Graduate Seminars

US Performance After 1970 (Binghamton: Fall 2022)

Explores three ways of describing theatre after 1970: the postmodern, the postcolonial, and the postdramatic. We will define these ideas, explore how they have been deployed in recent scholarship, and test the limits of “post-“ formulations as productive ways of engaging with the history of the late 20th and early 21st century. Topics considered: the legacy of modernist dramatic theory, the influence of broadcast and new media, the rise of performance studies and the performative “turn,” the relationship between Black and Native theatres and US colonialism, globalization, and participatory and immersive performance.

Modern US Performance (Binghamton: Fall 2016, 2018) - Syllabus

Exploration of American playwrights, performers, artists, and producers’ role in cultivating American commercial theatre, as well as contesting the commercial theatre in nonprofit theatres and activist performances. Addresses the nature of American modernisms, employing and critiquing materialist and labor-related theater theory, and investigating theatre history methods and historiography.

Theories of Acting and Directing (Binghamton: Alternate Springs) - Syllabus

Exploration of major theorists and practitioners of acting and directing of the twentieth century, focusing on Continental Europe and the United States. Attention to the legacy of naturalism and psychological realism, especially through the Stanislavsky System and Method acting.  Exploration of theories of directors and actors who challenge a realistic approach to training, rehearsal, and performance. 

Proseminar in Graduate Studies (Binghamton: Fall 2020, 2021)

An introduction to the academic study of theatre and performance at the graduate level. Discussions and assignments will familiarize students with genres of academic writing, research methods in theatre and performance, and strategies for reading and analyzing academic research.