Research Interests
Political performance, past and present. Situated at the intersection of theater historiography, cultural studies, and political philosophy, my research explores how power is enacted, questioned and challenged by bodies on stage.
Dissertation
"Acts of Commitment: Prefigurative Politics on the Agitprop Stage." Stanford University, 2019.
Publications
Journal Articles
“Performing Mystical Union in Mechthild of Magdeburg’s The Flowing Light of the Godhead.” Medieval Feminist Forum 55.2 (2020): 5-39.
“The (Im)Possibility of Empathy in SIGNA’s Half the Suffering.” Co-authored with Theresa Schütz. TDR, Critical Acts 64.1 (Spring 2020): 155-161.
Book Chapters
“Tactical Toolkit.” Devising and Performance Making: Curious Methods. Edited by Leslie Hill and Helen Paris. S.I.: Intellect. [Forthcoming].
Book Reviews
Brecht: A Practical Handbook, by David Zoob. Theatre Topics 28.3 (2018): 246-247.
Translations
Signa Köstler, Theresa Schütz. “On the Impossibility of Being Together.” Interview. Commit Yourself! Strategies of Staging Spectators in Immersive Performances. Edited by Doris Kolesch, Theresa Schütz and Sophie Nikoleit. Routledge, 2019. 52-56.
Doris Kolesch. “Immersion at the Interface of Theater, Media Tech, and Daily Life: An Introduction.”Commit Yourself! Strategies of Staging Spectators in Immersive Performances. Edited by Doris Kolesch, Theresa Schütz and Sophie Nikoleit. Routledge, 2019. 1-14.
Conferences
Papers Presented
“Spacing Confrontation with the Center for Political Beauty." Panel: Spatiality of Power and Resistance in Contemporary Performance. Association for Theater in Higher Education Conference, Online, 20 July - 1 August 2020.
“Troubling Transitions: Spontaneous Aesthetics in Anti-Fascist Street Performance." Panel: Scene Change – Performance as Change-Agent in History, on Campus, and in Community. Association for Theater in Higher Education Conference, Orlando, 7-11 August 2019.
“‘Raus auf die Straße!’: Spatial Transgression and the Place of Performance.” Stages of Protest: Performing Dissent and Theatre, Association for Theater in Higher Education Conference, Boston, 1-5 August 2018.
“Contesting Authorities: Performing the Political Body in the Hessian Messenger.” Performance Studies Emerging Scholars Panel, Association for Theater in Higher Education Conference, Las Vegas, 3-6 August 2018.
Panels Organized
Spatiality of Power and Resistance in Contemporary Performance. Association for Theater in Higher Education Conference, Online, 20 July - 1 August 2020.
Annual Vetted Emerging Scholars Panel. Performance Studies Focus Group. Association for Theater in Higher Education Conference, Orlando, 7-11 August.
Revolution in Four Acts. Performance Studies Focus Group Pre-Conference, Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference, Boston, 31 July-1 August 2018.