Congratulations to Liz Kurtzman for successfully defending her comprehensive exams and dissertation prospectus during the Fall 2023 semester!
Congratulations to Patrick Mullen for finishing his graduate seminar coursework in the fall!
Payne Banister is currently Assistant Directing Cheating Fate at PittStages, which opens in February. In November, Payne had the pleasure of attending the American Society for Theatre Research. They presented their paper “The Work of Werking It: Drag Entertainers’ (Precarious) Labors of Love.” As part of their work with the American Theatre Archives Project, Payne co-convened a working group entitled “Theatre Archives as a Site of Hope.”
Alison Mahoney has a forthcoming article in Theatre Research International entitled, “'Severe’ Sensory Theatre: Building Relational Disability Politics During UK Covid Lockdowns.” They presented their paper “Building Cultures of Access in University Theatre: Reflections on Corsicana at the University of Pittsburgh” in ASTR’s Disability Performance Cultures working group. Alison also presented a paper virtually in IFTR’s Performance and Disability Working group entitled, “Staging Freak Performers in a New Disability Theatre: John Belluso's Traveling Skin.” Alison traveled to the American Philosophical Society archives in Philadelphia, the UIC archives in Chicago for research on the Century of Progress Worlds’ Fair Midget City (1933-34), and New York for immersive theatre research.
Frederick Miller recently served as the production dramaturg for University of Pittsburgh’s regional premiere of John Proctor is the Villain by Kimberly Belflower. This coming spring, he will serve as the production dramaturg for the Off-Broadway revivals of Do Re Mi and Lucky Stiff with the J2 Spotlight Musical Theatre Company. Additionally, Miller will present his paper, “Corn Off the Cob: The Dramaturgy of Shucked” at the 2024 Mid-America Theatre Conference at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he also serves on the conference planning committee.