MA/PhD Theatre and Peformance Studies

Elizabeth Forte Alman
Email: elizabeth.alman@gmail.com
Education/Training: Certified Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework; Master of Fine Arts, Alabama Shakespeare Festival/University of Alabama Professional Actor Training Program; Bachelor of Arts, Illinois State University cum laude
Areas of Specialization/Interest: Performance: Voice, Acting, Text, Speech, Dialects, Directing. History: Shakespearean Performance, Shakespearean Stagecraft, Early Modern English Performance   
Professional Affiliations:  Shakespeare Theatre Company: Master Teaching Artist; Round House Theatre: Kitchen Member,  Actors' Equity Association (AEA), Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA), Shakespeare Association of America (SAA), Catholic University Department of Drama Master of Fine Arts Program (Acting): Lecturer 2000-2001, 2001-2002, 2008-2009;  University of Maryland Baltimore County Department of Theatre: Lecturer 2006-2007, 2007-2008; The Academy for Classical Acting (MFA) at George Washington University: Lecturer 2001-2002.
Representative Performances: Voice, Speech, Text, Dialect Coaching (Theatre): Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC): Ion, The Dog in the Manger; Round House Theatre: Retreat from Moscow, Orson's Shadow, Treasure Island, The Lord of the Flies; The Kennedy Center: Mr. Roberts; Rep Stage: Hamlet; Everyman Theatre: The School for Scandal; University of Maryland: Our Town, The Taming of the Shrew; Catholic University: The Duchess of Malfi, Fen, Romeo and Juliet. VOICE, SPEECH, TEXT, DIALECT COACHING (Private): Interpreting Division, Department of Language Services, Department of State;  Language Services, International Monetary Fud. ACTING: Shakespeare Theatre Company (Acting Company Member 1999-2002): The Duchess of Malfi, Don Carlos, Coriolanus (all directed by Michael Kahn), The Trojan Women (directed by Jo Anne Akalaitis), The Country Wife, Romeo and Juliet; Alabama Shakespeare Festival: The Importance of Being Earnest, Antony and Cleopatra, Othello, All's Well That Ends Well, Henry VI 1, Hamlet, The Orestia, The Way of the World, Holiday, The Night of the Iguana, The Crucible, The Seagull; Cleveland Playhouse: The Triumph of Love; New Jersey Shakespeare Festival: Pericles;  Studio Theatre:The Invention of Love, Far East; Round House Theatre: Speaking in Tongues; Illinois Shakespeare Festival: Antony and Cleopatra, The Taming of the Shrew, Julius Caesar, The Rivals, Much Ado About Nothing. DIRECTING: Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) Master Acting Class Studio Production: Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Antony and Cleopatra; STC Camp Shakespeare: As You Like It, Richard III, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Measure for Measure, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Othello.
Representative Publications/Research Activities: Doctoral Dissertation "Shakespeare's Stage in America: the Early History of the Folger Elizabethan Theatre", Again for Cydnus -an adaptation of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra.
Honors and Awards: Cosmos Club Foundation Scholar (2008), Shakespeare's Globe (London) Fellowship (2004, 2007), Mid America Theatre Conference Young Scholars Prize, Graduate Debut Panel (2005), University of Maryland (UMD) Department of Theatre Research Grant (2007), UMD Department of Theatre Teaching Assistantship (2005-2006, 2006-2007).

Jeeta Sitarih Balasundram
Email: jbalasundram@gmail.com
Education/Training: B.A. (Hons) in Drama and Theater from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, M.A. in Theatre History from Illinois State University (ISU)
Areas of Specialization/Interest: Theatre Architecture, Shakespearean Stagecraft, Scenic Design, Asian Theatre.
Representative Performances: 2009/2010- Dramaturg for The Bluest Eye (UMD), 2007- Assistant scenic designer for Much Ado About Nothing at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival (ISU), Stage Manager for Oleana directed by Rebekah Scallet (2nd year MFA project at ISU).
Representative Publications/Research Activities: Poster presentation entitled: "Merchant of Hebron: Re-imagining Shakespeare" in the West Bank at Illinois State University Graduate Research Symposium held at Brown Ballroom, Bone Student Center on March 30th 2007.

Karalee Dawn
Office Address: 1801 Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center

Office Number: (301) 405-6624

Email: kdawn@umd.edu
Education/Training: B. A. Central University of Iowa; M.A. University of Maryland.
Areas of Specialization/Interest: The anthropology of performance with an emphasis on the creation, maintenance and performance of Scottish Cultural Identity at Scottish Highland Games and Gatherings in the USA and Scotland.
Professional Affiliations:AAA, ATHE, ASTR (Graduate Student Caucus Committee), MATC (Graduate Student Liaison), AAAE, Board certified member of ATPAM (Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers) NYC chapter; Auxiliary Police Officer, New York Police Department (NYPD).
Representative Performances: She has served as the General Manager for Signature Theatre Company (NYC), Managing Director of The Jose Quintero Theatre and Cherry Lane Theatre (NYC), and in various capacities at American Stage Festival, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Theater of the First Amendment, Tony® Award Productions, League of American Theatres and Producers, Odd Act International Collective, Boneau/Bryan-Brown, William Morris Agency, among others. Producing credits include the Broadway production of An Almost Holy Picture starring Kevin Bacon with Roundabout Theatre Company, Forsaking All Others at the Access Theatre and as associate producer of Black Humor: The Comedy of Lewis Black. In addition, Ms. Dawn served as the North American Press Representative for the five companies (Broadway, Las Vegas, Toronto and two national tours) of the smash hit musical Mamma Mia! At UMD she has served as the Assistant Director for To Be Young Gifted and Black; The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later and The Cripple of Inishmaan (GMU). Recently, Ms. Dawn served as Production Manager for Two-Bit Taj Mahal (World Premiere) at Theater of the First Amendment and as the Light Designer and Production Manager for the play, Winter Under the Table by Roland Topor as part of the Festival De Teatro de la Habana International Theatre Festival in Havana, Cuba.
Representative Publications/Research Activities: She has presented papers and chaired panels at the American Anthropological Association International Conference, Performance Studies International Conference and the Mid Atlantic Popular/American Culture Association, Mid America Theatre Conference, among others.
Honors and Awards: Graduate Student Summer Research Fellowship awarded by The Graduate School, UMD; International Initiatives Award; Distinguished Teaching Assistant Award, presented by the Center for Teaching Excellence and the Department of Theatre; Department of Theatre Representative, ARHU Dean’s Advisory Board; Goldhaber Travel Award.

Ashley Duncan
Office Address: 1801 Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
Office Number: (301) 405-6624
Email: AshleyLDuncan@hotmail.com
Education/Training: MA, Theatre, Texas State University-San Marcos, 2007; BA, Theatre, Texas Christian University, 2005.
Areas of Specialization/Interest: Theatre education, Shakespeare performance trends
Professional Affiliations: American Society for Theatre Research, Association for Theatre in Higher Education
Representative Performances: Director/Assistant Director: As You Like It and Comedy of Errors, Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commission Shakespeare Camp; Anton in Show Business and Sensations, TCU. Dramaturg: The Tempest, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company; The Rocky Horror Show, Rashomon, and The Rover, Texas State University.
Representative Publications/Research Activities: Papers presented at the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, American Society for Theatre Research, American Anthropological Association, and Shakespeare Forum conferences.
Honors and Awards: Most Outstanding Graduate Student 2007, College of Fine Arts and Communication, Texas State University

David Gregory
Office Address: 1801 Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
Office Number: (301) 405-6624
Email: davidg@umd.edu
Education/Training: M.F.A. in Theatre Arts, Towson University 2010; M.A. in Arts Administration, Goucher College 2007; B.S. in Corporate Communications, University of Baltimore 2003.
Areas of Interest/Specialization: Spanish Theatre/Performance; Cross-Cultural Pollination through Performance; Race, Gender, and Sexuality; Directing and Performance (extensive experience in Musical Theatre); Arts Administration (Concentration Marketing); Flamenco Dance and Training.
Related Affiliations: Theatre Communications Group (TCG), Baltimore Theatre Alliance (BTA), Founder/Artistic Director of Teatro101, Board Winters Lane Productions, Advertising; Design Industry Affiliations.
Representative Productions: Directing: Side Show, For Whom The Southern Belle Tolls, 7:32 The Musical (World Premiere Towson University), A New Brain, Dreamgirls, Songs For A NewWorld. Choreography: Bernarda Alba, Bare, Falsettos, A New Brain. Highlight Performances: Tanya-Tanya, Angels in America, When Queens Collide/Conquest of the Universe, Aida, Sweeney Todd, Romance/Romance, West Side Story, Falsettos, Arcadia, Mother Courage, Buddy Holly, 25th Annual Spelling Bee, Jesus Christ Superstar, Rent.
Representative Research: “Arts in the Blogiverse.” Goucher MA Arts Administration Major Thesis, 2007. Creation of Topics In Diversity undergraduate course in Spanish Theatre (for Towson Spring 2010). Dramaturgy Towson Russia season, photo feature in October 2009 Issue American Theatre (Vol. 26, No. 8, p.122). First English translation and U.S. premier of Los Engranajes by Raul Hernandez Garrido.
Recognition/Awards: KCTF Region II Finalist for 7:32 The Musical, Broadwayworld.com for Best Choreography (Falsettos) and Top Theatre Movers/Shakers of Baltimore for 2007. Teatro101’s production of Violet recognized by DC Theatre Scene as Top 10 (#3) for Best Musical.

James Hesla
Office Address: 1801 Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
Office Number: (301) 405-6624
Email: hesla@umd.edu
Education/Training: BFA in Acting, Cornish College of the Arts. MFA in Playwriting, University of Hawaii. Red Nose Clown with Giovanni Fusetti. Clown and Devising Theatre with Dody Disanto.
Areas of Specialization/Interest: Development of actor-generated performance works that deemphasize text; physical comedy and theatrical clownery. Experimental Indonesian Theatre; Asian Theatre.
Professional Affiliations: Member of American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR), member of Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE); Member of Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA); Associate Artist, Active Cultures Theatre Company.
Representative Productions: Playwright: F***ing Around With Time (Rorschach Theatre), It’s Me You Should Blame (Source Theatre Festival), Petri Dish Circus, The Long Shot (Active Cultures Theatre), Graves’ Rule (The Inkwell), Soap Lake, Behold (Rorschach Theatre), Home and Abroad (Seattle Fringe Festival, Beowulf Alley Theatre), Relative Gravity (Lab Theatre, University of Hawaii).
Representative Publications/Research Activities: Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre (Greenwood Press, 2007)
Honors and Awards: UMD Graduate School Summer Research Fellowship; Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship; Goldhaber Travel Award; Washington, DC Cultural Development Corporation Creative Communities Fund Grant; Arizona Commission on the Arts.

Jessica Holman
Office Address: 1801 Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center

Office Number: (301) 405-6624

Email: jholman@umd.edu
Education/Training:BFA in Theatre Directing from Millikin University; MA in Theatre from the University of Hawaii at Manoa
Areas of Specialization/Interest: Performance: Dramaturgy and Directing. History: 20th and 21st Century American Theatre; Theories of Fandom, Celebrity, and Reception; Biographical and Autobiographical Drama.
Professional Affiliations: Association for Theatre in Higher Education; Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas
Representative Performances:  Dramaturgy work for the University of Maryland (The Seagull; Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter; and Hotel Cassiopeia) and Arena Stage, Dog ‘n’ Pony DC, The Inkwell, and The Source Festival.  Internships with the Guthrie Theatre, the Playwrights Center, and the Lantern Theatre Company.
Honors and Awards: UMD Center for Teaching Excellence Distinguished Teaching Assistant Award 2008-09

Adam Nixon
Email: anixon@umd.edu
Education/Training: MA, Cinema Studies, NYU. MFA, Playwrighting/Directing, VCU. AB, Economics, Occidental College. AB, Political Science, Occidental College
Areas of Specialization/Interest: Mediatization of Performance, Experimental Documentary Film, Television Broadcasting
Professional Affiliations: Phi Kappa Phi, Triple Nine Society
Representative Performances: Television Producer -- Produced over 300 television broadcasts, primarily political talk shows in the US and internationally (Middle East, Europe, North Africa). Plays produced at festivals in London, Romania, Switzerland and the U.S.
Representative Publications/Research Activities: A Teacher's Guide to Playwriting (Published by TheatreVirginia in 1997), documentary film website hand spun films.
Honors and Awards: National Emmy Award Nomination, NBC Nightly News 2002. Shenandoah International Playwriting Contest, Finalist.

Justin Poole
Office Address: 1801 Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
Office Number: (301) 405-6624
Email: justin_poole@hotmail.com
Website: www.crossculturaltheatre.com
Education/Training: MA in Theatre Arts from Villanova University, BA in Communications with a Theatre Emphasis from Eastern University
Areas of Specialization/Interest: Contemporary Austrian Performance, European Avant-Garde, Performance Studies, Ethnography, Contemporary Dance Performance, Physical Theatre, Visual and Performance Art, Arts Funding in Europe and the United States, Religious Theatre, Community-Based Theatre, National Theatre, Fringe Theatre, Theatre for Youth, Dramaturgy, New Play Development, Producing, Directing, Acting, Voice (Linklater Method)
Professional Affiliations: SAG Must Join
Representative Performances: Artistic Director Cross Cultural Theatre Initiative (Philadelphia, PA). Shows produced/directed include Everyman, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Russian Arts Festival (The Proposal and The Wedding Reception by Anton Chekhov), Miss Julie. Actor in theatre, television, industrials, and film. Theatre credits (selected) include Everyman, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Bear, Twelfth Night, Kafka’s Wick, Two Gentlemen of Verona. Acting for the camera credits include roles on The Jamie Kennedy Experiment, The Wire, and The Many Scene of Chekhov’s Death (Toxic Dreams, Vienna, Austria).    
Representative Publications/Research Activities: Report on Informal European Theatre Meeting in Bratislava (GIFT, Journal for Free Theatre in Vienna, Austria, July 2009), Using Theatre as an Effective Cross-Cultural and Community-Building Exercise (International Baptist Theological Seminary, Prague, Czech Republic, April 2009)
Cross-Cultural Collaborative Networks in European Performance (Philadelphia Research Symposium, Villanova University, January 2009), The Performance of Austria/Europe at the European Capital of Culture in Linz, Austria (American Anthropological Association Conference, San Francisco, November 2008)
Honors and Awards: Ernst Mach Scholarship (Austrian Academic Exchange, 2009), Summer Graduate Research Fellowship Award (University of Maryland, 2008), Summa Cum Laude (Eastern University), Outstanding Achievement in the Humanities Award (Eastern University), Freshman Award for Most Outstanding Academic Achievement (Eastern University), Lambda Pi Eta Communications Honors Society (Eastern University), Dean’s List for All Semesters in Residence (Eastern University)

Kathleen (Kate) Spanos
Office Address: 1801 Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center


Office Number: (301) 405-6625
Email: kspanos@umd.edu
Education/Training: B.A. in Cognitive Science from the University of Virginia; M.A. in Traditional Irish Dance Performance from the University of Limerick, Ireland.
Areas of Specialization/Interest: Irish dance in the diaspora, authenticity of dance performance, ethnochoreology, movement analysis
Professional Affiliations: Dance Research Forum Ireland
Representative Performances: Choreographer and performer in Waiting for Conrad presented at Keeping Dance Alive! 2010, and Color Play presented at the 2008 Conference of the American Synesthesia Association.

Erin Bone Steele
Office Address: 1801 Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
Office Number: (301) 405-6624
Email: erbone@umd.edu
Education/Training: BA in Drama from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (summa cum laude) 2003, MA in Theatre History from the University of Maryland 2008.
Areas of Specialization/Interest: Nineteenth-century popular theatre, true-crime stage adaptations, directing, theatre for youth.
Professional Affiliations: member, Mid America Theatre Conference.
Representative Performances: director: As You Like It, The Comedy of Errors, Robin Hood. dramaturg: James Joyce's "The Dead", Cyrano de Bergerac, The Country Wife.
Representative Publications/Research Activities: Continuing research which began as a master's thesis titled "Murder and Melodrama: The Red Barn Story on Stage." Presented the paper "A Bicycle on the Hanamichi: Japanese Popular Theatre at the Turn of the Century" at Mid America Theatre Conference, March 2009. Co-presenting the workshop session "How to turn your man into a killer: lessons from Alice Arden and Lady Macbeth" at the conference Attending to Early Modern Women: Conflict, Concord, November 2009.
Honors and Awards: UM Center for Teaching Excellence Distinguished Teaching Assistant Award 2008-09

Natalie Tenner
Office Address: 1801 Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
Office Number: (301) 405-6624
Email: ntenner@gmail.com
Education/Training: BA in English, University of Notre Dame; MA in English, University of Warwick, England
Areas of Specialization/Interest: Elizabethan performances of Shakespeare in 19th century Germany and England; Romanticism; Shakespeare in Performance
Professional Affiliations: American Society for Theatre Research, International Federation for Theatre Research
Representative Performances: Director: Twelfth Night, Maryland Parks and Planning Commission Summer Shakespeare Camp 2010; Dramaturg: How the Money Goes, Capital Fringe Festival 2010; Anna in the Tropics, University of Maryland 2009; Dr. Faustus, OddAct Theatre Group 2009; The Comedy of Errors, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company 2008; Assistant Director: The Winter’s Tale, University of Maryland 2009; The Comedy of Errors, Maryland Parks and Planning Commission Summer Shakespeare Camp 2008
Representative Publications/Research Activities: International Federation for Theatre Research, July 2010, “Ludwig Tieck and the Rediscovery of Shakespearean Architecture”; American Society for Theatre Research, November 2008, “Tieck’s Dream Realized: Elizabethan practices on the German stage”; Mid-America Theatre Conference, March 2008 “Because it’s never been done before: Ninja Warriors and ‘Concept’ Shakespeare”
Honors and Awards: Summer Travel Grant 2010, International Initiatives Grant 2010, Distinguished Teaching Assistant 2008-2009, North American Postgraduate Scholarship, University of Warwick 2005-6

Rob Thompson
Office Address: 1801 Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
Office Number: (301) 405-6624
Email: roberthompson@gmail.com
Education/Training: B.A. Theatre and English, M.A. Performance Studies
Areas of Specialization/Interest: Religion and performance, specifically communication with the dead.
Professional Affiliations: Assistant Editor for Theatre Journal
Representative Performances: Recent directing credits include Marlowe's Dr. Faustus and Durang's Baby with the Water as well as two original plays, How the Money Goes and All the Rabbits. Ghost tour guide in Gettysburg, PA.
Representative Publications/Research Activities: Book review in Theatre Journal.
Honors and Awards: Two fellowships with the University of Maryland.

Aaron M. Tobiason
Office Address: 1121 Stamp Student Union
Office Number: (301) 314-8630

Email: amt1@umd.edu
Education/Training: M.A. in Theatre History and Criticism, University of Maryland; B.A. in Theatre Arts, Western Washington University
Areas of Specialization/Interest: American theatre and drama; 19th century American politics; journalism of the early Republic; performance and identity in video games
Professional Affiliations: American Society for Theatre Research, Association for Theatre in Higher Education
Representative Publications/Research Activities: “An Extraordinary Power: Journalist Playwrights, the Free Press, and the Politics of the American Stage, 1794-1844 (dissertation, in progress); “Mr. Bastido, Accomplished Libertine: Seduction, Murder, and the Press in the City of Brotherly Love,” Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference, 2010; “Pixellating Power: Video Games, Propaganda, and the Aestheticization of War,” American Society for Theatre Research Conference, 2008; “‘Pretended Democrats and Rank Federalists’: Theatre, Politics, and the Election of 1844,” Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference, 2007.
Representative Performances:Video Editor, “Tell Your Story: Teaching August Wilson, an Interdisciplinary Approach,” An Interdisciplinary Conference on August Wilson and African American Theatre, Art, and Culture, David C. Driskell Center; Video designer, After Cydnus, University of Maryland, 2005. Video designer/performer, Elements, University of Maryland; Production Dramaturg for Zooman and the Sign, University of Maryland.
Honors and Awards: American Theatre and Drama Society Graduate Student Research/Travel Award; Graduate School Summer Research Fellowship (University of Maryland); Center for Teaching Excellence Distinguished Teaching Assistant (University of Maryland); Graduate Student Government Presidential Service Award (University of Maryland); Presidential Scholar (Western Washington University); Outstanding Scholar (Western Washington University); Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival Critic’s Section winner, Region VII

Matthew R. Wilson
Email: WilsonMatthewR@gmail.com
Education/Training: BA, Columbia University; MFA, Academy for Classical Acting; Stage Internazionale di Commedia dell’Arte; Scuola Internazionale dell’Attore Comico
Areas of Specialization/Interest: Commedia dell’Arte, Renaissance Theatre, Shakespeare, Mask, Comedy, Stage Combat
Professional Affiliations: Equity, SAG, AFTRA, Society of American Fight Directors, Associazione SAT-incommedia, Association of Theatre Movement Educators
Teaching: Instructor at Antonio Fava’s Stage Internazionale di Commedia dell’Arte; Adjunct Professor of Acting at George Mason University and George Washington University; Guest Artist/Instructor at schools and festivals across the US and Europe including Columbia Graduate School of the Arts, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and the Academy for Classical Acting
Representative Performances: ACTOR:  Faction of Fools Theatre Company: The Great One-Man Commedia Epic (US and Europe); Folger Theatre: Henry IV, Part 1; 45 Bleecker: Hecuba (with Kristin Linklater); Tribeca Playhouse: Love’s Labour’s Lost; Cherry Lane Theatre; John Houseman Theatre; La MaMa ETC; New York Comedy Club; New England Shakespeare Festival: Twelfth Night; Nashville Shakespeare Festival: The Taming of the Shrew; Baltimore Shakespeare Festival: Comedy of Errors, Scapin.  DIRECTOR: Faction of Fools: The House with Two Doors, Tales of Love and Sausages, Hamlet (forthcoming), Romeo and Juliet (forthcoming); Duke Ellington School: Pericles; Columbia University: Troilus and Cressida.  FIGHT DIRECTOR: Baltimore Shakespeare Festival: Comedy of Errors, Scapin; Capital Fringe Festival: The Fifth Musketeer, Macbeth, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore; Columbia University: Life is a Dream, numerous premieres; Constellation Theatre: Women Beware Women
Honors and Awards:  Research Fellowship from University of Maryland, Acting Fellowship from the Academy for Classical Acting