Dr. Shawna Mefferd Kelty received her B.A. in Dramatic Arts from the University of
Nebraska-Omaha, her M.A. and Ph.D. in Theatre from the University of Missouri. Emphases
in her graduate work include directing and performance theory, critical theory, higher
education, and a minor in psychoanalytic theory. She is a current associate member
of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) and a 200-RYT and 85-hour
PRYT yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance.
At heart, Dr. Mefferd Kelty is a generalist, with a strong love of the literature,
history, theory, and production of theatre. Her experiences and interests in theatre
are broad ranging from performance, directing, and technical production to dramatic
literature, history, and theory. Dr. Mefferd Kelty’s performances have been numerous
and varied, ranging from classical to contemporary. She has directed and performed
in several original works (two off-Broadway directing credits). She also worked as
both performer and facilitator in two Theatre of the Oppressed interactive theatre
troupes. Her theatre work also extends into technical theatre as a master electrician,
scene shop supervisor, and a technical director among other backstage roles. She is
also an avid runner (5K to marathon), yogi, and yoga instructor, and encourages her
students to find an embodied practice that strengthens them physically, mentally,
and spiritually.
Dr. Mefferd Kelty currently teaches Theatre History, Dramatic Literature, Directing,
and Performance at SUNY Plattsburgh as an associate professor. Her research and creative
scholarship focuses on contemporary American theatre and dramatic literature, new
play development, and theatre pedagogy. She is the associate editor of Lanford Wilson: Early Stories, Sketches, and Poems (2017). You can find her most recent research in Theatre/Practice (theatrepractice.us).
Dr. Mefferd Kelty is the drama editor for The Saranac Review. She also serves as the theatre representative in Faculty Senate (former 2015–16
Faculty Senate Chair) and is a current member of the Writing Across the Curriculum
committee.
On the national and regional stage, Dr. Mefferd Kelty is the current conference planner
for the Mid-America Theatre Conference. She also serves on the Association of Theatre
in Higher Education governing council as the member at large for outreach and is the
Theatre as a Liberal Art Focus Group immediate-past representative. Dr. Mefferd Kelty
also serves as the co-vice chair for the Region I Kennedy Center American College
Theatre Festival and is co-coordinator of the Region I Fringe Festival. She serves
as a regional play respondent and selector.
She leaves you with a quote from one of her heroes, John Patrick Shanley. Although
he wrote it with actors in mind, it is relevant to all theatre artists:
“Theatre is a safe place to do the unsafe things that need to be done…. An actor who
is truly heroic reveals the divine that passes through him, that aspect of himself
that he does not own and cannot control. The control and the artistry of the heroic
actor is in service to his soul.”
“We Have Lift-Off: The Pedagogy of Radical Empathy for First-Year Student Success,”
Theatre/Practice 7, (2018). Article.
Lanford Wilson: Early Stories, Sketches and Poetry. Crespy, David, editor and Shawna Mefferd Kelty, associate editor. Columbia: University
of Missouri Press, Fall 2017. Book.
“Theatre & Mind,” Theatre History Studies 33 (2014): 258-260. Book Review.
“New Directions in Renaissance Drama and Performance Studies,” Theatre History Studies
32 (2012): 191-194. Book Review.
Fashion by Anna Cora Mowatt, SUNY Plattsburgh, Adaptation with THE305 Students, 2016.
The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare, SUNY Plattsburgh, Adaptation, 2013.
I Hear They Drink Champagne, co-authored with Erin Phillips, PlaySlam, Great Plains Theatre Conference, Omaha,
NE, 2013.
“Performing the Victor/Representing the Enemy Across the 49th Parallel: Contested
Territories, Histories, and Identities of the War of 1812,” American Theatre and Drama
Society Focus Group, ATHE, Aug 2018, Boston, MA.
“Spinning Truth(s,) Myths, Gossip, and Facts in the Theatre History Classroom,” Pedagogy
Symposium, MATC, March 2018, Milwaukee, WI.
“We Have Lift-Off: Discovering the Intellectual and Creative Universe through the
Theatre First Year Seminar,” Pedagogy Symposium, MATC, March 2017, Houston, TX.
“Disrupting the Classroom: Subversive Pedagogy in the Undergraduate and Graduate Classroom,”
Co-presentation with Dr. Emily Daniels, Conference on Teaching Excellence, October
2016, Plattsburgh, NY.
“Creating Gender Parity through Women’s Works in the Classroom,” Pedagogy Symposium,
MATC, March 2016, Minneapolis, MN.
“Dream Big: Artistic Literacy for the 21st Century,” Roundtable discussion, Theatre
as a Liberal Art focus group, ATHE, July 2014, Scottsdale, AZ.
“Developing Ensemble and Engaged-Learners through Liberatory Pedagogy,” Pedagogy Symposium,
MATC, March 2014, Cleveland, OH.
