Our People.
The Director.
Administrative Assistant.
Sarah Larsen
Sarah Larsen is the Administrative Assistant at the Centre for Socially Engaged Theatre and has experience working in a variety of roles within an office. From front desk customer service to behind the scenes accounting assistance. She loves working with and for people and enjoys to take on a more behind the scenes role to help support the bigger picture.
Sarah was born and raised in Regina and will almost never say no to a good road-trip. When not at work you can find her practicing guitar, piano, or one her many ukuleles, getting outside, or spending time with friends and family.
Visiting Researcher.
Dr. Olusola John
Dr. Olusola John is an experienced coach and mentor with over 15 years in working with various groups of people from young people to leadership teams from the development space, to the Business start-up entrepreneurs. He recently concluded a training and coaching project for the German Government GIZ program for returnees to Nigeria.
He has focused on problem solving in the areas of leadership crisis, change management and emotional intelligence. This has taken him to some African countries for similar assignments with proven results. He is also a workshop facilitator, conference speaker, leadership and organizational skills development trainer. He is also experienced in conflict management and public service delivery.
He is a certified Emotional Intelligence; Certified Career Coach and NLP Coach. Sola John is an aviation professional with the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency. He got a PhD in Arts Management from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Nigeria. He is currently a Visiting Researcher at the Centre for Socially Engaged Theatre, University of Regina.
Graduate Students.
Luba Kozak
Luba Kozak is an art historian, interdisciplinary researcher, internationally published scholar, and animal liberation activist.
Luba is deeply interested in issues of social justice and ethics, especially ethics of care theory, in addition to her other research interests that revolve around early modern European art, literature and culture; philosophy; and animal studies/vegan theory. Luba is currently a 2nd year Ph.D. student in the Faculty of Media, Art and Performance at the University of Regina. Her doctoral research project, co-supervised by Dr. Taiwo Afolabi and Dr. Karla McManus, reimagines human-animal relations through representations of exotic pet animals in eighteenth- century British portraiture. She is investigating early origins of species politics through postcolonial and posthumanist frameworks to challenge traditional humanist ideologies in the field of art history and offer an ethical study of the historical animal.
Luba has presented four conference papers and has several peer-reviewed publications, the most recent being her co-authored article “The Ethics of Arts and Health-Based Research: Ethical Questioning from Researchers” (2023) in Frontiers in Medicine and “Exploring Ethical
Dimensions of Pet Culture in Art: Ethics of Care in Art Pedagogy” (2023) in UNESCO Chair Book Series. Luba is a UNESCO Janusz Korczak Chair Research Fellow and has participated in the prestigious York Summer Theory Institute (YSTI) summer school at the University of York.
Additionally, she has worked as a consultant on Ukrainian art and culture for the International Organisation of Migration (IOM), a division of the United Nations (UN), and is engaged in international collaborations with artists and art professionals on various projects. Luba also serves as a language editor for the academic journal, Open Cultural Studies, published by De Gruyter.
Luba holds a Professional Writing certificate, specializing in Public Relations and Marketing from the University of Calgary and has experience working for non-profit art organizations in both Saskatchewan and Alberta. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, double major in Art History and English, from the University of Regina, as well as a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Regina.
Walter Strydom
Walter Strydom is an award-winning theatre artist, scholar, and educator who is passionate about the possibilities for arts and education to empower individuality, establish and strengthen cross-cultural bonds, and promote social cohesion and social justice. Walter’s multi-faceted skillset allows him to easily transition between scholar, researcher and educator, and the roles of producer, director, or actor in professional and student theatre.
Walter is currently a 1st year PhD student in the Faculty of Media, Art and Performance at the University of Regina. His research entails a multi-disciplinary exploration and embodied application/evaluation of alternative forms of social justice allyship within the realm of collaborative theatre making. The investigation specifically looks at the possibilities for theatre ensemble practices as techniques for ethical collective creation among diverse participants.
Walter lectures theatre theory and practice with the University of the Free State’s Department of Drama and Theatre Arts in Bloemfontein, South Africa. He completed a master’s degree specialising in Performance Analysis, and holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Education. Inspired by the power of theatrical performance – and especially interested in the unique qualities of the theatre medium – Walter started devising and directing plays just over a decade ago. With a predilection for pushing boundaries and experimenting with theatrical form while investigating pivotal social and political issues through performance making, his work is known for its innovatively fresh perspective on theatrical art. Walter has completed accredited creative research projects, and produced acclaimed professional theatre. His most recent award-winning work include producing the first Afrikaans translation and production of Beckett’s Waiting for Godot (winning 5 awards, including Best Production, at the Vrystaat Arts Festival 2024), co-creating and directing SwaRingana (Bronze Standard Bank Ovation Award, National Arts Festival Fringe 2022), producing and directing Tom Gaan Plaas Toe (Best Debut Theatre Production, Vrystaat Arts Festival 2022), and producing and doing the dramaturgy for muit.sê sy (Best Vrynge Theatre Production, Vrystaat Arts Festival 2022).
Victory Uchenna-Akpos
Victory Uchenna-Ike is an aspiring scholar with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre and Media Studies, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria.
Her research centers on policing, social justice system, theatre for young audience, social and behavioral change strategy, and communications.
She has worked on a few media project like; conducting an extensive research on the ‘Assessment of Press Freedom in some Nigerian Radio Houses’. This research exposed her to the different dynamics of operation in notable radio stations and the effectiveness of theatre in creating a better
environment for members of the press.
She also penned a feature article titled ‘Clashes between Fulani Herdsmen and Farmers in Northern Nigeria: Causes and Solutions’ for Magazine Ecclesia, a magazine dedicated to promoting socio-religious growth through literature and culture.
She is a Research Assistant at the Centre for Socially Engaged Theatre and she is currently pursuing a masters degree in Media and Artistic Research at the University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada where her research focus on exploring the intersection of policing and social justice systems through high school theatrical performances in Canada.
Victory acknowledges the power of art to spark discussions and spark change and is well on her way to becoming a renowned scholar and trailblazer in her field as her research work has an essential role to play in creating a more equitable and just world for all.
Gabriel Friday
Friday Gabriel is an experienced media practitioner with a strong academic foundation in Mass Communication and is currently undertaking a Master’s in Media and Artistic Research at the University of Regina. He has over eight years of experience working across various domains of the media landscape, including television, print journalism, radio, and public relations and advertising. This diverse exposure has offered him a comprehensive perspective regarding the pivotal role of media in shaping narratives and fostering audience engagement. Central to his scholarly pursuits are the exploration of critical issues such as police training, community engagement, accountability mechanisms, and the implementation of new policies and programs designed to address the pressing concerns of police brutality and systemic racism.
Past Interns.
Nana-Hasia Asankomah
Sandra (Ru) Sanena
Sandra (Ru) Sanena
My name is Ru, I’m visiting from Durham University where I am studying for a BA in anthropology and sociology. In my sociological studies, I have been interested in the experiences of people of colour and how gender and class especially influence said experiences. I will be joining the team looking at policing in Saskatchewan; policing in the UK and USA has been a key point of interest for me since before my university career as I was involved in several political and educational campaigns around this issue which led me to work with the University of Exeter on some of their training materials for future students; I look forward to delving deep into the discourse around policing in Canada and hopefully contributing useful and relevant insight based on my own experiences and the work I have done prior.
Senior Research Fellows.
Dr. Emmanuel Uzoji
Performing Arts, Music and Film Studies, Lead City University, Ibadan,
Oyo State, South West Nigeria. He teaches Dramatic Literature and
Criticism, Applied Theatre and Performance Aesthetics at the
undergraduate and postgraduate programmes of the university. He is
also a visiting scholar at the Department of Theatre and Film Arts,
Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos, Nigeria and has researched and
published extensively on ecocriticism and eco-theatre practice in
Nigeria in both local and international journals. He serves on the
Boards of Faculty and Postgraduate College. Uzoji is also the pioneer
chair of the Faculty of Arts Public Lecture Committee and also a
member of editorial board of several national and international journals
of arts and humanities. Emmanuel Uzoji holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA),
Master of Arts (MA) and PhD in Theatre Arts from the University of Jos,
Nigeria. He is a member of the Society of Nigerian Theatre Artists
(SONTA), West African Association of Commonwealth Literature and
Language Studies (WAACLALS) and a Fellow, Chartered Institute of
Leadership, Education and Development, USA (CILED).
Research Fellows.
Dr. Oluseun Tanimomo
Dr. Oluseun Tanimomo is a dynamic researcher and educator with a diverse academic background encompassing postcolonial literature, migration literature, narratology, ecocriticism, sociology of late modernity, and risk theory. He recently completed his postdoctoral research at the Ghent University in Belgium. He holds a Ph.D. in Languages and Literary Studies from Universität Bremen, Germany, and his doctoral research, titled “Contemporary African Novels as Narratives of the World Risk Society,” explored the depiction of risks in migration novels by African/Afro-diasporic authors within the context of late modernity.
He has published in reputable journals and presented extensively on topics such as modernity and African literature, environmentalism, migration literature, and the risk society. His work is characterized by a comprehensive approach that integrates narratology, sociology, and anthropology.
His community outreach initiatives include organizing book readings, movie screenings, panel discussions, and events addressing social issues.With a commitment to fostering a global understanding of diverse narratives, his next future contributions include exploring Digital Humanities and continuing to shape the discourse on sustainable practices, cultural identity, and the influence of narratives.
Dr. Mark O. Onwe
Mark Ogah ONWE holds a PhD in Theatre and Media Arts from the Federal University of Lafia, Nigeria. For over a decade, he taught and was the director of academics at Marvel Institute of Management and Technology, Kuchikau, Nigeria. His research interests cut across the cultural industries and creative economy, literary theory and performance criticism, theatre aesthetics, and play production. Through diverse methods, he investigates fresh perspectives on performances, under-researched cultural practices, historical representation, and identities and connects them to economics and governance. He focuses on understanding issues crucial to human existence, interactions, and the application of creative and intellectual solutions to emergent global challenges. Thus, his research combines disciplines such as philosophy, languages and cultural anthropology where he has published several journal articles, book chapters and reviews.
Research Associates.
Djamila Boulil
Djamila Boulil (Groningen, 1994) comes from a Dutch and Algerian background. She has a bachelor in sociology and a master in cultural leadership. Her research focusses on organisational networks in the arts, especially in peripheral areas. Believing in the benefits of mixed methods, she uses quantitative, qualitative and social network methods of analysis in her work. She currently teaches at the University of Groningen, helping a new generation of art professionals acquire technical skills, and does commercial impact research, helping current art professionals prove the wonderful effects their projects have on their surrounding social environment.
Gladys Orobosa
Gladys Orobosa is is a Master of Arts student at the University of Manitoba studying Social and Personality Psychology with the Intergroup Relations and Social Justice Laboratory. She is deeply interested in areas of social justice relating to gender, racial, and religious disparities. She understands the importance of evidence-based research findings and hopes to make valuable contributions to society with her research.
She completed her Bachelors of Arts (honours) from the University of Regina with a final thesis on The Understanding of Arithmetic Concepts Across Grades. With her thesis, she explored her interest in conducting psychological research and in children’s development, which paved the way for a career working with children diagnosed with developmental and intellectual delays in collaboration with speech, occupational, and behavioural therapists. Moreover, her passion for promoting individuals’ well-being led to her becoming a student ambassador with the Canadian Positive Psychology Association as part of their blog team. Furthermore, she currently volunteers with a non-profit organization, providing emotional support to mental health help-seekers.
Stephen Ogheneruru
Stephen Ogheneruro Okpadah is a Chancellor International PhD Scholar at the University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom. He is currently researching participatory theatre and climate justice in the context of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. His project draws on Theatre for Development in creating community based performances that advocate for climate justice. He won the 2021 Janusz Korczak/UNESCO Prize for Global South in emerging scholar category, and he is also Director of research at the Theatre Emissary International, Nigeria. Okpadah is a non-resident research associate, Centre for Socially Engaged Theatre, University of Regina, Canada.
Samson Oklobia
Samson Oklobia is a Documentary Filmmaker and Television Producer with eleven years of experience under his belt. A graduate of Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Jos, he got his training as a Cinematographer and Filmmaker from PEFTI Film Institute, Lagos and New York Film Academy, Abu Dhabi.
As a student at the University of Jos, he was introduced to Theatre Arts as part of the curriculum and he continued even after school, acting in different stage performances and even producing a few as well. He was a stage actor, with Jos Repertory Theatre, PAWS Studio, and Theater Emissary International, participating in numerous local and international theatre festivals. He also produced and directed an independent theatre project in Nigeria called Back to the Future.
As a filmmaker, he was first a Freelancer, handling cinematography and editing gigs before he decided to make his first short Film; Grey. This film opened up the possibilities of telling impactful human-angled stories and he dived into making documentaries for as many people were interested.
He is currently a Producer and Editor with Flame TV, an independent television station run and operated by the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). He still freelances here and there when time and chance permits but his absolute use of spare time is to teach budding filmmakers Cinematography and Non-Linear Editing.
Volunteer.
Kaoruko Sasaki
Kaoruko Sasaki is an international communicator with a background in intercultural studies. She recently gained her Master’s degree in Intercultural and International Communication from Royal Roads University in Victoria, B.C. She also holds a Bachelor’s in International Communication from Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan.
She is fluent in Japanese and spreads the importance of cultural respect.
She understands the value of community support and applies her communication skills to community organizations in Regina.
Faculty Affilates.
Professor Christine Burbaker
Christine Brubaker joins C-SET from the University of Calgary in AB and she works as a
director, actor, and educator. She will be collaborating on a SSHRC funded project, titled:
“Critical Uncertainties and Future Scenarios for Prairie-based Theatre”
Christine Brubaker joined the faculty in the School of Creative and Performing Arts in July
2017. Originally based in Ontario, she studied drama/arts administration at the University of
Waterloo, acting at the National Theatre School, and directing at the Stratford Festival of
Canada. She has been worked professionally on major stages as an actor and director in Canada
for twenty-five years and continues to balance her professional life with both conventional theatre work and new creation practices. She received her MFA in Interdisciplinary Studies from
Goddard College in Vermont where her research focussed on professional rehearsal hall culture
and the training of the young actor.
She is deeply curious about the relationship of actor to story and audience through the lens of
Encounter, and the nature of leadership in the creation process. Her artistic practice has expanded to include durational work and alternative performance possibilities which she calls
‘domestic theatre’. Current/recent projects include: 7th Cousins, Co-creator/performer (700 km
durational walk and performance with collaborator ErinBrubacher); Henry G20, Creator/Co-writer (premiering June 2020/Bentway/Luminato; Rella’s Cambrian Dream, Director
(immersive science adventure); Oh For A Muse of Fire,Creator/Co-director/Performer
(Interactive game performance for 100+ participants); Consider This, Writer/Director (video);
and Hamletshare Writer/Director (video); Her theatre direction includes:Alice Through the
Looking-glass Co-director with Jillian Keiley of the National Arts Centre (National Arts Centre,
Charlottetown Festival, Manitoba Theatre Centre and The Citadel Theatre); Elle, Director
(Theatre Passe Muraille, Waterford Town Hall, Prairie Theatre Exchange and The Firehall in Vancouver)and Wilde Tales at the Shaw Festival. She was a dramaturg on Celeste Sansregret’s new play Ursa Majoris as part of Native Earth’s Animikiig program. She spent three seasons at the Stratford Festival where she Assistant Directed on Alice Through the Looking-glass and The Diary of Anne Frank and was the Associate Director on As You Like it. Selected acting credits include: Tartuffe, Sound of Music, Enron, Vaudevilles of Checkov (National Arts Centre); Fear of Flight (Artistic Fraud); The Penelopiad & The Danish Play (Nightwood Theatre); A Comedy of Errors (Canstage); The Trials of John Demjanjuk (Theatre Asylum) and two seasons as a series regular on the A&E miniseries Nero Wolfe.
She was the Resident Director for the Toronto’s Eldritch Theatre where she directed Madhouse
Variations & Doc Wuthergloom’s Haunted Medicine Show. Christine is a 1995 Fox Fellow. She has been nominated for six Dora Mavor Moore Awards and won twice for her performances in
The Babysitter (Eldritch Theatre) and The Penelopiad (Nightwood Theatre). She was the 2013
winner of the J.B. Watkins Prize, the 2014 Gina Wilkinson Prize and the 2015 Ken McDougall
Prize for Emerging Director. She’s the mother to two children, loves to ski, cycle, play piano,
accordion and commune around large tables with good people.
(For more information, visit her bio here: https://scpa.ucalgary.ca/profiles/christine-brubakerfbclid=IwAR2em7o2fGe6SvLsneDZNM3E-II0pwl9TYAkR0YLaLOAaduwiW7iKLhy858)
Dr. Deniz Ünsal
Dr. Deniz Ünsal joins C-SET from Royal Roads University in BC and will be collaborating on a
SSHRC funded project, titled:
“Cultural Policy and Ethics of Care: An Exploration of Experiences of Cultural Entrepreneurs
from Diverse Communities in Western Canada”
Deniz Ünsal is a cultural anthropologist and museum and heritage studies scholar with a
research focus on cultural policies, equity, diversity and inclusion. With an expertise in working
with tangible and intangible cultural heritage, exhibition development and heritage planning, she
critically examines processes of meaning-making, interpretation, representation and power in
museums and heritage sites.
She embraces community partnerships and community-based research in knowledge creation and
dissemination. Deniz is actively involved in community work with several nonprofits in the field
of EDI, human and social development. She is grateful to live and work on the ancestral lands of
Xwsepsum and Lekwungen nations who have been safeguarding the resources, stories and
teachings of these lands from time immemorial.
(For more information, visit her bio here: https://www.royalroads.ca/people/deniz-unsalfbclid=IwAR33v545KTtYoBapq1tulUKtgK5J7VgwGkviSb2Zgw5NaapSBTlVJri4Sno
More to be listed
Global Advisory Board.
Nike Jonah
Nike Jonah works in strategic development across the cultural and creative industries worldwide. In July 2018, she launched Pan African Creative Exchange (PACE) in South Africa. In August 2020, the second edition, PACE Entangled, took place online. Between 2017 and 2020, she was a Visiting Research Fellow at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (Central), which led to her current doctoral research topic of Pan-African Performance Networks. Between 2008 and 2012, she led Arts Council England’s Decibel Programme, designed to support African, Asian and Caribbean artists. Nike is a Trustee on Boards of The Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and The Royal Africa Society and is currently a postgraduate doctoral research student at Central.
James Thompson
Cynthia Schneider
Ambassador Cynthia P. Schneider, Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, teaches, publishes, and organizes initiatives in the area of diplomacy and culture. Ambassador Schneider co-directs the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics at Georgetown, a joint signature initiative between Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and College of Arts and Sciences, with the mission of humanizing global politics through the power of performance.
Additionally, Ambassador Schneider co-directs the Los Angeles-based MOST Resource (Muslims on Screen and Television) and the Timbuktu Renaissance, a Mali-based platform for countering extremism and promoting peace and development through a focus on culture. Both initiatives grew out of her work leading the Arts and Culture Dialogue Initiative within the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.
Ambassador Schneider publishes and speaks frequently on topics related to arts, culture, and media and international affairs. Her writings range from op eds articles for USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, CNN, and Foreign Policy to policy papers for Brookings; she has spoken at TED and TEDx, as well as at universities, conferences, and festivals around the world.
Ambassador Schneider teaches courses in Diplomacy and Culture in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown, where, from 1984-2005, she was a member of the art history faculty, and published on Rembrandt and seventeenth century Dutch art. She also organized exhibitions at the National Gallery of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. From 1998-2001, she served as US Ambassador to the Netherlands, during which time she led initiatives in cultural diplomacy, biotechnology, cyber security, and education. Cynthia has BA and PhD from Harvard University.
Prof. Derek Goldman
Derek Goldman
Derek Goldman is Chair of the Department of Performing Arts and Director of the Theater & Performance Studies Program. He is also Professor of Theater and Performance Studies at Georgetown University with a joint appointment in the School of Foreign Service as Professor of Global Performance, Culture and Politics. He is co-Founding Director of the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, the first signature joint initiative of the School of Foreign Service and Georgetown College. He co-founded The Lab with Ambassador Cynthia Schneider in 2012 with a mission “to harness the power of performance to humanize global politics” (www.globallab.georgetown.edu). In 2015 he was honored to receive the prestigious President’s Award for Distinguished Scholar-Teachers.
He is an award-winning international stage director, producer, festival director, playwright, adapter, developer of new work, teacher, and published scholar, whose artistic work has been seen around the country, Off-Broadway and at numerous major regional theaters, as well as around the world. He is also Vice-President of the International Theatre Institute, the world’s largest performing arts organization, with centers in more than 100 countries, and he represents the Americas on ITI’s Executive Board and Executive Council, and serves as co-President of the US Center of ITI. He is also Founding Director of Unesco’s Global Network of Higher Education in the Performing Arts, and produced and launched the Network’s first global festival at the 2017 ITI World Congress in Segovia, Spain. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), and co-creator of the Global Theatre Initiative, a partnership between The Lab and TCG which promotes cross-cultural collaboration and cultivates new strategies to maximize the global theatre field’s opportunities and impact. His engagement in the convergence between global performance and politics has taken his work in recent years to Sudan, China, Poland, South Africa, Australia, Russia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Peru, Bulgaria, Armenia, Japan, Chile, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, France, New Zealand, and throughout the UK, and into collaborations with artists from Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Belarus, Israel, Afghanistan, Palestine, Ghana, Egypt, the Congo, the Czech Republic, India, Serbia, Sweden, Germany, the Philippines, Uganda, among other places. From 2007-2016, he served as Artistic Director of the Davis Performing Arts Center at Georgetown. He is the recipient of numerous awards and major grants, and has been the Principal Investigator in recent years of over $1 million of Program Support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Doris Duke Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment of the Arts and more. The Mellon Foundation supports the Lab Fellows Program, an initiative he founded and leads which brings together a cohort of path-breaking artists and change-makers from around the world, as well as the biennial CrossCurrents Festival, a citywide global performance event launched in Spring 2019 which he curates, and which culminates in the Lab’s signature event The Gathering, which brings together hundreds of leading artists from over 40 countries. Other recent grant-funded initiatives include a $262,000 Building Bridges Grant from the Doris Duke Foundation and the Association of Performing Arts Presenters for Myriad Voices: A Cross-Cultural Performance Festival, a two-year festival he curated engaging with Islamophobia. He is Founding Artistic Director of the StreetSigns Center for Literature and Performance, an award-winning socially-engaged professional theatre founded in Chicago and now based in Chapel Hill NC. The company, which he ran from 1992-2005, devoted to new plays and adaptations of literature for the stage, re-imagined classics, ensemble-devised performance and performance in and among community settings such as prisons, housing projects and schools. Under Goldman’s leadership, the company was named by the Chicago Sun-Times as “the most exciting company to emerge in Chicago since John Cusack’s New Criminals”; by the New York Times as “one of Chicago’s top theater companies”; and, after the company’s move to North Carolina, by The Spectator as “the region’s leading producer of cutting-edge work.”
In addition to having led the company through more than 60 productions, he has directed Off-Broadway, internationally, and worked regularly as a director and adapter/playwright with leading regional theatres such as Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, Lincoln Center, Arena Stage, Center Stage, Ford’s Theatre, Folger Theater, Round House, Everyman Theatre, Theater J, Mosaic Theater, Synetic Theater, Forum Theater, the Kennedy Center, McCarter Theater Center, Segal Center (Montreal), Northern Stage, Olney Theater Center (Artistic Associate), and many others. In addition, he serves as the Subject Editor for Political Theater for the Routledge Performance Archive, and his scholarship on the politics of adaptation and other subjects has been published in numerous journals (including South Atlantic Quarterly, Cultural Studies, and others) and in the Sage Handbook of Performance Studies, and he has been a contributor to American Theatre magazine, Howlround, and many other publications. He received the National Communication Association’s prestigious Outstanding Dissertation Award for his work The Politics and Poetics of Adaptation: Leon Forrest’s Divine Days, which also led to several much-cited articles in which he critiqued the politics of representation and whiteness entrenched in both higher education and the professional theatre landscape long before more recent movements to prioritize equity, diversity and inclusion in these spaces. He was previously on the faculty at UNC Chapel Hill where he received the Hettleman Award for Outstanding Scholarly and Artistic Achievement, and the Chapman Family Fellowship for Distinguished Teaching and Scholarship.
He is the author of more than 30 professionally produced plays and adaptations, including work published by Samuel French and produced internationally, and he has directed over 90 productions. Recent artistic highlights include The Lab’s internationally touring production of Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski (also co-authored with his former student Clark Young), with Oscar-nominated actor David Strathairn, which has had celebrated performances on London and Washington DC and is now touring internationally; A Streetcar Named Desire at Everyman (Wall Street Journal 10 Best of the Year nationally); Our Class at Theater J (Helen Hayes Nominated for Outstanding Resident Play); his celebrated production of George Brant’s Grounded at Everyman Theater and remounted at Olney Theater Center and Northern Stage; The Diary of Anne Frank at Olney; The Brothers Size at Everyman Theater (many year-end awards including Baltimore Magazine’s Best Production of 2011-2012); his world-premiere adaptation of David Grossman’s celebrated novel Falling Out of Time (Theater J); his new adaptations of Three Men in a Boat (Helen Hayes Nomination for Outstanding New Work/ Adaptation), Kafka’s Metamorphosis and Lysistrata at Synetic Theater; Once Wild: Isadora in Russia with WordDance Theater (Winner of Multiple DC Metro Dance Awards including Outstanding Group Performance); the World Premiere of Jay O. Sanders’ Rwanda epic Unexplored Interior, as the inaugural production of Mosaic Theater; Stones in His Pockets at Baltimore Center Stage in Baltimore; Young Robin Hood (World Premiere) and Eurydice at Round House Theater; Theodore Bikel’s Sholom Aleichem: Laughter through Tears, which he developed with legendary performer Bikel and toured internationally after successful runs Off-Broadway (Drama Desk Nomination), and at Theater J in Washington DC; book writer for Tales from Odessa: A So-Called Musical which premiered at the Segal Center in Montreal, adapted from the work of Isaac Babel and in collaboration with the celebrated recording artist So-Called (nomination for Montreal English Theater Award ); Clementine in the Lower 9 and bobraucshenbergamerica at Forum Theater; The Glass Menagerie and Begotten, his original work about Eugene O’Neill at Arena Stage (GU partnership); the world premiere of Trayf as well as Winter Miller’s In Darfur at Theater J (Helen Hayes Award-winner for Outstanding Lead Performance, Erika Rose); The Dresser, Blackbird and Shipwrecked! at Everyman; As You Like It at the Folger Theater; his adaptation of Studs Terkel’s Will the Circle Be Unbroken at Steppenwolf (with David Schwimmer), at Millennium Park in Chicago (with Garrison Keillor) and in North Carolina and DC at Georgetown with Arena Stage (with David Strathairn), as well as extensive new work development with Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, Steppenwolf, Ford’s Theatre, Theater J, Syracuse Stage, Zeitgeist Festival, National New Play Network, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Timeline Theater, Woolly Mammoth, the Source Festival, the Phillips Collection, the DC Jewish LitFest, and others.
Among his published/produced plays and adaptations are Haymarket Eight (with Jessica Thebus) which premiered at Steppenwolf; Right as Rain, a new play about Anne Frank and the Holocaust that toured nationally for 3 years; and numerous award-winning adaptations, all of which he also staged, including A Death in the Family (Jefferson Citation for Best New Work/Adaptation); Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (voted Independent Award for Best of the Decade 2000-2009); Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Kaddish for Allen Ginsberg; The Turn of the Screw; Divine Days; Written on the Body, as well as original works on and/or adaptations from Miller, Williams, O’Neill (all with Arena Stage), Lorca, Kafka, Faulkner, and many others. He has collaborated extensively on new work with writers such as Studs Terkel, Helene Cixous, Theodore Bikel, Don Delillo, Heather Raffo, Allan Gurganus, Leon Forrest, Motti Lerner, Jay O. Sanders, Norman Allen, Masha Obolensky, Tom Minter, Jon Klein, Lindsay Joelle, Dan Dietz, Winter Miller, Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm, and many others.
Other professional directing highlights include his Jeff-Award winning Hamlet; The Seagull; the US Premiere of Helene Cixous’ epic The Perjured City, or the Awakening of the Furies; DeLillo’s Mao II; Brecht’s Antigone; two productions of Lorca’s The Public; Twelfth Night; George Brant’s ‘s long-running comedy hit Night of the Mime; Tales of the Lost Formicans; The Fever; Saul Reichlin’s off-Broadway and internationally-touring hit Sholom Aleichem: Now You’re Talking; and Anna Deavere Smith’s Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992. At Georgetown, he has directed Sarah Ruhl”s In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play; a multi-media Hamlet, which was featured at the Performance Studies International Conference in Shanghai, where he travelled with a delegation of students; his World Premiere multimedia play A Child Shall Lead Them: Making The Night of the Hunter, based on the classic 1955 film (a co-production with University of Maryland); The Glass Menagerie and related original works (Elegy for Rose, and The Menagerie Variations) devised from the Tennessee Williams archive, as well as a star-studded concert version of Camino Real in Gaston Hall on Williams’ 100th birthday, as part of the Tennessee Williams Centennial festival at GU and Arena Stage; a new adaptation of Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author; The Winter’s Tale, the DC Premieres of Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice and David Hare’s Stuff Happens; Right as Rain; The Skin of Our Teeth; a new version of Our Town (with Sarah Marshall) in partnership with Duke Ellington School of the Arts, and a workshop production of his new adaptation of Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize Winning novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey. He also frequently collaborates on innovative theatrical projects with diverse community partners. For example, he recently directed stage and film versions of 5 short plays by leading playwrights commissioned by the Phillips Collection in dialogue with Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series; directed Rashida Lamrabet’s DeBurkanization and served as convener and moderator for Town Hall sessions as part of the DigitalEye at Blind Whino, a multi-disciplinary collaboration with the Goethe Institute and numerous theaters and embassies around privacy issues; and collaborated with ArtWorks for Freedom and George Washington Univeristy on the creation of a new theater piece with his students around human trafficking and modern slavery.
He regularly conceives and convenes innovative cross–sector and inter-disciplinary disciplinary programs, often through the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, through which he gathers artists, policymakers and thought leaders from all over the world. He co-directs the Lab Fellows Program funded by the Mellon Foundation comprised of ten path-breaking artists from around the world. He hosted a delegation from Baghdad University for a month-long residency in May-June 2012, along with an international convening at Georgetown “Toward an Initiative on Global Performance, Civic Imagination, and Cultural Diplomacy,” funded by a Reflective Engagement in the Public Interest grant, which brought together more than 80 leading artists, scholars, and policymakers from around the world, recently conceived and hosted “Burning To Tell You”, a major event at the National Press Club with artists from Belarus, Syria, Iran, around freedom of expression and artists rights. With his Global Theater Initiative colleagues he has also conceived and hosted major global convenings as part of the 2016 and 2017 Annual TCG Conferences, including Finding Home: Migration, Exile and Belonging which drew artists from more than 25 countries, annual World Theater Day events with artists from around the world, and more.
In Summer 2010 he led his Georgetown students as the sole US representatives at the UNESCO/ITI World Festival of Theater Schools in Peru, creating the original work In Search of Duende: The Ballad of Federico Garcia Lorca, and most recently led a delegation of students to the festival he directed at the ITI World Congress in Segovia with the original devised performance I Pledge Allegiance, engaging immigration and identity in the context of the current Presidential administration. He is now working with the ensemble to develop this piece for international touring, including forthcoming performances at the Al-Bugaa International Festival in the Sudan. He has also been funded for his work with the Center for International Theater Development, among dozens of grants to support his work and he has appeared frequently as a lecturer, panelist and workshop leader at Festivals, Universities, Conferences and Forums around the world, most recently conducting workshops at lectures as a guest of the US Embassy at numerous leading academies and venues in Moscow (Moscow Art Theater, GITIS, Raykin School, Meyerhold Centre, Territory Festival etc).
As Artistic Director of the Davis Performing Arts Center from 2007-2016 he was produced numerous world premieres, and the nationally-acclaimed Tennessee Williams Centennial Festival (in partnership with the American Studies Program) which featured over 30 events at Georgetown and Arena Stage. At Georgetown it has been his privilege to host and collaborate with world-class artists such as Edward Albee, Belarus Free Theater; Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka; Dah Teatar from Belgrade Ajoka Theater from Lahore, Pakistan; the Syria: Trojan Women Project; Ping Chong & Company; Freedom Theater from Jenin, Palestine; Boaz Gaon; The Civilians and Michael Friedman; Anna Deavere Smith; Heather Raffo; Moises Kaufman and Tectonic Theater Project, Pig Iron; Michael Rohd and Sojourn Theater; the National Theatre of Ghana; Liz Lerman, Rachel Chavkin and the TEAM, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Danny Hoch, Theodore Bikel, John Waters, Michael Kahn, David Henry Hwang; Nilo Cruz; Joy Zinoman, David Strathairn, Kathleen Chalfant, Joe Dowling, Azar Nafisi, Robert O’ Hara, Olympia Dukakis, Timberlake Wertenbaker, Sister Helen Prejean, Target Margin Theater, Marcus Gardley, Robin Becker Dance, Renegade Theater of Nigeria; the National Theatre of Prague, Svanda Theatre, and dozens of others.
He received his Ph. D. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University and has developed and teaches courses in Performance and Politics; Performance in Society: Global Performance, Civic Imagination, and Cultural Diplomacy; Directing; Adaptation and Performance of Literature; Acting Shakespeare; Comedy; Theatre and the Holocaust; Improvisation for Social Change; Tennessee Wiliams’ Worlds; Narrative in Fiction and Film, and many additional special topics courses. His SFS Centennial Lab Politics and Performance course co-taught with Cynthia Schneider travels to Cambodia annually in collaboration with Cambodian Living Arts. At Georgetown, he is a member of the Affiliated Faculty in the American Studies Program, the Film and Media Studies Program.
In addition to his internationally touring production of Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski, a new play about Polish Holocaust witness and former Georgetown Professor Jan Karski, co-written with his former student, GU alum Clark Young, he is currently collaborating with GU272 descendant Melissande Short-Colomb on her one-woman show Here I Am, to premiere at Georgetown in February, 2021.