The best way to learn more about MATC is get to know the people who make it happen!
Click through the tabs below to learn more about the Executive Committee, Symposia Co-Chairs, Respondents, Committees, Fellows, and lastly, ways to get involved!
President:
Nathan Bowman, Benedictine College
president@matc.us
Vice President:
Macy Jones, University of the Ozarks
Interim Conference Planner:
Elaine Hendriks Smith, Florida State University
planner@matc.us
Interim Associate Conference Planner:
Frederick D. Miller, University of Pittsburgh
associate_planner@matc.us
External Communications Officer:
VACANT
webmaster@matc.us
Internal Communications Officer:
Karen M. Dabney, University of Virginia (UVA Acts)
internalcomm@matc.us
secretary@matc.us
Treasurer:
VACANT
treasurer@matc.us
Accessibility Officer:
Kristi Good, Carnegie Mellon University
access@matc.us
Graduate Student Representatives:
Frederick D. Miller, University of Pittsburgh
Jordan Mattson, Florida State University
Meg Nelson, Florida State University
grad_rep@matc.us
Immediate Past President:
Cason Murphy, Iowa State University
Theatre History Symposium (theatre_history@matc.us)
Mike Franz, University of Mississippi
Zach Dailey, University of Houston-Downtown
Playwriting Symposium (playwriting@matc.us)
Tiffany Antone, Iowa State University
Lucas Skjaret, Concord University
Graduate Liaison: Stacey Schiller, Baylor University
Practice/Production Symposium (practice_production@matc.us)
Cate Heiner, University of Washington
Bella Poynton, SUNY Oswego
Pedagogy Symposium (pedagogy@matc.us)
Karie Miller, Grinnell College
Sam Collier, University of Colorado-Boulder
Emerging Scholars Panel (emerging_scholars@matc.us)
Greer Gerni, University of Missouri - Kansas City
Alex Stahl, Independent Scholar
Graduate Student Liaisons (grad_rep@matc.us)
Frederick D. Miller, University of Pittsburgh
Jordan Mattson, Florida State University
Meg Nelson, Florida State University
Articles-in-Progress and Pitch-Your-Book (article_session@matc.us & book_pitch@matc.us)
Stefano Boselli, University of Nevada Las Vegas
Sean Bartley, Northwestern State University
Conference Planning
Elaine Hendriks-Smith, Interim Conference Planner
Frederick D. Miller, Interim Associate Conference Planner
IDEALS Committee
At the 2025 conference in Atlanta, the Accesibility, Anti-Racism, and Land Acknowledgment committees combined into the IDEALS Committee: Inclusivity, Diversity, Equality, Access, Land Acknowledgment, and Sustainability.
Haley Anissa Alvarez
Karen Dabney
Lynn Deboeck
Kristi Good
Emily Goodell
Rebecca Jackson
Yuko Kurahashi
Karin Maresh
David Melendez
David Peterson
Skye Strauss
Theatre History Studies, the Journal of the Mid-America Theatre Conference
Editor:
Jocelyn L. Buckner, Chapman University
ths.editor@matc.us
Associate Editor:
Dennis Sloan, DePauw University
Book Review Editor:
Kellen Hoxworth, University at Buffalo - SUNY
ths.book.editor@matc.us
Theatre/Practice: The Online Journal of the Practice/Production Symposium of MATC
Editor:
Karin Waidley, University of Michigan
thr.practice.editor@matc.us
Theatre History Symposium Respondents
Dr. Michelle Granshaw, University of Pittsburgh
Michelle Granshaw is an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Theatre Arts at the University of Pittsburgh. Her book, Irish on the Move: Performing Mobility in American Variety Theatre was published in 2019 by the University of Iowa Press. Her essays have appeared in Theatre Survey, Popular Entertainment Studies, Nineteenth Century Theatre and Film, Theatre Topics, New England Theatre Journal, and the Journal of American Drama and Theatre. She is a past co-chair of the MATC Theatre History Symposium and current President of ATDS.
Dr. Isaiah Wooden, Swarthmore University
Isaiah Matthew Wooden is a scholar-artist, writer, and Associate Professor and Chair of Theater at Swarthmore College. He is the author of Reclaiming Time: Race, Temporality, and Black Expressive Culture (2025) and co-editor of August Wilson in Context (2025), Tarell Alvin McCraney: Theater, Performance, and Collaboration (2020), and “Manifestos for Black Theatre, Then and Now,” a special section of Theatre History Studies (2024). Additionally, he served as the volume editor for the Methuen student edition of A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (2025). Wooden’s articles and essays on contemporary art, drama, and performance have appeared in numerous scholarly and popular publications. As a director and dramaturg, he has collaborated on projects in venues ranging from the Uganda National Theatre to the Kennedy Center, including works by Lorraine Hansberry, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Lynn Nottage, and Robert O’Hara.
Playwriting Symposium Respondent
TJ Young, Carnegie Mellon University
TJ Young is a Texas-born playwright and dramaturg based in Pittsburgh, where he serves as co-representative for the Dramatists Guild - Pittsburgh region. His plays include WE FLY, The Inseparables (Pittsburgh Public Theatre Commission), Isle of Noises (James Madison University Commission), No. 6 (2017 Harold and Mimi Steinberg Award Winner – KCACTF, Indiana Rep), Lyon’s Den (2018 Harold and Mimi Steinberg Distinguished Achievement awardee), Ruby’s Baby Blue (2016 John Cauble Short Play Award Regional Finalist- KCACTF), Hell is Empty (2017 John Cauble Short Play Award Regional Finalist - KCACTF), and Sperm Donor Wanted (2023 L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award Finalist). He is the recipient of the 2017 Ken Ludwig Playwriting Scholarship. He was the 2019 Spotlight Artist of Throughline Theatre Company in Pittsburgh, PA. He received his MFA in Dramatic Writing from Texas State University. He is also the NPP Chair for Region 2 of the American College Theatre Festival, where he also aids with the Playwriting Intensive and teaches workshops both at the regional and national levels. He is currently an Associate Professor of Dramaturgy at Carnegie Mellon University.
Pedagogy Symposium Respondent
More info coming soon!
We would like to extend our thanks and gratitude to the following faculty mentors who have each donated their time and expertise to our 2026 cohort of Emerging Scholars.
Vicki Hoskins, San Francisco State University
Macy Jones, University of the Ozarks
Noe Montez, Emory University
Jesse Njus, Virginia Commonwealth
Amanda Olmstead, University of Pittsburgh & Carnegie Mellon University
Jodi Van Der Horn-Gibson, Queensborough CC, CUNY
MATC Fellow honorees are persons who have made a significant contribution to the theatre.
Arthur Ballet, 1988
Jed Davis, 1988
Patricia Mcllrath, 1988
Charles Shattuck, 1990
Ron Engle, 1993
Burnet Hobgood, 1994
Glen Q. Pierce, 1997
Julia Curtis, 1999
Tice Miller, 2001
Felicia Londre, 2002
Robert Schanke, 2002
Weldon Durham, 2003
Fergus Currie, 2005
Billy J. Harbin, 2006
Kent Neely, 2006
Judith Zivanovic, 2006
John Poole, 2009
Bill Jenkins, 2010
Rosemarie K. Bank, 2012
Dorothy Chansky, 2015
Cheryl Black, 2015
Rhona Justice-Malloy, 2015
Jon Herbert, 2015
Anne Fletcher, 2015
Mark E. Mallett, 2017
Stuart Hecht, 2022
Ann Haugo, 2023
Henry Bial, 2024
Shannon Walsh, 2024
Yuko Kurahashi, 2025
This year, we seek nominations and self-nominations for the following positions, which will be elected by the membership at MATC:
External Communications Officer (2-year term, Organizational Leadership)
Internal Communications Officer (2-year term, Organizational Leadership)
Accessibility Officer (2-year term, Organizational Leadership)
Associate Conference Planner (2-year term, Conference Planning Track)
Graduate Student Liaison (2-year term, Graduate Liaison Track, elected by graduate student members only)
Co-Chairs for the following symposia:
Theatre History
Pedagogy
Practice/Production
Emerging Scholars
Articles-in-Progress / Pitch Your Book
Nominations Process
Please send all information requested below to the NE Committee at vicepresident@matc.us.
To nominate an individual other than yourself:
Submit a letter of nomination (no more than 1 page)
The individual's contact information
To self-nominate:
Send a brief description (no more than 500 words) of your qualifications and plans for the office
A current CV
Please note: nomination statements will be shared with the membership via digital platforms.
The deadline for all nominations is March 5, 2026.
For more information on MATC, please see the website (http://matc.us) or contact Macy Jones at vicepresident@matc.us.