Director/Scholar Faculty Position - Assistant Professor of Theatre

The Department of Theatre Arts at Kalamazoo College invites applications for a full-time, tenure track, Assistant Professor of Theatre, beginning in Fall 2021.

We seek a theatre scholar with experience as a director, playwright, or dramaturge working on projects that clearly resonate with culturally specific communities and voices in content and form. We are interested in a scholar excited to advance curricula in performance and social change, including dramatic analysis and theatre history, as well as develop new courses or directing projects in culturally specific theatre, which would connect with the arts, media studies, and the ARCUS Center for Social Justice.  Teaching expectation is six courses per year (2-2-2, in three terms).  This hire will be responsible for teaching theatre history, directing, and playwriting, as well as supervision and mentoring of student directors, dramaturges, and playwrights, and fostering undergraduate liberal arts students to transform their fields and society.  In addition, the hire will contribute courses each year to the Shared Passages Program.  Sample areas of desired specialization: Latinx theatre; Native American performance; African-American theatre; Asian American/Pacific Islander theatre; LGBTIQ theatre; hip hop theatre; Immigrant communities and public performance; emerging voices and new storytelling forms; devised, non-linear and community based structural forms that are immersive.

Candidates are expected to have high aptitude and interest in undergraduate teaching, a commitment to the liberal arts, and a desire to involve undergraduate students in scholarship both inside and outside of the classroom. The candidate will be expected to facilitate student success through active mentorship and innovative new learning experiences that prioritize access, inclusion, diversity and excellence in alignment with the mission of Kalamazoo College and the work of the Department of Theatre Arts.  Our faculty is committed to delivering a curriculum, which highly values theatre that addresses social and political issues, including issues of race and gender, and places emphasis on emerging voices and the creation of new work. The successful applicant will demonstrate a strong commitment to working with students, faculty and staff from diverse social, cultural, and economic backgrounds.

Kalamazoo College is a nationally known liberal arts college of approximately 1450 motivated students, offering an integrated undergraduate experience that weaves a traditional liberal arts curriculum into domestic and international educational experiences (www.kzoo.edu). It is a member of the Posse Program and home of the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership. The campus is located in a diverse and vibrant city in southwestern Michigan, midway between Chicago and Detroit, is the home of the Kalamazoo Promise. Thirty-five miles from Lake Michigan, the area offers many opportunities for outdoor activities.

The Kalamazoo area encompasses a community of 335,000, which supports several college and university campuses along with numerous civic arts and cultural associations. Kalamazoo boasts an extraordinarily robust arts community, home to the Gilmore Keyboard Festival (internationally recognized as America’s most prestigious piano music festival), the Stulberg International String Competition (one of the longest-standing string competitions for young musicians in the United States), 14 theatres, a monthly Art Hop, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra (celebrating its 97th year), and numerous museums, arts organizations, local artisans, arts community, and events.  The optimal candidate will be one whose research and/or praxis is fueled by a history of outstanding teaching in classroom and/or studio/laboratory settings, and a desire to connect and collaborate with artists, designers, and scholars across campus and in the community.

Required Qualifications:

• PhD in scholarly field with a dissertation focused on theatre and culturally specific and community-based voices and forms (or evidence it will be completed by September 1, 2021); or, demonstrated professional equivalent experience in creating or establishing a professional community based arts organization that promotes multi-cultural voices and perspectives;
• Experience educating first generation students, working with diverse populations, and promoting equity.

Desired Qualifications: Demonstrated success in one or more of the following:

• Record of publication in the intersectionality of dramaturgy and film/dance;
• Experience with public programming and local community based projects;
• Experience fostering new playwrights and/or devised work, or, as a literary or production dramaturge and/or director exploring new forms;
• Collegiate teaching experience and/or professional experience as a director or sustained record of community projects.

Instructions to Apply: Applications should include, in PDF format: a cover letter, a curriculum vitae, a statement of teaching experience and philosophy, a statement addressing commitments, content, and pedagogical approaches designed to foster the success of underrepresented students, undergraduate and graduate transcripts (unofficial is acceptable), and contact information for three references to https://www.kzoo.edu/search/theatre/.

Completed applications received by March 31, 2021 will receive full consideration, with later applications reviewed as needed until the position is filled.  Kalamazoo College especially encourages candidates who will contribute to the cultural diversity of the College to apply and to identify themselves if they wish. Equal Opportunity Employer.