Hello! I'm Suzanne
I have worked in higher education as a faculty member, theatre director and producer, writer and conference planner. I am trained in arts management, devising techniques, theatrical intimacy and safety. I love educational pedagogy and the performing arts, and I explore the marriage of both through my publications, experiential and project-based learning projects and community outreach. Lately, I've been working to incorporate student-centered assessment based on the tenants of Ungrading and exploring how to teach successfully in the virtual classroom. Let's connect and create something new together!
Suzanne Delle (she/her)
EDUCATOR & CONFERENCE PLANNER
MA in Arts Administration, Goucher College
MFA in Directing, Catholic University of America
Email:
2022 Kennedy Center Innovative Teacher Award for Region 2
Currently Lab Artist Fellow at St. Anselm College's Community Resilience & Social Equity Lab
Learn About our work creating games to help vulnerable populations
Upcoming Publication:
"Christmas Cookies and Family Drama: Revisiting Austen's Characters on Stage" in Under the Mistletoe: Essays on Holiday Romance in Popular Culture, edited by Liz W Faber, McFarland publishing, 2024 expected publication
Degrees Earned:
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
AUGUST 2015-JANUARY 2024
York College of Pennsylvania
Assistant/Associate Professor
Earned Tenure: 2020, Earned Promotion 2021
Courses Taught: Acting, Directing, Arts Administration, Dramaturgy, Dramatic Literature, Shakespeare Lit, Theatre History, First Year Seminar
Course Releases: Theatre Coordinator, Directing, Overseeing Box Office
Fellowships: Digital Faculty Fellow (2020-22), Diversity Fellows Chair (2022)
Minors: Theatre, Arts Administration (started 2017) and Dance (started 2019)
Certificate Program: Theatre Endorsement approved by PA Department of Education, 2018.
Nominated: Teaching and Mentoring Excellence Award, 2019, 2021 & 2023
Grants:
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Course Hero Teaching Grant, fall 2023
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JL Smith New Play Festival, 5-year grant, 2021-2025
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Great to Greater Grants: 2018: Develop NYC Showcase Experience for students, 2019: Sponsor & Host PA Thespians HS Theatre Conference;
Faculty Development Grants:
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2018: Moment Work Institute Teacher Training
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2021: Travel money in support of Traumaturgy podcast
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2022: Support for 10-day study & performance in Sicily
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2023: Travel money in support of Alpha Psi Omega annual meeting
National Awards:
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2022 Association for Theatre in Higher Ed / Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Prize for Innovative Teaching, Region II
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2021 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival National Awards Committee: Commendation for Distinguished Achievement in Directing
Faculty Mentor:
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Naylor Workshop for Undergrad Research 2022
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Improv Club 2015-2024
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Dance Club 2020-2024
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Alpha Psi Omega 2020-2024
August 2013-May 2015
Assistant Professor
COLBY-SAWYER COLLEGE
Courses: Acting, Dramatic Literature, First Year Seminar Course Release: Directing
Award: Sustainability Fellowship
January 2010-May 2013
Assistant Professor
SALVE REGINA UNIVERSITY
Courses: Acting, Directing, First Year Seminar
Course Releases: Theatre Coordinator, Directing, Overseeing Box Office Award: University Mission Integration Grant, RI Campus Compact Presidential Faculty Fellowship
Casino Theatre, Artistic Director: worked with architects and community constituents during restoration of 1880 theatre venue and coordinated grand re-opening fundraiser performance with the Blue Hill Troupe from NYC
EDUCATION
2003-2006
Master's in Fine Arts Degree
THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA
Theatre Directing, August 2006
Thesis: Marisol by Jose Rivera, February 2006
Graduate Advisor: Naum Panovski
1998-2002
GOUCHER COLLEGE
Arts Administration, August 2002
Thesis title: Fitting the Arts in Education: An Examination of High Stakes Testing and Mandates Stemming from an Internship in the Arts, published by Lambert Academic Publishing, February 2010, 9783838312446
Graduate Advisor: Suzanne Olson
Master's Degree
CERTIFICATIONS
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Artistic Mental Health Practitioner Training with Bridget McCarthy, Certified AMHP, April 2023
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OSHA-10 General Industry/Entertainment Safety, completed March 2023
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Certified Mental Health First Aid, certification from National Council for Wellbeing, August 2021
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Moment Work Institute Teacher Training Certified, Tectonic Theatre Co, NYC, 2018
Professional Theatre Work
Click on the image to learn more about the production or work
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Publications
Book Chapter: "Trauma, Truth, and Turning the Lens"
co-author with Dr. Loretta Brady, Contemporary Black Theatre and Performance: Acts of Rebellion, Activism, and Solidarity, DeRon Williams, Khalid Long and Martine Green-Rogers, editors, Bloomsbury Press, publication: May 4, 2023
Book Chapter: “Cloud Nine” by Caryl Churchill drama exercise in How to Teach a Play: Essential Exercises for Popular Plays. Miriam Chirico and Kelly Younger, editors. Bloomsbury Press, January 2020
“Every 28 Hours at York College of PA: Discovering How the Past Influences the Present,” Theatre Topics, Notes from the Field contribution, vol 28, issue 2, July 2018.
"Taking the Lore Out of Teaching Playwriting"
The International Journal of Arts Education, published September 13, 2023. Link to article
Book Chapter: “The Power of Imagination: the Fan Creation of Muggle Quidditch.” Harry Potter & The Fandom, Lisa S Brenner, editor, MacFarland, 2015.
Performance Review: "A Touch of the Poet," Irish Repertory Theatre, fall 2020 online production, Eugene O’Neill Review, Vol 42, No. 2, 2021
Production Images
Wondering about my artistic work? I founded the small, southern New Hampshire based professional theatre company Yellow Taxi Productions in the early 2000s. Since then I've focused on college productions though I have worked with local community theatres and virtually over the last 5 years. Below are images from productions I directed during my years at York College of Pennsylvania.
CONFERENCE EXPERIENCE
CHAIR, REGION 2, KENNEDY CENTER AMERICAN COLLEGE THEATRE FESTIVAL
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2022-2024: Oversee a yearly in-person college theatre conference for the mid-eastern region of the U.S. for the Kennedy Center.
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Lead a team of 20 volunteers, manage a budget of $80k, develop educational programming, invite guest artists from across the country, create workshops and presentations, work with vendors and space rentals for 600-700 college theatre students & faculty.
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2019-2022: Oversaw Society for Stage Directors & Choreographers Directing Intensive for Region 2 including making transition to virtual conferences
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2017-18: Co-Coordinator Fringe Festival for Region 2
VICE PRESIDENT OF ACADEMIC SENATE
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January 2021-May 2023: Assist Academic Senate President during York College Presidential and Provost searches, run virtual meetings during pandemic, meet monthly with administrative leaders in co-governance model.
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January 2022-June 2022: Interim Chair of Faculty Development Programs & Resources Committee. Planned three day faculty conference including workshop sessions both in-person and virtual including a focus on DEI programming and training.
RECENT CONFERENCES PRESENTED AT
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Pedagogy Symposium of the 2023 Mid-America Theatre Conference, presenting: "Using Theatre Skills Beyond the Classroom", Minneapolis, March 2023
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Shakespeare Association of America Conference, invited to present as part the “Shakespeare and Broadway” symposium, March 29 2023, Minneapolis
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Symposium on Social Healing, 3rd Annual, presenting “Creating a Consent-Based Classroom”, April 26, 2023, Virtual
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Inaugural bell hooks Symposium, presenting “Making "Professional" Fit for Everyone in Academia: Decolonizing Professional Standards and Pedagogies at PWIs” with Madhavi Reddi, Berea College, June 2023
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Humanities and Technology Association Conference, presenting a paper titled: “Assessing Lessons Learned from Virtual Teaching,” Newport, RI, October 2023
INTIMACY TRAINING
Theatre Intimacy Education:
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Choreography for Live Performance, online, Feb 2024
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Staging Sex: Non-Consensual Intimacy, online, Feb 2023
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Trauma Informed Practices & Consent in the Classroom, online, June 2021
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Theatrical Studio, online, April 2021
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Best Practices , online, Feb 2021
Intimacy Directors & Choreographers:
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Cultivating Culturally Competent Productions, online, December 2022
Intimacy Coordinators of Color:
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Intimacy Captain certification, online, July 2021 & Oct 2022
Work as Intimacy Choreographer at York College of PA:
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The Mountaintop, 2023
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The Moors, 2022
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Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, 2022
COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS
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Partner with York County Crisis Intervention Team and Quick Response Team Units to oversee student role players in police trainings, 2017-2020, 2023
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Panel Member: York Cultural Alliance for funding determinations, 2016 & 2017
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Judge: Poetry Out Loud, Regional competition, 2020-2022
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Poll worker for national and local elections, 2020-2023
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York County SPCA volunteer, 2015, 2023 - present
DEVISING TRAINING AND WORK
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Theatre Sicily with Daniel Stein, Training & Performance, June 2022
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Viewpoints Pedagogy & Practice with Wendell Beavers, online, January 2022
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Viewpoints Master Class for Directors with Anne Bogart, NYC, 2019
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Moment Work Institute Teacher Training Certified, Tectonic Theatre Co NYC, 2018
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New Play Dramaturgy Intensive with Mark Bly, Kennedy Center, DC, 2017
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Devising Weekend Training, Elevator Repair Service, NYC, 2017
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Fundamentals of Viewpoints Training with Anne Bogart, NYC, 2016
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Devising and Performance with Tim Miller on the mall in Washington, DC, 2012
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Theatre Directing with Rinde Eckert, Southampton Arts Summer Program, 2012
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Devising from Literature, Ghost Road Theatre Company, KO Festival, 2011