Sylvan Oswald
Sylvan Oswald, Associate Professor and Head of Playwriting (he/him). He has been writing roles for trans actors since 2000. In 2022 his show High Winds toured to Fusebox and TBA Festivals while his play Pony was produced at Portland Theater Festival and Cutting Ball Theater. In 2020, Trainers: A Theatrical Essay premiered at London’s Gate Theatre, A Kind of Weather premiered at Diversionary Theater, and High Winds was published in the journal Theater. A recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship for 2019-20, Sylvan is an alum of New Dramatists, and an affiliated artist with Clubbed Thumb. sylvanoswald.xyz @sylvanoswald
Dominic Taylor
Dominic Taylor, Professor and Acting Head of the Theater Department, (he/his) is a writer-director whose work has been seen across the country. He is the former associate artistic director of Penumbra Theatre Company in St. Paul, Minn., one of the premiere African-American theaters in the country. There he utilized his unique culturally specific play development process called OKRA. Taylor has reshaped UCLA’s curriculum for African-American theater with a cycle of courses that begin in 1619 and go through contemporary African-American life. He is an alumnus of New Dramatists.
Edit Villarreal
Edit Villarreal, a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, is a playwright and screenwriter. Her plays have been produced across the country at Yale Repertory Theater, San Jose Repertory Theater, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, A Contemporary Theater in Seattle and numerous community teatros, colleges and high schools. Television credits include “La Carpa” which aired nationally on PBS. Villarreal was also part of the creative team which developed the critically acclaimed 4-part “Foto-Novelas” series, which also aired nationally on PBS.Faculty Emeritus
Hanay Geiogamah
Hanay Geiogamah, Professor, is active in theater as a writer, director and producer. He founded both the Native American Theater Ensemble, the first professional Native troupe, and the American Indian Dance Theater. He has also worked extensively in film and television.His productions have toured all around the world. He has been a leading creative force in the development of ceremonial theater and performance and also in supporting Native American performing arts in tribal communities and reservations across the country as well as academia. His publications include New Native American Drama, Three Plays; Ceremony, Spirituality and Ritual in Native American Performance: A Creative Notebook; and the eight-volume series American Indian Theater, Plays and Performing Arts Studies
Hanay Geiogamah, Professor, is active in theater as a writer, director and producer. He founded both the Native American Theater Ensemble, the first professional Native troupe, and the American Indian Dance Theater. He has also worked extensively in film and television.His productions have toured all around the world. He has been a leading creative force in the development of ceremonial theater and performance and also in supporting Native American performing arts in tribal communities and reservations across the country as well as academia. His publications include New Native American Drama, Three Plays; Ceremony, Spirituality and Ritual in Native American Performance: A Creative Notebook; and the eight-volume series American Indian Theater, Plays and Performing Arts Studies
Recent Lecturers, Adjunct Faculty and Guests.
- Nilo Cruz, Hearst Playwright-in-Residence
- Perry Daniel, Theater Artist
- Alana Dietz, Director
- Anna Fox, Playwright
- Cara Hinh, Director
- Eric Hoff, Director
- Patrick Hurley, Playwright
- Jessica Kubzansky, Co-Artistic Director, Theater @ Boston Court, Pasadena
- Jennie Liu, Choreographer
- Bruce A. Lemon Jr., Director
- Sara Lyons, Director
- Charles McNulty, Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times
- Roxie Perkins, Director
- Christina Roussos, Director
- Celine Song, Playwright
- Tyler Thomas, Director
- Paula Vogel, Hearst Playwright-in-Residence
- Perry Daniel, Theater Artist
- Alana Dietz, Director
- Anna Fox, Playwright
- Cara Hinh, Director
- Eric Hoff, Director
- Patrick Hurley, Playwright
- Jessica Kubzansky, Co-Artistic Director, Theater @ Boston Court, Pasadena
- Jennie Liu, Choreographer
- Bruce A. Lemon Jr., Director
- Sara Lyons, Director
- Charles McNulty, Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times
- Roxie Perkins, Director
- Christina Roussos, Director
- Celine Song, Playwright
- Tyler Thomas, Director
- Paula Vogel, Hearst Playwright-in-Residence
