Research-In-Progress Roundtables
To move the field forward and reflect innovation in research, practice, and dissemination, TEC will host research-in-progress roundtables featuring innovation in theatre education, drama, youth theatre, and theatre/drama pedagogy.
Researchers will discuss their work and engage with others to strengthen their practice and scholarship. An accomplished arts education researcher will facilitate each roundtable, with three to five research presenters per session to maximize interaction and feedback opportunities.
Research Roundtable Presenters
Seth Gordon
Professor of Performance, University of Oklahoma School of Drama
Professor at Helmerich School of Drama, University of Oklahoma. Author of Crossroads of the American Theatre: New Leaders in a New Age, to be published by Smith and Kraus in May 2025. Former Associate Artistic Director of Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and Cleveland Play House, and Associate Producer of Primary Stages in New York. Director of over fifty productions at these organizations and many others throughout the United States. Board member of Oklahoma City Rep and consultant for many theatre companies throughout the U.S. He considers himself a lucky man.
Sobha Kavanakudiyil
Program Director, CCNY Graduate Program in Educational Theatre
Sobha Kavanakudiyil is the Director of The Graduate Program in Educational Theatre at The City College of New York. She is currently in her first year of an EdD program at Fairleigh Dickinson University. She received her MA in Educational Theatre from NYU and her BA in Communications from Fordham University. She is also an Arts Education Consultant and has worked with many organizations around the New York City area. For more information, please go to www.sobha.net.
Dr. Miao Li
Associate Professor, Curriculum & Instruction, Bilingual/ESL Education, University of Houston
Dr. Li is an Associate Professor in the Bilingual and ESL Education program at the University of Houston (UH). Before joining UH, Dr. Li was a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research focuses on bilingual/ESL learners and learners with reading disabilities learning to read and developing reading comprehension and their implications on instruction and pedagogy. Dr. Li's research has been sponsored by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, William T. Grant Foundation, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and Ministry of Education in China.
Sunny Stubbs
MFA Theatre Education Student / Literacy Education Adjunct, Mississippi University for Women
Sunny Stubbs is an adjunct instructor in the literacy education department at The University of Houston and an MFA student in Theatre Education at Mississippi University for Women. She taught theatre in elementary, middle, and high schools in the Houston area for over sixteen years. Her research interests include ensemble-building in K-12 theatre education and the influence of theatre instruction on literacy development.
Dr. Grant Williams
Assistant Professor, University of Indianapolis
Dr. Grant Williams is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Theatre program at the University of Indianapolis. He received his MA and PhD in Theatre from the University of Pittsburgh and his BA in English from Indiana University. His research interests include alternative theatre, cultural studies, and gender studies. Grant teaches a range of courses from writing, history, acting, to directing.
