1
Decker CV
Pamela Decker
1240 Forsythe Ave. Columbus, OH 43201
,
502-387-6947
Education
Ph.D. August 2013. Theatre (History, Literature, and Criticism)
THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY. Columbus OH.
Advisor: Lesley Ferris, Ph.D.
Dissertation: "Theatrical Spectatorship in the United States and Soviet Union, 1921-1936: A Cognitive Approach to Comedy, Identity, and Nation"
Dissertation Summary: An investigation of the spectator’s role in four early twentieth-century comic theatre productions: Evgeny Vakhtangov’s Princess Turandot (1922), Vsevolod Meyerhold’s The Bedbug (1929), Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle’s Broadway production of Shuffle Along (1921), and Orson Welles’ Federal Theatre Project production of Horse Eats Hat (1936). By investigating the embodied experience of spectators I argue that spectatorship plays an active role in shaping the theatrical event and revealing emergent modern identities within the twentieth century's rising superpowers.
M.A. 2008. Theatre Research
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
Advisor: Manon van de Water, Ph.D.
Thesis: "The Value of Stanislavskian Techniques in Adolescent Theatre Practice"
Thesis Summary: An analysis of how Stanislavskian acting techniques, when incorporated into educational curricula, can enhance adolescents’ learning and social development. Guided by research of adolescent behavioral and cognitive development, I argue that Stanslavskian-based techniques can revitalize middle and high school theatre programs by raising the quality of performances and connecting the skills learned in theatre practice to the broader goals of secondary education.
B.A. 2002. Theatre and English, Cum Laude.
HANOVER COLLEGE. Hanover IN
Teaching Experience
- Lecturer of Theatre, The Ohio State University
Introduction to Theatre-Online (Theatre 2100): Designer, Administrator, and Instructor of general education survey course on dramatic forms, theatre history, and production methods and techniques. Fall 2014, Spring 2015.
Theatre History (3731): Instructor of survey course of representative theatre and performance from Western and non-Western traditions from classical Greece to present day. Fall 2014, Spring, 2015.
- Instructor of Record of Undergraduate Courses, The Ohio State University
Issues of the Contemporary World: Censorship and Performance (Theatre 3597): Instructor of course exploring of issues of censorship in both Western and Asian communities with particular attention to live performance. Summer 2013, Spring 2014.
African American Theatre History (Theatre 2367.02): Instructor of course on sociological evolution of African American theatre in the United States, its literature, and criticism. Fall 2013, 2014. Spring, 2015.
Introduction to Theatre-Online (Theatre 2100): Instructor of online survey course on dramatic forms, theatre history, and production methods and techniques. Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Summer 2014, OSU Marion Campus.
Self Images: America on Stage (Theatre 2367.01): Instructor of second-level writing intensive and diversity course on the analysis and critique of the representations of American types and stereotypes in the theatre, from 1830- present day. Winter 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2013.
Introduction to Theatre (Theatre 2100): Instructor of survey course on dramatic forms, theatre history, and production methods and techniques. Fall 2012, Spring 2014. OSU Marion Campus.
Introduction to Script Analysis (Theatre 210): Instructor of introductory course on the basic principles, techniques, and challenges of script analysis, where the text is examined from a production viewpoint rather than for literary merit. Fall 2009, Winter 2010, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2012.
- Teaching Assistant of Undergraduate Courses, The Ohio State University
Issues of the Contemporary World: Censorship and Performance (Theatre 597): Teaching assistant and recitation leader of course exploring of issues of censorship in both Western and Asian communities with particular attention to live performance. Fall, 2011.
Introduction to Theatre-Online (Theatre 100): Teaching assistant to online course. Summer, 2009.
Introduction to Theatre (Theatre 100): Teaching assistant responsible for management of approximately 100 students per quarter in discussion-oriented recitation sections. Fall 2008, Winter 2009, Spring 2009.
- Lectures, Workshops, and Residencies
Guest Lecturer. “Exploring Empathy and Spectator Response in Miwa Matreyek's This World Made Itself.” Humanities and Cognitive Sciences Summer High School Institute. The Ohio State University, Aug. 11-14, 2014.
Guest Speaker and Panel Participant. Presented on contemporary methodologies in Theatre research, with special emphasis on Cognitive Studies in Performance. For Theatre 7704: Contemporary Theatre and Performance: Experimentation and New Media. The Ohio State University, Spring 2014.
PAGES Artist-in-Residence. Scholar and artist-in-residence at the Wexner Center for the Arts. Required to visit area high school classes to give workshops on integrating writing, performance, and visual arts in conjunction with performance artist Miwa Matreyek’s performance of This World Made Itself. PAGES is an Arts, Literacy, and Writing program for high school students in Columbus, OH area. Wexner Center for the Arts, The Ohio State University. Fall 2013.
Guest Instructor. Taught remaining two weeks of course due to Instructor’s illness. For “All Singing, All Dancing”: The History of Musical Theatre. Special attention given to late 20th century and 21st century musicals. The Ohio State University, Fall 2013.
Guest Lecturer. On history of theatre censorship, with special attention to Socialist Realism. For Issues of the Contemporary World: Censorship and Performance. The Ohio State University, Winter 2012.
Guest Lecturer. On Cognitive Studies as an emerging methodology in theatre research/criticism. For Theatre Criticism III. The Ohio State University, Spring 2011.
Guest Lecturer. On the productions of Evgeny Vakhtangov, Vsevolod Meyerhold, and 1920s Soviet Theatre. For Theatre Repertory III. The Ohio State University, Spring 2010.
Theatre Production Experience
- Directing
The Zisa Castle. English-language premiere. Translated by Francesca Spedalieri. Columbus, OH, Spring 2014.
Qualifications. The Lab Series, Ohio State University Dept. of Theatre, Spring 2014.
Selections from The Great Game: Afghanistan. The Lab Series, Ohio State University Dept. of Theatre, Spring 2012.
Crying River. New Works Lab, Ohio State University, Spring 2009.
Eurydice. Assistant to Director Beth Kattelman. Ohio State University Dept. of Theatre, Spring 2011.
- Playwriting/Solo Performance
The Honda Oracle. In Transit: A Night of Automotive Theatre. The Lab Series, Ohio State University Dept. of Theatre, Spring 2014.
- Acting Experience
bobrauschenbergamericaBob’s MomAvailable Light Theatre Company(2013)
The Front StepsGinaWisconsin Wrights-UW-Madison(2008)
Hibernation JackUniv. of Wisconsin-Madison Theatre(2007)
Yellow Dog CrossingCharlotteSouth Carolina Repertory Company (2006)
The Boys Next DoorSheilaKandel Theatre Company (2003)
RecklessPootyKandel Theatre Company (2002)
Crimes of the HeartBabeHanover College Theatre (2002)
Romeo and JulietJulietHanover College Theatre (2001)
Fool For LoveMayHanover College Theatre (2000)
Moving DayDarlingAmerican College Theatre Festival (2001)
- Film Experience
Bo Butterfield Scenario Kim Caregiver DVD Project (Wisc. Dept. of
Health and Family Services) (2007)
- Dramaturgy
Matchmaker, dir. Lesley Ferris. Assistant to Dr. Ana Puga. Ohio State University Dept. of Theatre, Winter 2012.
Machinal, dir. Lesley Ferris. Ohio State University Dept. of Theatre, Winter 2009.
- Tour Manager
Twelfth Night, Adapted for Young Audiences. OSU/Royal Shakespeare Company Programs Tour to Columbus Public Schools. Ohio State University Dept. of Theatre, Spring 2013.
Conference Presentations and Participation
“Advertising the Actress: Marketing African American Female Performance in Shuffle Along and The Plantation Club.” The First Actresses’ Symposium. The Ohio State University Department of Theatre, Columbus, Ohio; May 23-24 2014.
“Split Empathies and Soviet Spectatorship in Mayakovsky’s The Bedbug.” Cognitive Studies Working Group, American Society for Theatre Research: Dallas, TX; Nov. 9, 2013.
“'Dusky Premieres' and 'Creole Choruses': Marketing African American Female Performance in 1920s New York." Black Theatre Association Focus Group, American Theatre in Higher Education Conference: Orlando, FL; Aug. 4, 2013.
"Playing the Body, Expanding the Imagination: The Benefits of Michael Chekhov and Alexander Techniques for Student Actors." Acting Program Focus Group, American Theatre in Higher Education Conference: Orlando, FL; Aug. 3, 2013.
"Cognitive Studies and the Chekhov Technique: Crossing the Boundaries of Science and Spirit." Shifting Boundaries/Crossing Cultures: The Politics, Process, and Performance of Collaboration, The 5th Annual Ohio State University Department of Theatre Graduate Symposium: Columbus, OH; Apr. 5-6, 2013.
“Empathy and Embodied Spectatorship: Exploring the Divided Audience of Horse Eats Hat.” (corpo)realities, The 2nd Annual Indiana University Department of Theatre & Drama Graduate Symposium on Theatre & Performance Studies: Bloomington, IN; Mar. 22-23, 2013.
"An Unlikely Dialogue: Combining Cognitive Studies and the Chekhov Technique in the Rehearsal Process." Practice/Production Symposium, Mid-America Theatre Conference: St. Louis, MO; Mar. 7, 2013.
“Embodied Acts: Spectatorship and Empathy in Orson Welles’s Horse Eats Hat.” The Edward F. Hayes Graduate Research Forum, The Ohio State University: Columbus, OH; Feb. 24, 2012.
“Theatre History Embodied: A Cognitive Approach to Modern Comic Performance.” Cognitive Studies Working Group, American Society for Theatre Research: Montreal, QC; Nov. 18, 2011.
“Music and Language as Agents of Embodied Memory in Eurydice.” Cognitive Studies Working Group, American Society for Theatre Research Conference: Seattle, WA; Nov. 19, 2010.
“Chicago and Machinal: Two Modernist Plays as Postmodern Predictions of Gender,”
New Scholars Panel, Int’l Federation of Theatre Research: Munich, Germany; July 27, 2010.
“A Rebel of the Spirit: Michael Chekhov’s Theatrical Practices in Post-Revolutionary Russia,” Chekhov and After: Theatre in a Revolutionary Age Symposium: The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH; May 15, 2010.
“Mimesis and Mirror Neurons: A Comparative Analysis between Plato’s Republic and Cognitive Science,” Graduate Panel, Gesture at Large Conference: The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH; Feb. 25-27, 2010.
“Trials of Femininity: The Performance of the Female Criminal in Chicago and Machinal,” Women and Theatre Debut Panel, ATHE/AATE Conference: New York, NY; Aug. 10, 2009
“Class Acts in Collaboration: Regional Theatres, University Theatres, and the Beginning
of URTA,” Theatre History Symposium, Mid-America Theatre Conference: Chicago, IL; Mar. 5-8, 2009.
“An Exuberance of Opportunity: Using Neurological Studies to Support Adolescent Theatre Practice,” Cognitive Studies Working Group, American Society for Theatre Research Conference: Boston, MA; Nov. 21, 2008.
Publications-Academic
“Review of Miranda July’s New Society.” Theatre Journal Oct. 2015 (commissioned)
“Review of Russian Culture and Theatrical Performance in America, 1891-1933.” Theatre Journal (Mar. 2013)
“Review of Hot Off the Presses: The Curtiss Show Print Collection.” Broadside: Newsletter of the Theatre Library Association 38.1. (Fall 2010)
“Review of Nature Theatre of Oklahoma’s Romeo and Juliet.” Theatre Journal 62.4 (Dec. 2010)
Curriculum Development
The Art of the Now—Introduction to Theatre Textbook. Graduate team leader. Assisted OSU Theatre department faculty in developing text for Introduction to Theatre course. Supervised team of graduate contributors: edited, formatted, and contributed chapters to online-accessible text. Summer, 2012.
Administrative Experience
Graduate Coordinator of Academic Symposium. “The Brothel and the Factory: Staging Immigration and Women’s Labor.” Ohio State University. Feb. 3-4, 2012.
Co-Coordinator of Graduate Academic Symposium. “O! What Learning [Shakespeare] Is: Exploring Practices and Pedagogy of Renaissance Theatre.” Ohio State University. Feb. 11-12, 2011.
President. The Syndicate (Theatre Graduate Student Organization). Presides over Syndicate meetings, addresses concerns and issues facing theatre graduate students, coordinates annual graduate symposium. Fall 2010-Spr. 2011.
“Breaking Ground” Staged Reading Committee. Graduate committee that organizes graduate-directed staged readings of original or under-produced plays. Ohio State University. Spring 2010-present.
Co-Coordinator of Graduate Academic Conference. “Finding Our Voice: Presentations of Performance and Pedagogy.” University of Wisconsin-Madison. Oct.6, 2007.
Service
Curriculum and Instruction Committee (Graduate Representative). Dept. of Theatre, Ohio State University. Winter 2012-Spring 2012.
Season Selection Committee (Graduate Representative). Reads and discusses potential productions for main stage seasons. Ohio State University, Fall 2009-Spr. 2010.
Archival Experience
Dr. Julie “Uberblonde” Vogt’s Archive of Burlesque Movement. Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute, Thompson Library, Ohio State University, Spring 2013.
Irene de Forest Collection. Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute, Thompson Library, Ohio State University, Winter 2013.
Ann Corio Collection. The Charles H. McCaghy Collection of Exotic Dance from Burlesque to Clubs. Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute, Thompson Library, Ohio State University, Winter 2012.
Carnival Collection. Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute, Thompson Library, Ohio State University, Summer 2011.
Honors and Awards
Post-Doctoral Teaching Fellow. OSU Department of Theatre: Fall 2014, Spring 2015.
Graduate Student Excellence Award. OSU Department of Theatre: Spring 2012, 2013.
Graduate Teaching Assistantship. OSU Department of Theatre: Fall 2008-Summer 2013.
John Morrow Fund. OSU Dept. of Theatre: Feb. 2009 ($150); Apr. 2010 ($300); Oct. 2010 ($150); Oct. 2011 ($150); Mar. 2013 ($200) for conference presentations
Aida Cannarsa Snow Fund. OSU Dept. of Theatre: June 2010 ($1,000); Oct. 2010 ($350); Oct. 2011 ($350); Mar. 2013 ($200) for conference presentations.
Arts and Humanities Graduate Small Research Grant. OSU, Columbus: $250 for international conference travel. July 2010
Helen K. Herman Scholarship. UW-Madison Dept. of Theatre: $500 for academic and creative achievements. Apr. 2007
Theatre Training and Workshops
Michael Chekhov Acting Technique Training Program. Led by the Great Lakes Michael Chekhov Acting Consortium. Kent State University, OH; June 15-21, 2014.
Introduction to Theatre of the Oppressed (workshop). Led by Augusto and Julian Boal,
Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Conference. Omaha, NE; May 22, 2008.
National Theatre Conservatory. Summer Adult Acting Intensive. Denver, CO; June 2004.
Professional Memberships
American Society for Theatre ResearchOct. 2008-present
International Federation for Theatre ResearchMarch 2010-present
Association for Theatre in Higher EducationJune 2009-present
Mid-America Theatre ConferenceMar. 2013-present
Languages
Reading proficiency in Spanish, Beginning Russian
1
Decker CV
References
Lesley Ferris
The Ohio State University
Distinguished Professor of Theatre
1849 Cannon Drive
Columbus, Ohio 43210
614-292-0829
Frederick Luis Aldama
The Ohio State University
Distinguished Professor of English
421 Denney Hall
164 W Seventeenth Av
Columbus, OH 43210
614-247-8890
Jennifer Schlueter
Assistant Professor of Theatre
Department of Theatre
The Ohio State University
1849 Cannon Drive
Columbus, Ohio 43210
614-688-0428
Nena Couch
Associate Professor of Theatre
Department of Theatre
The Ohio State University
119C Thompson Library
1858 Neil Ave Mall
Columbus, OH 43210
614-292-9606
Dionne Custer Edwards
Educator, School Programs
Wexner Center for the Arts
Columbus, Ohio 43210
614-292-7008
Manon van de Water
University of Madison-Wisconsin
Professor and Chair of Theatre Production
Director of Theatre for Youth
821 University Ave
Madison, WI 53706
608-263-2329