Opportunities: A Contemporary Play Reading Series and the Pandemic
Amanda Dawson and Michael Shipley
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AMANDA DAWSON (she/her), Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor and Head of the BFA Theatre Education and BA Theatre Arts programs in the Caine College of the Arts at Utah State University. Amanda teaches courses in theatre history, contemporary theatre, and theatre education. In practice, Amanda is a dramaturg and director. Her scholarship is interdisciplinary and mostly focuses on theatre education, dramaturgy, and representations of the United States military and veterans on stage. She has published in the Popular Culture Studies Journal, ArtsPraxis, New England Theatre Journal, and Howlround.
MICHAEL SHIPLEY (he/him) is an Assistant Professor of Acting and Voice in the Department of Theatre Arts at Utah State University. Michael teaches voice, speech, and accents/dialects in addition to a range of acting and scene study courses. As a voice and text coach for performance, Michael’s creative scholarship focuses on the overlap between voice work, text analysis, and acting technique. In addition to voice/text coaching, Michael is an actor and a member of the Actor’s Equity Association. |
Abstract
In an effort to expand engagement with contemporary works, Utah State University’s Department of Theatre Arts created a reading series that focused on contemporary plays. The goals for producing and staging the readings were to provide additional opportunities to work with contemporary material and to bring in added institutional and audience support. In response to the pandemic, the initial season included five online play readings over five weeks. The second season returned to in-person performances, with three readings spread throughout the year. Based on student feedback, the contemporary play reading series added a valuable dimension to USU’s programming and will continue to be useful even beyond the pandemic.
In an effort to expand engagement with contemporary works, Utah State University’s Department of Theatre Arts created a reading series that focused on contemporary plays. The goals for producing and staging the readings were to provide additional opportunities to work with contemporary material and to bring in added institutional and audience support. In response to the pandemic, the initial season included five online play readings over five weeks. The second season returned to in-person performances, with three readings spread throughout the year. Based on student feedback, the contemporary play reading series added a valuable dimension to USU’s programming and will continue to be useful even beyond the pandemic.
| etudesdec2022dawsonshipley.pdf |
