Faculty Profile
Karen Kirkham
Charles A. Dana Professor of Theatre; (1999)
Contact Information
Montgomery House Room 4
717-245-1335
Bio
Karen Lordi-Kirkham has extensive experience directing in both regional and academic settings. She is currently the Executive Artistic Director of Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake, N.Y. She has directed for the Jean Cocteau Repertory, Handcart Ensemble and Phoenix Ensemble in NYC, the Attic Theater in Los Angeles (where she received the Drama Logue’s Award for Best Director and Production). She has directed productions ranging from musicals to new plays, including the world premiere of Andre Gregory’s Bone Songs, for which she also served as the dramaturg working extensively with Gregory pre-publication of the script. Highlights include directing Julie Harris in the world premiere of Peter Dee’s Amber Patches, touring shows to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Berlin, assisting Marshall Mason for the Broadway production of Lanford Wilson’s Redwood Curtain and assisting Jiri Zizka and being dramaturg for the Wilma Theater’s production of Stoppard’s Every Good Boy Deserves Favor with the Philadelphia orchestra. She has additional experience in dance and movement-based theater. She graduated with a MFA and DFA from the Yale School of Drama, where she was the artistic director of the Yale Summer Cabaret.
Education
- B.A., Rutgers University, 1989
- M.F.A., Yale University, 1992
- D.F.A., 1997
2024-2025 Academic Year
Fall 2024
THDA 190 Production and Performance
A laboratory experience in the creation and performance of theatre production. Under the guidance of faculty, students will explore the interpretive processes by which theatre productions are rehearsed, built and presented. Carries .5 academic credit. Credit/no credit. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor based on an open audition process for performance or application process for production. Two .5 academic credits of this course can be used to satisfy the Arts distribution requirement.
THDA 319 Dramaturgy
What is a dramaturg? This course will answer that question through theoretical and applied investigations of dramatic texts in historical, literary, and performative contexts. Always keeping in sight the idea of theater as a collaborative production-focused art, students will practice research, text analysis, genres of writing for/about the theater and dramaturgical roles on various kinds and aspects of production. A dramaturgical casebook for a proposed play or department production will be the culminating assignment. Prerequisite: 101 or 201 or permission of instructor.
THDA 495 Senior Project
A culminating experience for students completing the Theatre major with emphasis in Dramatic Literature, Acting/Directing, or Dance. The specific nature of projects will be determined on an individual basis, but all senior projects will consist of at least two of the following: a) scholarship, b) technical/production work, and c) performance. Students will register for .5 course credit in the fall semester, during which planning and research will be conducted, and .5 in the spring, during which presentation of the project will occur. Prerequisite: four .25 course credits in THDA 190.
Spring 2025
THDA 203 Acting I
An introduction to the principles and theories of acting combined with practical exercises and scene performance. This course fulfills the Arts distribution requirement.
THDA 205 Directing
A study of the major techniques employed by stage directors. Visual theory, text analysis, collaborative techniques, and organizational strategies are examined and applied in class exercises including the direction of scenes. Prerequisite: 203.
THDA 302 Theatre and the Environment
This class will investigate theater's historic and contemporary engagement with the environment. Students will explore green practice in theater, theater linked to climate action and the practice of site-specific work in outdoor environments. The course will culminate in an outdoor production as part of exploring the complications and methodology surrounding the intersection of theatre practice and environmentalism.
THDA 495 Senior Project
A culminating experience for students completing the Theatre major with emphasis in Dramatic Literature, Acting/Directing, or Dance. The specific nature of projects will be determined on an individual basis, but all senior projects will consist of at least two of the following: a) scholarship, b) technical/production work, and c) performance. Students will register for .5 course credit in the fall semester, during which planning and research will be conducted, and .5 in the spring, during which presentation of the project will occur. Prerequisite: four .25 course credits in THDA 190.