(PTHTR)
The PhD in Theatre at LSU is a scholarly degree consisting of two or more years of in-person coursework in theatre and performance history, theory, criticism, and practice. This coursework then leads to the student proposing, researching, writing, and defending a substantial intervention into a critical subfield of theatre and performance studies (i.e., the dissertation). The PhD in Theatre is the terminal degree for academic studies of theatre and performance (as opposed to the MFA, the terminal degree for training in acting, playwriting, directing, or design). We welcome dedicated researchers as well as practitioners who seek to complement their production skills with a rigorous engagement with theatre history, theory, and criticism.
The PhD faculty are committed to providing students with the necessary tools to compete in a rapidly diversifying job market. We focus on honing students’ skills in writing rigorous scholarship, teaching a broad range of theatre classes, and enhancing production experiences, especially in the areas of dramaturgy and directing. Our students become nimble and adaptive teachers and scholars, able to occupy an array of positions in professional and/or academic theatre.
The program’s curriculum provides students with a broad knowledge of theatre historiography, theory, literature, and criticism. In addition, students pursue a minor area of study in a field outside theatre, such as Women’s and Gender Studies, Performance Studies, History, Comparative Literature, Anthropology, or English. Our faculty balances our program’s generalist foundation with expertise in gender and queer studies, critical race theory, African and African diasporic studies, political performance, and sports history. We mentor students as teaching assistants and instructors for undergraduate classes, including Introduction to Theatre, Theatre History, Script Analysis, Acting, and Directing. Students also have the opportunity to design and propose Special Topics courses in their third or fourth year. Since most academic positions for PhD Theatre graduates require production work, we strongly encourage PhD students to participate in LSU productions as actors, directors, playwrights, designers, and/or dramaturgs.
Our program is tailored to suit the needs and goals of each student within a structured curriculum. Once students choose a major advisor at the end of coursework (usually in the third year), they work with that faculty member to ensure they spend the remainder of their time acquiring the necessary experience to prepare them for the position they seek, be it inside or outside academia. Our students’ dissertations are similarly crafted towards the audience that the student hopes to work with, whether academic, professional, or both. Our students go on to become professors at research one and liberal arts institutions, professors at community colleges, teachers in public and private high schools, and dramaturgs and literary managers at professional theatres.
Recent dissertation topics include toxic masculinity in the American Musical; abolitionist approaches to performances at Angola State Penitentiary; asexual readings of canonical plays; roleplaying games as performance texts; cryptid tourism as performance; an organizational history and analysis of the Orlando Fringe Festival; theatre for children in Christian megachurches; and Nigerian standup comedy.
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