Jonathan Chambers

Courses Taught :

• THFM 7810: Research and Publication

• THFM 7750: Modernism in Theatre and Performance

• THFM 7740: Contemporary Theatre and Performance

• THFM 7730: Critical Traditions in Theatre/Performance II

• THFM 7720: Critical Traditions in Theatre/Performance I

• THFM 7660: Theatre and Performance History: Ancient-16th Century: Greek Tragedy

• THFM 7620: Directing and Staging Theory

• THFM 7600: Theatre/Performance Pedagogy and Professional Development

• THFM 6620: Theatrical Visions: Postmodern Theory/Postmodern Theatre

• THFM 6820: Theatrical Visions: Performance Criticism

• THFM 6820: Theatrical Visions: Brecht and the Brechtian Legacy

• THFM 6700: History of Theatre in the Americas: Modernism, the U.S., and Theatre

• THFM 6670: Staging Image and Text

• THFM 6610: Theatre/Performance in Cultural Contents II

• THFM 6590: Research Methods in Theatre and Performance Studies

• THFM 4350: Acting: Topics and Applications; : Devising

• THFM 3950: Workshop in Current Topics: London Theatre Experience (with Sara Lipinski Chambers)

• THFM 3450: Acting: Topics and Applications: Physical Theatre and Non-Realism

• THFM 3450: Acting: Topics and Applications: Greek Tragedy

• THFM 3440: Acting: Character and Range

• THFM 2410: Acting: Principles

• In addition to regular courses taught, Dr. Chambers has served as an advisor on over 20 PhD dissertations

Institutions/Professional Companies with which Dr. Chambers has worked:

Before coming to Bowling Green State University, Dr. Chambers taught at St. Lawrence University.  In addition to his faculty appointment in the Department of Theatre and Film, he served as Acting Associate Dean of the BGSU Graduate College. He is the producer of Broken Spectacle Productions, and independent theatre company he runs with Sara Lipinski Chambers.

Production or Film Credits: 

Dr. Chambers’ work onstage and behind-the-scenes is extensive. He has served as director for Bowling Green State University’s productions of She Stoops to Conquer (2004), Quiet In the Land ( 2005), Unity, 1918 (2007), The Importance of Being Ernest (2009), Bloody Poetry (2011), The Arabian Nights (2012), The Seagull ( 2012), Blue/Orange (2014), Urinetown (2015), Middletown (2016), Twelfth Night (2017), Diana of Dobson’s (2017), The Threepenny Opera (2018), and Mr. Burns, a post-electric play (2019). During the 2022-2023 academic year, he will direct Evil Dead: The Musical. With Broken Spectacle he has directed Exit, Pursued by a Bear (2014), The Christians (2017), and played the role of Bob in Swimming in the Shallows (2015). More recently, he played the role of Steve in the Black Swamp Players production of August: Osage County (2022).

Union or Professional Organizations:

• ATHE (Association for Theatre in Higher Education)

• ATDS (American Theatre & Drama Society)

• MATC (Mid-America Theatre Conference)

• ASTR (American Society for Theatre Research)

Research / Publications: 

Most recently, Dr. Chambers edited The Director in the Company, a volume in the North American Stage Directors series published by Bloomsbury Methuen. He has also co-edited a volume of essays with Dr. Stephannie Gearhart of the BGSU Department of English, Reversing the Cult of Speed in Higher Education: The Slow Movement in the Arts and Humanities, published by Routledge.  His book, Messiah of the New Technique: John Howard Lawson, Communism and American Theatre, 1923-1937, was published by Southern Illinois University Press. Dr. Chambers’ essays and reviews are published in numerous journals and as chapters in edited anthologies, on a wide variety of topics including contemporary experimental theatre, acting pedagogy, and theatre and the political left.. He has served as editor of the journal, Theatre Topics, as Vice President for Research and Publication for ATHE, and as President of ATDS. Dr. Chambers is the 2016 recipient of the Betty Jean Jones Award, given by ATDS to an individual who has demonstrated excellence in the teaching of American Theatre.