Ryan Nock

Ryan Nock is a first year MA student in theatre and performance studies. He researches how autism is embodied onstage in mainstream theatrical productions of the 21st century and the cultural valuations of humanity thereby implicated. This work entails a particular focus in fabulating the lived experiences of Autistic characters who have been separated from ontological notions of living. His interests also include performance in Role-Playing Games and the embodiment of the imaginary, performed neurodivergence and internal disability as mutually material and metaphoric, and speculative performances of pre and post-human history. 

In his spare time, Ryan is an amateur physique competitor, an avid Dungeons & Dragons game master, and a writer of plays, poetry, and prose to varying degrees of length (and quality). 

Current and upcoming projects:

Currently, Ryan is working on his masters thesis, “Staging the Spectrum: Fantastical Constructions of Theatrical Neurodivergence”, which investigates how neurodivergence is manifested onstage and the cultural discourses determining its depiction by analyzing “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime” by Simon Stephen’s (2015), “How to Dance in Ohio” by Rebekah Greer Melocik (2024), “Body Awareness” by Annie Baker (2008) and “All in a Row” by Alex Oates (2019). In addition, Ryan is working on:

- “Remembering the Women’s Coalition for Change”, a forthcoming performance review for the Journal of American Drama & Theatre.

- “Embodying the Imaginary: Role-Playing-Games as Neuroqueer Performance”, a forthcoming book chapter in “Dramaturgies of the Real World: Dramaturgy as Methodology”, edited by Karen Jean Martinson and Dan Smith (pending book submission). 

- A research project on neurodivergent performance at Spectrum Theater in Providence, Rhode Island

- the development of three plays; “Council of the Dead”, “Dungeons & Disability”, and “be. or be not,” that each contend with contemporary valuations of animacy and disability. 

- Dramaturgy for “Macbeth”, directed by Fatima Quander at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center (forthcoming February 2026). 

Education:

B.A., Theatre, University of Maryland, College Park, MD. 

Areas of Specialization: 

Performance Studies, Disability Studies, Critical Autism Studies, Critical Fabulation, Mad Studies, Crip Theory, Queer Studies, Monster Studies, and RPG Studies

Honors/Awards:

University of Maryland Board of Visitors Award

International Project for Creative Collaboration and Research (IPCCR) Grant

Arts for All Graduate Research Grant, awarded twice.

Dean Fellowship; President’s Fellowship for Graduate Study at the University of Maryland

Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA), University of Maryland Undergraduate Scholarship