Theater Studies Welcomes Visiting Lecturer and Artist in Residence

The Department of Theater Studies welcomes Ryan Donovan, visiting lecturer in musical theater, and Juliana Kleist-Méndez, artist in residence, to the faculty for the 2021-2022 academic year. Donovan will teach several musical theater courses, and Kleist-Méndez will teach acting courses in addition to developing and presenting her performance work Fuller on February 3 through 5, 2022, in Sheafer Theater.

 

Ryan Donovan

Visiting Lecturer in Musical Theater:

Ryan Donovan specializes in musical theater, dance, and theories of the body. He is the author of Broadway Bodies: A Critical History, 1970-2020 (Oxford University Press, 2022) and co-editor of The Routledge Companion to Musical Theatre (2022). Teaching and research interests include disability studies, fat studies, and LGBTQ+ studies. He is currently working on his second book, Queer Approaches in Musical Theatre, and he serves on the editorial board of Studies in Musical Theatre. Prior to earning his Ph.D. at the City University of New York Graduate Center, he was a professional musical theater performer.

 

 

Juliana Kleist-Méndez

Visiting Artist in Residence:

Juliana Kleist-Méndez is an Iowa-born Cuban American committed to the power of resurrected stories and has dedicated her career to immersive new work projects, including: Rain Upon Remembrance (Cornell University); La Hija del Pirata (The Flagship Brewery), and Calafia at Liberty (La Jolla Playhouse’s WOW Festival). She has worked with new playwrights across the United States: Far From Canterbury (Winner of Best Musical: FringeNYC; Encores! at The SoHo Playhouse); Elvira: The Immigration Play with Si Se Puede Productions (CollaborAction Theatre Company, Chicago); and Club Silencio (Cuban Cultural Center of New York). California credits include: An Iliad; Duchess! Duchess! Duchess!; Backwaters (Wagner New Play Festival); The Humans (San Diego Rep-AD); Elektra; The Gathering, and her live, digital thesis production of Letters from Cuba. She holds an M.F.A. in Theatre Directing from University of California, San Diego.