Congratulations to Payne Banister for finishing coursework in the fall!
Congratulations to Alison Mahoney for successfully defending their comprehensive exam and dissertation prospectus!
Payne Banister published their article, “Masquerading Resistance: The Parasitic Tactics of the Mandrake Ball” in the Spring 2024 issue of the Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism.
Jeremy Kahn presented a workshop called Believe in the Ball at KCACTF’s January 2025 conference in Pittsburgh. Informed by Viola Spolin’s Object Work, this progression of exercises provided an opportunity for students to invest in the properties of imagined material items, exploring their sensory and emotional relationship with the objects. Where Spolin’s exercises are often offered as individual, bite-sized games, this workshop blended one exercise into the next, aiming to engage students through an uninterrupted suspension of disbelief throughout the session.
Elizabeth Kurtzman published her chapter "Blood, Sweat, and Fears: The Values of Work and Community in the Haunting Profession" in The Figure of the Monster in Global Theatre: Further Readings on the Aesthetics of Disqualification. In November 2024, she presented her paper "They Come from Another World: Alien Invasion Narratives and Nature’s Fight Against Invasive Species" at ASTR’s annual conference in Seattle. Liz also served on the organizing committee for Pitt's Horror Studies Working Group's first inaugural Queer Horror Conference, which occurred from February 7-8. Liz received a Provost Dissertation Completion Fellowship in support of completing her dissertation this summer.
Victoria LaFave curated an exhibit in Hillman Library this past summer. The exhibit, “Consuming Divas: Legacies of Fan Culture in American Theatre,” evolved from her GSA position with Archives and Special Collections in 2023-2024 and her longtime fascination with diva worship across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The materials on display from the Curtis Theatre Collection – such as collectable cigarette pins, fan-made scrapbooks, sheet music, and even silver spoons – demonstrate how fans have continually wanted a piece of their favorite performer. Featuring a few of America’s previous “It Girls” like Lillian Russell, Julien Eltinge, and Mae West, the materials offer a glimpse into the relationship between popular entertainment and the home. This exhibit was on display in the Archives and Special Collections Gallery on the 3rd floor of Hillman Library until January 2025. At the November 2024 ASTR conference in Seattle, Victoria presented her paper “Queer Americana and Ecological Anxieties” as part of the Ecologies of Queer Legacy: Mapping Time and Change working group. She also received a Provost Dissertation Completion Fellowship in support of completing her dissertation this summer.
Alison Mahoney published their article, “‘Severe’ Sensory Theatre: Building Relational Disability Politics during UK COVID Lockdowns” in the 2024 issue of Theatre Research International. She also will be teaching Contemporary Global Stages: Disability and Performance Global Stages this summer and returning to work as a project manager and facilitator for Evolve Coaching’s Future Camp in August.
Frederick Miller is excited to be teaching Beyond Broadway: Musical Theatre Across the Globe as part of the Contemporary Global Stages course sequence this spring! In January, Frederick presented his paper, “Further Fracturing Fairy Tales: Reworking Shrek for the Road,” as part of the Music Theatre Dance Association Winter Symposium. Additionally, he shared a presentation, “Back to High School: Reflections on The High School Musical Podcast,” during the 2025 Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA) Digital Conference.
Audrey Pernell was awarded TC²: True Co-equal x Transformative Collaborations funding for her project “Recentering Blackness in Spirituals and African Art Music” with Seyi Ajibade, a PhD candidate in Ethnomusicology. She also presented a workshop entitled “Decolonizing Vocal Pedagogy” at KCACTF’s January 2025 conference in Pittsburgh.