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ASSISTANT OR ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR , THEATER AND PERFORMANCE

Employer
Occidental College
Location
California, United States
Salary
Commensurate with experience
Date posted
Jun 27, 2019

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Position Type
Faculty Positions, Arts, Performing Arts
Employment Level
Tenured/Tenured Track
Employment Type
Full Time

The Theater Department at Occidental College seeks a highly collaborative Theater and/or Performance Studies scholar and practitioner for a tenure-track position at the Assistant or Associate rank who will support and strengthen our current offerings in theater and performance scholarship as well as in acting and directing both in the classroom and in our department productions.

The ideal candidate is a practicing artist who has professional and collegiate directing credits and has strong connections to current scholarship and artistic trends in theater and live performance. This candidate should demonstrate both interest and expertise in a specific area of directing and scholarly or creative research, such as devised theater, community-based theater, applied theater, African- American Theater, Latino/a Theater, LGBTQ theater, or other areas of contemporary or international theater. We are looking for an innovative artist scholar excited to redefine courses and merge theory and practice in their teaching and directing. The new faculty member will diversify our courses and production offerings and share a strong desire to develop creative projects and curricular offerings with the Departments of Music, Art and Art History, and Media Arts and Culture (MAC). We want a colleague who can model the intersection of artistic practice and theory with us, and who is passionate about the potential of live performance to engage with issues of identity, politics, and social justice.

SUMMARY OF DUTIES, RESPONSIBILITIES AND GOALS

The department looks for a colleague who will commit:

  • to develop a truly interdisciplinary approach to the study and making of live performance in collaboration with colleagues, students, and guest artists from other disciplines, including our current collaborators in MAC and Music. Eventually, interdisciplinary collaborations in the classroom and in production should invite departments across the campus.
  • to make our commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion visible across campus.
  • to ensure that social justice and community based learning, practiced hand-in-hand with sophisticated artistry, will be cornerstones of our department.

Demonstrated leadership ability is expected in order to contribute to the management of the varied aspects of our program, including curricular innovation, season planning and publicity, recruitment and retention of a diverse community of theater students, support of our guest artist programs, fund-raising, and other initiatives.

We expect that in addition to teaching upper division acting courses (THEA 310 Acting 2) and courses in directing (THEA 310 Directing), this new hire will develop new courses in their area(s) of specialty and with interdisciplinary collaborators across campus. We expect that the successful candidate will have a demonstrated commitment to creating equitable opportunities for learning and for mentoring students, particularly underrepresented students. Of the typical course load of 5 4-unit courses, we expect that one of these courses will be to direct in our production program. In addition, we expect that on a rotating basis with other department faculty, this new hire will teach in the CORE Cultural Studies Program (CSP).

As one of the few urban liberal arts colleges in the country, Occidental affords students and faculty unique engagement with communities, cultural institutions, and academic resources throughout Los Angeles. The Theater Department leverages our urban location through rich partnerships with theater artists and companies in Los Angeles and our students regularly benefit from our location by working with these artists in the classroom and in production. Students also benefit from an active play going program. The Department is an active community participant through our regular curriculum and the Occidental Children’s Theater and its programs. For more information, please visit the Theater Department online.

QUALIFICATIONS
  • We seek a colleague with a Ph.D. and/or M.F.A. in directing, or equivalent professional experience in Performance Studies, Theater and Performance, or Applied Theater.
  • An excellent teaching record must be augmented by professional achievement as a scholar/artist in the areas of acting or directing and, in particular, devised theater, and/or community based theater.
  • Other areas of teaching, scholarship or artistic practice could include the study of race, gender, ethnicity, and identity as it is expressed in existing and original theatrical work.
  • The successful candidate will be expected to participate annually in our production program as a director and to mentor student directing and acting projects.
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

Candidates should send their application as an electronic file to Professor Susan Gratch at theatersearch@oxy.edu. A complete application will include the following materials:

(1) a cover letter detailing your interest in teaching at Occidental, a liberal arts institution with a mission of equity and excellence; a discussion of your scholarly and/or artistic practice; and a description of your teaching experience;

(2) a statement of teaching philosophy that includes a discussion of your commitment to, past evidence of, and future plans for creating equitable opportunities for learning and mentoring, especially for underrepresented students;

(3) a list and brief descriptions of the courses you could teach at Oxy;

(4) Curriculum Vitae; and

(5) three confidential letters of recommendation, with at least one attesting to your teaching; letters must be sent by recommenders directly to theatersearch@oxy.edu.

These materials are due no later than October 16, 2019; applications received after the deadline will not be reviewed. After an initial review of applicants, we may request additional materials. Interviews of semi-finalists will be held via video-conference in the second half of November.

Occidental College is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not unlawfully discriminate against employees or applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, breastfeeding or related medical condition, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, marital status, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic characteristic or information, sexual orientation, military and veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by State or Federal Law.

We strongly encourage all underrepresented candidates, especially women and persons of color, to apply.

As a condition of hire for a staff position and for appointment to a faculty position, Occidental College requires that all candidates who have received a conditional offer of employment complete an application form (if they have not already done so) and consent to a background check.  Satisfactory completion of a background check, along with pre-employment verifications and references are required as a condition of employment, but only as permitted by federal, state, and local law, including the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.

We will consider for employment all qualified Applicants, including those with Criminal Histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.

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