATHE’s Dramaturgy Focus Group and recently joined the Electronic
Technology Committee.
My university service demonstrates good citizenship
and advocacy for diversity and inclusion. After serving on GenCen’s LGBTQ Task
Force, I co-founded the LGBTQ Faculty Learning Community with Lily Woodruff. I
have served on the College Inclusive Practices Committee (CIPC) in the College
of Arts and Letters. I was recently elected as CAL representative to the
University Committee on Faculty Tenure, where I hope to continue to advocate
for LGBTQ faculty and faculty of color in the tenure process. I have also
appreciated the curatorial experience of serving on the Louis B. Sudler Prize
in the Arts Committee and the CAL Scholarship Committee. Within the Department
of Theatre, I am often asked to provide feedback on scripts in progress,
serving informally as a new play dramaturg for plays and screenplays written by
my colleagues. I regularly make myself available to moderate discussions
providing supplemental programming for our department season, such as the Flint
Water Crisis Symposium held after a performance of Urinetown. I have also enjoyed serving on the department’s
By-Laws/Policy Committee, helping to curate work experiences through codifying
policy; and on the department’s Season Selection Committee, helping to curate
the experience of theatre for multiple stakeholders.
[1] I am paraphrasing this definition of dramaturgy from Theresa Lang, Essential Dramaturgy: The Mindset and Skillset (New York: Routledge, 2017), p. 7. I am reviewing this book for an upcoming issue of Theatre Topics.