Department of Theatre, Film, and Media Arts

John E. Davidson: Film, History, and Memory in Post-War Germany

by

John E. Davidson, Professor of Germanic Languages and Literature and Founding Director of OSU’s Film Studies program, discusses film as a field of study and its power to shape social memory. Davidson outlines recent research on the postwar “disappearance of race” in Germany and the work of Dadaist Hans Arp and his contemporaries. He also talks about his role as Faculty Athletics Representative, which he’s held since 2015, advising on academic issues, compliance, and student-athlete wellbeing, offering views on NIL and skepticism about a proposed “sports” major.

VoE – John E. DavidsonDownload

 Behind the Curtain with Professor EJ Westlake 

by

 EJ Westlake, Professor and Chair of Theatre, Film and Media Arts, shares insights into her vast and varied work with plays, which includes her experiences directing, writing, and conducting research. She discusses her award-winning play about Amelia Earhart’s life, exploits, and ultimate tragedy. She also speaks on her many research and academic interests, including historical pageants, Nicaraguan and Guatemalan theater, and the larger scale of global theater, which she writes about in the textbook World Theatre: The Basics, soon to be released in its second edition.

VoE – EJ WestlakeDownload

Kevin McClatchy, Ohio State’s Artist Laureate Works from the Heartbeat

by

Kevin McClatchy, Associate Professor of Theatre at Ohio State University, will serve as Ohio State’s Artist Laureate for the 2024-2025 academic year, focusing on expanding his projects to underserved communities in Ohio. He discusses his work with the Shakespeare and Autism Project, which uses theater games based on Shakespeare’s texts to help autistic children express themselves. McClatchy also describes the Hunter Heartbeat Method, which uses the rhythm of Shakespeare’s language to engage children. He also touches on his project working with military veterans, using Shakespeare to help them process their experiences and build a sense of community.

Kevin McClatchy transcriptDownload

Jennifer Schlueter: Making Found Text into Theatrical Events

by

So you’ve found a 28-volume transcription of a 1920s spiritualist who believed a thwarted seventeenth century authoress spoke through her. What do you do? Theatre Professor Jennifer Schlueter’s approach with this and other texts is to work with collaborators to create performance events built out of archival material. Listen in as she describes her process and how, with experimental work, sometimes failure is the best teacher.

Jennifer Schlueter_ Making Found Text into Theatrical Events_otter_aiDownload

Trailblazing Female Dance Giants Get New Attention Thanks to Harmony Bench

by

Katherine Dunham and Anna Pavlova were remarkable for their eras, and Harmony Bench describes how they brought innovations to dance, not only in their on-stage work but in how they traveled the world.

Trailblazing Female Dance Giants Get New Attention Thanks to Harmony Bench_otter_aiDownload