Explore Theatre: A Backstage Pass, 2nd edition

About our authors

Michael M. O'Hara is a theatre historian, theorist and director; the Sursa Distinguished Professor of Fine Arts; and the Associate Dean of the College of Fine Arts at Ball State University. He is a leader in theatre pedagogy and technology, having published and/or presented more than 55 essays or lectures on the topic. He has produced or co-produced several documentaries on the arts or the arts in a digital world. Dr. O'Hara is also the President of the International Shaw Society, an associate editor for SHAW: The Journal of Bernard Shaw Studies, and the past Chair of the Theatre Division of the National Communication Association.

Elizabeth A. Osborne is a dramaturg, theatre historian and Associate Professor in Theatre Studies at Florida State University. She is an award-winning teacher with more than a decade of experience teaching Introduction to Theatre, in face-to-face, hybrid and fully online forms. Her chapter, “This is the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius: Reimagining Introduction to Theatre,” co-written with Shelby Lunderman, appears in New Directions in Teaching Theatre Arts, edited by Anne Fliotsos and Gail S. Medford. She wrote Staging the People: Community and Identity in the Federal Theatre Project (2011), co-edited Working in the Wings: New Perspectives on Theatre History and Labor (2015) with Christine Woodworth, and has been published in many journals and edited collections. Her current research delves into the roles performances play in the making and remaking of memory and history over time. She has served as the book review editor for the Journal of Dramatic Theatre and Criticism, is a member of the editorial board for the Journal of American Drama and Theatre, and is the President-Elect of the Mid-America Theatre Conference.

Judith A. Sebesta is an independent researcher, writer and consultant on change leadership and innovation in higher education. She was founding Executive Director for the Institute for Competency-Based Education and served as a policy analyst and Director of Innovation for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Prior to focusing on the broad landscape of higher education innovation and change, Sebesta was a tenured professor of theatre at 3 public universities, including the University of Arizona and the University of Missouri, and founding chair of the department of theatre and dance at Lamar University. She has published widely on musical theatre, higher education and competency-based education. She currently teaches Introduction to Theatre online for Texas A&M University-Commerce.