VISITING ARTISTS
GUEST ARTISTS AND LECTURERS
Every year the School of Theatre hosts international and national guest artists from every spectrum of professional and educational theatre to work closely with theatre majors and minors. Guest artists work on productions, develop new work, offer weekend workshops, or serve as semester long guest artist(s) in-residence. Recent guest artists include:
2021 – 2022
MARC DE LA
CONCHA
Link to Full Profile
2020-2021
LYNN NOTTAGE
American Playwright and screenwriter and only woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for drama twice.
STEPHANIE J.
BLOCK
Stephanie has established herself as one of the most relevant and versatile voices in contemporary musical theatre. She most recently won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, as well as winning The Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Award for her STAR turn in THE CHER SHOW.
SOSHANA
BEAN
Shoshana is a veteran of the Broadway stage having made her debut in the original cast of Hairspray, starring as the very first replacement for Elphaba in Wicked and most recently as Jenna in Waitress.
JULIA
MURNEY
Julia Murney last appeared on Broadway as Elphaba in Wicked after playing the role on the national tour for which she received an Acclaim Award.
DR. VANESSA
CORNETT
Dr. Vanessa Cornett is an associate professor of music at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis–St. Paul. She is author of the book The Mindful Musician: Mental Skills for Peak Performance (Oxford University Press, 2019).
LAUREN HAUGHTON GILLIS
Lauren Haughton Gillis is a performer, director, and choreographer. She performed on Broadway in Wicked. She was in the original casts of Turn of the Century directed by Tommy Tune.
SEBASTIAN ARCELUS
After taking on the role of Buddy in Elf, Fiyero in Wicked, Bob Gaudio in Jersey Boys and Roger in Rent on Broadway, Sebastian Arcelus traded in his more lighthearted musical fare for the role of Jake Brigance in the new stage adaptation of A Time To Kill.
MURPHY TAYLOR SMITH
Students got to work closely with Smith on one of the Spartan New Musicals, Radio: A Musical Ghost Story. Murphy Taylor Smith is a trans woman musical theatre writer, performer, and musician.
EMERSON MAE SMITH
Students got to work closely with Smith on one of the Spartan New Musicals, Radio: A Musical Ghost Story. Emerson Mae Smith is a trans woman creator and writer interested in telling unusual stories about queer life in the 21st century.
MADELINE MYERS
Students got to work closely with Myers on Flatbush Avenue. Madeline Myers is a composer and lyricist for musical theater in New York City.
J. QUINTON JOHNSON
Students got to work on One Week at Woolworths with Johnson. Johnson made his Broadway debut as HERCULES MULLIGAN/JAMES MADISON in Hamilton, completing 500 performances.
MELVIN TUNSTALL III
North Carolina native Melvin Tunstall is an Off Broadway Alliance Award Winning Playwright for his TYA Phenomenon Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical, currently on its first National Tour.
BETTY SIEGEL
Betty Siegel has specialized in arts and disability issues for over 30 years starting at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. and now as Director of VSA and Accessibility at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
LAURA PAPPANO
Laura Pappano is an award-winning journalist, community leader and author of Inside School Turnarounds (2010), co-author of Playing With the Boys (2008) and author of The Connection Gap (2001).
KELVIN DINKINS, JR.
Kelvin Dinkins, Jr. is the Assistant Dean and Lecturer in Theater Management for Yale School of Drama and the General Manager of Yale Repertory Theatre. Kelvin frequently joins our Scaffolding for Change Committee meetings to help lead activities and facilitate conversations.