Assistant Professor of Theatre, Dramaturgy

The School of Film, Dance and Theatre in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University invites applications for a full-time, tenure track, Assistant Professor of Theatre, Dramaturgy, beginning fall, 2018.

We seek a theatre scholar with experience as a 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 existing Theatre Program curricula in Performance in the Borderlands, Theatre for Social Change, and Theatre for Youth, including dramatic analysis and theatre history, as well as develop new courses in culturally specific theatre and performance that connect with dance and film. This hire will be responsible for fostering undergraduate students and mentoring graduate students with the opportunity to contribute visionary thinking to campus initiatives and community partnerships. 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.

The Assistant Professor of Theatre, Dramaturgy will be responsible for teaching, educating, mentoring and preparing students while advancing the mission of the Theatre Program within the School of Film, Dance and Theatre to increase and diversify numbers of first generation graduates prepared to transform their fields and society.

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 ASU and its charter. Our faculty is comprised of theatre artists, practitioners and scholars committed to delivering a curriculum which highly values theatre that address social and political issues, including issues of race and gender, and places emphasis on emerging voices and the creation of new work. We are in the process of revising our curriculum, diversifying our faculty, and asking ourselves what defines a New American Theatre as part of the New American University.

This faculty position is in the Theatre Program within the School of Film, Dance and Theatre, within The Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, the nation’s largest school of arts of design, at Arizona State University, the nation’s largest comprehensive public research university. The ASU charter defines the New American University as measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed; advancing research and discovery of public value; and assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves. The charter includes eight design aspirations: leverage our place, transform society, value entrepreneurship, conduct user-inspired research, enable student success, fuse intellectual disciplines, be socially embedded, engage globally.

This New American University is a single, unified institution comprising four differentiated campuses positively impacting the economic, social, cultural and environmental health of the communities it serves. Its research is inspired by real world application blurring the boundaries that traditionally separate academic disciplines. ASU serves more than 80,000 students in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, the nation's fifth largest city, and more than 30,000 students in the on-line global learning community. ASU champions intellectual and cultural diversity, and welcomes students from all fifty states and more than one hundred nations across the globe.

The Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts exemplifies the New American University philosophy. With 5,000 students, more than 400 faculty and faculty associates, 135 degrees and a tradition of top-ranked programs, the Herberger Institute includes the School of Art, The School of Arts, Media + Engineering, The Design School, The School of Film, Dance and Theatre, The School of Music, and the ASU Art Museum to build on a combination of disciplines unlike any other program in the nation. Recognizing design and the arts are critical resources for transforming society and solving complex problems, the Herberger Institute positions artists, scholars, designers, and educators at the center of public life. http://herbergerinstitute.asu.edu/

The School of Film, Dance and Theatre, emphasizes new work and socially engaged practice; its community of artists, scholars, students, faculty and staff are dedicated to shaping the future of theatre, dance, and film through inventive curricula and innovative programming. The core values of creativity, community, collaboration, and collegiality inform the work of our classrooms and studios, research endeavors, creative activity, public programming and community engagement. We prioritize a dynamic teaching, learning and discovery environment in which production and curriculum are mutually supportive. We presently educate over 200 undergraduate theatre majors, 100 undergraduate dance majors, 500 film majors, and 70 MA, MFA and PhD students. Our annual student film festival highlights the best emerging talent in film, video, and digital media production; our performance season includes film and media in work that pushes the boundaries of contemporary theatre and dance; our programming engages more than 20,000 community members in the metro Phoenix area. Key school and Institute initiatives include: Sol Motion Collective, comprised of the Urban Sol collaboration of Valley area DJs, MCs, graffiti artists and dancers, Latin Sol dance events, and annual Come As You Are ball; Performance in the Borderlands, featuring workshops, performances, and public discussions; Projecting All Voices and Design and Arts Corp, advancing diversity and innovation in the arts; Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Programs, developing arts leaders; Hollywood Invades Tempe, a series connecting students with top filmmakers; Film Spark, building student to film industry relations through the ASU California Center.

The Herberger Institute seeks candidates capable of growing dynamic and innovative degree programs, who can help attract new students and teach courses that support enrollment goals, enhance the diversity of the Institute, and connect and collaborate with artists, designers, and scholars across campus and in the community. The candidate will join department colleagues to teach undergraduate and graduate courses, supervise senior thesis research, dramatic writing, and staging projects, as well as dramaturging or supervising student dramaturgs in new play development. The optimal candidate will be one whose research is fueled by a history of outstanding teaching in classroom and/or studio/laboratory settings. 

Required Qualifications:

• PhD in scholarly field with a dissertation focused on theatre and culturally specific and community based voices and forms;
• Experience as a literary and/or production dramaturge;
• 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.

Instructions to Apply: Please submit a letter of interest, a small portfolio of representative work, curriculum vita and contact information of (3) references.

Please submit the above information to: https://apply.interfolio.com/47737

Application Deadline: The application deadline is January 26th, 2018; if not filled, every two weeks thereafter until search is closed.

For information about the School of Film, Dance and Theatre, visit: filmdancetheatre.asu.edu

ASU conducts pre-employment screening for all positions, which includes a criminal background check, verification of work history, academic credentials, licenses and certifications.

Arizona State University is a VEVRAA Federal Contractor and an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by law.

See ASU's complete non-discrimination statement at https://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals/acd/acd401.html.

See ASU’s Title IX policy at www.asu.edu/titleIX