Department of Theatre and Dance Chair Brant Pope has been named a fellow by the College of Fellows of the American Theatre. He will be inducted in a ceremony on April 15 in Washington, D.C.
The College of Fellows of the American Theatre originated in 1965 within the American Educational Theatre Association. From its beginnings, investiture in the college was one of the highest honors bestowed on educators and professionals of America’s educational and theatre community. Today, the College is an autonomous, nonprofit organization of 132 members that holds its annual meeting and investiture of new members each April under the auspices of the Education Department of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
Previous faculty from the Department of Theatre and Dance who have been honored by the College of Fellows of the American Theatre include Oscar Brockett, Lucy Barton, Kathleen Conlin, Jill Dolan, Coleman Jennings, Fran Hodge, B. Iden Payne, Jon Whitmore, and Loren Winship. Theatre alumnus Robert Schenkkan is also a fellow.
Pope has worked in both academic and professional theatre for more than three decades. He has served as the chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance since 2010. Prior to that position, he was director of the Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training and associate artistic director of the Asolo RepertoryTheatre. He also served as chair of the theatre department at the University of Illinois and head of the undergraduate and graduate acting and directing programs at Penn State. He is a member of AEA and SDC, and he is currently president of the University Resident Theatre Association (URTA).