Posted: Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Diane Brewer, professor of theatre and resident dramaturg at the University of Evansville, was recently named the 2017 Arts Educator of the Year at the annual Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana Mayor’s Arts Awards ceremony. The event was held Thursday, August 17.

Brewer, who teaches theatre history and dramatic criticism at UE, is a past recipient of the University’s Dean’s Teaching Awards. She admits that she requires a great deal from her students, both on stage and in the classroom. She finds that they more than meet her expectations.

“We hold our students to a high standard,” says Brewer, “and they love it. In fact, they want more.”

Brewer earned her BA from Tufts University and her PhD from UCLA. She has received a Certificate of Merit for Dramaturgy from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. Brewer is a member of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas and the Network of Ensemble Theatres.

She directs text-based as well as ensemble-generated productions. An avid supporter of new plays, she has developed new work not only at UE, but also at venues such as Primary Stages, the Tofte Lake Center, The New Harmony Project, the Utah Shakespearean Company Plays in Progress, and the Mark Taper Forum’s P.L.A.Y.

Her dramaturgy has earned published credits in Arlene Hutton’s See Rock City and Gulf View Drive. She regularly dramaturgs for award- winning playwright Mark Rigney, whose plays, including Acts of God and Bears, have been produced in 19 states and Canada.

She is a founding ensemble member and performer with In the Mix, an Evansville-based company dedicated to the collaborative development of new work. Her work as a director is a featured subject in Deaf Side Story: Deaf Sharks, Hearing Jets and a Classic American Musical.

Her developmental initiative has generated grants for playwriting, dramaturgy, and directing from the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas, UE, and the Illinois Arts Council.

Her published articles have appeared in The Dramaturgy Protocol, The Dramaturgy Sourcebook (vol. 4), Theatre Topics, PAJ: Performing Arts Journal, and HowlRound at the Center for Theater Commons.

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