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:
Cason Murphy, Iowa State University
president@matc.us
Vice President:
Nathan Bowman, Benedictine College
Conference Planner:
Brandon LaReau, Independent Scholar
planner@matc.us
Associate Conference Planner:
Elaine Hendriks-Smith, Florida State University
associate_planner@matc.us
External Communications Officer:
Macy Jones, University of the Ozarks
webmaster@matc.us
Internal Communications Officer:
Karen M. Dabney, University of Virginia (UVA Acts)
internalcomm@matc.us
secretary@matc.us
Treasurer:
Merrit Pope
treasurer@matc.us
Accessibility Officer:
Kristi Good, Carnegie Mellon University
access@matc.us
Graduate Student Representatives:
Alivia Cross, The Pennsylvania State University
Frederick D. Miller, University of Pittsburgh
grad_rep@matc.us
Immediate Past President:
Shawna Mefferd Kelty, SUNY Plattsburgh
Theatre History Symposium (theatre_history@matc.us)
Dennis Sloan, DePauw University
Mike Franz, University of Mississippi
Playwriting Symposium (playwriting@matc.us)
Bella Poynton, SUNY Oswego State University
Tiffany Antone, Iowa State University
Graduate Liaison: Lucas Skjaret, Concord University
Practice/Production Symposium (practice_production@matc.us)
Kassy Skoretz, Anoka-Ramsey Community College
Cate Heiner, University of Washington
Pedagogy Symposium (pedagogy@matc.us)
Slade Billew, Stephen F. Austin State University
Karie Millie, Grinnell College
Emerging Scholars Panel (emerging_scholars@matc.us)
Rachel Bauer, Sacred Heart University
Greer Gerni, University of Missouri - Kansas City
Graduate Student Liaisons (grad_rep@matc.us)
Alivia Cross, The Pennsylvania State University
Frederick D. Miller, University of Pittsburgh
Articles-in-Progress and Pitch-Your-Book (article_session@matc.us & book_pitch@matc.us)
Weston Twardowski, Rice University
Stefano Boselli, University of Nevada Las Vegas
Conference Planning
Brandon LaReau, Conference Planner
Elaine Hendriks-Smith, Associate Conference Planner
Frederick D. Miller
Accessibility
Kristi Good, Chair, Accessibility Officer
Kara Raphaeli, Committee Co-Chair
Suzi Elnaggar
Deborah Kochman
Anthony Trujillo
Cassandra White
Wesley Broulik
Anti-Racism
Dave Peterson, Co-Chair
Nayib Jean Baptise, Co-Chair
Lynn Deboeck, Co-Chair
Rebecca Jackson, Co-Chair
Yuko Kurahashi
Karen M. Dabney
Cason Murphy, ex officio
Land Acknowledgement
Christiana Molldrem Harkulich, Chair
Shannon Epplett
Emily Goodell
Ann Haugo
Heidi Nees
Greg Romero
Shawna Mefferd Kelty, ex officio
Theatre History Symposium Respondents
MARTINE KEI GREEN-ROGERS is the Dean of the Theatre School at DePaul University. Her dramaturgical work includes productions with Goodman Theatre, Salt Lake Acting Company, Court Theatre, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center, and Raven Theatre. She was also on the dramaturgical team for the remount of Jagged Little Pill on Broadway. She is the stage adaptor of Jason Reynolds' book Long Way Down which premiered at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in October of 2018. Her most recent publications are the book Contemporary Black Theatre and Performance: Acts of Rebellion, Activism, and Solidarity (co-editors Dr. DeRon S. Williams and Dr. Khalid Y. Log) and the article "Engineering an Artistic Scientific Method" in American Theatre Magazine. She is a proud member of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA) and President-Elect of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE).
NOE MONTEZ (he/him) is the author of Memory, Transitional Justice, and Theatre in Postdictatorship Argentina. He is also the editor of the translation of Argentine playwright Santiago Loza's work, titled Nothing to Do with Love and Other Plays, (co-edited with Samuel Buggeln) and the Routledge Companion to Latine Theatre and Performance (co-edited with Olga Sanchez Saltveit). Currently, he is writing a monograph about Black activism in contemporary U.S. sports and developing a project on the intersections between Critical University Studies and the discipline of Theatre and Performance Studies (with Ariel Nereson). From 2018-2021, Noe served as editor of Theatre Topics. Currently he is ASTR VP for Publications. Other publications include articles in Theatre Topics, Theatre History Studies, American Theatre, Latin American Theatre Review, Texas Theatre Journal, New England Theatre Journal, Howlround, and The Journal of Religion and Theatre. He has also contributed essays to the edited collections Public Theatres and Theatre Publics; Seeking Common Ground: Latinx and Latin American Performance; Sporting Performances: Politics and Play; Teaching Theatre/Theory in Today's Theatre Studio, Classroom, and Communities; and Celebrating Latino Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Cultural Traditions.
Playwriting Symposium Respondent
TOPHER PAYNE is the author of more than a dozen works for the stage, including PERFECT ARRANGEMENT, which was produced Off-Broadway by Primary Stages in 2015, and ANGRY F*GS, which was produced at Steppenwolf Garage that same year. Both of those plays, along with his work EVELYN IN PURGATORY, are published by Concord Theatricals. His most recent work, YOU ENJOY MYSELF, premiered at Local Theatre Company in Boulder, Colorado in 2023. His plays have been produced in 47 states (so close! Come on, Rhode Island!) and around the world. Topher is a Lambda Literary Award nominee, a winner of the Osborn Prize from The American Theatre Critics Association, a Suzi Bass Award winner for Outstanding World Premiere, a three-time winner of the Gene-Gabriel Moore Playwriting Award, and an inductee into the Georgia Theatre Hall of Fame. But if you ever meet his Mama, the first thing she'll tell you about are the six films he's scripted for The Hallmark Channel. He lives in Georgia with his husband, playwright Charlie James Cote, as well as a dog and a cat who tolerate each other beautifully.
Pedagogy Symposium Respondents
GREG GEFFRARD is an educator, Intimacy Director/Choreographer, culture worker, actor, poet, consultant and facilitator. He has been focused on cultivating consent-forward spaces of artistic creation for student and professional actors, directors, and stage managers; and both university and college faculty since 2012. He aspires to inspire the next generation of self-generators of radical joy. He has a background in sexual assault prevention education, consent-forward pedagogy focused on ensemble building utilizing the tenants of transformative justice, abolitionist and emergent strategy tools, empathy-building using spoken word poetry and anti-racist frameworks. As a Guiding Faculty member with Theatrical Intimacy Education, he has facilitated workshops at the collegiate and professional levels with a specific focus on cultural competency. He is on the planning committee for this years ATHE conference for the Directors Focus Group. His research primarily focuses on integrating intimacy practices into theatrical pedagogy to ensure that the principles of IDEAS (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access & Sustainability) are applied in praxis. He collaborates with arts organizations to examine their hierarchical structures through the lens of anti-racist practices. He has partnered with Steppenwolf Theatre, The Kennedy Center, the Renee Crown Wellness Institution, the Chicago Poetry Center, the Old Town School of Folk Music, Young Chicago Authors, and the Chicago Arts Partnership in Education to name a few. Greg holds a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance from the University Of Iowa and a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from the University Of South Florida. He is the Director of BFA Acting for Stage & Screen at Brenau University.
BRIDGET MCCARTHY is a multi-hyphenate theatre maker and currently serves as the Community Engagement Manager. Bridget has worked at the intersection of community activism, mental health, and theatre for over a decade and has partnered with transformative justice focused nonprofits like Recovery Rising, Justice Arts Coalition, Connecticut Department of Corrections, Georgia Department of Corrections, and New Haven Housing Authority as an applied theatre facilitator creating original pieces of community engagement theatre. In 2021, Bridget partnered with trauma therapist Amanda Edwards to pioneer the role of Mental Health Coordinator, co-founding the Association of Mental Health Coordinators. MHC is a new helping profession within the performing arts supporting responsible and compelling portrayal of mental health and challenging or traumatic themes. Within this role, Bridget has worked with Disney, Hulu, Onyx, ABC, Netflix, PassionFlix, Discovery, and many independent and student film projects as their inaugural Mental Health Coordinator. As an actor in her chosen home of Atlanta, Bridget lists previous favorite credits include: Peter and the Starcatcher, Circle Mirror Transformation, Midsummer…Dream (Stage Door Theatre), Henry V, Much Ado about Nothing, Hamlet (Atlanta Shakespeare Company), The Little Prince (Synchronicity Theatre), Matilda (OnStage Atlanta). As a therapist and trauma informed theatre maker, Bridget has worked at the intersection of theatre and mental health with dozens of institutions and universities, including Shakespeare and Company, Alliance Theatre, Geva Theatre, Ensemble Theatre, Shakespeare Behind Bars, and many more. Bridget holds a BA in Theatre and Spanish from Hope College, an MS in Clinical Counseling from New England College. Bridget is an Associate Professional Counselor (APC-GA) and pending registration as a Registered Expressive Art Therapist with the International Expressive Art Therapy Association (IETA). Additionally, Briddget holds certifications as a Trauma and Resilience Trainer (CTRT), a Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist (CCTS), and has pursued extensive post-masters education with Alder Graduate School as in Expressive Arts Therapist. Bridget's primary research interests center on trauma and resilience informed teaching artistry, expressive arts therapy as a social cohesion intervention, and psychosis and drama therapy. In 2020, they were recognized by Young Nonprofit Professionals of Atlanta as a member of their “30 Under 30” Cohort, and in 2024 named one of American Theatre Magazine’s “Theatre Workers to Watch”.
Theatre History Studies, the Journal of the Mid-America Theatre Conference
Editor:
Jocelyn L. Buckner, Chapman University
ths.editor@matc.us
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
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
MATC is an entirely volunteer-run organization. We are currently seeking people to fill the following leadership positions:
Vice-President (2-year term)
External Communications Officer (2-year term)
Graduate Student Liaison (2-year term, 1 as junior liaison and 1 as senior liaison)
Symposia Co-Chairs (2-year term, 1 as junior liaison and 1 as senior liaison)
Theatre History
Playwriting Symposium (Junior Co-Chair & Graduate Liaison)
Practice/Production
Pedagogy
Articles in Progress/Pitch Your Book
Emerging Scholars
To learn more about these positions, please click here.
To self-nominate and/or be nominated, please be sure to attend the 2025 MATC Business Meeting on Saturday at 2pm in the Georgia Ballroom, immediately following the Luncheon and Keynote Speaker.