BACKGROUND.

I am a Full Professor, Chair of Theatre Studies and Head of BFA Playwriting at The Theatre School of DePaul University in Chicago, where I have taught since 2002. Prior to The Theatre School, I taught directing and acting at Barat College in Lake Forest, IL. In addition, I have been a frequent guest at The Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive in Washington, D.C., and a visiting artist at numerous universities including the University of Iowa Playwrights' Workshop, UT Austin, Carnegie Mellon School of Drama and others. 

PHILOSOPHY.

As Head of the BFA Playwriting Program at The Theatre School of DePaul University, I aim to coax out the distinct imagination and voice that lives inside the core of each of my students, and instill in them a love for all stages of the writing process – from dreaming, to drafting, to rewriting, to production. As part of my students’ training, I lead them through a rigorous study of the organic relationship between content and form – not only in drama, but in architecture, visual art, music and design, inspiring them to evolve the most expressive forms for their work. I encourage my students to embrace the importance of risk and experimentation as they define their aesthetics, and to boldly envision a theatre of the future that they will help define.

PLAYWRITING AT THE THEATRE SCHOOL.

In addition to teaching young playwrights in the classroom, we provide numerous opportunities for production in The Theatre School Season and development in our annual Wrights of Spring festival of new plays. Since assuming leadership of the program in 2009, we have produced over a dozen world premieres of student plays and presented readings of over 100 new plays. For more information, on 2017 Wrights of Spring, head to the Wrights of Spring Website!