Amanda Dawson

Biography

Amanda Dawson, Ph.D. (she/her), is an Associate Professor of Theatre and Head of the BFA Theatre Education Program and the Assistant Department Head. Amanda holds a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas, a MA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and a BSE in Theatre and Speech Education from the University of Central Missouri. Amanda teaches courses in theatre history, contemporary theatre, and theatre education. In practice, Amanda is a dramaturg and director. Most recently she dramaturged Come From Away and Gutenberg! The Musical! or the Lyric Repertory Company (Logan, UT). In spring 2027, Amanda will direct Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play for the Department of Theatre Arts at USU. Her scholarship is interdisciplinary and centers on theatre education, dramaturgy, and representations of the United States military and veterans on stage. She has published in Theatre Topics, Popular Culture Studies Journal, New England Theatre Journal, ArtsPraxis, Etudes, and Howlround. Amanda is actively involved in the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), the American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR), the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA), and the American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE).